Editing Cui Jian (section)

===1994–1996: ''Balls Under the Red Flag'' and international tour ===
''[[Balls Under the Red Flag]]'' was released in August 1994 but it was soon banned by the authorities, due to its explicit reference to various social issues. Both ''Solution'' and ''Balls Under the Red Flag''  were re-released in 2005.<ref name="datehdwn" /><ref name="id" /> ''[[New York Times]]'' journalist Seth Faison estimated the album sold one million copies before removing from the shelves of music stores.<ref name="nytsf">{{cite web|author=Seth Faison|work=[[New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/19/arts/a-rock-star-china-allows-to-shine.html|title=A Rock Star China Allows to Shine|date=August 19, 1995}}</ref> Cui characterized the album as [[jazz punk]].<ref name="mgz">{{cite web|author=Li Dongran|url=https://www.lifeweek.com.cn/article/22314?from=information|title=崔健：“我深知自己不止于此”|work=[[Sanlian Lifeweek]]|date=August 20, 2012|language=zh-cn}}</ref> Critics have noted that starting with this album, he has incorporated elements of [[hard rock]] and [[hardcore rap]].<ref name="hrhcr" /> ''[[Hong Kong Inmedia]]'' noted that the album continues the approach from ''Solution'' that emphasizing rhythm and arrangements, and experiments with Chinese-style rapping, while infusing heavy doses of traditional folk instrumentation, dubbing this fusion the "[[Chinese Learning as Substance, Western Learning for Application|Western Learning as Substance, Chinese Learning for Application]]".<ref name="dlmt1">{{cite web|url=https://www.inmediahk.net/%E5%B4%94%E5%81%A5%EF%BC%9A%E7%B4%85%E6%97%97%E4%B8%8B%E7%9C%9F%E6%AD%A3%E7%9A%84%E3%80%8C%E8%9B%8B%E3%80%8D|date=January 2, 2016|language=zh-hant|title=崔健：紅旗下真正的「蛋」|work=[[Hong Kong Inmedia]]}}</ref> Chinese scholar Kang Ning believed that starting with the album, Cui began rejecting audience expectations, prioritizing the music's own expressive power and embracing rock's "inherent sociological significance" that "conveying social culture and the realities of marginalized communities".<ref name="knhn">{{cite magazine|title=由崔健的摇滚浅析中国摇滚的主题性|magazine=Music Space|date=2013|issue=8|author=Kang Ning|publisher=[[:zh:贵州省文学艺术界联合会|Guizhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles]]|language=zh-cn|page=102}}</ref>

Upon its release, the album was received negative reviews from audience. This is because Cui directly attacked mainstream political ideology in the album. However, at that time, the rise of China's commodity economy had hit political ideology and intellectual culture, leading the audience to political apathy.<ref name="mdyjl" /> In response, Cui said the album is not about politics but "more about the society we live in".<ref name="nytsf" /> Over time, the album gained acclaim. In 2000, ''{{ill|Shopping Guide|zh|精品购物指南}}'' listed the album and ''Solution'' among "China's Top 10 Classic Rock Albums".<ref>{{cite web|author=Wang Xiaofeng|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/pop/old/8302.html?from=wap|title=细数中国摇滚十大经典唱片|language=zh-cn|work=Shopping Guide|date=March 31, 2000}}</ref> Matthew Corbin Clark of [[PBS]] said in 2003 that ''Balls Under the Red Flag'' is many considered Cui's best record up to that time and a masterwork of the genre he created.<ref name="pbs" /> Ma Shih-fang described the album as "flawless on every level, from lyrics, composition, arrangement, performance, vocals, recording, to echo with that particular era".<ref>{{cite web|date=August 28, 2018|url=https://www.thenewslens.com/article/102669|title=馬世芳Ｘ陳德政：當音樂仍是危險的，談我們的「地下搖滾」年代|work=[[The News Lens]]|language=zh-tw}}</ref> {{ill|Hashizume Daizaburo|ja|橋爪大三郎}}, one of the most renowned Japanese scholars in contemporary Chinese cultural studies, wrote that "the attitude of young Chinese audiences towards this informative album will be an excellent indicator of China's future".<ref name="frs" /> The ''[[Aju Business Daily|Aju Daily]]'' wrote:<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Aju Business Daily|Aju Daily]]|url=https://www.ajudaily.com/view/20110929000067|date=September 29, 2011|language=zh-hans|title=崔健：一代人的心灵嘶吼与挣扎记忆}}</ref>

