Tsai Chih Chung
A New Lease of Life for the Chinese Classics
Since 1997 the Prince Claus Awards have been presented to people and organizations in recognition of and to encourage their exceptional achievements in the field of culture and development in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In IIAS Newsletter 21 Charles Yencks wrote and article on the architect Kenneth Yeang, one of the ten laureates in 1999. In this second article Ku Pi-ling presents award winner Tsai Chih Chung, a cartoonist from Taiwan.
By KU PI-LING
Over the past few decades, Taiwanese and Chinese society has gradually entered the mainstream of global culture, and for most people forming part of this society the works of the ancient Chinese philosophers remain nothing more than a minor element in the school curriculum. However, the classical Chinese canon (6th to 4th centuries BC), which comprises the works of Confucius, Mencius, and others, is the foundation on which the social and political organizations of traditional Chinese society are built and forms an inherent part of the Chinese moral universe and identity. Although the value system presented in the classics still dominates Chinese society, albeit mostly at a subconscious level, these values are subject to erosion by the forces of modernization. This means that a specific Chinese cultural identity is less obvious than in the past.It is difficult for the younger generation in China and Taiwan to relate to a traditional value system that in content and presentation is so much at variance with the modern, often foreign value systems supplied by the mass media. This has resulted in a cultural identity crisis and the realization that Chinese culture needs to modernize or redefine itself in the face of the onslaught of global culture. This process has been going on in Taiwanese and Chinese music, literature, and film, and many artists have been highly successful in finding new ways of expressing Chinese cultural themes and making them accessible to a modern Chinese and international audience. Until recently, however, the works of the philosophers remained on dusty shelves, untouched by artists and seldom used as a direct source of inspiration. The renaissance of Chinese canonical works, their removal from the schoolroom to the neon-lit boulevards of modern Taipei and Beijing, is the work of one man: the Taiwanese cartoonist Tsai Chih Chung (1948, Taiwan).
At the age of fifteen, Tsai Chih Chung worked as an assistant in a cartoon company. During these early years, Tsai wrote three comic books and became increasingly interested in philosophy and by chance came across the work of Taoist philosopher Zhuang Zi. He decided to adapt the work (written in classical Chinese) for comic strips. He used accessible modern Chinese and humour to appeal to a contemporary audience, but he retained the essence of the original.
After six months of intense study of the ancient philosophers, Tsai wrote interpretations of other Chinese philosophical classics in comic stripform. The comics became an instant success, not only in Taiwan, but also with overseas Chinese families for whom Tsai's comics became a means by which they could interest their children in Chinese culture and the wisdom of the ancients. At last cultural identity could be confirmed and strengthened through a modern and accessible medium.
So far Tsai's work has been released in 30 countries. In the United States, it has been adopted as teaching material at Princeton and other universities. In 1989, Tsai's comics were first published in the People's Republic of China. During the months after the suppression of Tiananmen Square demonstrations, Tsai's comics provided a new generation of Chinese with a stimulus for reflection on their own culture. The books were deemed safe by the authorities, as they were far removed from the Western thinking on society that was under official censure.
Tsai Chih Chung's work has met with acclamation from all levels in China, including famous Zhuang Zi scholars such as Professor Luo Longshi (Taiwan Technical University), who recommends the comic strips to anyone interested in the Chinese classics. Tsai's work is generally considered to be an excellent introduction to the classics for modern Chinese, as it provides the modern reader with a pleasant short cut to the heart of Chinese philosophy, bypassing the complexities of the classical Chinese language while retaining the essence. Tsai revitalizes the canonical works and has given them a new lease of life.
The importance of Tsai Chih Chung's comic strip creations goes beyond their entertainment value and the popularization of the classics. They have also proved that Chinese culture can adapt to modern media and society and that the values expressed in the works of the philosophers are still important to a contemporary audience. Finding new ways of expression and redefining the boundaries for the expression of ancient values and cultural themes is the way to adapt tradition to a new global culture. After all, even in the digital age, cultural roots and identity should be cherished and passed on to the next generation. *
Translated from Chinese by Robin Ruizendaal