A Modern Miscellany Ideas, History, and Modern China

Edited by

Ban Wang (Stanford University) Wang Hui (Tsinghua University)

Volume 12

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ihmc A Modern Miscellany

Shanghai Cartoon Artists, Shao Xunmei’s Circle and the Travels of Jack Chen, 1926–1938

Paul Bevan

LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: Anon, Shanghai Fengjing 上海風景 (Shanghai Landscape), in Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 1 (15 April 1934) [p. 23]. Modern Sketch (Shidai manhua); Colgate University Libraries Digital Collections, with permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bevan, Paul, Ph. D., author. A modern miscellany : Shanghai cartoon artists, Shao Xunmei’s circle and the travels of Jack Chen, 1926–1938 / By Paul Bevan. pages cm. — (Ideas, History, and Modern China ; volume 12) Outgrowth of the author’s thesis (Ph. D.—University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, 2012) under title: Manhua artists in Shanghai 1926–1938 : from art-for-art’s-sake to wartime propaganda. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-30793-3 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-30794-0 (e-book) 1. Caricatures and cartoons—China—Shanghai—History—20th century. 2. Art and society—China— Shanghai—History—20th century. 3. Art—Political aspects—China—Shanghai—History—20th century. 4. Shao, Xunmei, 1906–1968—Friends and associates. 5. Chen, Jack, 1908–1995. I. Title.

NC1696.B48 2016 741.5951’1320904—dc23 2015031754

Brill has made all reasonable efforts to trace all rights holders to any copyrighted material used in this work. In cases where these efforts have not been successful the publisher welcomes communications from copyright holders, so that the appropriate acknowledgements can be made in future editions, and to settle other permission matters. issn 1875-9394 isbn 978-90-04-30793-3 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-30794-0 (e-book)

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This book is printed on acid-free paper. Contents

Acknowledgements ix Note on the Illustrations xii List of Illustrations xiii Notes on Romanization and References xvii Note on Sources xviii

Introduction 1 A Modern Miscellany 1 The Cartoon as Part of the Modern Art Scene in Shanghai 7 The Manhuahui 11

Part 1 The Beginnings of the Modern Chinese Cartoon

1 Manhua Artists in Shanghai 17 Marc Chadourne and Paul Morand 20 Vanity Fair 25 Western Models of Art and Literature in Shanghai manhua 29 English Decadence in Shanghai 33 The Modern and the Decadent—The Cubist Shanghai Life, Lust, and Snake and Woman 37 Conclusion 50

2 Shao Xunmei and his Circle 53 Shao Xunmei and Pictorial Magazines 53 Shao Xunmei and Salon Culture 60 The Yunshang Fashion Company 71 The Zhang Brothers—Designers 80 A Depiction of Shao Xunmei by Wang Zimei 85 A Letter to Emily Hahn 90 vi contents

Part 2 Adoption of Foreign Models in Art and Literature

3 Miguel Covarrubias 95 Covarrubias Goes to China: 1930 100 Covarrubias Goes to China Again: 1933 104 Covarrubias’s Illustrations to Chine (China) 115 Chinese Artists and the Covarrubias Style 117 “Impossible Interviews” 122 Large-scale Group Caricatures 125 Ding Cong and the Mexican Muralists 126 The Legacy of Covarrubias 133

4 The Chinese Cartoonists and George Grosz 135 The Art of George Grosz in Shanghai 135 George Grosz and China 143 Proponents of the “Grosz-style” 144 A Foreigner’s View of the Grosz Imitators 150 Cai Ruohong: China’s “New Grosz”? 152 The Chinese View of Grosz’s Work 156 Conclusion 165

Part 3 The Dissemination of Chinese Political Art

5 Jack Chen in China 169 Chen Arrives in Shanghai 171 The Cartoons of Jack Chen in Shanghai 175 Chen and Soviet Socialist Realism 179 The Letters of Jack Chen 192 From China to Moscow and London: The Beginnings of Chen’s World Tour 202 Anthony Blunt: A Champion of Chen’s Cause 204

6 The First National Cartoon Exhibition 214 A Suitable Venue: The Sun Company Building 215 The Exhibition 220 News in the Shanghai Press 221 Jack Chen: The Only Foreign Exhibitor 224 Contents vii

Portraiture: A Genre for Political Persuasion? 226 The Paintings of Hua Lu: Lacking a Political Message? 230 Surrealism: Modern Art and the Manhua Artists 236 Cai Ruohong Remembers 243 Foreigners on Manhua: Two Contrasting Views 246 A Review by Jack Chen 246 An Anonymous Critique 254 Zhang Guangyu’s Cover Design for Manhuajie 262 Manhua: An Art for China’s Future 272

7 Chinese Art and its Part in the Worldwide Fight against Fascism 275 Hong Kong: First Port of Call 281 Guangzhou: Caught in the Air Raids 286 Chen is Sent to Europe and America 289 Hu Kao: A Shanghai Cartoonist 293 Hu Kao and Jack Chen go to Yan’an 303 Hong Kong: Last Port of Call 308 Epilogue 313

Conclusion 327

Bibliography 337 Index 373

Acknowledgements

This book began life as a doctoral thesis undertaken at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. During its preparation I was the recipient of a tremendous amount of generosity from both institutions and individuals. My greatest debt of thanks goes to my doctoral supervisor Professor Michel Hockx for his excellent advice and constant encouragement. I would also like to thank other members of the SOAS teaching staff: in the Department of China and Inner Asia, Professor Andrew Lo and Professor Bernhard Fuehrer and in the Department of Art and Archaeology Dr. Stacey Pierson. I also owe my thanks to two former members of teaching staff at SOAS who during my time there offered me much invaluable advice, Dr. John Carpenter and Professor Craig Clunas. Thanks also to my former colleagues at the Institute for Chinese Studies, University of Oxford, for their support when I was revising my thesis for publication during the time I held the temporary post of Departmental Lecturer in Modern Chinese Literature in 2013–14. I would like to give my warm thanks to Mrs. Lilian Grosz and the Estate of George Grosz for their generosity in allowing me use images of the artist’s work in the book. An equal debt of thanks goes to Mrs. Yuan-tsung Chen, for her permission to include the written and visual information related to Jack Chen; for agreeing to be interviewed her at her home in Hong Kong, and for generously supplying me with copies of material from Jack Chen’s scrapbooks. I would also like to offer my sincere thanks to Dr. Ralph Jentsch, managing director of the George Grosz estate, for his generosity in supplying information on George Grosz. In addition I am grateful to the curators of the British Museum, in particular Mary Ginsberg, for allowing me access to the collection of prints and drawings which was formerly the property of Jack Chen and to the museum for giving me permission to reproduce a number of these images in the book. Professor Adriana Williams, Professor Tom Wolf of Bard College and Mrs. Carolyn Wong of the Huang Yao Foundation were all generous enough to supply me with valuable material from their own private collections. Thanks also to Mr. Avis Greenaway of Lawrence and Wishart for giving permission to reproduce the front cover of Jack Chen’s pamphlet Five Thousand Years Young as an illustration. Libraries have been especially important for my research and I am indebted to the librarians of the following institutions for their help: the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Senate House Library, The Library of the London School of Economics, The National Art Library, Tate Gallery Archives, The Marx Memorial Library, the library of the University of East Anglia and x acknowledgements the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Thanks also to Dr. Frances Wood, formerly of the British Library. In China and Hong Kong I was assisted by the staff of several institutions, the Shanghai Library and its annexe the Xujiahui cangshulou, Hong Kong Central Library and the library of Fudan University. At Fudan, on two extended trips, I was able to consult a large corpus of relevant material and am particularly grateful for the generosity and patience of the staff there. I would also like to give my thanks to Anne Labitzky-Wagner of the library of the Institut für Sinologie, Heidelberg for her assistance during two enjoy- able visits and to Professor Barbara Mittler for giving me the opportunity, on both occasions, to present the results of my work in progress to staff and students there. Thanks also to the staff of the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives New York University, the Upton Sino-Foreign Archive, Concord, New Hampshire, and the libraries of the University of California Los Angeles and Columbia University. For supplying me with copies of valuable primary source material and other important information my thanks go to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University; the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University; the archivists of Emmanuel College Cambridge and Cambridge University; the staff of the Lilly Library, Indiana University; and Maria Elvia Catalina Morales Juarez of the Archivo Miguel Covarrubias, Sala de Archivos y Colecciones Especiales, Universidad de las Américas Puebla. I am also indebted to Dr. John A. Crespi for his help and advice and to Professor Mark Hobart of SOAS for providing information on the Balinese calendar. I would like to extend my thanks to my teacher 颜桦先生 Mr. Yan Hua for his patience in teaching me the local language of Shanghai and to SOAS for providing me with the funds that made the lessons possible. In addition I would like to thank Professor Robert Bickers and Dr. Rossella Ferrari for their invaluable comments and to two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions on the manuscript, also to Dr. Qin Higley and the staff at Brill and to Dr. Louise Edwards for her initial encouragement concerning the publication of this book. I would like to express my special gratitude to the following organisations for their financial support in the way of scholarships and grants, without which I would not have been able to undertake this research: The Sino-British Fellowship Trust and the Kathleen Whitaker Bequest, and the Elizabeth Croll Scholarship, for providing funding for my fieldtrip to Shanghai and Hong Kong; the European Association for Chinese Studies and the Chiang Ching- kuo Foundation; and the School of Oriental and African Studies for kindly awarding me a three-year Research Student Fellowship Scholarship. I must also thank Dr. Jon Banks and Janine Nicol for reading and commenting on Acknowledgements xi the manuscript, my brother Jason Bevan for his assistance in word-processing and related technical issues and Matthew Shoul for his help in improving the quality of the photographic images. For advice on German and Japanese language issues I would like to thank Angela Becher, Terumi Toyama and Dr. Jenny Preston. I owe much to my former classmate Dr. Shuk Man Leung for her support and friendship and to other friends for their patience in listening to me talk about my work in progress, in particular Howard Benge and Anthony Mak. Finally I would like to give special thanks to my Mother and Father, Fern Bevan and the late Hubert Graham Llewellyn Bevan. Note on the Illustrations

A large proportion of the images used in this book have been taken directly from magazines published in the 1920s and 1930s and there has been no attempt to disguise their origins apart from essential improvements to the quality of the photographs themselves. Tears, smudges or other imperfections that can still be found in the images should be seen as an integral part of these historical documents and any attempt to make them appear like standalone works of art has been deliberately avoided. Every effort has been made to trace and contact copyright holders of these images and to obtain the required permissions for the use of copyright material prior to publication. However, in many cases this has not been possible. Sincere apologies are offered for any inadvertent errors or omissions. If noti- fied, all effort will be made to correct any such errors at the earliest opportunity. For copyright reasons it has not been possible to include any images of the artwork of Miguel Covarrubias in the book. List of Illustrations