{{blockquote|When rock music finally entered the era of grand fusion, when [[Sampler (musical instrument)|samplers]] and [[Groove (music)|groove]] rhythms finally obtained the same right to speak as guitars, people finally discovered the colossal significance of the foresight and exploration displayed by this trailblazer as early as 1996 {{sic}}. As for the dismissiveness toward ''Balls Under the Red Flag'', it had long since shattered like soap bubbles, vanishing without a trace.}}

To promote the release of his album, Cui toured four cities in Japan, generating significant responses from local media and audiences. The same year, he performed at [[Bumbershoot]] in [[Seattle]], U.S.<ref name="elct">{{cite thesis|title=浅析崔健个人音乐发展历程|language=zh-cn|date=April 2010|author=Sun Ying|degree=MSc|publisher=[[Henan University]]}}</ref> He also founded Dongxi Art Production Co., Ltd., and served as its chairman.<ref>{{cite news|title=崔健的固收与宣泄|language=zh-cn|date=July 21, 2000|newspaper=China Acting News|publisher=[[Ministry of Culture (China)|Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China]]}}</ref> In August 1995, Cui launched his first U.S. tour, performing six solo concerts in [[Boston]], [[San Francisco]], and [[New York City|New York]]. This marked the first time a mainland Chinese singer had staged a personal concert tour in the United States.<ref name="nytsf" /><ref name="xhw" /><ref name="ctxwb" /> In 1996, Cui released a [[greatest hits album|greatest hits]] [[compilation album]], ''Best of Cui Jian:1986-1996''.<ref>{{cite web|date=September 4, 2018|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_2407738|title=霹雳舞与摇滚乐的青春记忆|work=[[The Paper (newspaper)|The Paper]]|language=zh-cn}}</ref>

He was still being suppressed by the Chinese government. China's first [[Hard Rock Cafe]] rejected his performance to avoid angering the government. He criticized them for "kissing the government's butt".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940515/1910668/beijing-hard-rocks-for-hard-liners----bb-king-entertains-others-left-with-blues|date=May 15, 1994|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|title=Beijing Hard Rock's For Hard-Liners -- B.B. King Entertains; Others Left With Blues|author=John Leicester}}</ref> When he performed in [[Shenzhen]] in 1995, local officials reportedly were particularly wary of him and forbade him from singing his song "Balls Under the Red Flag", but he performed it anyway.<ref name="pbs" /> Chinese music critic Zhang Xiaozhou wrote that in the early 1990s, the leadership of a radio station explicitly instructed staff to "avoid playing certain Cui Jian songs", while a radio station in an [[Autonomous regions of China|autonomous region]] had refrained from airing any of his works prior to 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theinitium.com/article/20180110-culture-chinesehiphop|title=張曉舟：在中國，嘻哈連獻媚的機會都沒了|date=February 7, 2018|language=zh-hant|author=Zhang Xiaozhou|work=[[Initium Media]]}}</ref> According to [[Reuters]], the Chinese government passed a law in September 1997 that forbids private establishments to make money from music performances that do not have official approval to strike a blow at "subversives" such as Cui Jian.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.economist.com/moreover/1997/09/04/chinas-new-cultural-revolution|title=China's new cultural revolution|work=[[The Economist]]|date=September 4, 1997}}</ref>

In 1996, Cui feuded with poet {{ill|Yi Sha|zh|伊沙}} and rock musician [[Zhang Chu (singer)|Zhang Chu]] after accusing Yi of ghostwriting lyrics for Zhang and penning excessively flattering reviews of Zhang's music. Eventually, in 1998, Yi publicly severed ties with Zhang due to dissatisfaction over his attitude during the conflict, triggering an uproar in China's cultural and rock scenes.<ref>{{cite web|language=zh-hant|url=http://big5.china.com.cn/gate/big5/art.china.cn/music/2011-01/12/content_3955249.htm|title=張楚和昔日朋友伊沙和好 曾經絕交十二年|date=January 12, 2011|website=[[china.org.cn]]|author=Wu Chenggui}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=他和窦唯齐名，比朴树更忧郁，如今孤独对他来说不再可耻|url=https://www.jiemian.com/article/872599.html|work=[[Jiemian News]]|language=zh-cn|date=September 27, 2016}}</ref>