Profile of Xiao Yanzhong

Shaw Yan-chung, along with Tsai Chih-chung, Chu Teh-yung, and Ao You-hsiang, is one of the few single-panel cartoonists in Taiwan. Since the publication of his single-panel cartoon work, "Old Feelings Ⅰ," in 1988, The Times Weekly compared him to a cartoon naughty boy, a short-circuit writer, and statistically, the favorite single-panel cartoonist of young people.

Chinese name: Xiao Yanzhong

Nationality: Chinese

Date of birth: 1965

Occupation: Literary writer

Representative works: "The Little Dolphin is Looking for its Mother," "The Complete Collection of Fairy Tale Short Circuits," "Lie to Me! Magic Mirror"

Major Achievements: Director of Chen Sheng's 10-year tour

"Fool Me! The Magic Mirror" won the Golden Statue Award

Introduction

Born in Taiwan in 1965, Hsiao Yen-Chung is a famous cartoonist, who was often punished for scribbling in class when he was a student; when he grew up, he liked to do crazy things, and he aspired to travel around the world. Along with Tsai Chi-Chung, Chu Teh-Yung, and Ao Yoon-Shiang, Hsiao Yen-Chung is known as one of the four great talents in Taiwan's cartoon industry. He is one of the few single-panel cartoonists in Taiwan, and since the publication of his single-panel cartoon work, "Old Feelings Ⅰ," in 1988, The Times Weekly has likened him to a cartoon nerd, a short-circuit writer, and statistically, the most favorite single-panel cartoonist of the youth.

Characteristics

Long hair, goatee, gold glasses, tall Xiao Yanzhong is full of the temperament of an artist, speaks softly and calmly, with childlike curiosity in his eyes, and in the process of chatting, we feel more y his casual and unrestrained character and open and jumping thinking.

Evaluation

"Bad" child

"Since I was a child, I have been interested in things with images." Xiao Yanzhong recalled his childhood, Europe and the United States, Japan and South Korea, local anime books, I almost copied everything, even the images of black and white TV." When he was in elementary school, Xiao Yanzhong, whose grades were always bad, liked to use classroom anecdotes as material for sketching, and gradually learned to use the simplest lines to draw quickly, and passed a completed drawing to his classmates. Because he was not good at school, Xiao Yanzhong seldom received pocket money from his parents, but he learned to use his own ingenuity to make all kinds of fun things, such as kites. "At that time, being a bad student meant you were a bad kid, and I was a kid who was given up by my parents, but as a result, I also got the time and freedom to pursue my hobbies." Today, the "bad" kid has become the idol of many people, while he himself has never regretted not having excellent academic results and a diploma from a prestigious school. "Some of my friends often complain about living a life of exhaustion because they don't know where their goals are even though they go to college, get a job, get married, and have children in a step-by-step fashion. I'm glad I held on to my dream and grew with it.

Curious baby

Possibly because of his personality, Xiao Yanzhong claims to be curious about everything new. Although he is a cartoonist, he has also worked as a director of stage plays, a host of TV travel programs, and acted, sang, played musical instruments, and engaged in creative design, making his life exciting and unlimited. Zhu Deyong once said that he is a cartoonist who "does not do his regular job", but Xiao Yanzhong thinks that "not doing his regular job" is the source of material and creativity for him to create cartoons. From "not doing his regular job", he can absorb different levels of life and observe people from all walks of life, so that the angle of creation is multi-faceted. When the author asked him if he is still so "not doing his job", he laughed and said that in the past three years, he has been very good, and his thinking is not as bold as before. He said: "Although cartooning is my obsessive hobby, but if you treat it as a career, there will be burnout. When I'm tired, I'll put it aside, go work on a stage play, and come back three months later to draw comics with the same ease." Xiao Yanzhong thus switches roles between different industries, from which he also gets a lot of different life experiences.

Opinion

Readers are not only children

The development of Taiwan's animation market is a matter of concern for many animation fans. In this regard, Xiao Yanzhong introduced that in today's Taiwan's animation market, about 95% are Japanese comics, and there is very little original stuff. In Taiwan, comic fans are mainly students, but in the Mainland, there are often old grandpas and old women with comic books to find his signature, which makes him very touched. He said, in fact, the animation market is very big, and the age group is also very wide. Comic fans are not the exclusive term for children, adults can also love animation. The content chosen by readers of different ages can be different, with rich storylines more popular with children and adults more inclined to philosophical reflections.

