--- title: China Bans Hip-Hop Culture and Tattoos From TV description: China has banned hip-hop culture, tattoos, and actors "at odds with core values of the Party and lack high moral standards" from TV shows. canonical: https://time.com/5112061/china-hip-hop-ban-tattoos-television/ author: Casey Quackenbush article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-22T07:29:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:49.146Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: China Has Banned Hip-Hop Culture and Tattoos From TV Shows og:description: The portrayal of "hip hop culture, sub-culture and dispirited culture" is out og:url: https://time.com/5112061/china-hip-hop-ban-tattoos-television/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb74f414dbc9a5300/6988f8f20a4a227b959d17b9/gettyimages-901423590.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: CHINA-CULTURE-MUSIC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: China Has Banned Hip-Hop Culture and Tattoos From TV Shows twitter:description: The portrayal of "hip hop culture, sub-culture and dispirited culture" is out twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb74f414dbc9a5300/6988f8f20a4a227b959d17b9/gettyimages-901423590.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Tasteless, Vulgar and Obscene.' 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Hunan TV The Singer 2018 Trailer [Watch (HLS stream): Hunan TV The Singer 2018 Trailer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xtWVC7ku.m3u8) (0:40)  _Published 2018-01-22. Hunan TV The Singer 2018 Trailer_ by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) and [Aria Chen](https://time.com/author/aria-chen/) Jan 22, 2018 7:29 AM UTC  This photo taken shows Chinese rapper PG One (2nd R) posing for a picture during the premiere of the movie "Wu Kong" in Beijing on July 9, 2017. This photo taken shows Chinese rapper PG One (2nd R) posing for a picture during the premiere of the movie "Wu Kong" in Beijing on July 9, 2017.AFP/Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) and [Aria Chen](https://time.com/author/aria-chen/) Jan 22, 2018 7:29 AM UTC China has banned hip-hop culture and actors with tattoos from appearing on television. The country’s top media regulator — the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT) — now “specifically requires that programs should not feature actors with tattoos \[or depict\] hip hop culture, sub-culture (non-mainstream culture) and dispirited culture (decadent culture),” [Sina](http://ent.sina.com.cn/tv/zy/2018-01-19/doc-ifyquptv7935320.shtml), a Chinese news outlet, reports. Gao Changli, director of the administration’s publicity department, outlined four “Don’t” rules on Friday: --- > “” --- The ban follows the [removal](http://ent.163.com/18/0118/14/D8EL11J000038FO9.html) of the prominent rapper GAI from Hunan TV’s _Singer,_ a hit competition show. Clips of GAI, whose real name is Zhou Yan, were also [removed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0L8E6SaTrE&list=RDm0L8E6SaTrE) from China Hunan TV’s official Youtube Channel, but no official explanation has been given. He does however appear in the show’s trailer: Wang Hao, aka PG One, another well-known rapper, was [forced to apologize earlier this month](http://supchina.com/2018/01/04/pg-one-fire-lyrics-glorifying-drugs-sex-pursuit-wealth/) after one of his songs, “Christmas Eve,” was criticized for promoting drug culture and insulting women. Rapper Mao Yanqi, aka VaVa, was cut from the variety show _Happy Camp_, according to [Tecent News](http://new.qq.com/omn/20180121/20180121A08RQF.html). Music by Triple H, an influential underground rapper, has also been removed from major streaming sites. And a contestant on the show _Super Brian_, which is not hip-hop related, even had his hip-hop style necklace [blurred out](https://weibo.com/1752465824/FFoQUzh7T?refer%5Fflag=1001030103%5F&type=comment#%5Frnd1516597948186). Chinese social media has responded angrily to the ban. “SARPPFT is so trashy! They didn’t want to give Chinese hip pop singers any chance of survival! we can go back to ancient times,” wrote one user on Weibo — China’s equivalent of Twitter. “How can a government with high culture have such childish logic?” asked another. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5112061/china-hip-hop-ban-tattoos-television/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5112061/china-hip-hop-ban-tattoos-television/"},"headline":"'Tasteless, Vulgar and Obscene.' 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