1.1 Zhang Zhengyu 张正宇, Routi de meiren 肉體的美人 (Voluptuous Beauty), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no. 7 (November 1936) 19 1.2 Ye Qianyu 葉淺予, Illustration for the Short Story Luotuo-nicaizhuyizhe yu nüren 駱駝•尼采主義者與女人 (Camel—Nietzscheist and Woman) by Mu Shiying 穆時英, in Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”) no. 1 (20 May 1934) 24 1.3 Ye Lingfeng 葉靈鳳, Jinhua 進化 (Evolution), from Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 37 (29 December 1928) 32 1.4 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Liti de Shanghai shenghuo 立體的上海生活 (The Cubist Shanghai Life), from Shanghai manhua no. 1 (21 April 1928) 38 1.5 Ye Qianyu, Yuhuo 慾火 (Lust), in Shanghai manhua no. 36 (22 December 1928) 40 1.6 Ye Qianyu, She yu furen 蛇與婦人 (Snake and Woman), in Shanghai manhua no. 4 (12 May 1928) 43 1.7 Franz Stück, Die Sinnlichkeit (Sensuality), in Shanghai manhua no. 14 (20 July 1928) 47 2.1 Ye Qianyu, [Fashion Sketches], in Shanghai manhua no. 32 (24 November 1928) 76 2.2 Ye Qianyu, Qiudong zhi zhuang 秋冬之裝 (Clothing for Autumn and Winter), in Shanghai manhua no. 30 (10 November 1928) 78 2.3 Wang Zimei 汪子美, Shiren you diyu 詩人游地獄 (A Poet Wanders in Hell), from Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”) no. 5 (25 November 1935) 86 3.1 [Photograph], from Shanghai manhua, no. 91 (18 January 1930) 110 3.2 Zhang Guangyu, Minjian qingge 民間情歌 (Folk Love Songs), in Shidai manhua) 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 12 (20 December 1934) 119 3.3 Chen Jingsheng 陳靜生, [cartoon] in Shiri manhua 時日漫畫 (Cartoons of the Time), in Shiritan 十日談 (“The Decameron”) no. 23 (20 March 1934) 121 3.4 Yan Zhexi 嚴折西, Zhongguo haolaiwu 中國好萊塢 (Chinese Holly wood), in Manhuajie no. 7 (5 November 1936) 126 3.5 Wang Zimei, Jinghu manhuajie 京滬漫畫界 (The Cartoon Circle of Nanjing and Shanghai), in Shanghai manhua (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 6 (10 October 1936) 127 4.1 George Grosz, [Selection of Artworks], in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935) 140 xiv list of illustrations

4.2 Lu Zhixiang 陸志庠, Xianxian he suo si? 閒閒何所思? (At Idle Times, of What do You Think?), from Shanghai manhua no. 73 (14 September 1929) 147 4.3 Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹, Yecan 野餐 (Picnic), in Dazhong shenghuo 大衆生活 (Life of the Masses) vol. 1 no. 5 (1 December 1935) 154 4.4 Zhang E 張諤, Dongxi liang zhanshen 東西兩戰神 (The Gods of War of East and West), in Manhua manhua 漫畫漫話 (Leisurely Talks on Cartoons) vol. 1 no. 2 (May 1935) 155 4.5 George Grosz, American Landscape, in Vanity Fair vol. 41 no. 3 (November 1933) 160 4.6 Anon, Shanghai fengjing 上海風景 (Shanghai Landscape), in Shidai manhua no. 1 (15 April 1934) 161 4.7 “Qiaozhi•Geluosi shi de huihua jiqiao” 喬治•格羅斯氏的繪畫技巧 (The Painting Techniques of Mr. George Grosz), in Manhuajie no. 5 (5 August 1936) 162 5.1 Chen Yifan 陳依範 [Jack Chen], [untitled drawing], in Shenghuo xingqikan 生活星期刊 (Life Weekly) (11 October 1936) 197 5.1a Chen Yifan, [original drawing] 198 5.2 Jack Chen, [untitled cartoon of skull] BM 2009, 3022. 3 199 5.3 Jack Chen, front cover of brochure, Five Thousand Years Young- Modern Chinese Drawings and Woodcuts (London: Lawrence and Wishart, [1937]) 207 5.4 Jack Chen, Woman Volunteer. Christmas Card Published by the China Campaign Committee 210 6.1 [Photograph] Daxin gongsi 大新公司 (“The Sun Company Building”) 217 6.2 Zhang Guangyu, Si da tianwang 四大天王 (The Four Great Heavenly Kings), in Wanxiang, no. 1 (20 May 1934) 223 6.3 Hua Lu 樺櫓, Roulin 蹂躪 (Ravage), in Manhuajie no. 7 (October 1936)) 232 6.4 Chen Baoyi 陳抱一, Taohongse de xin youhuo 桃紅色的新誘惑 (The New Allure of Peach-red Colour), in Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 no. 16 (20 April 1935) 234 6.5 Hua Lu, Tiaoqing 調情 (Flirtation), in Shidai manhua no. 26 (20 November 1936) 238 6.6 Zhang Zhenyu 張振宇, Yibai ge yisheng 一百個醫生 (One Hundred Doctors), in Tiandiren 天地人 (Heaven-Earth-Man) inaugural issue (1 March 1936) 240 6.7 Liang Baibo 梁白波, Illustration to the Short Story “Tianshe fengjing” 田舍風景 (Pastoral Scene) by Mu Shiying, in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial) vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935) 241 List Of Illustrations xv

6.8 Zhou Duo 周多, [Untitled], from Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 2 (15 December 1934) 242 6.9 Huang Miaozi 黃苗子, Ge 歌 (Song), in Tiandiren no. 6 (16 May 1936) 243 6.10 Zhang Guangyu, [Untitled Portrait of Eugene Chen] Collection of the British Museum BM 2009, 3022. 8 249 6.11 Zhang Guangyu, Fenghou tu 封侯圖 (Bestow the title of Marquis/ Picture of Mad Monkeys), from Shiritan, no. 12 (13 November 1933) 250 6.12 Lu Shaofei 魯少飛, Bushi wan’er! 不是玩兒! (It’s Not a Game!), from Shidai manhua no. 30 (20 September 1936) 253 6.13 Zhang Guangyu, [untitled], in Shanghai manhua (10 October 1936) 263 6.14 Zhang Guangyu, Manhuahui kaimu 漫畫會開幕 (The Opening of the Cartoon Exhibition), from Manhuajie no. 7 (October 1936) 264 6.15 Zhang Guangyu, Heping shen wuli zudi 和平神無立足地 (The Angel of Peace has Nowhere to Go), from Duli manhua no. 1 (25 September 1935) 267 6.16 Ye Qianyu, Wenmingren de liwu 文明人的禮物 (A Gift from Civilised People), from Duli manhua no. 3 (25 October 1935) 268 6.17 Wan Laiming 萬籟鳴, [Untitled Mandiao 漫彫 (Manhua Carving)], from Duli manhua no. 7 (25 December 1935) 269 6.18 Liang Baibo, Dui xiao jiao de shuo: xianzai nin de zhiyi bi wo duole 對小腳的說：現在您的知已比我多了! (Said to the Woman with Small Feet: Now you have so many more close friends than I!), in Shidai manhua) no. 23 (20 November 1935) 270 6.19 Pang Xunqin 龐薰琹, Jixieren de ganhua 機械人的感化 (The Refor mative Influence of the Robots), from Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 no. 4 (10 November 1935) 271 7.1 Hu Kao, Quanshijie gongren juzhuang Rihuo 全世界工人拒裝日貨 (Workers of the World Refuse to Unload Japanese Goods), from Xinhua ribao 新華日報 (“Sin Xua Rhbao”) (30 January 1938) 290 7.2 Hu Kao, Lixiang de youxian shenghuo! 理想的有閒生活 (An Ideal Life of Leisure!), in Shidai manhua vol. 4 (20 April 1934) 292 7.3 [Photograph], in the Daily Worker (8 November 1937) 296 7.4 Hu Kao, Shiye 失業 (Unemployed). Photograph in the Collection of the British Museum. BM 2009, 3022. 53 299 7.5 Paddy O’Shea, Shanghai Sketch-Bohemian, in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 5 no. 2 (September 1937) 302 7.6 Hu Kao, Ding nüshi 丁女士 (Madam Ding), in Xingdao ribao 星島日報 (“Sing Tao Jih Pao”) (8 October 1938) 304 xvi list of illustrations

7.7 Hu Kao, Hongzha 轟炸 (Bombing) signed “Wuko” and dated 1939, in Huashangbao 華商報 (“Hwa Shiang Pao”) (19 November 1941) 306 7.8 Ye Qianyu, Ta xuyao jiaoyu ta de ernü 他需要教育他的兒女 (He Must Bring up His Children), in Xingdao ribao (1 August 1938) BM 2009, 3022. 17 310 7.9 Ding Cong 丁聰, Wo ti ni fuchou 我替你復仇 (I Will Take Revenge for You), in Xingdao ribao (28 September 1938) BM 2009, 3022. 21 312 7.10 Chen Yifan [Jack Chen], 陳依範在前綫時自畫像 (Self-portrait Painted at the Battlefront by Chen Yifan), in Xingdao ribao (27 October 1938) 314 Notes on Romanization and References

The pinyin system of romanization has been used throughout the text except in self-contained quotations and with commonly known names such as Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi 蔣介石) and Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian 孫逸仙). In Chapter Seven the romanization of the Shanghai dialect is an approximation of my own devising. In certain instances place names have been referred to using English versions as they were known in the 1930s, for example, what is now Nanjing Donglu 南京東路 appears as Nanking Road. This has been done for purposes of clarity on occasions when English names of department stores and other landmarks appear, for example in Chapter Six. Whenever possible, page numbers and dates of publication have been included in the footnotes. Exceptions to this are the newspaper cuttings which survive in the scrapbooks collated by Jack Chen in the 1940s, many of which lack the date of publication or other bibliographical references. Grammatical errors and misspellings in the unpublished correspondence of Jack Chen and Shao Xunmei have been left largely unchanged. Minor errors in other sources have been corrected. All translations from the Chinese are my own. For Chinese magazines originally published with both Chinese and English titles, the original English title appears (sometimes after an additional literal translation) in brackets and quotation marks (“...... ”). Some magazines were originally printed without page numbers but have been given them by modern publishers, for example, the on-line version of Shanghai manhua (Modern Sketch). In such cases page numbers appear in square brackets. Standard abbreviations such as WWI for “World War One” have been used throughout. In addition the names of several organisations and events have been abbreviated as follows:

AIA Artists’ International Association BM The British Museum CCC China Campaign Committee FNCE First National Cartoon Exhibition IAT International Arts Theatre KMT Kuomintang (Guomindang) NSCPC National Salvation Cartoon Propaganda Corps PRC People’s Republic of China RECACWC Resist the Enemy Committee of the All China Woodcut Circle SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies Note on Sources

The research for this book was enriched by a significant amount of material sourced from archives. This unique corpus of unpublished material includes: correspondence between Jack Chen and David Low (1891–1963) now in the David Low Papers, held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, which also houses letters sent by Shao Xunmei to Bernadine Fritz; letters sent by Jack Chen to his sister Sylvia Chen, housed at the Tamiment Library, New York University; the papers of the Artists’ International Association, in the Tate Gallery Archives, London, the consultation of which proved invaluable in the writing of the final chapters of this study; and the Hahn Manuscript Archive in the Lilly Library, Indiana University, which includes correspondence between Shao Xunmei and Emily Hahn (1905–97). On the visual side, the Archivo Miguel Covarrubias—Sala de Archivos y Colecciones Especiales, Universidad de las Américas Puebla (The Miguel Covarrubias Archives—Archives and Special Collections, University of the Americas-Puebla) is home to an important collection of images, referral to which proved important for the research. The valuable online resource provided by the British Cartoon Archive was also useful for the tracing the cartoons of David Low. Most significantly, a collection of prints and drawings once in the possession of Jack Chen and now in the collection of the British Museum has proved an important source of information about Chen’s touring exhibition and access to this has proved invaluable for the writing of Part Three of this book. Following a period of fieldwork in the USA, in the libraries of New York University, Columbia University and University of California Los Angeles, a large corpus of primary source material, in the form of pictorials, magazines and newspapers was scrutinized at the Shanghai Library, the Library of Fudan University and Hong Kong Central Library on two fieldwork trips to China and Hong Kong in 2011 and 2012. English-language newspapers such as the North- China Daily News, China Press and the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury as well as the Japanese Nichi nichi shimbun 日日新聞 and Mainichi shimbun 每日新聞, the French-language Journal de Shanghai were also consulted in the Shanghai Library’s Bibliotheca Zi-ka-wei. Many Chinese language newspapers were also examined: Shenbao申報 (“The Shun Pao”), Da gongbao 大公報 (“Ta Kung Pao” also known as “L’Impartial”), and Libao 立報 (“Lih Pao”). These have been surveyed for general news coverage relevant to this study and for information concerning specific events such as the First National Cartoon Note On Sources xix

Exhibition in Shanghai. Newspapers published in Hong Kong during 1938 contain much information about Jack Chen’s movements during this period and have proved essential in the writing of the final chapter. As a whole, these primary sources, many of which have not been previously examined in relation to the subject in question, have been the main sources of research material used in this study.

