MOCA PERFORMS – Wonggongchang Mega Explosive

The Museum of Chinese in America proudly presents Wonggongchang 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 Explosive is 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 historical documentations, 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 consensu