survey_31 — comics, manhua and zines
1. Xia Da — 夏达 (Huaihua, Hunan, 1981)
A manhua artist whose refined “old China” style has earned her series a reputation as some of the most beautiful Chinese manhua, and adaptations of her own stories.
- Path — born on 4 April 1981 in Huaihua (Hunan Province); she graduated from the Hunan Institute of Light Industry (now Changsha University of Science and Technology); she debuted with the short story 《成长》 in the magazine 《北京卡通》, and was later noted for the story 《冬日童话》.
- “子不语” and “长歌行” — the series 《子不语》 (from 2009) about a girl who sees spirits; the historical saga 《长歌行》 (from 2011 in the magazine 《漫友》) about the fate of Li Changge after the events at the Xuanwu Gate.
- “步天歌” — from 2018, her first fully colour long-form manhua (publishers 磨铁图书 and the studio 琢磨工作室), serialised on the platforms 哔哩哔哩漫画 and 快看漫画; in 2019–2022 the publisher 新世纪出版社 released five volumes.
2. Zao Dao — 早稻 (Guangdong)
A self-taught artist who works in ink in the traditional Chinese manner; her “silent” stories of wandering heroes and spirits earned her a cult reputation.
- Path — from a farming family in Guangdong province; she had no art education, has drawn since childhood and works in ink; she appears under the pen name “早稻-野獸” (ZAODAO).
- “松风” — her first authorial album (2015): a story without a single line of dialogue about a young warrior who wanders the world slaying demons; published by the Taiwanese house 三樂册店 (奇果文創工業, KEKO).
- “野作” — her second book (2016): short comics and sketches from 2012–2016 — childhood stories, spirits and monsters, travel sketches and drawings that did not make it into 《松风》.
3. Jidi — 寂地 (Chengdu, Sichuan, 1983)
An illustrator and picture-book author; her series 《我的路》 (MY WAY) became one of the best-selling Chinese picture books and was translated in France, Malaysia and Germany.
- Path — real name 祖雅乐, born on 22 June 1983 in Chengdu (Sichuan province); she studied in the painting department of Southwest Minzu University; from 2002 she published comics and stories in magazines.
- “我的路” (MY WAY) — serialised from 2002 in the magazine 《新蕾》, it appeared as her first book in 2004 and won the first “Golden Dragon” prize (金龙奖) for best picture book; by 2013 seven volumes had appeared, followed by gift reissues.
- “踮脚张望” and the studio — the novel 《踮脚张望的时光》 (2008) and its comic version 《踮脚张望》 (from 2010, drawn by 阿梗); in 2013 she founded the studio 大象馆 (Elephant Museum) in Dali; in 2023 the book 《不属于我的城市》 was published.
Sources: Official site 寂地 / 大象馆 — daxiangguan.com · Official Weibo @寂地 (weibo.com/doveland)
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4. Nie Jun — 聂峻 (Xining, Qinghai)
A manhua artist and picture-book author, winner of the state animation and comics award for his series “Tales of the Old Street”.
- Path — born in Xining (Qinghai province), at 14 he moved to Qingdao and graduated from the China Academy of Art (中国美术学院); he has published comics since 1995 (debut: 《兔侠士》 in the magazine 《卡通王》); he was part of the team that developed the “Fuwa” mascots for the 2008 Olympics.
- “丢丢侠” and “我街” — the long stories 《丢丢》/《丢丢侠》 (in 《北京卡通》, from 1996) and 《我街》 (2001–2003); both also appeared in France and Italy.
- “老街的童话” — four stories (《鱼儿》《虫儿》《信》《画儿》) about a Beijing hutong and a girl with her grandfather; first published in 2016, reissued in 2024 by 接力出版社; in 2018 the only Chinese book on The New York Times list of “25 Best Children’s Books”, and honoured with the state prize 中国文化艺术政府奖动漫奖.
5. Yao Feila — 姚非拉 (Wuhan, Hubei, 1974)
One of the founders of Chinese authorial manhua: his six-year story 《梦里人》 became the first Chinese manhua adapted for television by China Central Television.
- Path — born on 14 May 1974 in Wuhan (Hubei province); in 1992 he entered the informatics faculty of Huazhong University of Science and Technology; he debuted with the story 《快乐平安夜》 in the magazine 《画书大王》 (1994).
- “梦里人” — from 1995 it ran for about six years in 《北京卡通》 and became one of the longest Chinese series of its time; in 2005 CCTV released a 26-episode animated series based on it.
- “80℃” and the studio — collections of short stories 《80℃》 (from 2004, six volumes); in 2003–2004 he founded the studio 夏天岛 (SUMMERZOO); his English name is FLY.
6. Benjamin — 本杰明 (Heilongjiang, 1974)
The first Chinese author to create fully colour comics on a computer and to gain recognition in Europe; winner of the grand prize at the comics festival in Colomiers.
- Path — real name 张彬, born on 16 May 1974 in Heilongjiang province; he studied fashion design at the Dalian Institute of Light Industry; he debuted in 2000 with the series 《SENA警官》.
- “记得” (Remember) — in 2004, for the story 《没有人会飞没有人会记得》, he won the gold “Golden Dragon” prize (金龙奖) for best narrative comic, and the collection 《记得》 appeared that same year (a print run of more than 200,000 copies); in 2006 came the French edition.
- “橘子” (Orange) and Europe — in 2008 the collection 《橘子》 won the grand prize of the French comics festival in Colomiers as “best book of 2008”; in 2007 he held a solo exhibition in Paris — the first for a Chinese comics author abroad.