Introduction

A Modern Miscellany

This book traces the development of the manhua 漫畫 (cartoon) by a small number of artists who lived or worked in Shanghai, from the time of the formation of the Manhuahui 漫畫會 (Cartoon Society) in 1926 until 1938, one year into the period of war with Japan (1937–1945). This is done, not by looking only at the lives of the cartoonists themselves, but through a detailed examination of the lives and work of a small number of individuals who were, in one way or another, directly involved in the process. It must be stressed that this is not a general history of the Chinese cartoon. Although several Chinese authors have attempted a history of the cartoon, a satisfactory study on the subject has yet to be written. Instead, the book aims to show how the cartoon developed during the 1930s; what inspired the artists concerned in the production of what was to become a hugely popular art form; what impact their work had on the local community of writers and artists, and in turn, how the world of art and letters, and in particular the publishing world, affected the work of the cartoon artists themselves. It goes on to show how the cartoon developed in the early years of the war as part of a larger propaganda drive in China and how this related to the propaganda work of the anti-fascist community worldwide. Although this is largely done from a chronological perspective it is not intended that it should form a continuous narrative. Instead, each chapter aims to contribute to the discussion on its own terms. In the past, the corpus of material consulted by the majority of modern writers on Chinese cartoons, in both China and the West, has been rather limited, although of course primary sources such as the cartoon magazines themselves have always been a main focus of attention. As a secondary source, one book, Zhongguo manhuashi 中国漫画史 (The History of Chinese Cartoons) by Bi Keguan 毕克官 and Huang Yunlin 黄运林,1 has been particularly influential, although it might now be considered rather dated in its approach. On occasion researchers have sourced material directly from the artists themselves, in the form of interviews and memoirs and although this may seem like an ideal place from which to begin a search for a true picture of the cartoon world in Shanghai in the 1930s and for gaining an understanding of the artistic approaches of the artists themselves, it does throw up serious problems. By the

1 Bi Keguan 毕克官 and Huang Yunlin 黄运林, Zhongguo manhuashi 中国漫画史 [The History of Chinese Cartoons] (Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe, 1986).

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi ��.��63/9789004307940_002 2 Introduction time the Chinese artists in question had shared their memories in book form or in interview, most had long since given up any active role in the field, resulting in much distortion of the facts due to lapses of memory or deliberate attempts to conform to accepted modes of thought. Those who continued as practicing cartoon artists after the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), such as Ding Cong 丁聰 (1916–2009) and Hua Junwu 華君武 (1915–2010), as well as those who shunned the cartoon in favour of other art forms such as Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹 (1910–2002) and Ye Qianyu 葉淺予 (1907–95), were bound to work within the strict parameters formulated by the Communist government, restrictions that for the most part did not apply prior to the 1940s. Many of these artists looked back on the material they produced in the pre-war period as the product of youthful frivolity, or even in some way as degenerate or politically backward.2 Consequently, all autobiographical information has been approached with caution. In order to discover more fully what artists were trying to achieve and indeed to understand more about the status of the cartoon at the time, it has been necessary to focus on the writings by these artists, and others involved in related areas of the arts and the publishing world, that are contemporaneous with the period in question. The scope of the artwork discussed in this book is consciously and deliberately limited to that of just a few artists and is therefore by no means comprehensive. The number of artistic styles seen in the cartoons of the 1930s is even greater than the number of artists involved in the field. The work of the artists chosen best represents the changes which occurred from the time of the beginnings of the modern Chinese cartoon in the late 1920s up until, and during, the major political swing to the left which began to take place in their ranks in the mid-1930s. Three names in particular are mentioned on a regular basis, Ye Qianyu, and the brothers Zhang Guangyu 張光宇 (1900–65) and Zhang Zhenyu 張振宇 (1904–76). These individuals began their professional careers as commercial artists and designers and became central figures in a flourishing group of artists working in several different areas of the world of art and design in Shanghai. For this reason much space in the first chapters is devoted to their involvement in fields such as fashion and furniture design and their interaction with others active in those areas, in addition to their work as cartoonists. The names of several cartoonists of a slightly younger generation will also be frequently mentioned, notably Cai Ruohong, Lu Zhixiang 陸志庠 (1910–92), Wang Zimei 汪子美 (1913–2002), Ding Cong and Hu Kao 胡考 (1912–94). The research shows that these two groups of individuals, particularly those of

2 See for example the discussion regarding Cai Ruohong’s open letter to Yang Taiyang 陽太陽 (1909–2009) in Chapter Six pp. 244–246. Introduction 3 the older generation, were not simply “cartoonists” but were important artists engaged in the flourishing world of art and literature in Shanghai during the 1930s. These artists are amongst the best known Chinese cartoonists working during this period and a considerable amount has already been written about them, particularly in Chinese. However, much remains unsaid about the way in which their art developed during the period. The publisher and poet Shao Xunmei 邵洵美 (1906–68) is also a major figure in this book. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Shao fell into obscurity, but more recently has become a much studied figure with regard to the many aspects of his significant contribution to the fields of arts and letters in Shanghai during the 1930s. It is with regard to his position as a major figure in the publishing world and his contribution to the development of the cartoon that he will be examined in this book. Shao was responsible for the publication of a large number of the most important magazines and pictorials to appear in the 1930s and several of these will be examined in detail so as to place his contribution into context. The book is formed of three parts. Following the introduction, the first two chapters form Part One. Chapter One examines the work of Ye Qianyu, Zhang Guangyu and Zhang Zhenyu, as well as several other individuals involved in the Cartoon Society, their contribution to pictorial magazines and their involvement as designers and commercial artists in Shanghai, particularly with regard to the publications of Shao Xunmei. This continues in Chapter Two with a study of their work as associates of Shao Xunmei and their involvement in women’s fashion and the commercial art world. This broad approach to the examination of the work of these individuals is important in establish- ing the motivation behind the production of their artwork during the ten years leading up to the outbreak of war with Japan in 1937. Chapters Three and Four form Part Two of the book. In this section the work of two foreign artists whose work was highly influential on that of many of their Chinese counterparts will be examined in depth. The first of these, Miguel Covarrubias (1904–57), met Shao Xunmei during his stay in China in October 1933 and through Shao became friendly with Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu and Ye Qianyu. Covarrubias’s short stay in China was to prove crucial to the development of the cartoon in that country, where his work became widely imitated. The impact of his work was on many levels and manifested itself in a variety of different ways. The anthropological research of Miguel Covarrubias has been widely documented, most notably in his own books, Island of Bali and the later Mexico South: Isthmus of Tehuantepec. However, the impact of his artwork on artists in the countries he visited en route to Bali remains largely undocumented. This is despite the fact that Covarrubias is perhaps the single 4 Introduction most important foreign artist to have inspired the work of the Shanghai cartoonists during the 1930s. Although this has been recognized to some extent by a number of writers, the significance of Covarrubias’s impact on these artists has never been fully explained. With regard to this, the impact of Covarrubias’s work on that of Zhang Guangyu has been widely accepted by both modern and contemporary writers and a mythology has been built up around it. However, the exact nature of this impact and how it manifested itself in Zhang’s work has not been addressed in sufficient detail. A study of the work of the German artist, George Grosz (1893–1959) and its reception in China is undertaken in Chapter Four. The mid-1930s should be seen as the major turning point in the history of the Chinese cartoon. It was at this time that work inspired by Covarrubias and other “decorative” artists was giving way to a more politically inspired art. The artwork of George Grosz was a major inspiration for this change of focus. Although Grosz was entirely unaware of the high esteem in which he was held by the Chinese, his work proved to be highly influential on that of the Shanghai artists. Biographies of Grosz abound in both English and German but not one gives mention, even in passing, to his status in China during the interwar period. The work of Grosz had been introduced to China in the late 1920s and would become widely known in the Chinese world of art and literature. However, it was not until 1935/36 that his popularity can most clearly be seen with the wholesale adoption of aspects of the so-called “Grosz-style” by several artists, most notably Cai Ruohong, Lu Zhixiang and Zhang E 張諤 (1910–95). Another foreigner, the Trinidadian-born Jack Chen (1908–95), is an important figure in the final three chapters which form Part Three of the book. By 1936, many Chinese cartoonists had become heavily involved in left-wing politics. It was in this year that Jack Chen visited Shanghai. Prior to this he had been working for a number of years as a contributor to, and art editor of, the Moscow News and his work was already known to many artists in Shanghai through his work for this newspaper. His views on art were based on the Socialist Realist precepts he had learnt in Soviet Russia and on this extended visit to China he found several likeminded artists and writers with whom he could exchange ideas. In Part Three the focus largely shifts from China to Europe and America. It will be shown how the work of the Chinese artists fitted into the worldwide fight against fascism in a global context. The major role played by Jack Chen in the spread of Chinese art round the world is an important but largely forgotten phenomenon. On his travels Chen for the most part worked alone but was also involved on the peripheries of a number of left-wing political organisations, including the Artists’ International Association (AIA) and the China Campaign Committee (CCC) in Britain, as Introduction 5 well as the American Friends of the Chinese People (AFCP), New York publishers of the left-wing magazine, China Today. These groups were instrumental in the organisation of the travelling exhibitions Chen took to Europe and the USA in 1937–38. Jack Chen’s unique contribution to the art world was in the area of propagandising and in his mission to take cartoons and woodcuts around the world to raise money for aid to China. In 1936 Jack Chen was the only foreigner to have his artwork exhibited in the First National Cartoon Exhibition in Shanghai, at which time several Chinese artists and critics singled out his cartoons for praise. In Chapter Six the focus temporarily shifts back to China to examine material concerning the period when this exhibition was shown in Shanghai. 1936 was a time of great change in the form and function of the cartoon in China. Cartoonists sought a final wholesale rejection of wei yishu er yishu 為藝術而藝術 (l’art pour l’art, “art for art’s sake”) in favour of a prevailing call of wei rensheng er yishu 爲人生而藝術 (art for life’s sake). The final chapter of the book examines the dissemination of left-wing, politically driven cartoon propaganda, not through the efforts of the often cited Jiuwang manhua xuanchuandui 救亡漫畫宣傳隊 (National Salvation Cartoon Propaganda Corps, (NSCPC)), formed in 1937 by the Shanghai manhuajie jiuwang xiehui 上海漫畫界救亡協會 (National Salvation Cartoon Association)3 but by tracing the national and international movements of Jack Chen. In this chapter some of the major changes which occurred in the field of the cartoon will be traced through the artwork of Chen’s friend and colleague Hu Kao; from its position as a product of Shanghai’s popular cultural scene, to a fully-fledged, left-wing propaganda tool in the hands of China’s patriotic press. This story finishes in October 1938 at the moment when Jack Chen leaves Hong Kong, in an attempt to take a third series of travelling exhibitions to Europe and America, this time at the behest of the Zhonghua quanguo meishujie kangdi xiehui 中華全國美術界抗敵協會 (The All China Artists Committee for Resistance Against the Enemy). The overall structure of the book reflects the changes that were being seen in the world of art and literature in Shanghai during the period covered by the study. The emphasis on the contribution of Shao Xunmei to the art and literature scene in the first two parts of the book shows an art world dominated by the ideas of European art, fashion and literature, that were being promoted by Shao and his immediate friends and colleagues, which then developed into a widespread engagement with the popular culture of Hollywood and

3 For a good account of this see Chang-tai Hung, War and Popular Culture: Resistance in Modern China, 1937–1945 (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1994), pp. 93–150. 6 Introduction

