A Brief Genealogy of Hanmai

Abstract

Hanmai 喊麥, literally “shouting [at] a microphone,” first came to public attention and scrutiny as a distinct sound gaining both popularity and notoriety in 2015, when livestreaming platforms such as YY (which launched as a voice chat client in 2008) were growing exponentially. Contemporary hanmai is therefore predominantly associated with livestreaming media.2 However, its origin can be traced much further back. The sound culture can be linked to the broader context of market reform and the emergence of disco music in the 1990s, as well as to the evolution of Northeastern (Dongbei 東北) folk culture during the same period. Dongbei spoken word art has fundamentally shaped the lyrical structure and presentation of hanmai , while its lyrical content has shifted over time from a dance culture filled with hedonist desires in the late 1990s and early 2000s to a contemporary livestreaming culture of venting frustration due to unfulfilled desires. Moreover, socio-technologically speaking, hanmai culture started in the form of commercial sales of pirate mixtape CDs, then migrated to QQzone (Tencent’s version of personal webspace similar to Myspace) throughout the 2000s, re-invented itself via Internet subculture on early video portals such as Acfun as well as popular web fiction, and finally (re)emerged on YY as the contemporary reiteration of hanmai . This paper aims to map a genealogy of hanmai, including the divergences, parallels, and reiterations of this specific style of sound in Chinese societ from the 1990s onwards.

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