But what is more important is the influence of Jackson on numerous young Chinese music lovers. To many who were born in the 1960s and 1970s, Jackson was a symbol of Western pop music.

Zhao Bin, a 37-year-old engineer with an IT company based in Beijing, expressed his regret for the death of the pop king. Zhao was a drummer in a student band when attending university in the early 1990s, the era in which Jackson was at the peak of his career.

"Jackson and Madonna were the only two superstars to admire among youngsters at that time," Zhao told Beijing Review. "I was shocked when first watching the video of Jackson's album Bad on CCTV. I had no idea that a man could sing and dance like that and that audience members could even faint because of their adoration," Zhao said. "It was really an eye-opening moment."

Most boys in Zhao's class tried to imitate Jackson's famous "moon walk." It was in his university days that Zhao followed his passion for pop music. His band played many original songs, but he said Jackson had influenced them.

The pop king's influence even reached the generation born in the 1980s. Zhu Xiaolong, 27, an editor of the Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily, told Beijing Review that he also imitated Jackson's dancing in his school days. "Jackson has been imitated all along and never been bettered," Zhu said, adding that he lives on in everyone's heart.

Inspirational

Jackson's success also inspired young Chinese. A netizen named Tomtop wrote in his posting on sina.com that Jackson 's shows the pursuit of an ordinary child for his dream and a better life. "His experience told me that everyone could create a miracle, and I believe it till today. I think a miracle can happen to me one day," the post said.

Even though most of Jackson's songs have not been popular with ordinary Chinese, people seem to just love him anyway. Why was Jackson so welcomed by Chinese, despite the news about his alleged child molestation charges in his later life? The answer seems to be that people believe he was not just a fashionable dancer or singer, but that his music recorded the growing up of a generation.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University, said in a program on Phoenix TV Station that compared with what Jackson left people, the negative news about him seemed less meaningful. "To a certain extent, only after the death of Jackson, have people realized what a huge influence he was on them," Zhang said.