Author's Small Feat of Genius

CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Wednesday, May 27, 2020 | 17 YOUTH Author’s small feat of genius Tiny creatures allow academic to spotlight a fascinating subject and also give children a unique insight into the wonders of nature, Mei Jia reports. or book designer, author and in from outside if they want to watch. artist Zhu Yingchun, bugs are There’s more. Last year he opened a not electronic listening devices bug-themed bookstore and display but they do provide a method to space by the picturesque Xuanwu Lake Feavesdrop on Mother Nature. that he designed in collaboration with “We should listen to and observe bugs, the Librairie Avant-Garde Bookshop. make more contact with them, like with Additionally, a museum with a focus on our friends, and wait for nature’s message bugs is expected to be set up in Nanjing. from them,” says Zhu about his “old pals” in a lecture livestreamed by Bilibili.com Cicada starts the tale and the Artron Art Group on May 23. One day, as a “spot clothing wax cicada” The tales of his “valuable friends” strolled across his sketchbook, leaving a charmed an appreciative audience. Bugs trail, he suddenly felt the urge to capture helped ensure he won the silver medal in the moment. He created “ink ponds” 2017 for the Most Beautiful Book in the made of four kinds of dark-colored vege- World category at the Leipzig Book Fair table juice and watched the bugs crawl Inspiration from above for his book, The Language of Bugs. through them, then “draw” their journey Although his book series about bugs has The book is actually a printed record on blank sheets of paper. In this way, all drawn many young readers, his latest of thousands of tiny trails, made over the kinds of crawling creatures — earth- book about birds may have triggered some course of five years, by 100 bug species worms, ladybugs, spiders, mantises, stink controversy among their parents, per- that populate the garden outside his stu- bugs, ants and snails — became painters. haps, due to the origin of its subject matter. dio at Nanjing Normal University, where He put their calligraphic creations and Following the release of the Chinese he is director of the university’s ink-wash paintings, together, in the version in 2017, the English version of Research Center of Book Culture. Zhu book. “Everything in the world, includ- Cacaform Birds was published in 2019, designed the book “seriously and aca- ing every life in nature, has the power to comprising three parts entitled Images, demically” with a preface, introduction, create beauty, and art is all around us,” Catalogue and Secrets Unveiled. It is table of contents, captions, and all the Zhu says. “I had a lot of fun in those five about alien birds visiting Earth, which other elements of a tome — it’s just that years, more than designing books for then get scared and later transformed, all of the characters and words inside human authors.” only to be saved by the energy of curiosity. were written by the bugs. The book has become a permanent Among the many strange-looking It was published by Beijing Imaginist collection of the British Library. Zhu also birds, there is one called Glowerspite, Time Culture and Guangxi Normal Uni- made woodcut blocks copying some of which dozes in a supine position and We should listen to versity Press in 2015 and in English by the characters created by the bugs and converts its tail to a head when it gets UK’s ACC Art Books in 2018. has displayed them in various exhibi- startled, and there is another called and observe bugs, “This work is a forerunner in the field tions, attracting much appreciation Mare-away, a bird which carries a tiny make more contact of morphology,” the awarding committee from visitors. dark troll on its back that rouses dream- commented on his book. “This artistic The English version has a booklet ers from nightmares. with them, like with study succeeds in ... realization of a phil- entitled The Birth of the Language of The inspiration for the book actually our friends, and wait osophical metaphor: the world as a book Bugs, in which the editor says: “Zhu’s came years ago, when bird droppings that writes itself.” creations express his inquisitive landed on Zhu’s coat as he was setting off for nature’s message Another tale highlights his innovative approach to the world and his belief that for Shanghai to attend a Monet exhibi- from them.” approach. He designed a cinema “about every part of nature has a distinctive tion. He had to abandon his trip to clean bugs and for bugs” as part of a public art beauty.” There is also a QR code to access his coat. Zhu Yingchun, author, project held in Nanjing, Jiangsu prov- more information. “I soon decided to shake off any upset, book designer and artist ince, this spring. The man-made ant hill Born to a farming family in Huaian, because it just brings more anger, hosts a mini screen showing a short film Jiangsu province, in 1970, nature and instead persuading myself to take it as about insects. It plays to an audience of drawing provided an escape from his nature’s gift,” Zhu says. bugs, while giant humans have to peep lonely childhood. Before receiving his And indeed it was — he examined the first set of paints in his teenage years, he stain and found it almost formed the made colors himself with anything he shape of a bird. He soon became keenly could find. “My childhood dream was to interested in it, and other bird drop- become an art teacher and to keep on pings, which he copied into his sketch- drawing bugs,” he says. “I was always books over the next three years, before alone, wondering and tasting the beauty turning them into a book. of nature.” From top: A page from “I’m delighted to create something out Below: A painting of plants and He enrolled in the Nanjing Normal Cacaform Birds by Zhu. of nothing, or the positive out of the small creatures by Zhu Ying- University of fine arts in 1991 and after Some art pieces made by unpleasant,” says the world-class artist chun. Bottom: A page from graduation became an art editor at the Zhu of the strange-looking and author, who aims at creating his own Images of Cacaform Birds. university press. The campus where he characters depicted in the titles and telling stories in the language of PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY has been living since college is part of book. The cover of The nature, to inspire, entertain and educate. Suiyuan, the Qing Dynasty garden built Language of Bugs by Zhu. Zhu enjoys talking to, and drawing by poet, critic and gourmet Yuan Mei. with, children to ignite their creativity in The artist’s work has won numerous schools, and maybe due to a similar pow- “most beautiful books” prizes in China, er of curiosity, younger readers can as well as international honor and quickly understand Zhu’s ideas. They’re acclaim, including from UNESCO. His have explored and expanded the range also encouraged by Zhu to discover and most famous work comprises the design and concept of books, unrolling the rich depict their own transformed birds. of the books Stitched Up, Pingru and prospect of book design,” says Xu Xiao- He always wants to do something to Meitang: Our Stories, The Designing ding, secretary-general of the Interna- influence more people to find valuable Wordsmith and Pork Fat. He also wrote, tional Artist Books Association, which things in life. created and designed a series of publica- was founded in Beijing in 2019. Chinese art lessons are about being tions about his “old pals”, such as Next to Kang Pingping, with the German Book pleasant and realistic, he says, but things Bugs, Ants Talk, The Slowpoke Snail and Information Center in Beijing, a branch that are vulgar or simple can also be Bugs’ Notebook, many of which have under the Frankfurt Book Fair, says Zhu beautiful. been translated into English, Korean, is an old friend of the fair and a popular “Beauty is about being interesting and Norwegian and Czech. A new book, speaker at its Storydrive Asia conference. vigorous, no matter if it initially seems themed on bugs’ poetry, will be released “Zhu is childlike and creative, always ugly or plain. The meaning lies in how the later this year. bringing something new to us,” Kang creator deals with the subject,” he says. The books are playful and fun to read, says. “He’s charming and attractive to combining visual art, painting, literature many of us and his fans, as he truly loves Contact the writer at and graphic design, and “some of them what he does and pursues.” [email protected].

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