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FOR many of us, cartoon strips (连环画) are simply one of our pastimes. The popular Japanese manga
provides us with an escape from reality into a world of fantasy, adventure and romance. With much less text
and pictures running for pages, it fits perfectly into today's fast, throwing away city lifestyle. But Tsai Chih-
chung, a famous Taiwanese illustrator (漫画家), doesn't agree. He believes cartoons can be a bridge
connecting traditional Chinese culture and wisdom with the modern world in a much more wise and acceptable
way.
He has interpreted (演绎) Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius, Zhuang Zi and Sun Zi and made their works
accessible to a global audience. He has also produced two books about Zen (禅宗), introducing oriental
philosophy (哲学). His cartoons are humorous yet full of wisdom and are admired as an easy way to learn
Chinese classics.
After avoiding the public for ten years, Tsai made a comeback in late April with seven new works. But
does his age, 61, work as a gap between him and his young readers? Tsai doesn't think so.
The topics he has covered range from philosophy in a time of individuality (个性) to the learning and
memorizing techniques used at school."Every child is a genius and has the potential beyond his own
imagination," he said.
If popular Japanese manga is simply for entertainment, Tsai's work, to a large extent, is to light the
power of thinking in a light-hearted way. Tsai uses different forms of water to refer to people. In his eyes
some people are like an ocean, some are like vapor, while others may be ice or rain. But in essence they
share a similarity-human being's forever chasing for the true and the good.
"The person who thinks over life issues is not necessarily a scholar or a philosopher," he said. "I've
devoted my whole life to thinking and individual freedom, not making a living." |