Full of expectations for Hefei

Siu said his visit to Hefei left him with a good and deep impression. Especially in the morning, in the cartoon carnival cartoon masters signing site, Anhui friends of the high enthusiasm is more gratifying to him. He said excitedly: "At the autograph session, I drew a dry pen and froze my hand because the comic fans were too cute. I was very touched to see them waiting in a long line for me to draw and sign. I cherish my readers and will try to fulfill their requests, and at the same time, I feel happy." In fact, Xiao Yanzhong and Hefei Evening News are also very much related. As early as 2000, the newspaper's supplement "Apricot Village" published his works "Fairy Tale Short Circuit" and "Bunch of Stupid Thieves" consecutively, which were widely welcomed by readers. Many readers know, familiar with and love Xiao Yanzhong and his works through this newspaper. Xiao Yanzhong said, "Hefei Evening News" has great influence, wide readership, readability, and is very well done. It is a very good thing that his works can meet with the comic fans in Hefei area through the good platform of Hefei Evening News.

Creation

"Father of thieves"

Two fat and skinny thieves have been partnering up in the cartoon section of the New Beijing News to "rob" the newspaper for nearly three years, and have gained little ill-gotten gains, but have stolen countless cells of readers' laughter. "Father of the thief" Xiao Yin constantly wear down the thief's "IQ", to amuse the thief's "line", to eliminate the thief's "flames! "So far it has been close to 500 cartoons, but Xiao Yanzhong is determined to work with the "stupid thieves" to **** encourage 1,000.

Creative source

Shaw's full-color comic series is published by Modern Publishing House, and has already been released in the market, including "A Bunch of Stupid Thieves" and "Plastic Surgery BAR", and his famous "Fairy Tale Short Circuit" has also been presented in front of readers' eyes. According to the feedback from many readers, their favorite book is "A Basket of Thieves". Xiao Yanzhong said that the idea of "Thieves" originated from a chat with a friend a long time ago, "Which thief thought of putting stockings on his head first? Xiao Yanzhong thought this was a very creative idea, because any person who puts stockings on his head, you can not see his original appearance. He went along with this thought and wondered how these people came up with all this?

What do they want? And so, since 1993, the adorably stupid thief has been stealing from Xiao Yanzhong's paintbrushes, and will continue to do so, because Xiao "has actually developed feelings for the characters in the show.

In terms of cartoon creation, in addition to "A Bunch of Stupid Thieves", Xiao Yanzhong said that "Plastic Surgery BAR" will also aspire to draw 1,000 pieces. Speaking of his creative objects, Hsiao exudes full confidence, but when talking about the past life and especially the present life of Taiwan's local comics, he is full of disappointment and hopelessness about Taiwan's cultural environment.

Personal works

In 1988

Shaw published a single-panel cartoon called "Old Love Ⅰ", which subverted the traditional cartooning and created a topic of discussion once again, which was compared to a cartoon boy and a short-circuit writer in a report of the Times Weekly, and was counted as the most popular single-panel cartoon among the young people. He was invited to speak at dozens of colleges and universities.

In 1989

Published single-panel comics "Nervous Boundary" and "Animal Freak Talk", which were widely loved.

To France to participate in the International Cartoon Exhibition.

. Participated in the performance of "Three's a Crowd 2_Wasteland of the City", directed "The Witch is Not at Home", and directed and performed in "Peter and the Wolf".

1990

Published single-panel comics "Diary of Madness I" and "Diary of Madness II".

1991

Published the single-panel comic work "Old Feelings II", another sales high.

1992

Published single-panel comics works "Fairy Tale Short Circuit Ⅲ + Movie Short Circuit" and "Short Circuit **** and Country".

Created "Urumqi Dafu Said" with text writer Mr. Hou Wenrong***, the first trend of combining cartoonists and text writers, which became a fashionable trend and also created eye-catching sales results.

1993

Published single-panel cartoons "A Bunch of Stupid Thieves", "Movie Short Circuit Ⅱ", and "Black and White Speaking Ⅰ&Ⅱ".

1994

Published four-panel comic work "JungleHeart Jungle Red Heart".

Siu Yin-Chung's archive

Makes his studio debut with the song "LastOder", which is included in singer Chen Sheng's "Kite" album.

1995

"JungleHeart" was the first comic book merchandise licensing precedent, receiving support and praise from many manufacturers.

The manga endorsed the "Sleep" watch series of the world-famous brand "Swatch", and combined with the manga, it was sold in limited quantities, causing a rush for purchase.

Manga endorsed a series of drinks from Uni Foods called "Relax" and published the manga artwork on the packages of the drinks, breaking through the spatial limitations of publishing the artwork and once again creating a buzz that led to a sharp rise in sales. He made his debut as the lead actor in the TV series "Hot Springs Hometown".

