News
Cartoons of the China Daily
by HongYing Liu-Lengyel with Alfonz Lengyel
Sarasota, Florida, USA
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For its 20th anniversary, China Daily published a selected collection of cartoons that were published in the newspaper between 1981 and 2001. About 20 years ago, a team of four artists without any experience in cartooning began supplying cartoons for each issue of the paper. In this four-person team, one was a woman, Li Jianhua, who studied art in the Northeast China Normal University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Two of the male artists who became cartoonists, Zhang Yaoning and Liu Yanfeng, were born and educated in Beijing, while Li Zhengming, the 3rd male artist, was born in Ankang, Shaanxi Province, and graduated from Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts. In addition to working on cartoons for the China Daily, they have all practiced art in other media such as illustration and oil and brush-and-ink painting.
Fitting
into the basic function of the only daily newspaper in the English language
in China that reports most news around the world, the majority of the selected
cartoons deal with international topics: the Taiwan issue, the Middle Eastern
crisis, world financial problems, armaments in the guise of disarmament, etc.
Several other cartoons deal with the American elections, human rights issues,
the Chinese eagerness for the education of the "one" precious child,
and fear of the impact of "sexually explicit" TV programs on children.
As a source of national pride in Deng Xiaoping‘s advocacy of "One
Country, Two Systems," the Taiwan issue has become not only the focal
point of Chinese daily politics, but also a frequently discussed topic among
ordinary Chinese citizens. Since the successful return of Hong Kong, as a
proof of Deng’s dream of creating a hybrid political system in one country,
a great number of cartoons have appeared on the issue of Taiwanese independence.
One referred to an attempt to smuggling Taiwan back into the United Nations
with the help of the Americans. The cartoon shows a large iron door with the
emblem of the United Nations. In front of it a giant American is knocking
at the door, while a tiny Taiwanese is standing behind him, grabbing the bottom
of his jacket. The obvious belief in the support of the American government
for Taiwanese membership in the U.N. is clearly shown in the cartoon.
A great number of cartoons are on the Middle East crisis. In one of them the artist depicts three of the former presidents of the U.S.A.; Carter, Reagan, and Bush Sr. as sitting in the shade and drinking. All of them are pointing at President Clinton, who, dressed as a magician, is performing tricks. They have had enough headaches with the constant crisis in the Middle East; therefore they deserve a peaceful and happy retirement. Let the new magician do the job.
The
question of disarmament between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. has also very much
occupied the minds of the cartoonists. In one cartoon, on both sides of a
table with the national flags of the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. on the top of
it, negotiations on disarmament have been going on from generation to generation
with no result. A sign on the table says "Disarmament talks" while
on the books that each person is holding in his hands is written “Armament.”
Human rights is one of the most irritating issues. American criticism has triggered a cartoon, in which a "Yankee figure" is sitting on the back of a black person who is flat on the ground looking helpless, while "Uncle Sam" is scrutinizing human rights in China with a magnifying glass. The cartoonists also ridicule the situation on American farms. One cartoon shows animals being fed with harmful substances, for which they have to be slaughtered. The cartoonist draws a row of cows chained to poles, all standing on their hind legs. The farmer is standing in front of them with one hand covering his eyes, just about to shoot them. Apparently the cows are mad. One is shouting, "Are we mad? You are the one that gave us the feed. Now you are killing us for eating it!"
The whole world eagerly watches the American elections, and so does China, where rumors spread before each election about which party will support Taiwan’s claim for independence. In one cartoon the two animal symbols, representing Democrats and Republicans, are furiously going around in circles attacking each other. In another, both animals are fighting in a boxing match. Another shows the donkey knocked down and the heavy elephant sitting on its broken back. There is one cartoon showing the two animals running toward the White House neck and neck, only mistakenly written on the donkey is “GOP” and on the Elephant “Demo” (August 2000).
Besides political cartoons, the family scene is a hot subject for humorous gags. The eager parents usually want their only child to be the best. One cartoon shows a father smuggling more study material into the kid’s home work, and the mother gives the little boy a book and a violin, saying, “Children [sic], this is for your day off." Lately somewhat sexually explicit material is being shown on Chinese TV. One cartoonist depicts a family, the young father and mother covering the eyes of a little child from seeing explicit images, while they are fixing their eyes on the TV screen. Some English text accompanying the images need to be edited, but perhaps with the misspellings they are more original and have their own charm. All in all, a nice job on the 20th anniversary of China Daily.