Tang Dynasty () is a Chinese

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in 1989. They are often credited as being the first Chinese heavy metal band and the first

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...

band of Asian style as well.

Biography

Singer and rhythm guitarist

Ding Wu Ding Wu () (born December 30, 1962) is a Chinese musician, best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the seminal progressive metal band Tang Dynasty. His distinct, wailing falsetto draws influences from Beijing Opera. Early life ...

, bassist Zhang Ju, and

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

guitarist

Kaiser Kuo Kaiser Kuo (; born March 7, 1966) is a Chinese American freelance writer and Chinese rock, musician. Career Kuo previously worked as director for international communications for Chinese search engine Baidu. Before that he was a technology corre ...

co-founded Tang Dynasty in early 1989. Kuo left shortly after to return to the United States, with Liu "Lao Wu" Yijun took his place. According to Kaiser, went on to become China's first "guitar hero." In 1990 the band participated in the Chinese modern rock concert, where they performed early versions of two of their eventual songs. In 1991, the band released its metal/rock version of "

The Internationale "The Internationale" is an international anthem that has been adopted as the anthem of various anarchist, communist, socialist, democratic socialist, and social democratic movements. It has been a standard of the socialist movement since ...

" in Chinese. Tang Dynasty rose to fame with their eponymous debut album, released in December 1992. The album officially sold about 2,000,000 authentic copies throughout Asia and abroad, not counting the multitudes more of infringing copies. Their sound is part progressive rock and artistic metal and part traditional Chinese vocal technique. The lyrical poetry and musical arrangements meant to hearken back to the glorious days of ancient Chinese civilization; in particular, the art and cultural epitome of

Chinese history The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

as popularly represented by the era of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. In 1993, Tang Dynasty performed at "The Chinese Avant Garde", a concert featuring

Cui Jian Cui Jian or Choi Geon ( zh, c=崔健; ; born 2 August 1961) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and musician. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Chinese Rock", Cui is often deemed the most influential rock musician in China. ...

Cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

, and Wang Yong, some of the most prominent rock artists from China at the time. During this concert, they would play songs from their first album, closing the concert with "

". In 1994, Tang Dynasty performed at "The Power of Chinese Rock Bands" alongside

Dou Wei Dou Wei (born October 14, 1969) is a Chinese musician, singer-songwriter, composer and music producer. He is a representative figure in Chinese rock music. Alongside rock singers He Yong and Zhang Chu, they were collectively known as the "Pro ...

, Zhang Chu, and He Yong, closing the concert with "Choice" and "Soaring Bird". Tragedy struck when bassist Zhang Ju died on May 11, 1995, when his motorcycle collided with a truck on the Zizhuqiao freeway overpass in western Beijing. Gu Zhong joined the band to fill the empty role of bass player. That August, Liu left the band. Co-founder Kaiser Kuo rejoined as guitarist in August 1996. During this time, the band had developed creativity conflicts and had parted with their Magic Stone Label, Almost disbanding during this era. The band's 1998 release ''

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

'' was their second album, seven years after their debut record. The record received less recognition, as many believed the album had abandoned Tang Dynasty's oriental rock style for a more western style. In 1999, Tang Dynasty would hold a series of live performances showcasing tracks on ''

'' along with some popular tracks from

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. Kaiser again parted company with Tang Dynasty in June 1999 after a multitude of disagreements with Ding brought to a head by the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. He would later form another well-recognized metal/rock band, Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu). Kaiser was replaced by former Iron Kite frontman Yu Yang, and then by young guitar virtuoso Chen Lei in late 2000. After some more member changes, Liu rejoined the group in 2002. Tang Dynasty released their third album ''

Romantic Knight ''Romantic Knight'' (), alternatively translated as ''Knight of Romantic'', is the third album by Chinese heavy metal band Tang Dynasty, released June 13, 2008 on Jingwen Records. It is the only Tang Dynasty album to feature a five-piece lineup. ...

'' (" Langman Qishi") in mid-2008, featuring " Feng Shan Ji" as the album's lead track. Kaiser appeared in the Western documentary by

Sam Dunn Sam Dunn (born 20 March 1974) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, musician, and anthropologist, best known for his series of documentaries on heavy metal music. He co-owns Toronto-based production company Banger Films with Scot McFadyen. Dunn ...

, ''

Global Metal ''Global Metal'' is a 2007 documentary film directed by Scot McFadyen and Canadian anthropologist Sam Dunn. It is a follow-up to their successful 2005 documentary, '' Metal: A Headbanger's Journey''. The film's international premiere took place a ...

'', released that same year. In January 2009, Liu announced his second departure from the band due to "personal reasons." Vocalist Ding filled the spot of second guitarist. In February 2010, Ding Wu announced that the band was preparing for their fourth release due out later in the year. The next month, Tang Dynasty put out a two-song EP entitled ''Ups and Downs''. The band released their fourth album, '' Thorn'', in November 2013, and toured outside China for the first time in nearly two decades. On February 20, 2019, Tang Dynasty revealed on

Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ac ...

that lead guitarist Chen Lei had been replaced by Liu Jingwei and Fu Dalong, again making the band a five-piece lineup.

Members

;Current members *

– lead vocals (1991–present), rhythm guitar (1989–2002, 2009–2019) * Zhao Nian – drums, percussion (1989–present) * Gu Zhong – bass, backing vocals (1995–present) * Liu Jingwei – lead guitar (2019–present) * Fu Dalong – lead guitar (2019–present) ; Former members *

– lead guitar (1989, 1996–1999) * Liu Yijun – lead guitar (1989–1996, 2003–2009) * Zhang Ju – bass (1989–1995; died 1995), lead vocals (1989–1991), backing vocals (1991–1995) * Yu Yang – lead guitar (1999–2000) *Chen Lei – lead guitar, backing vocals (2000–2019) * Andrew Szabo – drums (1989) ;Touring musicians * Wang Yong - keyboards (1993–1995)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* 1992 - 唐朝 (''

'') * 1998 - 演义 (''

'') * 2008 - 浪漫骑士 (''

'') * 2013 - 芒刺 ('' Thorn'')

EPs

* 2000 - 演义单曲纪念珍藏版 (''Epic (single)'') * 2010 - 沉浮 (''Ups and Downs'')

Compilations

* ''90 Modern Music Concert'' (1990) - "谁都希望"; "粉雾" * ''China Fire I'' (1992) - "飞翔鸟" * ''

A Tribute to Teresa Teng ''A Tribute to Teresa Teng - A Rocking Farewell'' (告别的摇滚) is a tribute album released in July 1995 on Beijing-based label Bamboo Book Culture (竹书文化), shortly after Teresa Teng's death on May 8, 1995. It features ten of Teng's s ...

'' (1995) - "独上西楼" * ''Goodbye Zhang Ju'' (1997) - "月梦" * ''True Love Forever'' (2000) - "花儿为什么这样红"; "明月千里寄相思" * ''Gift'' - "春蚕"

References

External links

tangchao.entCulture Express variety show hosted by Ji Xiaojun, featuring Tang Dynasty in studio for upcoming new recordTang Dynasty page
from Rock in China site

from ''China Beat'' radio program {{DEFAULTSORT:Tang Dynasty (Band) Chinese heavy metal musical groups Chinese rock music groups Musical groups established in 1988 Chinese musical quartets Musical groups from Beijing