{"id":581,"date":"2021-01-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=581"},"modified":"2025-09-10T16:35:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T08:35:44","slug":"caigao_1991","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2021\/01\/24\/caigao_1991\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBao\u2019er\u201d: A spe\u00adcial wit\u00adness to the devel\u00adop\u00adment of orig\u00adi\u00adnal pic\u00adture books"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cBao\u2019er\u201d 2021 ver\u00adsion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1993, when \u201cThe Fox Spir\u00adit in the Wild Gar\u00adden\u201d (the pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsor of \u201cBoAi\u201d) became the first Chi\u00adnese pic\u00adture book to win the Gold\u00aden Apple Award of the Bratisla\u00adva Inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal Illus\u00adtra\u00adtion Bien\u00adni\u00adal (BIB), many Chi\u00adnese peo\u00adple them\u00adselves could not believe it, and some even doubt\u00aded: Could such a high-lev\u00adel chil\u00addren\u2019s book illus\u00adtra\u00adtion work be cre\u00adat\u00aded by a Japan\u00adese?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Indeed, at that time, orig\u00adi\u00adnal pic\u00adture books in Chi\u00adna were still in their infan\u00adcy. Even such an excel\u00adlent work could only be print\u00aded in a thou\u00adsand copies, and most of these were giv\u00aden away as gifts. The pic\u00adture book mar\u00adket and read\u00aders were not yet ready. I had the good for\u00adtune to view one of those thou\u00adsand copies, pub\u00adlished in 1991, from a col\u00adlec\u00adtor. I was impressed by its splen\u00addor and sophis\u00adti\u00adca\u00adtion, which seemed unbe\u00adcom\u00ading of the era, but I also noticed the influ\u00adence of tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal com\u00adic strips on graph\u00adic nar\u00adra\u00adtives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we know, a com\u00adic strip con\u00adsists of a pic\u00adture with some text, usu\u00adal\u00adly in the mid\u00addle of the scene, with a fixed-size frame, usu\u00adal\u00adly with the frame at the top and the text at the bot\u00adtom. The orig\u00adi\u00adnal ver\u00adsion of \u201cThe Fox Spir\u00adit in the Wild Gar\u00adden\u201d broke the bound\u00adaries of the frame. The left page of the dou\u00adble-leaf folio was a full-length, unframed paint\u00ading, while the right page was a close-up with blank space around the edges. The rel\u00ade\u00advant text was placed above the right page, but still divid\u00aded into two parts, with arrows indi\u00adcat\u00ading whether the text belonged to the left page or the image below the cur\u00adrent page. This can be seen as a tran\u00adsi\u00adtion\u00adal form of graph\u00adic nar\u00adra\u00adtive. How\u00adev\u00ader, Pro\u00adfes\u00adsor Cai Gao adapt\u00aded this nar\u00adra\u00adtive method well, mak\u00ading the nar\u00adra\u00adtive rhythm per\u00adfect\u00adly match the needs of the sto\u00adry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fox Spir\u00adit in the Desert\u00aded Gar\u00adden (1991 ver\u00adsion)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This sto\u00adry, adapt\u00aded from \u201cJia Er\u201d from the nov\u00adel \u201cStrange Sto\u00adries from a Chi\u00adnese Stu\u00addio,\u201d is filled with con\u00adflict and a volatile plot, which sug\u00adgests a series of prob\u00adlems and solu\u00adtions. For exam\u00adple, a child dis\u00adcov\u00aders his moth\u00ader\u2019s trou\u00adbles and ini\u00adtial\u00adly for\u00admu\u00adlates a plan. Then, he slash\u00ades the fox\u2019s tail with a knife, only to find the prob\u00adlem per\u00adsists. After track\u00ading the fox into the wilder\u00adness and dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00ading the truth, he must calm\u00adly con\u00adsid\u00ader a solu\u00adtion. This inter\u00adlock\u00ading plot devel\u00adop\u00adment cre\u00adates a nat\u00adur\u00adal rhythm of ten\u00adsion and relax\u00adation, per\u00adfect\u00adly suit\u00aded to the afore\u00admen\u00adtioned graph\u00adic nar\u00adra\u00adtive method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admit\u00adted\u00adly, adapt\u00ading Liaozhai sto\u00adries for chil\u00addren is noto\u00adri\u00adous\u00adly dif\u00adfi\u00adcult. Even a tale like \u201cJia Er,\u201d a sto\u00adry of wit\u00adty demon-slay\u00ading and pun\u00adish\u00ading evil and pro\u00admot\u00ading good, pos\u00adsess\u00ades a cer\u00adtain somber under\u00adtone. The artist bold\u00adly uses black as the pri\u00adma\u00adry back\u00adground, while using con\u00adtrast\u00ading red and green to high\u00adlight the char\u00adac\u00adters, espe\u00adcial\u00adly the wise and coura\u00adgeous child. The sto\u00adry pro\u00adgress\u00ades from a down\u00adbeat tone to a pos\u00adi\u00adtive one, build\u00ading to a cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading cli\u00admax. By the fairy\u00adtale end\u00ading of \u201cthey lived hap\u00adpi\u00adly ever after,\u201d the pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly dark\u00adened scenes are revis\u00adit\u00aded, and the pure black offers a pow\u00ader\u00adful sense of pow\u00ader. While this work may not be appeal\u00ading to chil\u00addren, its inher\u00adent sim\u00adplic\u00adi\u00adty and hon\u00adesty will sure\u00adly inspire under\u00adstand\u00ading and respect in thought\u00adful chil\u00addren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2008 reprint of \u201cBao\u2019er\u201d was a high\u00adly suc\u00adcess\u00adful adap\u00adta\u00adtion. The title was changed from \u201cThe Fox Spir\u00adit in the Waste\u00adland Gar\u00adden\u201d to \u201cBo\u2019er,\u201d fur\u00adther align\u00ading the book with chil\u00addren\u2019s sto\u00adries. For the first time, the young hero was named \u201cBao\u2019er\u201d rather than \u201cthe mer\u00adchan\u00adt\u2019s son,\u201d and the focus shift\u00aded from the fox spir\u00adit\u2019s mis\u00adchief to the young hero\u2019s exor\u00adcism. Care\u00adful read\u00aders will notice that the sto\u00adry down\u00adplays the details of the fox spir\u00adit\u2019s entan\u00adgle\u00adment. Instead, the nar\u00adra\u00adtor adds nec\u00ades\u00adsary expla\u00adna\u00adtions dur\u00ading the exor\u00adcism process, includ\u00ading Bao\u2019er\u2019s request for poi\u00adson, poi\u00adson\u00ading the wine, and stor\u00ading it in a liquor store, to pre\u00advent acci\u00adden\u00adtal harm. This demon\u00adstrates Bao\u2019er\u2019s atten\u00adtive\u00adness and sense of respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty, while also set\u00adting a good exam\u00adple for poten\u00adtial chil\u00addren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BoA (2008 ver\u00adsion)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yet, for some rea\u00adson, the 2008 ver\u00adsion ends with Bao\u2019er exor\u00adcis\u00ading the demon, \u201cpeace returns to Bao\u2019er\u2019s fam\u00adi\u00adly, and the fam\u00adi\u00adly lives hap\u00adpi\u00adly togeth\u00ader.\u201d This is per\u00adhaps a typ\u00adi\u00adcal fairy tale end\u00ading. But since this is the sto\u00adry of a young hero, I imag\u00adine read\u00aders of all ages will be eager to know, \u201cWhat hap\u00adpened next?\u201d \u201cWhat hap\u00adpened to Bao\u2019er when he grew up?\u201d This is addressed in Pu Songling\u2019s orig\u00adi\u00adnal sto\u00adry, and only then can the sto\u00adry be com\u00adplete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The restored inner pages of the new ver\u00adsion of \u201cBoA\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m delight\u00aded to have rein\u00adstat\u00aded the end\u00ading design in the lat\u00adest ver\u00adsion of \u201cBao Er.\u201d I real\u00adly like the finale, which resem\u00adbles a door god paint\u00ading, drawn by Teacher Cai Gao. It adds a touch of fes\u00adtive joy to the sto\u00adry, com\u00adplete\u00adly tran\u00adscend\u00ading the atmos\u00adphere of a fox spir\u00adit tale. I believe chil\u00addren will linger a lit\u00adtle longer in front of this image, which will com\u00adplete\u00adly relax their ner\u00advous\u00adness and inspire them to see the promis\u00ading future of their lit\u00adtle hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For adults who care about chil\u00addren\u2019s edu\u00adca\u00adtion, the sto\u00adry of \u201cBoAi\u201d offers some inspi\u00adra\u00adtion. For exam\u00adple, we should nev\u00ader under\u00ades\u00adti\u00admate chil\u00addren and give them more trust and oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties to devel\u00adop. Fur\u00adther\u00admore, when it comes to edu\u00adca\u00adtion, we might learn from BoAi\u2019s father and respect chil\u00addren\u2019s pref\u00ader\u00adences and strengths, teach\u00ading them in accor\u00addance with their apti\u00adtude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think if Pu Songling were still alive, he would be hap\u00adpy to see his sto\u00adries adapt\u00aded into such child\u00adlike and inspir\u00ading pic\u00adture books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writ\u00adten in Bei\u00adjing on Jan\u00adu\u00adary 24, 2021<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Review of Cai Gao\u2019s \u201cBao\u2019er\u201d (for\u00admer\u00adly \u201cThe Fox Spir\u00adit in the Desert\u00aded Gar\u00adden\u201d)<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,12],"tags":[8,5,10,6],"class_list":["post-581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-ajia-review","tag-8","tag-5","tag-10","tag-6"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u5b9d\u513f\u82f1\u6587\u7248\u5185\u9875.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":587,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581\/revisions\/587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}