Look at the Shanghai style written by Ding Shu Heyou: "Painting Shanghai" is exhibited in Shanghai

Shanghai is the birthplace of modern Chinese comics, and generations of cartoonists such as Ding Shu, Feng Zikai, Zhang Leping, Ding Cong, and He Youzhi have recorded the city's changing times and unique charm with their brushes. At present, the new generation of cartoonists is focusing on the daily life of the present and the imagination of the future.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year (February 3), the exhibition "Painting Shanghai - Shanghai Style in Comics" was opened to the public in Shanghai Culture Square, presenting nearly 600 works by 18 Chinese and foreign cartoonists and four collectors, overlooking the changes of the times in new and old Shanghai from the perspective of comic art, and telling the inseparable relationship between Chinese and foreign comics and the city of Shanghai.

After nearly a hundred years of development, Shanghai Comics has endured in the tide of the times and fierce market competition. In the 1930s, the golden age of Chinese comic masters emerged, and there were more Western comic works from afar, such as the well-known Disney "Mickey Mouse" and the Belgian comic national treasure "Tintin". At the same time, Shanghai cartoonists are rooted in the spirit of the city, through the classic depiction of Shanghai culture, city life, customs and human feelings, with the unique charm of Shanghai culture, it has become a unique scenery in the history of comics. In their pen, there is not only the unique temperament of "the stone warehouse gate in the alley and the small bungalow under the plane tree", but also the patriotic feelings of acupuncture and the stirring of the crowd.

Showroom scene

In the comics, taste the daily and new taste of old Shanghai

The paper learned that the exhibition, jointly planned by French comic research scholar Yohan Radomski (Wang You'an) and Chinese curator Zhou Yi, presented nearly 600 works by 18 Chinese and foreign cartoonists and 4 collectors.

Entering the exhibition hall, the audience can see the works of cartoonist Ding Ho. Ding Shu is the father of the cartoonist Ding Cong, the character Muqin, the teacher Chengzhou Xiang, the first to attack Western painting. In the first 30th century, Ding Hu was active in Shanghai's literary and art circles such as comics, fine arts, photography, opera, film, and literature, and was a participant and organizer of many literary and art societies. In the comic book industry, Ding Shu is one of the pioneers of modern comics, and together with Zhang Guangyu, Ye Qianyu, Lu Shaofei and others, he initiated China's first comic society "Comic Society". He broke through the limitations of the ancients in creating Baimeitu only painting female beauties, paid attention to the new women in the Republic of China period with a unique perspective, and the exquisite white painting truly reproduced the life customs of all kinds of women in Shanghai society at that time, and was the embryonic work of modern Chinese feminist painting.

Ding Shu "Hundred Beauty Map"

Feng Zikai "Kiss"

Illustration of Feng Zikai's "Remembrance of Yu Pingbo"

Subsequently, the exhibition hall presented Feng Zikai's works. Feng Zikai is a famous calligrapher, painter, writer, essayist and translator in modern China, and is known as "the most artistic artist in modern China" and "the originator of modern Chinese comics". In his lifetime, he published more than 170 painting collections, essay collections and translations, and his essay works mainly include "Yuanyuantang Essay", "Yuanyuantang Re-Pen", "Yuanyuantang Continued Pen" and so on. He was the first person in China to introduce the concept of "comics", and his comic works are mostly scenes of people's daily lives, especially children's themes, with simple tones and elegant customs.

Speaking about the exhibition, curator Zhou Yi told the surging news reporter, "Shanghai is the cradle of Chinese comic strips and comics. The exhibition spans nearly 100 years, but it is more focused in brushstrokes - focusing on comic themes related to Shanghai. The exhibition begins with two artists, Ding Shu and Feng Zikai, the pioneers of Chinese comics and the first to introduce comic concepts. The two artists laid the foundation for the development of comics in Shanghai. ”

"After that, we presented the same theme depicted by different artists, such as the old Shanghai themes of Zhang Leping, He Youzhi and Dai Dunbang, the Shikumen style and childhood memory themes of Luo Xixian and Fan Shengfu." Zhou Yi said so.

Ding Cong's "Three Missing One"

The exhibition hall scene, Ding Cong's works

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, known as the "cradle of Chinese comic strips", and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mr. He Youzhilao, who served as an editor in the company. In this exhibition, he Youzhi's series of "Walking through the Streets and Reminiscing about The Past" is presented, as well as the four original works "He Youzhi Painted 360 Lines" series provided by the Shanghai Municipal History Museum. These works were all painted by Elder He at the age of eighty or ninety, completely based on his own memory. With this special talent and the way he painted old Shanghai, he left a precious historical fragment for the audience. Cartoonist Zhang Leping has a creative career of more than 60 years. In 1935, the comic character "Sanmao" born in his pen was widely circulated and known as the "father of Sanmao". "Sanmao's Military Record" and "Sanmao Wanderer" have been hailed as "literary masterpieces without words". In this exhibition, there are also many paintings by Sanmao, which show the appearance of Shanghai at that time.

