MOCA PERFORMS – Wonggongchang Mega Explosive

The Museum of Chinese in America proudly presentsWonggongchang Mega Explosive, the second full-length album by Taiwanese composer, electronic musician, and producer Calvin Kaiˇ-Weiˉ Chang, a.k.a Kaiwei.

Set for 2026 release under AAPI artist collective Choaspace,Wonggongchang Mega Explosiveis a ten-track sonic narrative and song cycle centered on one of the deadliest man-made disasters in Chinese history: the 1626 Tianqi Explosion, with over 20,000 casualties. Drawing from ancient Chinese classical texts and historicaldocumentations, each piece reimagines anecdotal episodes from the event, unfolding in a format influenced by anthological drama, film and video game soundtracks. Through a contemporary lens, the work integrates found sounds, text-to-speech, and Y2K-influenced sonic cues for explorations of artificiality, emotional detachment, and modern desensitization to large-scale violence in the age of information overload.

Accompanied by live Mandarin narration, texts, and animations drawn by Taiwanese graphic artist Nancy Hsiaowen Hu, the performance invites audiences to experience history, through modern perspectives, as a living, resonant field shaped by sound, story, and interpretation.

ABOUT Tianqi Explosion

The Wanggongchang Explosion (also known as the Tianqi Explosion) was a catastrophic disaster that occurred on May 30, 1626, in Beijing during the late Ming Dynasty. Centered at a major gunpowder factory and armory, the blast destroyed a large area of the city and reportedly killed around 20,000 people.

Contemporary accounts describe a sudden rumbling sound, followed by a massive explosion that flattened buildings within a radius of about 2 kilometers, sent debris flying across the city, and was felt over 150 kilometers away.

The exact cause of the explosion remains unknown. While many believe it was an accidental gunpowder detonation, other theories—including a meteor airburst or natural gas explosion—have been proposed, with no definitive consensus.

Beyond the immediate destruction, the disaster had major political and cultural consequences. It was widely interpreted at the time as a form of divine punishment, weakening confidence in the Tianqi Emperor and further destabilizing the already declining Ming Dynasty.

ABOUT Calvin Kaiˇ-Weiˉ Chang

Kaiwei is the progressive electronic music project of Calvin Kaiˇ-Weiˉ Chang, a NY-based Taiwanese electronic musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Active in both NY and East Asia's contemporary music scenes, Chang's style blends Industrial, Noise, Ambient, Dance and Pop, often explored through experimental techniques, diverse composition methods, and innovative forms. Chang's works often combine a broad range of improvisational vocabularies with non-traditional post-production, songwriting, and sound design approaches. Chang composed for director Ichen Wangs 2022 stage play, "Dress In Code". His debut LP, “Reprocessor” (“darkly invigorating, glitchy soundscapes, touting a dynamic range from unsettling spaciousness to dexterous rhythmic haunts, at times resembling a cross of Burial and Oneohtrix Point Never” - Obscure Sound 2024) was released under Long Echo Records, 2023. Chang was a 2024 Found Sound Nation - OneBeat Taiwan fellow, and was most recently a recipient of Taiwan's National Cultures & Arts Foundation Grant for his production for composer Chloe Yuchun Hu's 2025 record, "The Impermanence Of Permanence". His second LP, Wonggongchang Mega Explosive, is due for 2026 release under AAPI artist collective, Choaspace.