Comics Art in China - Paperback

by John a. Lent (Author), Ying Xu (Author)

International Convention of Asia Scholars 2019 Book Prize - Best Art Publication

In the most comprehensive and authoritative source on this subject, Comics Art in China covers almost all comics art forms in mainland China, providing the history from the nineteenth century to the present as well as perspectives on both the industry and the art form.

This volume encompasses political, social, and gag cartoons, lianhuanhua (picture books), comic books, humorous drawings, cartoon and humor periodicals, and donghua (animation) while exploring topics ranging from the earliest Western-influenced cartoons and the popular, often salacious, 1930s humor magazines to cartoons as wartime propaganda and comics art in the reform. Coupling a comprehensive review of secondary materials (histories, anthologies, biographies, memoirs, and more) in English and Chinese with the artists' actual works, the result spans more than two centuries of Chinese animation. Structured chronologically, the study begins with precursors in early China and proceeds through the Republican, wartime, Communist, and market economy periods.

Based primarily on interviews senior scholar John A. Lent and Xu Ying conducted with over one hundred cartoonists, animators, and other comics art figures, Comics Art in China sheds light on tumult and triumphs. Meticulously, Lent and Xu describe the evolution of Chinese comics within a global context, probing the often-tense relationship between expression and government, as well as proving that art can be a powerful force for revolution. Indeed, the authors explore Chinese comics art as it continues to grow and adapt in the twenty-first century. Enhanced with over one hundred black-and-white and color illustrations, this book stands out as not only the first such survey in English, but perhaps the most complete one in any language.

Author Biography

John A. Lent (1936-2026) taught at the college and university level from 1960 to 2011, with stints in the Philippines, while a Fulbright scholar; Malaysia, as the founder and director of the country's first mass communication degree program; in Canada, as the initial Rogers Distinguished Professor; in China, as a visiting professor at several universities, and at various United States institutions. He has authored or edited ninety-one books, including four published by University Press of Mississippi. He founded and chaired or edited three each of international organizations and periodicals, including International Journal of Comic Art, which he published and edited for over twenty-five years. Xu Ying has published more than one hundred articles about Chinese cartooning, animation, and cinema, as well as foreign films and animation, in such publications as Asian Cinema, International Journal of Comic Art, World Cinema, Film Review, New Film, Contemporary Cinema, Contemporary Television, and Film.