1997

Published the single-panel manga "Black Sheep Club".

First to use sound to express the manga, the work "Short Circuit Power Plant" was published as an audiobook, and the passionate voice performance in Xiao Yan was very popular among readers.

Shaw's passionate voice was a favorite among readers.

Shaw's caricature image, "Glass Doll", was reported in newspapers as a short-circuit caricaturist who is committed to public service activities and never lags behind.

Published the column "Graffiti Wall in the Alley" in the Liberty Times, and became one of the writers.

Hosted the "Super Traveler" program on Super Sun Radio, and began his childhood dream of traveling around the world.

1998

. Invited to serialize single-panel cartoons in ChinaNews. Co-published "Someone Asked Me About Love" with text writer Wu Tanru.

Siu Yan-chung Archives

Invited to be the host of the program "Comic Strip" by the Radio and Television Foundation.

Invited to be the director of Zhongdu Cartoon Station.

Performed a magnificent version of the annual play "Marriage Announcement" by Screen Acting Class, and was invited to tour in New York.

Being recognized by GQ magazine as a multi-talented Taiwanese cartoonist.

1999

Four-panel comic strip "Little Dolphin Looking for Mom" was serialized in newspapers and simultaneously serialized on the Internet.

Performed the annual play "Marriage? Marriage? The table is set".

The cartoon endorsed the famous gold jewelry brand "Jin Sheng Gold Jewelry", which is a new trend of expressing cartoon shapes in gold jewelry.

Honored with the "Taiwan Technical and Vocational Education Celebrity Award", the only cartoonist among the winners.

2000

Hosted the "Super Traveler" program for four years, which was so popular with viewers that the media called it the "Short Circuit Traveler".

Cartoon endorsement of Hutchinson Telecom's "Electronic Baby".

Comic endorsement of "SUNMOVIE World Children's Radio and Television Day".

Performed "Shamlet," the annual absurdist play by the Screen Acting Class.

Serialized the four-panel comic strip "NET Family" in the Liberty Times.

2001

. Published single-panel comics works "Fairy Tale Short Circuit Complete Collection", "Fool Me! Magic Mirror", unique humor qualities, as popular as the readers. Especially "Fool Me! The Magic Mirror" is the most popular cartoon among netizens.

In 2002

Published a four-panel comic strip, "Little Dolphin Looking for Mom", which was widely praised for its warm and touching plot.

Xiao Yanzhong File

Published children's picture books "Mom is missing", "Mom's voice" and "Strange milk bottle".

Invited to be the spokesperson for the National Museum of Oceanography as a member of the dolphin family.

Invited to design a commemorative card for Taipei Metro.

Produced the story "Little Dolphin Looking for its Mother", which was broadcasted on ETTV's "Fairy Tale Story Box", the first children's program, which was highly recognized by the media.

2003

The work "Lie to Me! Magic Mirror" won the "Second Comic Golden Statue Award" in Taiwan.

Published "Fairy Tale Short Circuit" (above), "Fairy Tale Short Circuit" (below), "Old Affair" (above), "Old Affair" (below), "A Bunch of Stupid Thieves", "Something Fatal", "Plastic Surgery BAR", which attracted a lot of attention from the media and readers in mainland China.

Invited to Beijing and Shanghai for a series of comic-themed activities and lectures, and received dozens of interviews from print, TV, and online media in mainland China.

Opened columns with different styles of content in mainland China's Beijing Evening News, Beijing Entertainment News, Beijing News, Southern Metropolis Daily, Sohu.com, Daily Business News, Hefei Evening News, Junior Comics, and Fantasy Total Recruitment, among others.

TVBS magazine serialized "A Bunch of Stupid Thieves II" and "Plastic BAR II".

Established Xiao Yanzhong Toys, developed "Little Dolphin" peripheral merchandise, and became a new favorite of readers as the Ocean Museum's ocean ambassador, Ree, who led the whole family.

Invited to be the director and art director of "Chen Shing 10 Years Tour".

Interviewed

Local comic market is small

New Beijing News: Where does the comic nutrition of your generation come from?

Xiao Yanzhong: For example, I grew up watching cartoons shown on TV, both Japanese and Hollywood ones, such as The Pink Panther. For a long time I sat on a small bench and copied them on TV every day.

New Beijing News: In the 1980s, Taiwan's local comics had a blooming period, who was the driving force?

