{"id":1086,"date":"2008-11-08T21:28:54","date_gmt":"2008-11-08T13:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2026-04-14T15:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:37:29","slug":"xiongliang20081108","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2008\/11\/08\/xiongliang20081108\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes and Reflec\u00adtions on Xiong Lei\u2019s Lec\u00adture \u201cThe Con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrane\u00adity of Folk Tales\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

http:\/\/landaishu.zhongwenlink.com\/home\/upload20083\/2008102554543790.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n

Link:2008 \u201cFive-Col\u00adored Soil\u201d Chi\u00adna Orig\u00adi\u00adnal Pic\u00adture Book Annu\u00adal Forum (Sep\u00adtem\u00adber-Novem\u00adber, Bei\u00adhang Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty)<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

Last night (Novem\u00adber 7th), I was delight\u00aded to hear Xiong Lei\u2019s lec\u00adture on \u201cThe Con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrane\u00adity of Folk Tales\u201d at Bei\u00adhang Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty. Xiong Lei\u2019s speak\u00ading style is quite free-flow\u00ading, like a free-flow\u00ading con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion, speak\u00ading freely and freely. First-time lis\u00adten\u00aders might strug\u00adgle to grasp the flow, but if you lis\u00adten patient\u00adly and grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly become accus\u00adtomed to his style, you\u2019ll ben\u00ade\u00adfit great\u00adly. Over\u00adall, I felt that while some of his per\u00adspec\u00adtives may appear a bit biased on the sur\u00adface, upon clos\u00ader exam\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion, they are quite nov\u00adel, though their expres\u00adsion is sharp and their inten\u00adtions are prag\u00admat\u00adic.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy to take notes while lis\u00adten\u00ading to Xiong Lei\u2019s lec\u00adture :) I just casu\u00adal\u00adly wrote down some things that inter\u00adest\u00aded me and added some asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions.<\/p>\n

At the begin\u00adning of the lec\u00adture, we all enjoyed Yang Peng\u2019s pro\u00adduc\u00adtion of \u201cLit\u00adtle Stone Lion\u201d, which was very good and can be seen online:
\nhttp:\/\/flash.17173.com\/flashfile\/2008\u201310-29\/20081029142541244.shtml<\/a><\/p>\n

Top\u00adic 1: How does one start cre\u00adat\u00ading their first pic\u00adture book?<\/p>\n

(This top\u00adic is main\u00adly for stu\u00addents, dis\u00adcussing with them how to start cre\u00adat\u00ading their first pic\u00adture book. The orig\u00adi\u00adnal inten\u00adtion of Wu Se Tu is to encour\u00adage and help stu\u00addents to start cre\u00adat\u00ading pic\u00adture books on cam\u00adpus and coop\u00ader\u00adate with teach\u00aders\u2019 cours\u00ades.)<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThe cre\u00adation of pic\u00adture books is relat\u00aded to every\u00adone\u2019s own life.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nLet\u2019s start with a book by a friend who grew up grow\u00ading cot\u00adton. I cre\u00adat\u00aded a sto\u00adry based on his life expe\u00adri\u00adences, told through paper-cuts. It\u2019s called \u201cThe Giant and the Cot\u00adton Boll.\u201d At the end, the giant climbs onto the clouds. (See\u00ading this part remind\u00aded me of the British fairy tale \u201cJack and the Beanstalk.\u201d Of course, this paper-cut sto\u00adry is some\u00adthing else entire\u00adly, more like a psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal jour\u00adney.)<\/p>\n

\u201cFam\u00adi\u00adly Tree,\u201d by Tan Jun. Life expe\u00adri\u00adence: Liv\u00ading in the moun\u00adtains, father a car\u00adpen\u00adter. Born in the 1970s, migrat\u00ading from a small town to a big city\u2014a com\u00admon expe\u00adri\u00adence for this group of peo\u00adple. The per\u00adspec\u00adtive shifts, from look\u00ading down from above to look\u00ading up from below.<\/p>\n