New York. The very different atmosphere found in part three of the book and its clear change of emphasis, demonstrates well the contrast between Shao’s world of English Decadence and fin-de-siècle art and literature, Hollywood and the New York jazz age, and that of Jack Chen who had formulated his ideas in the very different environment of Soviet Russia. The contrast between these different sections of the book is a deliberate attempt to show the significant changes that had taken place in China during the period in question and the concomitant change of emphasis that was occurring in the lives of individuals in the artistic communities in Shanghai. Shao Xunmei and Jack Chen, two very different characters, are equally important to this study. In both cases, ideologies and methodologies that had been introduced by them (and of course by many other figures during the period, both Chinese and foreign) were adopted, modified and used by the Chinese artists for their own purposes, in their own unique ways, above all demonstrating, not a blind adoption of all things Western, but an engagement on equal terms with artistic concepts that were currently part of the makeup of what was seen to be “modern” in many countries worldwide. In the case of Shanghai and other major cities in China, this can be seen as a manifestation of trends amongst the Chinese that demonstrate thoughts and feelings about what made certain ways of doing and being “modern,” both within the boundaries of the popular cultural sphere and in the fields of fine art and literature. More specifically, in the earlier period of the Chinese Republican era, this can be seen as the acceptance by certain Chinese artists and writers of outside stimuli that were considered by them to be in some way progressive or new in the light of the aftermath of the so-called May Fourth Movement, thus to some extent equating “Modern” with “Western”. The title of the book, A Modern Miscellany reflects its eclectic content. “Modern Miscellany” also happens to be the official English name of one of Shao Xunmei’s own publications, Shidai huabao 時代畫報. A more literal translation of the Chinese title of this magazine might be “Epoch Pictorial” and as the name suggests, the magazine covered many of the areas in both popular and “high-brow” culture in Shanghai which to some extent defined the era. The topics covered in Shidai huabao, its layout and general appearance, can be seen in many other pictorial magazines of the period. The miscellaneous nature of these magazines, Liangyou huabao 良友畫報 (“The Young Companion”), Dazhong 大衆 (“The Cosmopolitan”) and Wenhua 文華 (“The Culture Arts Review”) can also be found, to varying extents, in magazines which offer as their focus the more specific areas of, for example, film, or the cartoon. In order to introduce the complex world in which the protagonists of this book moved, at times it has been necessary to depart significantly from the rather limiting worlds of art and literature which are nominally the main Introduction 7 subjects of the book. The miscellaneous topics found in this book reflect the miscellaneous topics found in the pictorial magazines themselves.

The Cartoon as Part of the Modern Art Scene in Shanghai

Although largely sidelined in the history of Chinese art, the cartoon should be seen as a key element in the history of modern art in China. It has been largely neglected by historians in favour of the art of modernist groups such as the Juelanshe 決瀾社 (Storm Society) and the Zhonghua duli meishu xiehui 中華獨立美術協會 (Chinese Independent Art Association), as well as the work of literary groups such the New-sensationists. It is these groups that have been seen as the modernists of art and literature in China and little recognition in that respect has been given to the cartoon artists of Shanghai. In fact, the artistic lives of these apparently disparate groups were very much interconnected and those working in avant-garde circles were also heavily involved in the production of pictorial magazines, the locus of Chinese cartoon development during its formative years. The period that saw the publication of the magazine Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) (1928–30) and the time when it amalgamated with Shidai huabao 時代畫報 in 1930, should be seen as a major turning point in the history of the cartoon and of the publishing world in Shanghai. Some scholars have cited the publication of a later magazine, Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) (1934–37) as marking the most significant time in the development of the cartoon during this decade,4 but it should be recognised that many of the fundamental principles that had laid the ground for the building of a new cartoon art in Shanghai, the fruits of which can be seen in this later publication, had already been formulated with the publication of its predecessors, Shanghai manhua and Shidai huabao. The period in which Shanghai manhua was published was one of assimilation in the arts, when various sources which had previously been, or were in the process of being explored in Europe, America and Japan, were taken and adapted in China to produce new domestic forms of art and literature. Shanghai manhua and its successors were major vehicles for this phenomenon and should be recognised as such. The work of the Chinese cartoonists was at this time largely apolitical and used as its models recent worldwide trends in art and design, and literature. The cartoonists worked separately but in parallel with the woodcut artists

4 See for example, John A. Crespi, China’s Modern Sketch-1, The Golden Era of Cartoon Art, 1934–1937. http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/modern_sketch/ms_essay01.html. 8 Introduction and those employing the fledgling principles of Socialist Realism during the 1930s. The woodcut artists have been cited as being the originators of a Chinese avant-garde but the role they played in this is only one small part of a much wider story.5 The woodcut artists were a highly politicised group of individuals who looked askance at artists less politically motivated than themselves. As the 1930s progressed, the artistic approaches adopted by the cartoonists were increasingly blended with aspects of Socialist Realism to produce a new style of Chinese art which would come to maturity with the outbreak of war in 1937. The account of the work of Ye Qianyu that now follows is an example of how politics was to become an important factor in the publication of cartoons during the later 1930s but was not necessarily seen to be of central importance during the early years of cartoon production. It demonstrates that the received history does not always reflect reality. Before the period when the cartoon became heavily politically focussed, models for cartoons came from the field of fine and commercial art as well as from foreign publications. The comic strip “Bringing up Father” by the American, George McManus (1884–1954), appeared in Shanghai in the American-owned newspaper, the China Press. This cartoon strip has famously been cited by Ye Qianyu as the source for his long- running cartoon strip “Wang xiansheng.”6 Before becoming one of the driving forces behind Shanghai manhua and the Cartoon Society, Ye had worked as a commercial artist in Shanghai. The following English-language account from the magazine China at War gives the popular view of his early working life.

Mr Yeh is well-known in China as a good cartoonist. He is particularly known as the creator of the popular comic strip, “Mr. Wang and Little Chen,” . . . From the standpoint of providing amusement and laughs to the readers, it was a great success . . . But the young cartoonist was not too satisfied with the slap-stick characters he had created with his pen and bottle of ink. The war in China gave him a good opportunity to chuck the comics and turn to something more useful.7

5 Tang Xiaobing, Origins of the Chinese Avant-garde—The Chinese Woodcut Movement (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2008). 6 See Ye Qianyu 叶浅予, Xixu cangsang ji liunian 细叙沧桑记流年 [Trifling Talks on Times of Great Change and a Record of Fleeting Time]. http://www.tianyabook.com/renwu2005/js/y/ yeqianyu/xxcs/index.html. Retrieved on 20 August 2011. The influence of the work of McManus on Ye Qianyu’s “Wang xiansheng” has been widely recognised. 7 “Chinese Humour in Wartime: Cartoons by Yeh Chien-yu,” in China at War vol. 11 no. 5, (November 1943): pp. 48–49, and “Escape from Hong Kong: Wartime Works of a Famous Cartoonist,” Ibid., pp. 48–52. Introduction 9

This is very much an oversimplified view of Ye Qianyu’s working life. During his early career worked in a number of areas. He was a photographer and contributed in that capacity to magazines such as Shanghai manhua and Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”) and, as a noted member of the photography society Heibaishe 黑白社 (The Black and White Society), to the magazine Heibai yingji 黑白影集 (“The Black and White Pictorialist”).8 As a fashion designer, his designs for women’s clothes appeared regularly in such magazines as Liangyou huabao 良友畫報 (“The Young Companion”), Linglong 玲瓏 (“Lin Loon Magazine”) and Shanghai manhua. His designs, illustrations, sketches and cartoons in Shanghai manhua show a sophisticated understanding of many styles of Western fin-de-siècle and twentieth-century trends in art and design. In 1934 he was a major contributor to Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) and other pictorial and cartoon magazines and his cartoons strips featuring Mr. Wang and Little Chen appeared throughout most of the 1930s. During the war with Japan from 1937 he was to become heavily involved with wartime propaganda, was a member of the Zhonghua quanguo manhuajie jiuwang hui 中華全國漫畫界救亡會 (The All China Cartoon Committee for Resistance Against the Enemy) and was a leading figure in the Cartoon Propaganda Team under the Third Section of the Military Affairs Commission organized by Guo Moruo 郭沫若 (1892–1978). In June 1938 he was sent to Hong Kong and was editor of, amongst other publications, the magazine Jinri Zhongguo 今日中國 (“China Today”). With the fall of Hong Kong in 1941, Ye Qianyu escaped to Chongqing and drew his well-known Taochu Xianggang 逃出香港 (Escape from Hong Kong) followed by Zhanshi Chongqing 戰時重慶 (Wartime Chongqing, also known in English as “Chongqing-1941”). In 1946, Ye took an exhibition to the USA and produced a series of cartoons recording the trip. During the 1950s he was painting in the guohua 國畫 (National Painting) style but was still drawing cartoons, for example during the Korean War period, as seen in the propaganda magazine People’s China.9

8 “Heibaishe 黑白社 [The Black and White Society],” in Wanxiang no. 3 (June 1935): unnumbered pages. See also a photograph by Ye Qianyu, Xin ju 新居 [New Home], in Claire Roberts, Photography and China (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2013), p. 89. This originally appeared in Heibai yingji 黑白影集 [“The Black and White Pictorialist”], vol. 2 (1935): p. 29. Thanks to Claire Roberts for supplying information on this. 9 See illustration to “People’s War in Korea” in People’s China vol. 2 no. 6 (16 September 1950): p. 14. In the early 1950s line drawings by Ye Qianyu also appeared in various publications. Examples can be seen in both People’s China and China Reconstructs. See for example: “Beneath Me are Two Veritable Gods,” in China Reconstructs no. 4 (July–August 1954): p. 45. 10 Introduction

In all accounts of Ye Qianyu’s life and work “Wang xiansheng” is at least given some mention and McManus’s “Bringing Up Father” is invariably cited as the direct model on which it was based. A debt to McManus is mentioned without fail but the details of this are rarely specified. That Ye Qianyu’s comic strip owes a debt to McManus’s work is not in question but how did this man- ifest itself? In the Shanghai published China Press at this time “Bringing up Father” appeared on a daily basis as one of four, single strip, black-and-white cartoons.10 However, in the Sunday edition of the newspaper, a large full-colour version was published and it is only on seeing this version that the relationship between “Bringing Up Father” and “Wang xiansheng” can be fully recognised.11 The similarities between the two can be seen in their use of colour, overall design, and in content, with the figure of a hen pecked husband being central to both. Ye Qianyu wrote of his debt to McManus on a number of occasions. Referring to “Wang xiansheng” he wrote:

From the very start the story copied the American “Bringing up Father— Fear of the Wife story.” Little by little the story emerged from within the home environment to describe all aspects and all corners of society, advancing forward to a grasp of political reality, all formed into a small theatrical sketch for the enjoyment of its readers.12

This is not a true reflection of the content of the comic strip as it appeared in Shanghai manhua in the late 1920s. The politicization “emerging from within the home” only describes the history of “Wang xiansheng” in its various guises as it appeared in much later publications.13 The early examples in Shanghai manhua were not overtly political, only occasionally stressing themes of social comment. This was certainly also the case with the magazine as a whole which

10 “Dumb Dora” by Chic White (dates unknown), “Mutt & Jeff” by Bud Fisher (1885–1954) and “Gasoline Alley” and “Bringing Up Father” by Geoff McManus. See the China Press (3 April 1928): p. 16. 11 This is found on one of two, full-page, full-colour cartoon features in the Sunday Pictorial Section (unnumbered pages).The cartoon strips “Laura” by Pat Sullivan and “Felix” also appeared in full-colour on the back page of the pictorial supplement. 12 Ye Qianyu 叶浅予, “Wo hua ‘Wang xiansheng’ 我画 “王先生” [I Drew ‘Mr. Wang’],” in Xue Yuan 薛原 (ed.) Tanwen shuohua 谈文说画 [Chats on Literature, Talks on Painting], p. 211. 13 Wang xiansheng appeared in various guises from 1928 to 1937. See Huang Ke 黃可, Gan Zhenhu 甘振虎 and Chen Lei 陈蕾 (eds.), Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi 老上海漫画图志 [An Illustrated Record of Old Shanghai Cartoons] (Shanghai: Shanghai kexuejishu wenxian chubanshe, 2010), pp. 134–149. Introduction 11 did not concentrate on political themes but presented articles and cartoons of both a political and social nature within the eclectic content of the publication. The reason for Ye Qianyu’s somewhat distorted account of his past may have something to do with the way he wanted to be remembered in later years, namely as a major painter in the guohua mode, following an apparent rejection of his early years as a cartoonist, particularly of the time before the war when he can be seen to have been not especially active in politics. It was only as the 1930s progressed, and war seemed ever more likely, that an increased politicised approach to the art of cartooning can truly be seen in the output of Ye and his colleagues who had been involved in the production of Shanghai manhua. It is this road to an increased political engagement, from art for art’s sake to art for life’s sake, that forms the framework of this book. In the last years of the previous decade the main contributors to the ground breaking magazine Shanghai manhua had all been members of the Cartoon Society, just one of the many art and literary societies and associations that were being formed in Shanghai throughout the 1920s.