Shaw Yen-chung: After the lifting of censorship in Taiwan, it was the major newspapers that pushed the issue forward, and they competed to be the first to open cartoon columns in their newspapers out of competition, which gave rise to a group of cartoonists with their own distinctive characteristics, but all of them were young cartoonists, and all of them, the old ones who suffered from censorship in those years, were old, and their thinking could no longer keep up with the times. The mainland seems to take cartooning seriously and is making cartoon bases all over the place, while Taiwan has not played a helpful role other than suppressing cartoons.

Taiwanese cartoons are difficult to enter overseas

New Beijing News: In the mid-1990s, Taiwan's cartoon market began to enter overseas, and what was the result?

Shaw Yen-Chung: Before the mid-1990s, Taiwan did not have a tradition of promoting itself abroad. Later on, some newspapers and publishers had the sense to bring cartoonists to participate in exhibitions abroad, but this situation did not last for a few years. The reason was that Taiwan's cartoon production was not enough, and there were not enough cartoonists, so it was difficult to compete with others. Especially since the liberalization of the importation of Japanese comics, 98% of them are Japanese comics, and the local cartoonists could not hold on to them, and many of them switched to computer games. In addition, the sales of magazines are also declining, the closure of a magazine will be associated with the disappearance of several cartoonists.

Shaw Yan-chung: Not for the time being. For comic writers, comic editors are very important, and only good editors know how to appreciate a good column. Some editors in Taiwan are too young, and they always ask me if I can draw some cheap, spoof comics, so I don't want to. Plus, newspapers are closing down in Taiwan, and there aren't many left. Furthermore, the cultural life section of newspapers used to be very popular, mainly for entertainment, movies and politics, and the cartoon columns dimmed.

New Beijing News: You seem to think very little of Taiwan's young people?

Xiao Yanzhong: We all pursue different things. Our group of people still have a little sense of mission, willing to work hard, want to compete with foreign countries, and leave their own traces in history, not just a question of making money. But young people are becoming more and more utilitarian, and unless they are famous cartoonists and don't earn enough, they are not willing to work hard to draw and make so little money.

New Beijing News: or is it reincarnation, your predecessors back in the day did not look at your generation?

XIAO YANZHONG: It does happen, but the atmosphere of growing up is different. We grew up in an era that would be inspirational, encouraging people to be presidents, teachers, doctors. 80% of people want to be stars. Also, the new generation of cartoonists have a ****ty nature that they can't suffer because it takes a lot of self-discipline to maintain a column, and a lot of kids stop drawing when they're drawing. Our generation is still very self-disciplined.

New Beijing News: You have been disappointed with the Taiwan comic market?

Shaw Yan-chung: It's okay to talk about despair. Publishing has declined rapidly in the past seven or eight years, and the number of comic book readers has also declined. My "Fairy Tale Short Circuit" was published in the year, 1 week sold 20,000 copies, the total **** sold more than 200,000 copies, sold more than 10,000 copies is a good book. In short, the whole environment in Taiwan is not good, the "Minister of Education" is using the wrong idioms, the culture is worrying, and everyone is concerned about the gossip and scandals.

New Beijing News: It has been said that the four most talented people in Taiwan's comic book industry are competing for the mainland market.

Xiao Yanzhong: Speaking of us so fierce! It should be said that we are here to work together with the local mainland comic creators to move towards the international level and make the cake bigger.

New Beijing News: Will you therefore take care of the mainland readership more?

Xiao Yanzhong: I hope I see readers from all over the world, I don't carry that unnecessary baggage of saying I only draw Chinese comics.

Ambition

New Beijing News: What is your biggest ambition for comics?

Xiao Yanzhong: To create an Oriental Disney. Disney was also an animator, but he later became an operator, gathering talented creative forces to make an entertainment kingdom. So, the influence of the solo fight is ultimately limited.

New Beijing News: It is interesting that your four great talents basically fight alone.

Xiao Yanzhong: It would be burdensome to industrialize. The market is too small, if you can't feed yourself, how can you feed so many people. When we were at our peak, we didn't even have a sense of the market because the volume of works was still small. It was after about 10 years of creating, around 1995, that I started to have the idea of forming a team.

Individual influence is limited

New Beijing News: Why hasn't it been done?

XIAO YANZHONG: Because the status of culture is starting to decline, everyone is playing games on the Internet, and the reading public is losing. China's environment is still not very mature, I went to participate in international conferences, and found that foreigners are talking about things two years later, such as analyzing and predicting that two years later will be popular horror movies, go to find the best drawing of these comics, and video games and other peripheral commodities through the planning of the start of the operation, that environment is mature. Anyway, I'm still in the pipeline, this thing can't be rushed, it has to be water to water, maybe seven or eight years before I can make the "Bunch of Stupid Thieves" cartoon.