(Through these three books, Xiong Lei hopes that stu\u00addents will under\u00adstand how per\u00adson\u00adal expe\u00adri\u00adences influ\u00adenced these three painters in cre\u00adat\u00ading their first pic\u00adture books.)<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nHow did you begin cre\u00adat\u00ading pic\u00adture books? Some poets born in the 1960s told us, \u201cYour lives lack typ\u00adi\u00adcal events, so how do you cre\u00adate?\u201d Peo\u00adple of every gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion share cer\u00adtain com\u00admon\u00adal\u00adi\u00adties. These three books are their first. Gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly speak\u00ading, first books are often gen\u00aduine and writ\u00adten from the heart. Peo\u00adple of the same gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion share a com\u00admon\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty when recall\u00ading their child\u00adhoods: a sense of nos\u00adtal\u00adgia.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nStu\u00addents can cre\u00adate works in three ways: one that comes from the heart, one that demon\u00adstrates their cre\u00adative abil\u00adi\u00adty, and one that reflects their con\u00adcern for soci\u00adety. The first book is usu\u00adal\u00adly one that fits your life and speaks to your own sto\u00adry.<\/p>\n

For exam\u00adple, Cai Gao\u2019s \u201cPeach Blos\u00adsom Spring\u201d con\u00adtains some insights into soci\u00adety. Peo\u00adple in agri\u00adcul\u00adtur\u00adal and indus\u00adtri\u00adal\u00adized soci\u00adeties have dif\u00adfer\u00adent emo\u00adtions, and emo\u00adtions vary from era to era. For exam\u00adple, the sto\u00adry of \u201cThe Big Bear in the For\u00adest\u201d depicts the alien\u00adation of peo\u00adple in indus\u00adtri\u00adal\u00adized soci\u00adety.<\/p>\n

\u2606 Talk about works that reflect social con\u00adcerns. For exam\u00adple, \u201cMy Lit\u00adtle Pony\u201d depicts a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion between Xiong Liang and a child dur\u00ading his vis\u00adit to Tibet. The dog depict\u00aded is a Tibetan Mas\u00adtiff. It\u2019s a doc\u00adu\u00admen\u00adtary, a cre\u00adative exper\u00adi\u00adment.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhy choose folk tales? There are many folk tales to choose from. It\u2019s a ready-made sto\u00adry, but how do you express your own point of view? For exam\u00adple, why did Teacher Cai Gao choose Peach Blos\u00adsom Spring? He had his own point of view.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThe choice of mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal itself is a point of view. What sto\u00adries still res\u00adonate with read\u00aders today? This is pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly the author\u2019s choice, the author\u2019s point of view.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWe cre\u00adate folk tales out of a desire to express our\u00adselves. Cry\u00ading when we want to cry, laugh\u00ading when we want to laugh, isn\u2019t cre\u00adation. Singing a lament when we\u2019re sad is cre\u00adation.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThere was noth\u00ading real\u00adly worth say\u00ading; he was just repeat\u00ading it.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhen we cre\u00adate, we need to know who our audi\u00adence is and what they need.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhat do Chi\u00adnese chil\u00addren need now? Chi\u00adna today is actu\u00adal\u00adly two dif\u00adfer\u00adent coun\u00adtries: As far as pic\u00adture books are con\u00adcerned, 300 mil\u00adlion of the 1.3 bil\u00adlion peo\u00adple can afford them, while 1 bil\u00adlion can\u00adnot. The needs of urban and rur\u00adal chil\u00addren are dif\u00adfer\u00adent.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nOnly when you care about every\u00adone will your work be spread.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nTra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal Chi\u00adnese cul\u00adture is more fem\u00adi\u00adnine, and per\u00adhaps we need some\u00adthing more pow\u00ader\u00adful now.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nPic\u00adture books are a com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsive art form. Cre\u00adators care about chil\u00addren and par\u00adents. We have much to learn. In con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary art, is there no longer a def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtion of what is beau\u00adti\u00adful and what is not? Art is no longer sim\u00adply about beau\u00adty or ugli\u00adness. Some explain that con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary art helps peo\u00adple face life health\u00adi\u00ader and more coura\u00adgeous\u00adly. There are many expla\u00adna\u00adtions. Dif\u00adfer\u00adent times call for dif\u00adfer\u00adent works of art.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhy should we help rur\u00adal chil\u00addren? It\u2019s tru\u00adly ter\u00adri\u00adfy\u00ading for a per\u00adson to lack a moral com\u00adpass. The biggest prob\u00adlem today is edu\u00adca\u00adtion\u00adal inequal\u00adi\u00adty. Rur\u00adal chil\u00addren don\u2019t need sym\u00adpa\u00adthy; they need a good edu\u00adca\u00adtion, train\u00ading, and the devel\u00adop\u00adment of their abil\u00adi\u00adties. A moral com\u00adpass must be estab\u00adlished.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nLet\u2019s talk about the third type of writ\u00ading: the dis\u00adplay of cre\u00adativ\u00adi\u00adty. In this type of book, we can remove the heavy stuff. Take Xiong Liang\u2019s \u201cA Gar\u00adden of Green Veg\u00adeta\u00adbles Becomes Spir\u00adits\u201d as an exam\u00adple.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nStu\u00addents can choose what type of pic\u00adture book to make based on their own cir\u00adcum\u00adstances: cre\u00adative, authen\u00adtic, or thought\u00adful.<\/p>\n