The Manhuahui

The word “manhua,” usually translated into English as “cartoon,” does not adequately describe the diversity of the drawing and sketching styles found in Shanghai manhua. Although the magazine does indeed include cartoons and caricatures, it does in fact feature much more: striking full-colour cover illustrations executed in a variety of artistic styles; short news items with photographs concerning the art world, politics and society; art photography by famous photographers and a variety of fashion features and associated sketches as well as fiction and poetry. In short, the content of the Shanghai Sketch was very much in the same vein as many other Chinese pictorial magazines of the time, most notably Liangyou huabao but also having much in common with, the, by that time rather old-fashioned, Shanghai huabao 上海畫報 (Shanghai Pictorial) and the Tianjin publication, Beiyang huabao 北洋畫報 (“The Pei-Yang Pictorial News”). The main difference between Shanghai manhua and these magazines was its strong emphasis on sketches, artwork and cartoons and importantly that the artists who made up its editorial team were also its main contributors. The artists involved in the production of Shanghai manhua all continued to work as jobbing commercial artists and contributed to Liangyou huabao and other magazines both before their own magazine was first published and throughout its two-year run. In June 1930 Shanghai 12 Introduction manhua ceased publication and amalgamated with Shidai huabao.14 This new journal was produced by largely the same team of editors and contributors as Shanghai manhua.15 It is the contention of this book that a modern Chinese cartoon art began with the formation of the Cartoon Society, all members of which worked for the group’s unofficial organ Shanghai manhua. Many of the cartoonists who would dominate the discipline of the cartoon during the following decades were founder members of this society. On 8 December 1926, Shanghai’s daily newspaper Shenbao 申報 announced the founding of the society on its front page where a list of members also appeared: Ding Song 丁悚 (1891–1972), Wang Dunqing 王敦慶 (1899–1990), Hu Xuguang 胡旭光 (dates unknown), Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu, Huang Wennong 黃文農 (b. unknown-1934), Ye Qianyu and Lu Shaofei 魯少飛 (1903–95).16 The founding of this society marks a turning point for the cartoon in both Shanghai and China as a whole. It is notable that in a group of articles concerning manhua which had appeared in Shenbao earlier in 1926 no mention of any of the above individuals is made. In one of these, “Kanle zhu zuojia de man-

14 As noted by Kuiyi Shen, soon after it began publication the title Shidai huabao was abbreviated to Shidai. In the present study, to avoid any possible confusion between this publication and others with similar names, the magazine’s full title as it appeared in its earliest issues will be retained throughout. See Kuiyi Shen, “A Modern Showcase: Shidai (Modern Miscellany) in 1930s Shanghai,” in Yishuxue yanjiu 藝術學研究 [Research on the Study of Art] no. 12 (September 2013): pp. 129–170. http://art.ncu.edu.tw/journal/ words/%E7%AC%AC12%E6%9C%9F03-KuiyiShen.pdf. 15 Shao Xunmei was involved in the publication and financing of Shidai huabao which has been said to have been specifically established to compete with Liangyou huabao. See Lin Qi 林淇, Haishang caizi—Shao Xunmei zhuan 海上才子–邵洵美传 [A Talent from Shanghai—the Biography of Shao Xunmei] (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 2002), p. 81. 16 Shenbao 申報 (“Shun Pao”) (8 December 1926): front page. Additional members are listed elsewhere as: Ji Xiaobo 季小波 (1900–2000), Zhang Meisun 張眉蓀 (1894–1973), Cai Lundan 蔡輪丹 (dates unknown). After the forming of the society members included: Lu Zhixiang 陸志庠 (1910–92), Cao Hanmei 曹涵美 (1902–75), Wan Laiming, Chen Qiucao 陳秋草 (1906–88), Fang Xuegu 方雪鴣 (dates unknown), Hu Yaguang 胡亞光 (1901–86), Hu Tongguang 胡同光 (dates unknown), Xu Jin 徐進 (dates unknown), Shen Yiqian 沈逸千 (1908–44), Huang Shiying 黃士英 (dates unknown), Chen Sheye 陳社也 (dates unknown), Zheng Guanghan 鄭光漢 (1909–71), Chen Haoxiong 陳浩雄 (dates unknown), Xu Yonglian 徐詠蓮 (dates unknown), Lu Liaoliao 魯了了 (dates unknown. See Chapter One ), Feng Shiying 馮士英 (dates unknown). See Bi Keguan and Huang Yunlin, Zhongguo manhuashi [The History of Chinese Cartoons], (Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe, 1986), p. 83. Introduction 13 hua yihou” 看了諸作家的漫畫以後 (After Viewing the Manhua of Various Artists),17 manhua is described as “the newest product of China’s Western art circles” and the artists mentioned who worked within the discipline were Feng Zikai 豐子愷 (1898–1975), Ji Xiaobo 季小波 (1900–2000), Zheng Wenda 鄭吻大18 and Ye Lingfeng 葉靈鳳 (1905–1975). Feng Zikai began to paint manhua for the magazine Wenxue zhoubao 文學周報 (Literature Weekly) in 1924 and is widely credited with bringing the term manhua to China from Japan.19 Ji Xiaobo was soon to become a member of the Cartoon Society, although he was not listed as a founder member in the Shenbao declaration. He, in common with Ye Lingfeng and other artists such as the brothers Wan Laiming 萬籟鳴 (1900–97) and Wan Guchan 萬古蟾 (1900–95), were regular contributors to Liangyou huabao and other magazines, providing it with drawings in a style redolent of the English artist Aubrey Beardsley (1872–98). Ye Lingfeng, who became known as the “Chinese Aubrey Beardsley,” had long been producing this type of drawing for magazines such as Hongshui 洪水 (Flood) to illustrate his own writings as well as those of his colleagues.20 Less than a decade later, when Wang Zimei wrote an article looking back at the history of the cartoon,21 the style in which these artists drew, namely in a “Beardsley-esque” black-and- white style, was no longer widely considered to be manhua at all.22 It is the contention of this author that the artists involved in the earliest period of cartoon production, those from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, belonged to a tradition born out of a Western/Victorian approach to political caricature, in the manner of the popular magazines Punch and Puck and it is only with the successors to these artists that a true “first generation” of Chinese cartoon artists can be seen, specifically with the formation of the Cartoon Society. It is the artists who came to a burgeoning maturity with

17 Shenbao (29 January 1926): p. 3. 18 The identity of this artist remains unconfirmed as there is a printing error in Shenbao. 19 For the definitive study of the life and work of Feng Zikai see Geremie R. Barmé, An Artistic Exile—A Life of Feng Zikai (Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 2002). 20 See for example Ye Lingfeng 葉靈鳳, illustration for “Zhen de yishujia 真的藝術家 [The Real Artist],” by Hong Weifa 洪為法 (1899–1970), in Hongshui 洪水 (Flood) vol. 1 no. 2 (1 October 1925): p. 33. 21 Wang Zimei 汪子美 (1913–2002), “Zhongguo manhua zhi yanjin ji zhanwang 中國漫畫之演進及展望 [The Evolution and Future of Chinese Cartoons],” first published in Manhua shenghuo 漫畫生活 [Cartoon Life] vol. 2: pp. 2–3. See Zhou Limin 周立民 and Wang Xiaodong 王晓东 (eds.), Manhua shenghuo—Lao Shanghai qikan jingdian 漫画生活—老上海期刊经典 [Cartoon Life—Classic Periodicals of Old Shanghai] (Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan chubanshe, 2004), pp. 263–270. 22 Wang Zimei, “Zhongguo manhua zhi yanjin ji zhanwang.” 14 Introduction the publication of Shanghai manhua in 1928 who should be seen as the founders of a modern Chinese cartooning art. Wang Zimei’s 1935 essay concurs with this view. In it he states that although the appearance of the cartoon in China was not in any way sudden, as there had been cartoonists working there for a number of years, it was only the artists of Shanghai manhua who had been able to develop a cartoon art fit for a new age and were able to demonstrate to their predecessors that theirs was a true avant-garde in the field of cartoons.23 Referring to manhua from the early twentieth century, including no doubt to that of the artists drawing in a “Beardsley-esque” style, he states that before the appearance of Shanghai manhua, although much had been produced “which approximated the idea of the cartoon, it had been arbitrary and was not capable of providing a true bedrock on which a cartooning art could be built.”24 Ye Qianyu, Zhang Guangyu and Zhang Zhenyu, all members of the Cartoon Society, are all mentioned in Wang’s seminal article. These figures are central to this present study and their names will appear in several chapters of this book, as will that of Wang Zimei himself. These artists became some of the most famous figures in the art world of twentieth-century China, both before, and after the founding of the PRC. As mentioned above, Ye Qianyu would continue working as a cartoonist after 1949 but would become well-known for his depictions of Chinese and foreign dancers and other subjects in the Guohua style. Zhang Guangyu also continued to work as a cartoonist and would become increasingly popular following the founding of the PRC. His brother, as Zhang Zhengyu 張正宇 (he changed his name from Zhenyu 振宇 to Zhengyu 正宇 in the mid-1930s) was to become well-known as a calligrapher, in common with several other cartoonists, including Huang Miaozi and Huang Yao 黃堯 (1914–87). It is the world of Shanghai as depicted by these artists and their colleagues during the 1930s, their lives as commercial artists and cartoonists, and the significant impact they made on the art of China, that will be examined in Chapter One.

