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BOOK REVIEWS/CARTOON BOOKS
News Cartoons
of the China Daily
by HongYing Liu-Lengyel with Alfonz Lengyel
Sarasota, Florida, USA
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.
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