There are many ways to cre\u00adate, but not many of them are suit\u00adable for you.<\/p>\n

Sec\u00adond Top\u00adic: The Stan\u00addards of Pic\u00adture Books in Chi\u00adna and the West Are Dif\u00adfer\u00adent<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThere\u2019s a Japan\u00adese pic\u00adture book mas\u00adter I real\u00adly like. He said the light\u00adbulb was invent\u00aded by West\u00adern\u00aders and has been bad for the Japan\u00adese. This is because Japan\u00adese (and Chi\u00adnese, too) aes\u00adthet\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly pleas\u00ading inte\u00adri\u00adors empha\u00adsize the play of light and shad\u00adow, but light\u00adbulbs are too bright to cre\u00adate that atmos\u00adphere. Under full illu\u00admi\u00adna\u00adtion, any\u00adone stand\u00ading in a room looks sil\u00adly.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nStan\u00addards must be set before good cre\u00adation can be achieved.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nFor exam\u00adple, \u201cWhere the Wild Things Are\u201d was writ\u00adten when West\u00adern psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy was flour\u00adish\u00ading, but Chi\u00adnese psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy is not so devel\u00adoped now.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThere is one kind of artist who speaks the truth, but there are no more than 50 of them in the world; but there is anoth\u00ader kind of artist who spreads the truth in var\u00adi\u00adous ways.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nHow do we cre\u00adate pic\u00adture books that stand out from for\u00adeign ones? The fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal thing is the sup\u00adport of our own cul\u00adture. What exact\u00adly are the char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics of Chi\u00adnese pic\u00adture books? We our\u00adselves are not quite clear yet and are still explor\u00ading.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhen a nation is strong and con\u00adfi\u00addent, for\u00adeign cul\u00adtures flour\u00adish, as dur\u00ading the hey\u00adday of the Tang Dynasty. There\u00adfore, we must cul\u00adti\u00advate a strong mind\u00adset when cre\u00adat\u00ading some\u00adthing. The Chi\u00adnese fla\u00advor is pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly a mat\u00adter of con\u00adfi\u00addence, not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly one par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar style or anoth\u00ader.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhile still a stu\u00addent, you should pub\u00adlish your work and earn roy\u00adal\u00adties. Suc\u00adcess or fail\u00adure in life is deter\u00admined by habits. I hope these habits will per\u00adsist. Why study art? To find some\u00adthing that makes life more mean\u00ading\u00adful. Cre\u00adative work can pro\u00advide greater rewards. Main\u00adtain a life\u00adlong cre\u00adative habit.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhen we\u2019re look\u00ading for artists to col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adrate with, we need to assess their life sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion: Are you vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adble to life\u2019s defeat? Only after pub\u00adlish\u00ading a book and receiv\u00ading roy\u00adal\u00adties can we have the con\u00adfi\u00addence to con\u00adtin\u00adue. The first book can lay the foun\u00adda\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThe most impor\u00adtant aspect of folk tales is the choice of text. I\u2019m cur\u00adrent\u00adly work\u00ading on a book called \u201cDu Zichun.\u201d It\u2019s a Bud\u00addhist theme, and it fea\u00adtures visions aris\u00ading from an emp\u00adty room. This struc\u00adture is sim\u00adi\u00adlar to the dream\u00adlike illu\u00adsions of \u201cDream of the Red Cham\u00adber.\u201d This sto\u00adry was cho\u00adsen for two rea\u00adsons: first, its aes\u00adthet\u00adic elements\u2014a style of speak\u00ading, a Zen aesthetic\u2014which is a tech\u00adni\u00adcal choice; and sec\u00adond, its con\u00adno\u00adta\u00adtions, reflect\u00ading the con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary human con\u00addi\u00adtion: anx\u00adi\u00adety, nev\u00ader hav\u00ading enough mon\u00adey, and habit\u00adu\u00adal pover\u00adty.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nFor exam\u00adple, some stu\u00addents chose \u201cGudong Lai Le\u201d (Gudong Lai Le), per\u00adhaps to demon\u00adstrate con\u00adtrol, abil\u00adi\u00adty, and cre\u00adativ\u00adi\u00adty, and to put their own stamp on the sto\u00adry. They also expressed their feel\u00adings through the sto\u00adry.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nFolk tales can also speak for you. They can be rewrit\u00adten and giv\u00aden new mean\u00ading. The best sto\u00adries are those that add some\u00adthing per\u00adson\u00adal to them.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhy is the 360-degree hori\u00adzon in \u201cSukh\u2019s White Horse\u201d so appeal\u00ading to Japan\u00adese peo\u00adple? In a repressed space, this kind of paint\u00ading can bring new break\u00adthroughs. We need to think about what we lack and what we should add.<\/p>\n

