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. Ding Wu was born in Beijing. His father was a soldier in the People's Liberation Army, and his mother was a Party cadre. He took up drawing at age 3. In 1968, Ding and his family relocated to Manchuria, moving back to Beijing in 1972. As a result, he did not attend school until he was ten years old. Ding developed an interest in Beijing Opera at around age 8, and picked up the guitar in 1976. He was admitted to the Beijing School of Arts and Crafts in 1978, where he was first exposed to rock music, and formed his first bands with his peers. Upon graduating in 1982 with a degree in fine arts, Ding took a job teaching basic art at Beijing's No. 132 Secondary School. However, he resigned the following year after the school demanded he cut his hair. It was during this time that Ding began to seriously pursue a musical career, spending most of his income on musical equipment and guitar textbooks. In 1984, Ding founded a band called Budaoweng (Chinese: 不倒瓮; pinyin: "Bùdăowēng"; lit. "roly-poly toy"). This short-lived band primarily played covers of Western and Japanese rock songs, and featured many musicians who would later become significant figures in the early Chinese rock scene. In 1987, Ding founded hard rock/glam metal band Black Panther (Chinese: 黑豹; pinyin: "Hēibào") and served as the group's lead vocalist through 1988, eventually quitting because the band did not provide a sufficient outlet for his artistic expression. Black Panther would release their eponymous debut album in 1991, featuring the influential Dou Wei on lead vocals. Ding Wu was still in Black Panther when he was introduced to Americans Kaiser Kuo and Sean Andrews in autumn 1988. Kuo had been eager to start a distinctly Chinese-sounding metal band, and noticed Ding's potential as a frontman. After several months of planning, Tang Dynasty was formally established in February 1989, with Ding and Kuo on guitars, Zhang Ju on bass, and Andrew Szabo on drums. This lineup lasted until June 1989, when the Tiananmen Square protests forced Kuo and Szabo out of the country.