23 Ibid., p. 264. 24 Ibid. Also cited in Bi and Huang, Zhongguo manhuashi, p. 102. Part 1 The Beginnings of the Modern Chinese Cartoon

∵

CHAPTER 1 Manhua Artists in Shanghai

In Part One of this book the aim is to demonstrate that art production for many pictorial magazines of the 1920s and 1930s was largely the responsibility of a small group of individuals, each of whom were involved in the areas of fine and commercial art and that these individuals were closely associated with other groups of artists and writers who were producing work as part of a vital and vigorous avant-garde related to the wider art and literature scene in Shanghai. In order to examine how the artists involved in the publication of Shanghai manhua fitted into the world of a Chinese avant-garde it will be necessary to compare their work with that of the Juelanshe, The Storm Society. The Storm Society, formed in 1931, one year after Shanghai manhua ceased publication, is commonly thought to be China’s first avant-garde art group during the Republican Period.1 However, if the corpus of material produced by members of the Storm Society is directly compared with that of the artists who contributed to Shanghai manhua it will be seen that the claim for the Storm Society as being the first modernists may be somewhat exaggerated. It is not the intention here to belittle the achievements of the Storm Society or indeed to criticise them in any way but rather to show that prior to the formation of that Society, other artists, in particular those working for Shanghai manhua, had been utilizing many of the styles in their own work that would later appear in the Storm Society’s public exhibitions. When comparing the work of the artists of Shanghai manhua and the Storm Society it can be seen that much of the manhua artists’ work was as experimental as that produced by the Storm Society and indeed often more so. Throughout the 1930s the affiliation of individual artists with specific groups was certainly not as clear-cut as some might suggest. Liang Baibo 梁白波 (1911–67), who would later become a major figure in the National Salvation Cartoon Propaganda Corps (NSCPC) and contributed to many manhua journals during the 1930s, was herself a one-time member of the Storm Society2

1 See Ralph Croizier, “Post-Impressionists in Prewar Shanghai: the Juelanshe (Storm Society) and the Fate of Modernism in Republican China,” in Modernity in Asian Art, John Clark (ed.) (Sydney: Wild Peony, 1993), pp. 135–154 and for information on the Chinese Independent Art Association see Kuiyi Shen, http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/institutions/shen.htm. Retrieved on 12 May 2014. 2 Huang Ke, Gan Zhenhu and Chen Lei (eds.), Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, p. 84.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi ��.��63/9789004307940_003 18 CHAPTER 1 and also provided surrealist-inspired drawings for both Wenyi huabao and Shidai huabao (see Chapter Six). Ni Yide 倪貽德 (1901–70), a prominent member of the Storm Society, had contributed articles to Shanghai manhua and these appeared alongside writings and drawings by the magazine’s regular, core contributors, Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu, Ye Qianyu and Huang Wennong. Ni’s colleague in the Storm Society Zhou Duo 周多 (1910–89), more usually seen as a proponent of “fine art,” produced a cartoon for the back page of an issue of the cartoon magazine Shidai manhua.3 His nudes have much in common with those of Zhang Zhenyu, both having clearly been inspired by the work of Henri Matisse (1869–1954) and Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). Amongst such examples by Zhang is one shown at the National Cartoon Exhibition of 1936, Routi de meiren 肉體的美人 (Voluptuous Beauty) (fig. 1.1)4 and another in the same style, Riguangyu 日光浴 (Sunbathing) which appeared in the magazine Dianying manhua 電影漫畫 (Film Cartoons), signed and dated 1935.5 A similarity can be seen, in both concept and execution, between these and Zhou Duo’s impressive nudes in Wenyi huabao as well as to portraits of women by Zhou’s colleague in the Storm Society, Pang Xunqin 龐薰琹 (1906–85).6 An example of Picasso’s own work in this genre found in a Chinese context; the type of nude that may have been an inspiration for the Chinese artists, is a black-and-white reproduction of his 1921 Grande Baigneuse. This appeared in Tiandiren 天地人 (Heaven-Earth-Man), a magazine published by the Zhang brothers’ Duli chubanshe 獨立出版社 (“Independence Press”) in 1936.7 The year before, in Shidai huabao, one of Pang Xunqin’s best known works makes an appearance on a page showing a selection of exhibits from the Storm Society’s third exhibition8 which also appeared in Liangyou and is found again as the front cover of Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”)9

3 Ye shen 夜深 [In Deepest Night], Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 [Modern Sketch] no. 23 (November 1935): back page. 4 Zhang Zhengyu 张正宇, Routi de meiren 肉體的美人 [Voluptuous Beauty], in Manhuajie 漫畫界 [“Modern Puck”] no. 7 (November 1936): unnumbered page. 5 Zhang Zhengyu, Riguang yu日光浴 [Sun Bathing], in Dianying manhua 電影漫畫 [Film Cartoons] no. 6 (1935): unnumbered page. 6 See a picture of a woman seated in a wicker chair by Pang Xunqin in Shidai huabao 時代畫報 [Modern Miscellany], vol. 3 no. 8 (16 December 1932): unnumbered page. 7 Pablo Picasso, Grande Baigneuse (1921) (Museé d’Orangerie, Paris). The painting appears under the name Luonü 裸女 [Female Nude], in Tiandiren 天地人 no. 7 (1 June 1936): unnumbered page. 8 Shidai huabao, vol. 8 no. 10 (October 1935): unnumbered page. 9 Liangyou huabao 良友畫報 [Young Companion] (10 November 1935): p. 21 and Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 [Independence Cartoons]: front cover. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 19

Figure 1.1 Zhang Zhengyu 张正宇, Routi de meiren 肉體的美人 (Voluptuous Beauty), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no. 7 (November 1936).

(See Chapter Six for more on this). Ruci Bali 如此巴黎 (Such is Paris), another of Pang’s best known paintings, showing his impressions of Paris where he had studied, appeared in Shidai huabao in 1931 in a feature entitled Bali de youhuo 巴黎的誘惑 (The Lure of Paris).10 Such paintings, appearing in publications alongside the work of the “cartoon artists,” shows a close working relationship between these apparently disparate artistic groups in Shanghai. The editorial team of Shidai huabao included many of the most prominent cartoonists of the time, all of whom had initially been involved in the production of Shanghai manhua. Inspiration for these artists and for the format and content of the magazines they were producing came not just from the world of Chinese avant-garde art but also from both high-brow and popular Western cultural sources, notably from pictorial magazines. In the following section some time will be taken to look in detail at some of the content of foreign magazines which Chinese artists and writers judged to be important with regard to their own work.

10 Shidai huabao vol. 2 no. 3 (1 February 1931): p. 7. 20 CHAPTER 1

Marc Chadourne and Paul Morand

When examining the subject of pictorial magazines circulating in Shanghai during the 1930s, the importance of foreign magazines must not be underesti- mated. Randall Gould, editor of the American-owned newspaper the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, recognised that “all the important foreign magazines appear to be issued from Shanghai . . . ”11 Ye Qianyu in his memoirs tells how he and Zhang Guangyu would regularly buy every available issue of Punch and the American magazines The New Yorker and Vanity Fair from the bookshop Kelly and Walsh on Nanjing Road.12 A wide interest in foreign magazines amongst young Chinese intellectuals is attested by the French writer Marc Chadourne in his 1931 book Chine (China). Referring to Chinese students in Shanghai at the time, he suggests, “If you hear one of them speak of Proust or of Picasso, do not ask him if he has been to Montparnasse. It is in Harper’s, in Vogue, or in Vanity Fair that he has learned about French contemporaries.”13 Chadourne’s comments might certainly be viewed as rather patronizing but he did at least recognise the scholarship of some Chinese intellectuals. Chadourne, who was friends with André Gide (1869–1951) and had travelled in the Congo with him in the 1920s recalled, “ . . . Gide recently received from a young Chinese woman, Madame Yang, a study of his work which in his opinion ranks with the best critical essays of which he has been the subject.”14 This “essay” was no doubt, L’attitude d’Andre Gide par Madame Yang Tchang Lomine (Zhang Ruoming 張若名 (1902–58)), published by the Université Franco-Chinoise de Peiping in 1931, a piece of writing which Gide had indeed described as “excellent” despite the fact that he saw it as being largely “made up of quotations.”15 Chadourne relates how he had met a group of young writers and found them to be interested in the writings of Paul Morand, “In Shanghai I knew some young poets who had read Morand and were composing ‘Symphonies Métropolitaines’

11 Randall Gould, “The Foreign Press in China,” in the China Critic vol. 10 no. 9 (August 29 1935): p. 203. 12 Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian, Chapter 20 and Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, p. 183. 13 Marc Chadourne, China (New York: Covici Fiede, 1932), p. 168. All page numbers refer to the English-language version of this book unless otherwise stated. 14 Ibid., p. 169. 15 André Gide, Justin O’Brien (tr.), André Gide Journals 1928–1939, vol. 3 (Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, Springfield: University of Illinois Press, 2000), p. 138. Zhang Ruoming 張若名 married Yang Kun 楊堃 (1901–98) in 1930 and thereafter went by the name Yang Zhang Ruoming 楊張若名. The “essay” was originally a Doctoral thesis presented at the University of Lyon in 1927. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 21 in Chinese.”16 Although Chadourne mentions no names, here he is no doubt referring to a number of writers who had chosen the subject of urban exoticism as the basis for their writings. Those who used the metropolis as their theme include Liu Na’ou 劉呐鷗 (1905–40), Xu Weinan 徐蔚南 (1900–52) and Zhang Ruogu 張若谷 (1904-?), author of Duhui jiaoxiangqu 都會交響曲 (Symphonies Métropolitaines). In a 1932 article in Shidai huabao Zhang Ruogu himself recounts a meeting with Marc Chadourne in the company of amongst others, Zeng Pu 曾朴 (1872–1935) and his son Zeng Xubai 曾虛白 (1894–1994), founders of the Zhenmeishan shudian 真美善書店 (Zhenmeishan bookshop) and their friend Shao Xunmei.17 Zhang Ruogu had been introduced to Marc Chadourne by the proprietor of Shanghai’s French-language bookshop Librairie d’ Extrême-Orient.18 Although the exact date of their meeting is not stated in the article, it is said that it had taken place two years previously (i.e. in 1930).19 This date can be further corroborated by an article in the North-China Herald which states that Chadourne was in Shanghai in May 1930 as the guest of Jean Fontenoy (1899–1945), founder and editor of the Journal de Shanghai.20 During his stay in China, which was to last “three or four months,” Chadourne is said to have been completing a book about his travels in China and Indo- China. At this stage, the proposed title of the book was Tour de l’Asie and it was to be published the following spring.21 This is most certainly a reference to China, which was indeed published in 1931. A book about the Asian leg of a later world tour, Tour de la Terre: Extrême Orient, although similar in name to that described above, was not published until 1935.22

16 Marc Chadourne, China, p. 169. 17 Zhang Ruogu 張若谷, “Xin shidai de Zhongguo 新時代的中國 [China in the New Age],” Shidai huabao vol. 3 no. 3 (1 October 1932): unnumbered page. 18 This shop was also known by the acronym L.E.O. and the Chinese name Hongdao shudian 紅島書店 [Red Island Bookshop]. In an advertisement in the North-China Daily News of 25 June 1935 the Librairie d'Extrême-Orient is said to have been situated at 55a Nanking Road. It is listed elsewhere as being at the interchange between 2 Route Vallon (present day Nanchang Lu 南昌路) and 68 Route Voyron (present-day Yandang Lu 雁蕩路) see Ma Zhanglin 馬長林 (ed.), Lao Shanghai hangming cidian 1880–1941 老上海行名辭典 1880–1941 [Hong List of Old Shanghai 1880–1941], (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2005), p. 264. A photograph of the bookshop can be seen in the magazine Dazhong 大衆 [“Cosmopolitan”] no. 13 (November 1934): p. 11. 19 Zhang Ruogu, “Xin shidai de Zhongguo,” [p. 17]. 20 “New French Book on China,” in the North-China Herald (13 May 1930): p. 267. Jean Fontenoy (1899–1945) lived at 27 Route Ghisi, Shanghai. 21 Ibid. 22 Marc Chadourne, Tour de la Terre: Extrème Orient, (Paris: Librairie Plon, 1935). 22 CHAPTER 1

An interest in the work of Morand is explicitly stated by Zhang Ruogu in the preface to his short novel Duhui jiaoxiangqu when he says that he had “recently been absorbing” Morand’s works.23 So taken with the writings of Morand was he that his translation of a short story, Huisheng, qing ni daying 迴聲, 請你答應 (Echo, Please Respond), Écho, Répondez! from Morand’s collection L’Europe galante would later appear in the magazine Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”).24 By that time, in the inaugural issue of this short-lived magazine, another translation of an essay by Morand had already appeared, entitled Si de yishu 死的藝術 (The Art of Dying), translated by one Zhang Chongwen.25 The English original of this essay had appeared in the magazine Vanity Fair in December 1930 and a French version was only later published in book form in 1932.26 Zhang’s translation does not follow either version exactly. However, from the foreign names which appear in the text, “Diogenes” rather than the French “Diogène” and “Socrates” rather than “Socrate” it can be seen that this is a translation (and partial rewriting) of an English-language original, most likely of the Vanity Fair version. Another translation/rewriting of this type by Zhang Chongwen can be seen in his short biography of George Grosz from Wenyi huabao, which will be examined in Chapter Four. Paul Morand began a tour of the East in 1925 and this is recorded in his book Rien que la Terre (Nothing but the Earth) of 1927. Morand’s journey took him first to Japan where he arrived in late July, visiting Nikko on the 21st of that month. Shortly afterwards he travelled to Beijing and Shanghai and was in Singapore by late August. After just two days in Singapore he departed for Thailand on 29 August where he arrived at the beginning of September.