Why was \u201cPeking Opera Cats: Chang\u00adban\u00adpo\u201d cre\u00adat\u00aded? How can we inte\u00adgrate cat pat\u00adterns with facial make\u00adup and intro\u00adduce the art of facial make\u00adup to chil\u00addren? Even if you don\u2019t under\u00adstand facial make\u00adup, you can still tell who is good, who is evil, and who is brave when you watch it.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nTake the imagery of Peking Opera Cats as an exam\u00adple: How do we cre\u00adate a sense of insta\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty? The hall\u00admark of Chi\u00adnese art is a sense of dance. I hope to express some\u00adthing aes\u00adthet\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, as an exper\u00adi\u00adment. Peking Opera is a form of dance. What are the artis\u00adtic char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics of this book? How do we incor\u00adpo\u00adrate a sense of dance? How do we incor\u00adpo\u00adrate the rhythms of Peking Opera?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Invis\u00adi\u00adble Horse\u201d explores Chi\u00adnese art and wine, the char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics of wine cul\u00adture, and the lyri\u00adcal art of singing with aban\u00addon. This includes the char\u00adac\u00adters\u2019 expres\u00adsions and move\u00adments, blend\u00ading the real and the imag\u00adi\u00adnary. This artis\u00adtic medi\u00adum tells new sto\u00adries and new con\u00adcepts.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThe first two are both Peking Opera Cats. The first is quite West\u00adern\u00adized, while the sec\u00adond uti\u00adlizes Chi\u00adnese art. This sec\u00adtion dis\u00adcuss\u00ades how move\u00adments con\u00advey spir\u00adit. There are many dif\u00adfer\u00adences in expres\u00adsion between the East and the West.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nSome peo\u00adple say that the moon in for\u00adeign coun\u00adtries is rounder than that in Chi\u00adna. In fact, the moon in Chi\u00adna is the round\u00adest, because no oth\u00ader coun\u00adtry has so many writ\u00aders and artists who have giv\u00aden so much mean\u00ading to the moon.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nRegard\u00ading stu\u00addent cre\u00adations, I have more indi\u00adrect expe\u00adri\u00adence. When I look at stu\u00addents\u2019 work, I see what they see in the book, not what they see in life.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThe exhi\u00adbi\u00adtion fea\u00adtures Xiong Liang\u2019s ear\u00adly pic\u00adture books, whose gouache appli\u00adca\u00adtion and expres\u00adsion are very West\u00adern\u00adized. We looked at numer\u00adous pic\u00adture books, films, and mate\u00adri\u00adals, observ\u00ading their cre\u00adations and then cre\u00adat\u00ading our own works. This kind of cre\u00adation is not orig\u00adi\u00adnal. We no longer do that in our cur\u00adrent work. We should read a lot of West\u00adern and Japan\u00adese pic\u00adture books, and then try to for\u00adget them all. We can learn, but we should\u00adn\u2019t imi\u00adtate.<\/p>\n

