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 Wales ...

band formed in 1989. They are often credited as being the first

Chinese heavy metal Chinese heavy metal (中国重金属, pinyin: ''Zhōngguó Zhòngjīnshǔ''; also 中国重金属音乐, ''Zhōngguó zhòngjīnshǔ yīnyuè'', literally "Chinese heavy metal music") is commonly used to describe a wide variety of forms of heavy ...

band.

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 Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

guitarist

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

co-founded Tang Dynasty in early 1989. Kaiser left shortly after to return to the United States. Liu "Lao Wu" Yijun took his place and, according to Kaiser, went on to become China's first "guitar hero." In 1991, the band released its metal/rock version of "

The Internationale "The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of th ...

" 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 earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

as popularly represented by the era of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. 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 became bass player, but in August Liu left the band. Co-founder Kaiser Kuo rejoined as guitarist in August 1996. The band's 1998 release '' Epic'' was their second album, seven years after their debut record. Kaiser again parted company with Tang Dynasty in June 1999 and later formed 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. Du ...

, ''

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 ...

'', released that same year. In January 2009, Liu announced his second departure of 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 Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

'', 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 may refer to: * Microblogging in China, or China-based microblogging services (), including: ** NetEase Weibo (), launched by NetEase ** People's Weibo (), launched by ''People's Daily'' ** Phoenix Weibo (), launched by Phoenix Television ** W ...

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 (''

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

'') * 1998 - 演义 ('' Epic'') * 2008 - 浪漫骑士 (''

'') * 2013 - 芒刺 (''

'')

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 Musical quartets Musical groups from Beijing