In this study we developed the Chinese Geneva Emotion Music Scale (GEMS-C) and a simplified version (S-GEMS-C) verified by Chinese native speakers. As the GEMS is a one-word-item scale without context, we performed an expert revision process after forward-backward translation. The results were optimized through structured interviews to obtain the final Chinese GEMS (GEMS-C). We reduced the number of GEMS items to form a short version (S-GEMS-C). The GEMS-C and the S-GEMS-C were shown to have high reliability, construct validity, sensitivity, concurrent validity, and discriminant validity. Additionally, this study found a high correlation between the GEMS-C, S-GEMS-C, and OMES-M, and the difference between familiarity with the music and the degree of emotional arousal.