Jules Verne is a famous French novelist known as the "father of modern science fiction".
He wrote more than 60 science fiction novels, with the general title "Wandering in the Known and unknown worlds."
He wrote about China in many works such as "Around the World in Eighty Days" and "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea".
Verne's China is twenty thousand miles
In 1878, Verne began to write a novel that took place entirely in China, and in a correspondence with the bookseller on October 13 of that year, Verne said, "I have more than 20 books related to China on hand," and he also wrote that "I have devoted myself to the study of the Chinese dynasty, and I have almost become a Chinese nine-pin sesame official." ”
Verne embarked on the tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine, the only novel he wrote that takes place entirely in China.
Verne drew relevant information from the extensive travelogues of diplomats, tourists, and photographers he had read. For example, "Circumnavigation", "Journey to China", "Crossing China" and "Ten Years of China and Indochina" are all sources of Verne's desk literature.
On January 28, 1879, Verne said he had finished writing halfway through, after which he said in another letter that he found the writing interesting and wondered if readers would feel the same way. From July 2 to August 7 of the same year, the work met readers in the form of a serial story, and the book was officially published in November. From 1879 to 1880, three English translations were published.
The novel was translated Chinese after 2000. In this book, Verne explores his imagination of Chinese culture from the aspects of depicting Chinese customs, depicting Chinese images, and expounding the philosophy of Chinese life.
This is a Verne version of "Tintin's Chinese Adventures".
Chen Peisi, the young master's ordeal
In 1987, a Chinese film, The Tribulations of a Young Master, was released, directed by Zhang Jianya and Wu Yigong; written by Ai Mingzhi and Si Minsan; and starring Chen Peisi, Zhao Jialing, Li Wei and Rolf Hopa.
Let's take a look at the poster of the movie.
Let's take another look at the screenshot of the movie.
How does this style feel? The film was filmed in many parts of China, and friends who are interested in China's urban and rural landscape in the 1980s can go to iQiyi to see it.
Are you wondering what this movie has to do with Verne's novel that we're going to talk about?
Yes, you're right, the film is based on Verne's novel Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine, which is only about China, and has been translated by translators as "The Encounter of a Chinese in China" – I still prefer the name "The Tribulation of the Young Master" to it.
Verne and Liu Cixin shook hands across time and space
When the pace of time comes to 2021, Verne's novel related to China has once again attracted everyone's attention.
When Liu Cixin's science fiction comic series was published in 2020, no one thought that along with it, there would be a comic adaptation of Verne's novel.
In June 2021, "The Tree Count", adapted from Verne Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine, was published by Tsinghua University Press, and the main adaptor where we saw familiar names, consistent with Liu Cixin's science fiction comic series, manga legend.
Liu Cixin said in an interview that his earliest enlightenment to science fiction was Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, which is a classic science fiction novel.
"It felt like being in a dark room with a window suddenly opened."
Later he read Verne's "Captain Grant's Children", "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", "Mysterious Island" and some Soviet science fiction literature.
"These dusty books under the bed opened a window into my childhood life, and let my imagination fly out of the countryside, out of China, and even out of the solar system."
Liu Cixin's speech at the Clark Awards ceremony
Liu Cixin has always regarded Verne as the guide and enlightener of his science fiction creation. When Liu Cixin saw "The Wood Plan", he issued the same praise as Liu Cixin's science fiction comic series.
Two sci-fi giants, shaking hands across time and space in a 21st-century comic book adaptation.
"The Ordeal of the Young Master" translated into "The Count of The Wood Tree"
Zhang Xiaoyu, the winner of the Most Popular Comics Golden Elephant Award of the 38th Chambéry International Comic Festival in France, the former art director of "Science Fiction World" and a well-known cartoonist, commented after seeing "Ju (Jiu) Wooden Plan": The painting style of this comic work is delicate, and the traditional white painting technique is well combined with the artistic expression of contemporary comics, and the story is more eloquent, vivid and interesting, worth watching!
So what kind of book is "The Wood Count" that can get such appreciation as Liu Cixin and Zhang Xiaoyu?
What is Squirrel?