(Hear\u00ading this brought back a lot of mem\u00ado\u00adries. Back in 2003, a good friend sent me some illus\u00adtra\u00adtions by Qiy\u00adibao, say\u00ading they were a par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly good orig\u00adi\u00adnal stu\u00addio at the time. To be hon\u00adest, I was quite dis\u00adap\u00adpoint\u00aded. I knew noth\u00ading about paint\u00ading at the time, so I could\u00adn\u2019t dis\u00adcern tech\u00adni\u00adcal mer\u00adit. But I was still intu\u00aditive\u00adly dis\u00adap\u00adpoint\u00aded. The style felt too \u201cBologna\u201d! The details and sto\u00adry\u00adtelling were weak, and there was\u00adn\u2019t much inter\u00adest for chil\u00addren. That was my hon\u00adest feel\u00ading at the time. Lat\u00ader, I got to know the broth\u00aders Xiong Lei and Xiong Liang. Year after year, every time I saw them, I felt their progress was aston\u00adish\u00ading. They were tru\u00adly ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded to learn\u00ading and were also very good at self-reflec\u00adtion. In just a few years, I felt that they had begun to devel\u00adop their own unique way of expres\u00adsion, and they were will\u00ading to move towards being relat\u00adable to read\u00aders, espe\u00adcial\u00adly chil\u00addren. But it was\u00adn\u2019t to accom\u00admo\u00addate them; they sim\u00adply found a unique joy in their work, a nat\u00adur\u00adal fit with their own lives. Con\u00adgrat\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtions!)<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nA few years ago, I had no con\u00adfi\u00addence in Chi\u00adnese cul\u00adture.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nPic\u00adture books are used to cul\u00adti\u00advate emo\u00adtions and can inject emo\u00adtions into chil\u00addren. If we do not cul\u00adti\u00advate emo\u00adtions for inher\u00adent cul\u00adture, we can make chil\u00addren love what we can see.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThe most impor\u00adtant and dif\u00adfi\u00adcult issue is that our entire edu\u00adca\u00adtion sys\u00adtem is West\u00adern-style. But when it comes to cre\u00adative writ\u00ading, this does\u00adn\u2019t work. Read\u00aders have no oblig\u00ada\u00adtion to sup\u00adport orig\u00adi\u00adnal work. When we cre\u00adate, we must lever\u00adage our strengths and avoid our weak\u00adness\u00ades. We may have needs that for\u00adeign\u00aders don\u2019t have, so when export\u00ading our work abroad, we must devel\u00adop our own unique way of speak\u00ading. Cul\u00adtur\u00adal dif\u00adfer\u00adences are cru\u00adcial. We must main\u00adtain our own unique char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nNowa\u00addays, all stu\u00addents\u2019 paint\u00ading styles are West\u00adern\u00adized, learned from books. We should learn Chi\u00adnese ele\u00adments, but we must con\u00adstant\u00adly update and renew them. Sim\u00adply imi\u00adtat\u00ading the West is a dead end. It has no val\u00adue in inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nThe mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal is not impor\u00adtant. Whether it is a brush paint\u00ading or an oil paint\u00ading is not impor\u00adtant. The key is cul\u00adtur\u00adal lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adcy.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nRead more books on con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary aes\u00adthet\u00adics. Read as many clas\u00adsic West\u00adern pic\u00adture books as pos\u00adsi\u00adble, but for\u00adget them after read\u00ading them. Japan\u00adese pic\u00adture books must be stud\u00adied care\u00adful\u00adly.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nWhen you learn to speak, you unlearn the lan\u00adguage, but in the begin\u00adning, there is a long tran\u00adsi\u00adtion peri\u00adod.<\/p>\n

\u2606
\nOrig\u00adi\u00adnal pic\u00adture books are cur\u00adrent\u00adly in their ear\u00adly stages of devel\u00adop\u00adment. We may not need to say this any\u00admore in the future, but we do need to empha\u00adsize Chi\u00adnese cul\u00adtur\u00adal ele\u00adments.<\/p>\n

