“We Sing This Song For You, Wuhan!”: A History of Wuhan Punk

“Besides the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, this is the second time the world has heard of Wuhan.” This is what a friend in Wuhan told me in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, which has unfortunately made the capital of Hubei province famous worldwide. But Wuhan is not only the epicenter of the recent virus outbreak, it’s also a complex and beautiful city, which has a long history of revolution and dissent — and of great music.

On October 10 1911, the Wuchang Uprising led to the establishment of the Republic of China and the downfall of the Qing dynasty. And in the mid-1990s, Wuhan was again at the epicenter of another revolution: the Chinese punk movement.

I’ve previously written about the Beijing punk rock movement of the mid-1990s, led by underground bands like UnderBaby, Catcher in the Rye, and, later, by the “Boredom Army,” Wuliao Jundui (see radiichina.com). Beijing punks were backed by the rock community flourishing there in the 1980s. But 1,000 kilometers south of the Chinese capital, the city of Wuhan was at the same time also witnessing the birth of a punk subculture.

Who was first, Beijing or Wuhan? This is a very controversial question, as both cities claim to have given birth to Chinese punk. As always, the issue is more complex than it appears; the answer is not merely chronological, but also involves ethics and politics. Claiming that Wuhan is the true birthplace of Chinese punk means one favors political engagement over style, raw punk energy over complex musical arrangement. I am myself non-objective on the matter, as shown by the tattoo on my upper arm or the patch sewn on my jacket: I frankly lean toward Wuhan. For me, if there is one song that embodies Chinese punk, it’s not “All the Same” (都一样), the self-proclaimed “first Chinese punk song” by UnderBaby; it’s “Scream For Life” by SMZB. Here’s why.

Claiming that Wuhan is the true birthplace of Chinese punk means one favors political engagement over style, raw punk energy over complex musical arrangement

Along with rebellion, Wuhan is known for culinary delicacies like the fabulous “hot and dry noodles,” (reganmian; 热干面) and delicious duck necks (yabozi; 鸭脖子), as well as unbearable temperatures and humidity in the summer and winter. One of the most interesting punk scenes in the country was born in this cauldron in 1996 with the formation of SMZB (the band’s name stands for shengming zhi bing, 生命之饼  — literally “the bread of life,” a reference to the Bible) by Wuhan-born singer and bassist Wu Wei.

Wu grew up in a complicated family in the district of Hankou, hanging out on the streets with petty criminals and stirring up trouble at school. In Never Release My Fist, a documentary by Wang Shuibo, Wu recalls witnessing blatant injustices in his youth. The sound of early SMZB was heavily influenced by street punk, with very basic melodies, fast tempos and crude lyrics. The arrival of a new band member playing flute and bagpipes would help the band land on their signature Celtic punk sound in the 2000s, but if you want to understand the earlier SMZB sound, you can listen to their first cassette tape, self-released in 1999, entitled “Damn You” (你是该死的).

At some point, Wu Wei discovered that in Beijing, a new school of music was accepting students who didn’t need to pass the gaokao, the Chinese university entrance exam. The Beijing Midi School of Music, which is now well known around the country for its annual Midi Music Festival, allowed Wu to develop his musical skills and meet the musical underground of the Chinese capital. Unlike Beijing, Wuhan had no underground live venues or an older rock community to help young punk bands perform — before coming to Beijing, Wu Wei had no idea about pioneering rockers like Cui Jian.

Rather than pursuing a subcultural career in Beijing, however, Wu decided to move back to Wuhan after his time at Midi with friend and SMZB drummer Zhu Ning, in order to help Hubei’s capital develop its own punk scene. Wu Wei was also involved in the development of punk scenes and live venues in other cities, like Changsha and Guilin.

SMZB was of course not the only band in Wuhan. Soon after SMZB started, several other punk bands began to form, sharing members and instruments. Zhu Ning himself had to play drums for six bands. SMZB was soon joined by bands like Si Dou Le (死逗了), MUM (妈妈), F. Thomas, Mask (面具), Angry Dog Eyes, Big Buns, and Disover. Contrary to Beijing, Wuhan punks had to create their own spaces to perform and rehearse, first playing at universities (at the activity center of Wuhan Normal University, for instance) and KTVs, or karaoke bars. As Wu Wei recalls: “We had to negotiate with KTV owners, but after we played in one KTV, they wouldn’t want to have us again, and we had to find another one!”

Most of the punks in Wuhan came from a working-class background, unlike the more “middle-class” upbringing of Beijing punks, and they were not afraid to steal their food, beer or their musical instruments in order to survive

Wuhan punks didn’t have bars owned by rockers like in Beijing, but they had something else: links to the underworld of the Hubei capital. They could find spaces not directly controlled by the authorities, and thrive in the underground. Most of the punks in Wuhan came from a working-class background, unlike the more “middle-class” upbringing of Beijing punks, and they were not afraid to steal their food, beer or their musical instruments in order to survive.

Early Wuhan punk posters

The favorite sport of Wuhan punk was — and still is — running naked on the streets after drinking, often chased by the police. As sung by SMZB in 2014, they are the “Naked Punks,” both literally and figuratively: they truly had nothing to their name.

Wuhan punks could not continue performing in universities, where the administration often cut their power because of the noise, nor KTVs. They had to open their own venues.

Kang Mao, now the singer of the Beijing punk band SUBS, opened the bar Boy Toy with two friends, which promptly began organizing punk shows. Kang Mao herself created her own all-female punk band, No Pass, with Hu Juan, who would later become SMZB’s drummer and Wu Wei’s first wife. Zhu Ning decided to help the scene by creating a live venue dedicated to underground music: VOX, which is still today the epicenter of the musical underground of the region. VOX’s motto “Voice of Youth, Voice of Freedom” still defines the scene in Wuhan.

There's lots more to this story. To read the complete piece, listen to music from the bands mentioned, and watch related videos, please hit "Read more" at the bottom of this post.