Lunatic - Li Ao

Li Ao is perhaps one of the most rebellious idealists in the world. All together he has wrote over 100 books, of which 96 are banned. The outspoken talent likes to portray himself with American idealist Eugene Victor Debs's sentences: While there is a lower class I am in it; while there is a criminal element I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.

Li Ao was born in the city of Harbin in north China's Heilongjiang Province in 1935 before moving with his family to Taiwan Province in 1949.

In high school, Li was a star student. However, the prodigy suspended his schooling in his senior year -- he was disgusted with the "suffocating" education. Years later, he enrolled in Taiwan University and studied Law and History. After graduation, he served as a reserve officer for one and a half years. Then he went back to the university to study in the History Research Institute. But he soon decided to drop out before ending up as a scholar, and the "lunatic," as he became known, began writing articles revealing the dark side of the school and was not happy about studying there any more.

Starting in the 1960s, Li Ao served as editor-in-chief of the magazine Wenxing, which promoted democracy and personal freedom. He was credited for his contribution to the democratic movement at that time in Taiwan, but his audacity infuriated the authorities. His tirades eventually landed him in prison for over 8 years.

At the age of 44, Li again flung himself in the battle against the authorities with even more bitter diatribes. As a result, he was put in jail again; despite this, the fighter was still unwilling to compromise. He wrote books and articles in his jail cell, exposing the ill treatment by the prison officers and the unfair judicial system. He wrote at an amazing rate-for ten consecutive years he wrote one book per month on average without interruption.

This is Li Ao, the most rebellious idealists in China.

Humor - Zhu Deyong

In Zhu Deyong's books, in sharp and sarcastic words, simple but funny characters tell each other short stories based mainly on the theme of "love is unreliable and marriage is a nightmare."

The societies of Zhu Deyong's comic strips are compacted into si ge manhua -- series of four pictures, with each series following a miniature storyline.

Zhu consciously chose to simplify his comic strips from the usual stories told in other Chinese comic strips, saying that the fast pace of modern life tallies well with the si ge manhua style of cartoons.

"Everything, including every person I see, are reflected in my imagination as four squares," said Zhu in an interview. "That's already part of my intuition."

The humor of Zhu's comic strips lies in his puns. In addition, with a light dusting of thought-provoking humor, the comics also give a small window of knowing philosophy on the relationships of young Chinese couples.

The vertical margins of each page outline the maxims and strategies of the Vinegar Tribe (Cu Liu Dinglu) such as, "If women are baseball courts, then every man wants to be a striker," and "The main reason for lovers to quarrel may be about affection, but if you are familiar with each other, then the reasons will be money."

The resonant message has garnered Zhu Deyong a wide readership ranging in age from 20 to 40 years old. Since the series was first published in 1994, more than 1 million copies have been sold in Taiwan Province alone.

Painting - Ji Mi

Ji Mi's works possess a whimsical nature commonly associated with children's books and yet they have become immensely popular with adults who find them refreshing and even philosophical. Not only are his books well received in Taiwan Province, Malaysia, and Singapore; they also have been translated into German, Japanese, and English.

A childlike innocence prevails in the simple sentences and though one may be lulled into taking the books at face value, it is difficult to ignore the adult sentiments expressed in them. Undercurrents of the author's personal experiences pervade the books and always, the extraordinary are presented in the seemingly ordinary. Often, feelings of profound loneliness, confusion, and isolation are expressed in the depiction of individuals becoming  lost in a vast mazelike city.

A Chance of Sunshine (Xiang Zuo Zou, Xiang You Zou) is a hopeful but cautionary tale set in the city about a man and a woman who live in the same apartment block but never meet because each has the habit of traveling in opposite directions - to the right and left respectively. The tale speaks poignantly of how much we have grown accustomed to the alienating aspects of modern city life and offers the chance for change.

On the surface, A Smiling Fish (Wei Xiao De Yu) is about a man who has bought a fish but in truth, it is about an individual trapped and helpless in circumstances beyond his control.

(ChinaCulture.org by Ivana June 29, 2005)