23 Unseen, but cited by Heinrich Fruehauf in, “Urban Exoticism in Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature,” in From May Fourth to June Fourth—Fiction and Film in Twentieth-century China, Ellen Widmer and David Der-wei Wang (eds.) (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1993), p. 152. 24 Wanxiang 萬象 no. 3 (June 1935): unnumbered page. Paul Morand, Zhang Ruogu (tr.) “Huisheng, qing ni daying 回聲, 請你答應 [Echo, Please Respond]” originally published as ‘Écho, Répondez!’, from L’Europe galante in Paul Morand, Nouvelles completes (Paris: Éditions Gallimard, 1992), pp. 369–372. Zhang Ruogu also quotes Morand extensively in “Yi ge Zhongguoren duiyu Andelie Ma’erlu de ganxiang 一個中國人對於安德烈馬爾路的感想 [The Impressions of a Chinese Man with Regard to André Malraux],” in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): pp. 12–15. 25 Wanxiang no. 1 (20 May 1934): unnumbered page. These translations have not previously been cited in studies concerning Paul Morand. 26 Paul Morand, L’Art de Mourir suivi de Le Suicide en Littérature (Paris: Éditions des Cahiers Libres, 1932), pp. 7–29. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 23

He then visited Cambodia and Vietnam.27 According to his writings, all told, the amount of time Morand spent in China could not have been much more than two weeks, perhaps just a week in each of the two cities of Beijing and Shanghai. Although he did not stay long in China, and apparently felt no particular affinity with the country, his short stories were to be highly influential on the New-sensationists and other Francophile writers in Shanghai. Several writers, including Leo Ou-fan Lee, Shu-mei Shih and Peng Hsiao-yen, have discussed the impact of Morand’s work on the Chinese New-sensationists and their Japanese precursors, mentioning amongst other things the special issue of Liu Na’ou’s magazine Wugui lieche 無軌列車 (Trackless Train) of 1928 which was largely devoted to him. This magazine contains a lengthy biographical article about Morand by Bernard Crémieux (dates unknown) and two translations of his short stories.28 Morand’s reputation in Tokyo and Shanghai at first rested on his early avant- garde output, written shortly after WWI, and this was highly influential on a number of writers in China. However, two books by Morand, which would later become known to the Shanghai literary scene, were much less experimental in both form and content, New York (first published in 1929 with an English translation in 1931) and A Frenchman’s London (1934). New York was even described by one contemporary reviewer as “a piece of journalistic writing . . . [that] makes no pretence to be more.”29 In fact both books are highly erudite, detailed accounts of the author’s visits, to and lengthy wanderings around, those cities presented in the form of non-stop guided tours. These travel books are notably different to the earlier short stories that had appealed to the Japanese in the early 1920s and the Chinese later in that decade, and although they make for compelling reading, lack much of the vivacity of his earlier experimental fiction. The Chinese readers of the early 1930s were certainly aware of these books and their interest in them did not stop with Morand’s contribution to them. Nine of the fourteen illustrations by Joquin [Joaquin] Vaquero that had appeared

27 Paul Morand, Nouvelles completes, XLVII. See also Peng Hsiao-yen, Dandyism and Transcultural Modernity—The dandy, the flâneur, and the translator in 1930s Shanghai, Tokyo, and Paris (London and New York: Routledge and Academia Sinica, 2010), p. 97. 28 Leo Ou-fan Lee, Shanghai Modern: The Flowering of a New Urban Culture in China 1930– 1945 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, London: Harvard University Press, 1999), pp. 198–203. Shih, Shu-mei: The Lure of the Modern—Writing Modernism in Semicolonial China, 1917– 1937 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001), pp. 245–246 and p. 288 etc., and Peng Hsiao-yen: Dandyism and Transcultural Modernity, pp. 42–43 and pp. 92–97. 29 Review of New York by C.B.F., in Geography vol. 17 no. 1 (March 1932): p. 61. 24 CHAPTER 1

Figure 1.2 Ye Qianyu 葉淺予, Illustration to the short story Luotuo-nicaizhuyizhe yu nüren 駱駝•尼采主義者與女人 (Camel—Nietzscheist and Woman) by Mu Shiying 穆時英, in Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”) no. 1 (20 May 1934), signed by Ye Qianyu with the typical “deconstructed” signature he used at this time—“Qianyu.”

in the English version of New York would also become known to the readers of Shao Xunmei’s Shidai huabao where they were reproduced in 1934.30 These pictures of the skyscrapers of New York include depictions of the Woolworth Building, The Ritz Tower and the recently built Chrysler and Empire State Buildings. The article in which these images can be found in Shidai huabao takes its title Niuyue fengjingxian 紐約風景綫 (Panorama of New York) from the final chapter of Morand’s book. Morand describes the skyscraper as having become “the modern artist’s symbol of America”31 and indeed in Shidai huabao, this highly fashionable art-and-design conscious magazine, many articles appear which feature the skyscrapers and modern buildings of both New York and Shanghai. At this stage it is important to note that by 1934, members of the New- Sensationist group were making contributions to several of the magazines

30 “Niuyue fengjingxian 紐約風景綫 [Panorama of New York],” Shidai huabao vol. 5 no. 5 (1 January 1934): [p. 146]. The artist is probably Joaquin Vaquero Palacios (1900–1987). 31 Paul Morand, New York (London: Heinemann, 1931), p. 39. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 25 with which the cartoonists of Shanghai were also involved. These include Shidai huabao, Wanxiang, Tiandiren and Wenyi huabao. For example, the well-known short story by Mu Shiying, Baijin de nüti suxiang 白金的女體塑像 (Platinum Statue of a Female Nude), can be found in Shidai huabao 32 in 1934 and his short story Luotuo, Nicaizhuyizhe yu nüren 駱駝•尼采主義者與女人 (Camel, Nietzscheist and Woman) appeared in the inaugural issue of Wanxiang with illustrations by Ye Qianyu (fig. 1.2).33 This story is followed directly in the same magazine with Suibi erti 隨筆二題 (Two Random Jottings) by Shi Zhecun, who also wrote the first full-length essay to appear in Zhang Guangyu’s magazine Duli manhua.34 The quintessential magazine of the New- sensationists was to be Füren huabao 婦人畫報 (Women’s Pictorial) edited by Guo Jianying 郭建英 (1907–79), the artist who would be most frequently associated with that group.35 Two “sketches” in Shidai manhua drawn by Guo with accompanying poems, entitled, Chun zhi zitai mei 春之姿態美 (The Beauty of Posing in Spring) and Leiqiu 淚球 (“Pearly Tears”—a pun on the Chinese word for golf, Gao’erfuqiu 高爾夫球) show two images of a young woman; one of her playing golf, and the other showing her lying on the ground pining for her lover, with an issue of the American magazine Vanity Fair by her side.36

Vanity Fair

Even if the Chinese had not read Paul Morand’s books, many will have known his name through his regular articles written for both Vanity Fair and Vogue. Morand’s involvement with Vanity Fair has been recognized by Leo Ou-fan Lee but has not been given sufficient prominence in the history of Chinese literature by any modern writer.37 Morand began writing for Vanity Fair in March 1926 following his tour of the Far East.38 Short stories by him, featuring many

32 Shidai huabao vol. 5 no. 5 (1 January 1934): [pp. 154–155]. 33 Wanxiang no. 1 (20 May 1934): unnumbered page. 34 Shi Zhecun 施蟄存, “Xiaopin-zawen-manhua 小品•雜文•漫畫 [Vignettes-Essays- Cartoons],” Duli manhua no.1 (25 September 1935): unnumbered page. 35 Peng Hsiao-yen, p. 63. 36 Shidai manhua no. 2 (20 February 1934): [p. 8]. 37 Leo Ou-fan Lee, Shanghai Modern. Paul Morand is mentioned by Lee a number of times. His involvement with Vanity Fair and the subject of the magazine’s appeal to Chinese readers is discussed on p. 127. He is also mentioned in relation to his short stories and to Liu Na’ou’s magazine Trackless Train on pp. 132–133 and 198–202 and in a number of other places. 38 In the chronology of Paul Morand’s life which appears in his Nouvelles Completes it states that he began his association with Vanity Fair in November 1925. However, there is nothing attributable to Morand published in that month’s issue. His first contribution to 26 CHAPTER 1 of the places he had visited on his trip, appeared in all but one issue of the magazine published between March 1926 and March 1927.39 These stories, all written in English, were collected and published by Albert and Charles Boni in a book entitled East India and Company.40 During the years 1928 and 1929, in addition to his other writing commitments, Morand contributed a piece of writing to all but three of the monthly issues of Vanity Fair. As with his travel books, none of Morand’s writings in Vanity Fair and Vogue are in the mode of his earlier short stories which had inspired the Japanese and Chinese avant- garde but are written in a relatively straightforward reportage style. Marc Chadourne’s comment quoted above, that many Chinese learnt of things foreign through magazines such as Vanity Fair, has been attested by Leo Ou-fan Lee in interviews with Shi Zhecun and Xu Chi 徐遲 (1914–96) that showed that Chinese intellectuals of the time had access to a wide variety of foreign magazines, including Vanity Fair, Esquire, New Yorker, Harper’s and the Saturday Review, Saturday Evening Post, Living Age, The Dial, The Criterion, The Bookman, New York Times, The Times, Le Monde, L’Humanité and Lettre Française.41 In addition a wide selection of French magazines was available from Shanghai’s French bookshop Librairie d’Extrême-Orient (on Nanking Road) and many of these would have appealed to Ye Qianyu and Zhang Guangyu with their interest in design. These included fashion magazines such as La Femme Chic and L’Officiel de la Couture, design magazines such as Art et Industrie and Le Décor d’Aujourd’hui and erotic magazines such as La Vie Parisienne.42 To this extended list can be added Vogue, Punch (all cited by Ye Qianyu) and The Graphic (publisher of the earlier caricatures of Paolo Garretto which were to be particularly influential on Zhang Zhenyu (see Chapter Six). In his autobiography, Ye Qianyu also cites three magazines as sources for many of the photographs used in Shanghai manhua, “a daily newspaper from San Francisco,”43 the Illustrated London News and the Japanese Asahi Shimbun 朝日新聞.44

the magazine can be found in the March 1926 issue with the short story “A Chinese Curio Hunt” Vanity Fair (March 1926): p. 44 and p. 90 and p. 92. Referring to this story, an editorial note on p. 44 clearly states that “[this] is the first of a series of tales of the Orient which M. Morand will write for Vanity Fair.” See Paul Morand, Nouvelles completes, XLVII. 39 No contribution by Morand appears in the July issue. 40 Paul Morand, East India and Company (New York: Albert Charles Boni, 1927). 41 Leo Ou-fan Lee, Shanghai Modern, p. 126. 42 For a list of some of the French magazines available in Shanghai see the North-China Daily News (25 June 1935): p. 7. 43 Sanfanshi ribao 三藩市日報 is possibly the San Francisco Daily. 44 Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian, Chapter 20. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 27

It is clear that the content of the magazine Vanity Fair was influential on artists and writers in Shanghai and its huge popularity in the West was reflected to a lesser extent in both China and Japan. Leo Ou-fan Lee is right to suggest that the advertisements in the magazine for “clothing, perfume, jewellery, hotels and automobiles” were appealing to a particular Chinese social group. The magazine is described in Wenyi huabao as “America’s most aristocratic, most high-class” magazine45 and this perceived high-class status of the magazine is reflected in the names chosen by the Chinese for its Chinese-language title. In Chinese con‑ texts, the title most often appears in English, but sometimes Chinese names are also adopted. Shimao zazhi 時髦雜誌 (Fashionable Magazine) is one,46 but the most common versions are Fuhua zazhi 浮華雜誌, literally “magazine of ostentatious display,” or “Vanity Magazine”47 and Fuhua shijie 浮華世界 (The Vain World),48 the latter also being one of the common names used for Chinese translations of the novel Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863). For its worldwide readership, the opportunity to indulge in the trappings of a modern luxurious lifestyle was particularly aimed at Vanity Fair’s male readers, the equivalent for a female readership being its sister magazine Vogue. As a complete package Vanity Fair offered a real or imaginary opportunity to participate in a share of the luxurious lifestyle illustrated within its pages. This will have appealed to the fashionable sets in both East and West. As an advertisement for the Vanity Fair found within its own pages declares:

Vanity Fair looks at life through a lens of discerning wit and mellow humor. Once a month it draws into the selective focus of its pages whatever is newest, most vital, most exciting, most amusing in the modern world.49

But, apart from the advertisements for luxury goods and services presented in an opulent and luxurious manner; for cars and cruises and for luxurious hotels, what was it in this magazine that particularly interested the Chinese?