At the exhibition hall scene, He Youzhi's "Past Events Don't Forget" (Part 1), "He Youzhi Painted Three Hundred and Sixty Lines" (Part 2)

"He YouZhi Draws Three Hundred and Sixty Lines"

On the occasion of the New Year, cartoonists have written vivid cartoons, which also take the audience to recall the daily and festive atmosphere of the city in Shikumen, and the crowded and lively scenes are filled with a strong new year flavor and human touch, depicting the people's love for life and the life of the city.

"In the middle of winter, the kitchen, which has been silent for a long time, is hot, killing chickens and ducks, grinding glutinous rice flour, omelette dumplings, making smoked fish, plus cleaning inside and outside, changing bed sheets and duvet covers, and rushing in and out of the Shikumen, full of joy." This is the picture of the festival depicted by cartoonist Luo Xixian in "Preparing for the Most Noisy New Year". Luo Xixian's "Seventy-Two Tenants" shows the scene of life in Shikumen, Shanghai, echoing the work "Preparing for the Most Noisy New Year".

Next to Luo Xixian's works are the works of the painter Fan Shengfu. Fan Shengfu's children's paintings "paste spring league", "set off cannon battles", "pull rabbit lights", and the atmosphere of the family's lively new year is vivid on the paper.

Luo Xixian,"Seventy-Two Tenants"

Exhibition hall scene, Luo Xixian's "Seventy-two Tenants"

Fan Shengfu "Selling Brother"

Shanghai present in comics

In addition to nostalgic comics, most of the works of the new generation of cartoonists in the exhibition hall are focused on the present. Cartoonist Tango began publishing comic works on Sina Weibo in 2010 and insisted on the frequency of "one painting a day" updates. Tango's work excels at deconstructing the things of everyday life, creating unexpected humor and surprises that make people heal in a light smile. In this exhibition, the audience can see many humorous cartoons set in Shanghai, reflecting the daily life of the moment.

When talking about the Shanghai of overseas cartoonists presented in the exhibition hall, curator Wang You'an told reporters, "These works are not propositional works, but they have lived in Shanghai and created themselves with feelings." In Wang You'an's view, the current young cartoonists are different from the old painters mentioned above, "The older generation of cartoonists like to look back and record their young time with a paintbrush, while the current young painters are different, they see the modern Shanghai of the moment, and their thinking about the future of this metropolis." ”

Tango "Lujiazui Shower"

Writer Jin Yucheng's works "Jing'an Temple" and "A European-style Building"

Among them, the artist Thierry Robin was attracted to Chinese culture very early on, and has traveled to many provinces in China since 1987. The encounters and discoveries during his travels inspired him to create the fascinating "Chinese Red" legend. He settled in China in 2015 and was invited by the authorities of Guizhou Province to write historical stories about the destruction of the Hailongtun Fortress in the Ming Dynasty, thus becoming the first foreign writer to publish comics directly for the Chinese market. He is currently working on a comic based on Chinese writer Liu Cixin's science fiction novel Ball Lightning, which will be released by CITIC Publishing Group in 2022.

Thierry Robin, Ball Lightning

French cartoonist Léopold Prudon, a graduate of the Cole Estienne in Paris, wrote his first work on the waves of immigration sparked by the Arab Revolution. After his father's death, he left Paris and lived in China from November 2017 to June 2018 to create the Shanghai Story. In this work, he mourns his father by describing what he has seen for a long time wandering the streets of Shanghai. Comic book writer and illustrator Léa Murawiec is the editor and writer of Flotiste, a small comic book publisher, and her work is published in newspapers and magazines. She excels at portraying characters in a humorous way. From the end of 2016 to the beginning of 2017, she studied and lived in Shanghai for 4 months. After returning to France, she moved into the "Author's House" of Angoulême in 2019 and created her first comic strip, Le Grand Vide.

Exhibition hall scene, Leopold Pruden "Shanghai Story"

The scene of the exhibition hall, Leia Muravik's Shanghai

Whether it is the Republic of China period written by Feng Zikai and Ding Shu, or the old Shanghai and humanistic feelings written by He Youzhi and Ding Cong, or the humorous small paintings of contemporary cartoonist Tango, or the "Ball Lightning" drawn by Robin based on Liu Cixin's science fiction novels, they are all using their own works to depict the Shanghai where they lived, bringing readers comfort and fun imagination.

It is reported that the exhibition is guided by the Cultural and Creative Special Exhibition Committee of Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industry Association, Shanghai Trade Promotion Exhibition and Exhibition Co., Ltd. and Lelinlong (Shanghai) Culture and Sports Development Co., Ltd. as the organizer, and co-organized by Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, Shanghai Municipal History Museum, Shanghai Culture Square and Feng Zikai Research Association.

The exhibition will be on view until March 26.