Spring of the World (Poetic Comics by Feng Zikai)

Author: Feng Zikai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features:
Introduction: In general understanding, cartoons are a form of satirical or humorous art, but such an interpretation cannot encompass the intrinsic spirit of Feng Zikai's cartoons. Feng Zikai himself said, "The term 'cartoon' is derived from literal meaning—'cartoony' implies randomness. Any painting drawn freely can be called a cartoon, because my feeling for cartooning is similar to writing essays. The only difference lies in the tools used—whether lines or words." His attitude toward painting on one hand explains the randomness and breadth of his cartoon content, on the other hand, it also highlights the strong literary quality of his cartoons. In literary creation, although Feng Zikai excelled at writing essays, he was particularly good at ancient Chinese poetry. In his early cartoon works, many pieces were illustrations of ancient poems, such as A Few People Remembering Each Other on a River Tower and Watching the Milky Way from a Recumbent Position. The Complete Collection of Feng Zikai Cartoons published in the 1940s included a volume titled New Paintings of Ancient Poems. The artist most directly influenced Feng Zikai's cartoon creation was the Japanese painter Tatsuhiko Ujiyoshi. Feng Zikai once said, "Tatsuhiko Ujiyoshi's lyrical sketches open up one's heart, like a cold cup of coffee in the midst of suffering from heat." "A small painting with just a few strokes not only moves my eyes with its aesthetic beauty but also touches my heart with its poetic essence." Feng Zikai was an artist with a strong artistic temperament, sensitive and talented. In his turbulent life, such as during the Cultural Revolution when he was persecuted and humiliated, he endured the harsh mental blows only through his love for art and beauty. Before his death, he once said that one of his greatest regrets was no longer being able to read ancient poetry. The above is the main reason why Feng Zikai's cartoons are so rich in poetic essence. Poetic essence is something readers must experience for themselves. Therefore, providing captions for Feng Zikai's cartoons is a thankless task. I still enjoy doing so because I have long been engaged in research on Feng Zikai and have some background knowledge. I hope my captions can serve as a supplementary aid for today's readers to understand Feng Zikai, providing them with a space for stories or imagination beyond the paintings. After all, reading Feng Zikai's cartoons requires bridging a vast gap in time and space. Chen Xing, April 20, 2003, Hangzhou
In general understanding, cartoons are a form of satirical or humorous art, but such an interpretation cannot encompass the intrinsic spirit of Feng Zikai's cartoons. The greatest characteristic of Feng Zikai's cartoons is "lyricism," which we call "poetic cartoons." In his early cartoon works, many pieces were illustrations of ancient poems, such as A Few People Remembering Each Other on a River Tower and A River of Spring Water Flows Eastward. He believed that a good cartoon work should be: "A small painting with just a few strokes, not only moving my eyes with its aesthetic beauty but also touching my heart with its poetic essence." The 130 cartoons of Feng Zikai included in this book are indeed works that can move both our eyes and our hearts.