Final\u00adly, Teacher Zhuang Zhuang gave an excel\u00adlent sum\u00adma\u00adry. She told the stu\u00addents that the forum activ\u00adi\u00adties had pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly fea\u00adtured excel\u00adlent pic\u00adture books from abroad, and that every\u00adone was already plan\u00adning to exper\u00adi\u00adment with this or that style, such as \u201cHen Rose Goes for a Walk\u201d or \u201cWhere the Wild Things Are.\u201d Xiong Lei\u2019s reminder dur\u00ading the lec\u00adture today was very time\u00adly, and she hoped that stu\u00addents would ded\u00adi\u00adcate them\u00adselves to cre\u00adat\u00ading pic\u00adture books that are tru\u00adly Chi\u00adnese. Xiong Lei\u2019s state\u00adment that \u201cChi\u00adna\u2019s moon is the round\u00adest\u201d stems from the fact that Chi\u00adnese writ\u00aders and artists have imbued the moon with the most pro\u00adfound mean\u00ading and are the most mov\u00ading. Zhuang Zhuang recalled meet\u00ading the Chi\u00adnese-Amer\u00adi\u00adcan painter Yang Zhicheng (cre\u00adator of \u201cWolf Granny\u201d and \u201cSev\u00aden Blind Mice,\u201d and a three-time Calde\u00adcott Medal win\u00adner) in Hong Kong this sum\u00admer. Yang Zhicheng point\u00aded to the moon in one of his new paint\u00adings and proud\u00adly said that the moon rep\u00adre\u00adsents the Chi\u00adnese con\u00adcept of \u201cleisure.\u201d Chi\u00adnese leisure dif\u00adfers from that of for\u00adeign\u00aders. For\u00adeign\u00aders spend their leisure time sun\u00adbathing or surf\u00ading at the beach, while Chi\u00adnese peo\u00adple tru\u00adly enjoy leisure only when their minds are at ease, and only when they are at ease can they appre\u00adci\u00adate the moon.<\/p>\n

Coin\u00adci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly, dur\u00ading the Mid-Autumn Fes\u00adti\u00adval this year, I hap\u00adpened to chat with Pro\u00adfes\u00adsor Yu Zhiy\u00ading via email about the round\u00adness of the Chi\u00adnese moon. In the email, I wrote:<\/p>\n

Regard\u00ading the round\u00adness of the moon, a friend who went abroad told me,
\nThere is actu\u00adal\u00adly some truth in the say\u00ading \u201cThe moon is rounder in for\u00adeign coun\u00adtries\u201d.
\nBecause of the seri\u00adous urban pol\u00adlu\u00adtion in the coun\u00adtry, the moon can\u00adnot be seen clear\u00adly.
\nBut I still believe that the moon in Chi\u00adna is rounder.
\nBecause only Chi\u00adnese peo\u00adple are so keen on appre\u00adci\u00adat\u00ading the moon,
\nAccord\u00ading to the geo\u00admet\u00adric prin\u00adci\u00adples invent\u00aded by West\u00adern\u00aders, the moon is not com\u00adplete\u00adly round after all.
\nThe round\u00adness of the Chi\u00adnese moon lies in the heart.
\nI always feel that the \u201cfull moon\u201d is just a beau\u00adti\u00adful mir\u00adror in the hearts of Chi\u00adnese peo\u00adple.
\nThere are always imper\u00adfec\u00adtions in life, so the moon in our hearts must always be round.<\/p>\n

Over\u00adall impres\u00adsions<\/p>\n

In gen\u00ader\u00adal, I under\u00adstand that Xiong Lei\u2019s main focus in her lec\u00adture was on the ques\u00adtion of what to say and how to say it in pic\u00adture book cre\u00adation. Regard\u00ading what to say, she encour\u00adaged stu\u00addents to express them\u00adselves through the medi\u00adum of what they are most famil\u00adiar with and best excel at, start\u00ading with folk tales and using mature sto\u00adries to express them\u00adselves. Regard\u00ading how to say it, she empha\u00adsized the impor\u00adtance of using unique\u00adly Chi\u00adnese expres\u00adsions and avoid\u00ading sim\u00adplis\u00adtic imi\u00adta\u00adtions of clas\u00adsic West\u00adern pic\u00adture books.<\/p>\n