Zhou Nan (周南樛木) is a poem in the Book of Poetry, the first collection of poetry in ancient China. It is a poem of blessing, and its occasion may be a wedding, or the birth of a newborn, or other friendly and joyful scenes, and the poem is based on the tall trees growing in the south by kudzu vines.
In "The Count of The Woods", the wise Man Mr. Wang took the opportunity of Jin Fu's sudden experience of "life accidents" to set up a bureau, so that Jin Fu realized the true meaning of life and gained a sense of happiness, to some extent, this is a gift and a blessing that Mr. Wang gave to the dying Jin Fu, and it is also the ultimate interpretation of the blessings expressed in "Zhou Nan Fan Mu". It coincided with verne's creation of this "young master's tribulation" and the happy ending of the family, and the same destination. From this, we named the work "The Wood Meter".
When Verne's novel, written in 1879, encounters the "jiu(jiu) wood" from the more ancient history of the Book of Poetry, what kind of spark will collide between Chinese and Western cultures in the 21st century?
Who created this comic?
The creative team of "Fan Mu Ji" is a transnational combination of French screenwriters and Chinese post-90s painters, which brings significant cross-cultural characteristics to the work. Verne's thrilling and interesting story is combined with exquisite and elaborate pictures here.
The creation of "The Wood Count" took three years, and it took three years to create a work, what does this bring to the reader? ——The meaning of the story is timeless and thought-provoking, the plot is vivid and interesting, fascinating, and the picture is exquisite and intriguing.
French screenwriter Julien Moca, who has published more than 50 works in France, including children's books, history books, graphic novels (comics), etc., is a historian who is interested in China.
The painter Wang Jing, inspired and influenced by Japanese and European manga, embarked on the path of manga creation. He is good at portraying exaggerated character expressions with fine lines, and the characters he creates naturally exude unique humor and humor.
Another adaptor, Comic Legend, is the company that hosts Liu Cixin's series of science fiction comic adaptations.
Multiple scenes comprehensively show the social style and customs of the late Qing Dynasty
What kind of China have you seen? Is it the vastness of 9.6 million square kilometers, or the surging of 3 million square kilometers, the world of four seasons rotating, or the music of ice and fire, overlooking this land where we live day and night, no matter how familiar the scene is, it has also changed its appearance, from the world around it to the distant homeland... The opening words of "Aerial Photography of China" are not voice-overs.
In the whole story of "Fanmu Ji", Jin Fu traveled all the way to the north and south of China's great rivers, and his travel route was: Guangzhou - Shanghai - Jinling (Nanjing) - Outside Beijing - Beijing - Dagu - Bohai Bay - Funing - Beijing, which covers at least 8 large Chinese cities!
The cartoonist of "Fanmu Ji" vividly and vividly depicts the social landscape of China at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and through these scenes, you can also appreciate the garden architecture of modern China, the humanistic customs of urban and rural areas, and the urban style of the north and south.
Urban and rural landscape
Although Verne never went to China in his lifetime, through consulting information, he was no less than a China passer. Guangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, Funing, these now familiar city names, what does It look like in Verne's imagination, what kind of urban style does it have? Wang Jing, a new generation of Chinese cartoonists after the 90s, presented them one by one through the brush in his hand.
We look at these familiar and unfamiliar scenes in 2021, can you find the difference in those details from it?
Folk culture
Verne's imagination of China is actually a kind of mysterious Eastern world imagined by Westerners.
He can think of a rich and colorful food culture in the mysterious East, a dizzying performance, a mysterious look, and a unique style of Chinese costumes... Unfortunately, although it was better to see than to see, Verne could only imagine through the information he consulted. Fortunately, these words, which are not the same as the real situation, have been moderately corrected by the cartoonist.
Combine the artistic shaping power of the line with the expressive tension of the color of the picture
The manga style and character level of "SikikiJi" have a strong realistic style, which deals with the relationship between line and color very well, and retains the artistic shaping power of the line while integrating the expressiveness of color.
The characters' action expressions are precise and slightly exaggerated, with an intriguing humor and humor.
As a method of expression, "white drawing" refers to the use of the most concise pen and ink, without color accents, to depict a vivid and vivid image. Chinese comic strip art has widely adopted the artistic expression method of white painting.