I think Xiong Lei offers excel\u00adlent insights. How\u00adev\u00ader, when it comes to West\u00adern clas\u00adsics and excel\u00adlent pic\u00adture books, I believe we still need to learn more. The most impor\u00adtant thing is to under\u00adstand what pic\u00adture books should say. The very birth of pic\u00adture books is a cru\u00adcial part of the \u201cdis\u00adcov\u00adery of child\u00adhood.\u201d What they say depends on our under\u00adstand\u00ading of \u201cchil\u00addren\u201d and \u201cchild\u00adhood.\u201d Tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal East\u00adern cul\u00adture places far less empha\u00adsis on this aspect, and we still have much to learn from the West. A good stu\u00addent is nev\u00ader afraid of being \u201cled astray\u201d by their teacher.<\/p>\n

Regard\u00ading the ques\u00adtion of \u201chow to express it,\u201d I believe tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal art forms also have a long process of self-reflec\u00adtion and con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00adous renew\u00adal. Tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly, there has always been a dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion between literati art and folk art. Art his\u00adto\u00adry was writ\u00adten by literati, and the dis\u00adcourse rest\u00aded with them. Art seems to be some\u00adthing dis\u00adtant from the com\u00admon peo\u00adple. While today\u2019s pic\u00adture book read\u00aders can\u2019t be said to be \u201call com\u00admon peo\u00adple,\u201d the vast major\u00adi\u00adty are cer\u00adtain\u00adly \u201ccom\u00admon peo\u00adple,\u201d espe\u00adcial\u00adly chil\u00addren (no dis\u00adpar\u00adage\u00adment intend\u00aded here). How\u00adev\u00ader, despite its low sta\u00adtus and lim\u00adit\u00aded men\u00adtion in offi\u00adcial art his\u00adto\u00adry, folk art has tru\u00adly nur\u00adtured gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions of \u201ccom\u00admon peo\u00adple.\u201d I sus\u00adpect that the artis\u00adtic cre\u00adations in pic\u00adture books must pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly be authen\u00adtic folk art. The phrase \u201cHere comes the new folk\u2014\u201d is cer\u00adtain\u00adly a call for this kind of folk art, art that can res\u00adonate with the \u201ccom\u00admon peo\u00adple,\u201d espe\u00adcial\u00adly chil\u00addren. When cre\u00adat\u00ading pic\u00adture books, artists and art stu\u00addents, please hum\u00adble your\u00adself.<\/p>\n

Read\u00ading Sendak\u2019s Where the Wild Things Are and, my favorite, In That Far\u00adaway Place, I was struck by how Sendak was able to employ such a clas\u00adsic West\u00adern artis\u00adtic style and a nar\u00adra\u00adtive tech\u00adnique rem\u00adi\u00adnis\u00adcent of Grim\u00adm\u2019s fairy tales to tell such authen\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly fan\u00adtas\u00adti\u00adcal sto\u00adries, while actu\u00adal\u00adly exam\u00adin\u00ading the every\u00adday lives and psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal worlds of chil\u00addren, thus cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading them deeply. Of course, we can\u00adnot imi\u00adtate his authen\u00adtic West\u00adern style, and imi\u00adta\u00adtion is futile. But his gen\u00aduine con\u00adcern for chil\u00addren and child\u00adhood, his obser\u00adva\u00adtions about the real, psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal, and imag\u00adi\u00adnary worlds of chil\u00addren, and his mas\u00adtery of seam\u00adless\u00adly inte\u00adgrat\u00ading style and con\u00adtent are pre\u00adcise\u00adly what we need most. These are uni\u00adver\u00adsal val\u00adues, regard\u00adless of whether they are dis\u00adguised as East\u00adern or West\u00adern.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been think\u00ading about these ques\u00adtions recent\u00adly, and I\u2019m glad to have heard Xiong Lei\u2019s lec\u00adture, which has inspired me to think fur\u00adther. I\u2019m hap\u00adpy to con\u00adtin\u00adue com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adcat\u00ading with you all, and wel\u00adcome your com\u00adments :)
\nArgen\u00adtine Primera Divisi\u00f3n (Novem\u00adber 8, 2008)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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