While creating characters and backgrounds with delicate and precise lines, "Wood Meter" also handles the relationship between lines and colors very well, retaining the artistic shaping power of lines while also integrating the expressiveness of colors.
The movements and expressions of the characters created in "The Wood Count" are rich, accurate and slightly exaggerated, with an intriguing humor and humor, and they are all memes!
Among them, Jin Fu's stubbornness, Mr. Wang's calmness, Xiao Song's rashness, Lei E's moody changes, and the tacit understanding of a pair of twin bodyguards together constitute the plump and changeable character group portrait of this work, and also reflect the painter's painting ability to shape and express the characters.
A multi-angle and complete presentation of Verne's interpretation and reflection on the universal value of life and human nature
The story takes place in the last year of the Qing Dynasty, Jin Fu was born in a rich family, born with no worries about food and clothing, everything is smooth, but he has never experienced hardships and sorrows in the years that have passed, and he does not know what happiness is. When he was about to get married, he was suddenly told by his agent that the bank he invested in was bankrupt, which not only made him lose most of his property, but also made him lose his desire for life. In pain, Jin Fu decided to commit suicide by taking out a huge life insurance policy worth $200,000 for his fiancée Lei E and his mentor Mr. Wang.
Jin Fu, who did not dare to commit suicide, entrusted Mr. Wang with the "major task" of ending his life. At this moment, Jin Fu, who was already determined to die, unexpectedly ushered in a good news - the previous "bad news of bankruptcy" was false news, and his investment was not only not a loss, but doubled. At this moment, he did not want to and could not give up his life, but at this time, Mr. Wang had inexplicably disappeared, and the disaster of Jin Fu's killing would also come at any time! Finding Mr. Wang and canceling the "killing commission" became a top priority. So, Jin Fu embarked on his adventure...
Therefore, the plot of "Fan Mu Ji" is faithful to the original and not sticks to the original work, and the plot of Chen Peisi's "The Young Master's Ordeal" is not exactly the same. Presenting a story of twists and turns, while concentrating on the main plot, "The Wood Count" delicately portrays the protagonist's mental journey.
"The Tree Count" presents Verne's interpretation and thinking on the universal value of life and human nature from many angles, what can we learn from Verne's works today, which is extremely rich in material life?
What kind of self have you seen?
The clouds in the sky are like white clothes, and the si must change like a dog.
Whether it is verne's 19th century, Verne's imaginary story of what happened to Jin Fu in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, or the current era of the mobile Internet, what remains unchanged is the pursuit of human beings for their own hearts. Material abundance and spiritual abundance are increasingly like fish and bear paws, and we seek a moment of peace of mind in a flash of light.
Seeing the various clouds in the "Wood Meter" comic, I always think of Wang Xiaobo. He was a man who lived a clear life, and in The Golden Age he wrote about the nature of life's hardships:
"I was twenty-one years old that day, and in the golden age of my life, I had many extravagant hopes. I want to love, I want to eat, and I want to become a half-light and half-dark cloud in the sky in an instant, and later I learned that life is a slow process of being hammered, people grow old day by day, and their extravagance disappears day by day, and finally become like a hammered cow. But I didn't foresee this on my twenty-first birthday. I felt like I was going to be fierce forever and couldn't hammer me with anything. ”
Life is an adventure, and I don't know if Jin Fu, who embarked on an adventure, saw those landscapes and had such thoughts.
Find a quiet moment to look at the story that Verne wrote to us, and gaze at the "vignettes" of this big era in the context of enjoying the beautiful comics.
Resources:
1. Verne's "Ocean Trilogy": A Journey to the Sea of Stars
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/7IS-2ZrQF9mOuUsbfBeoNA
2. Jules Verne's Writing of Chinese Culture
https://www.1xuezhe.exuezhe.com/Qk/art/614546?dbcode=1&flag=2
3. Behind Liu Cixin's popularity, a box of "forbidden books" under the bed of the science fiction route was opened
https://www.sohu.com/a/300291196_100191010
4. Jules Verne and China
https://heritage.bnf.fr/france-chine/zh-hans/jules-verne-chine-article-chinois