45 Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): unnumbered page. 46 Ai Na, “Cong zuijin de zhengbian tandao Riben de xinwen jiancha 從最近的政變談到日本的新聞檢查 [Concerning Japan’s News Censorship with Regard to the Recent Coup d’etat],” in Yongsheng 永生 (7 March 1936): p. 10. 47 Huang Mao, “Manhua yishu jianghua 漫畫藝術講話 [Talks on the Art of Cartoons],” pp. 11–12. 48 See Wang Dunqing, “Weilian Geluopo qi ren jiqi zuopin 威廉格羅泊其人及其作品 [William Gropper, the Man and his Work],” in Shidai manhua no. 22 (20 October 1935): [pp. 25–26] and Huang Miaozi, “Lun manhua 論漫畫 [On Manhua],” in Liangyou no. 121 (October 1936): p. 53. 49 Advertisement in Vanity Fair (January 1932): p. 14. 28 CHAPTER 1

Many of the leading writers in China had an interest in the literary content of the magazine. As detailed above, Shi Zhecun and Xu Chi had access to this and other magazines and Shao Xunmei mentions reading Vanity Fair several times in his writings.50 Many of the foreign writers that appealed to the Chinese literati had articles either written by them, or about them, in the pages of the magazine. It should not be overlooked that many of the figures in the Shanghai literary world were known for their attention to sartorial elegance. Advertisements for clothing that would have appealed to the well- dressed, modern Shanghai man, perhaps best represented in this context by Liu Na’ou and later Mu Shiying, both known for their “dandyish” tastes, are found throughout Vanity Fair. Fashionable ready-made clothing by many of the leading firms in America is advertised together with many luxury acces- sories which may also have appealed to those who still preferred to wear traditional Chinese dress such as Xu Zhimo 徐志摩 (1897–1931) and Shao Xunmei, two other notable “dandies.”51 Advertisements for sports cars abound. Shao is known to have had a love of cars and the images of the latest Dodge, Ford, Packard and Lincoln cannot but have been attractive to him.52 The lifestyle illustrated in these advertisements was as appealing to the Chinese as it was to Westerners and in the case of Liu, and Shao, who had large disposable incomes (in both cases at this time almost without limit) they (and others like them) were in a position to purchase goods such as those seen in the advertisements from Shanghai’s many department stores located in Nanking Road. Vanity Fair was appealing in a number of ways to both artists and writers. Photographs of literary figures, artists and film stars by famous photographers such as Edward Steichen (1879–1973) and Hortz P. Hortz (1906–99) were regular features in Vanity Fair and photographs and other artwork from it made their way directly into some of the Chinese magazines. For example a portrait in Vanity Fair of James Joyce (1882–1941) holding a copy of Ulysses, by the American artist William Cotton (1880–1958), made a re-appearance in China, together with a photograph of the author, in Wenyi huabao under the title, “Ban lifted in America on Ulysses by James Joyce.”53 This had appeared in

50 See for example Shao Xunmei’s article in Shiritan discussed in Chapter Three. 51 See for example the portrait of Shao Xunmei by Paddy O’Shea (fig. 7.5). In this portrait Shao wears the traditional Changpao over fashionable Western-style trousers and shoes. 52 These cars were also advertised in publications such as the locally published North-China Daily News but the black-and-white reproductions found there cannot compare with the striking full-colour advertisements in Vanity Fair. 53 Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 2 (15 December 1934): unnumbered page immediately before page 1. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 29 the American magazine under the title, “Portrait of the Artist as a Best Seller: James Joyce” just a few months previously.54

Western Models of Art and Literature in Shanghai manhua

By the time Shanghai manhua first appeared, Vanity Fair had been in publication for almost fifteen years. In Shanghai manhua photographs directly taken from many sources appeared alongside art work in many different styles which followed closely modernist trends in both the fine and commercial art worlds. Flicking through the pages of Shanghai manhua, examples can be seen in styles as diverse as Art Nouveau and Art Deco; forms inspired by Cubism and Surrealism, the European Symbolists and the English Decadents and even the British Arts and Crafts movement. The involvement of the Shanghai manhua artists in commercial art and cartooning and the crucial fact that they had not studied abroad, may have excluded them from being connected with the “serious” art world in the eyes of many critics both at the time and in subsequent decades. From an historical point of view, their work has been viewed unfavourably by the followers of Socialist Realism and indeed during the 1920s and early 1930s these artists were not amongst those who looked to left-wing politics as inspiration for their art. At this time this was the preserve of the woodcut artists under the leadership of Lu Xun. Although the formation of a Manhua yanjiuhui 漫畫研究會 (Cartoon Study Association) was amongst four proposed groups listed in one of the seventeen motions passed at the first meeting of the League of Left-wing Writers on March 2 1930,55 none of the members of the “Cartoon Society” or the publishers of Shanghai manhua is mentioned as having been in attendance at the gathering. Ye Lingfeng is the only major contributor to Shanghai manhua who is listed, although his presence at the meeting has been disputed and he was to be expelled from the League early the following year.56 The hegemony of Lu Xun and his politically orientated approach to literature and art, particularly with regard to the woodcut movement, created a state of affairs in which artists from outside the approved camp were given short

54 Vanity Fair vol. 42 no. 1 (March 1934): p. 16. 55 A magazine entitled Wuyi huabao 五一畫報 [May Day Pictorial] was planned by the Cartoon Study Association but never appeared. See Wong Wang-chi, Politics and Literature in Shanghai—The Chinese League of Left-wing Writers, 1930–1936 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991), pp. 61–63 and p. 92. 56 Ye Lingfeng was expelled from the league on 28 April 1931. Ibid., p. 111. 30 CHAPTER 1 shrift. This applied not only to the work of the artists but also to their associates in the literary world such as Shao Xunmei and the New-sensationists. Much of the work of the artists who contributed to Shanghai manhua (with the notable exception of the politically active Huang Wennong) was thought to be flippant and even pornographic. Since its publication Shanghai manhua has received no little criticism for what has been seen as its lewd content, particularly with reference to its cover illustrations. However, the charge of “pornography” levelled at it, notably by Bi Keguan and Huang Yunlin in The History of Chinese Cartoons,57 may best be seen as evidence of a misunderstanding of the journal’s raison d’être. A typical example of such criticism reads as follows:

Most of the covers satisfied the tastes of young readers and the petty bourgeois intelligentsia and simply revealed the depressed spirits of young men and women with regard to their lives’ unhealthy desires and their quest for personal satisfaction and comfort. The content is for the most part rather vulgar and boring.58

Such opinions, expressed as late as 1986, are echoed in other writings of the time, including A History of Modern Chinese Painting by Zhang Shaoxia and Li Xiaoshan, which was published in the same year.59 These concur with the views of Huang Mao (1917–) whose Talks on the Art of Cartoons was written nearly half a century earlier in 1939. The views expounded by these writers are the product of a certain school of criticism, inspired by left-wing ideologies, prevalent amongst Chinese writers since the 1930s, which was formulated into an official approach to art and literature following Mao Zedong’s talks at the Yan’an forum of 1942. Other more recent critiques show a slightly more sympathetic understanding, recognizing, at least to some extent, the importance of the content of the Shanghai manhua in the context in which it was produced, but still very much favouring material with a political bias.60 With regard to charges of pornography, it is certainly the case that the editorial team of Shanghai manhua was taken to court and charged with obscenity, but this was with specific regard to a regular photographic feature comparing

57 Much of the content of this book was taken from Huang Mao’s 1947 publication. It has been extensively quoted by modern writers including Chang-tai Hung and John A. Lent. 58 Bi and Huang, Zhonguo manhuashi, p. 88. 59 Zhang Shaoxia 张少侠 and Li Xiaoshan 李小山, Zhongguo xiandai huihuashi 中国现代绘画史 [The History of Modern Chinese Painting] (Jiangsu: Jiangsu meishu chubanshe, 1986), pp. 180–181. 60 See Huang Ke et al., Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 31 the naked bodies of women from around the world, “Shijie renti zhi bijiao” 世界人體之比較 (A Comparison of the Bodies of Peoples Worldwide) which had been copied directly from a German book.61 The court case was won by the cartoonists, or more specifically by Ye Qianyu who had provided the text for the series and represented the group at court.62 Huang Mao’s view concerning the pornographic content of Shanghai manhua, perpetuated by later commentators, has for decades since forced the magazine into categories in which it had no place. As demonstrated above, inspiration for these artists came from sources such as foreign magazines and the diverse work of “modern” European artists introduced to them by those who had studied abroad. In his autobiography, Ye Qianyu recalls how several well-known writers used to make regular informal visits to the editorial offices of Shanghai manhua. Those mentioned are Ye Lingfeng, who had primarily been associated with the Chuangzao she 創造社 (Creation Society), Liu Na’ou, a founder of the Chinese New-Sensationist School and Mu Shiying who would also become a major figure of that literary school. Out of these three individuals only Ye Lingfeng contributed to Shanghai manhua. This he did on a regular basis, mainly as a writer and translator of short stories but also in one instance as the artist of a front cover design, Jinhua 進化 (Evolution) of December 1928 (fig. 1.3).63 It has been claimed that the members of the New-sensationists school were in some way influential on Shanghai manhua64 and it is certainly the case that during the first half of the 1930s several writers from the New-Sensationist school wrote short stories for magazines published by the artists who had produced Shanghai manhua, and the art work of the cartoon artists was used to illustrate these. However, at this early stage, with the publication of Shanghai manhua during 1928–1930 the position was quite different. Liu Na’ou’s first magazine Wugui lieche began publication in 1928, the same year as Shanghai manhua.

61 “Shanghai manhua an shangsu kaipan 上海漫畫案上訴開審 [The Case of Shanghai manhua, the Appeal Trial Begins],” in Shenbao 申報 (16 November 1928): p. 16 and “Shanghai manhua wuzui 上海漫畫無罪 [Shanghai manhua Not Guilty],” in Shenbao (22 November 1928): p. 15. The identity of the German book is not known. 62 See Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian Chapter 8. Whole or partial pages that include the feature “Comparison of the Bodies of the People of the World” in the copies of Shanghai manhua housed in the library of Fudan University have been deliberately torn out. The reason for this is not known. 63 Ye Lingfeng 葉靈風, Jinhua 進化 [Evolution], from Shanghai manhua no. 37 (29 Decem- ber 1928): front cover. 64 Ellen Johnston Laing, “Shanghai Manhua, the Neo-Sensationist School of Literature, and Scenes of Urban Life”. http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/laing.htm. Retrieved 18 July 2012. 32 CHAPTER 1

Figure 1.3 Ye Lingfeng 葉靈鳳, Jinhua 進化 (Evolution), from Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 37 (29 December 1928), front cover. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 33

There are no writings in Shanghai manhua by any of the literary figures directly associated with the New-sensationists with the exception of Ye Lingfeng who is not anyway considered to be a major figure in that group. Mu Shiying was certainly an early starter in his literary career but he would not have even reached his sixteenth birthday by the time of the first publication of Shanghai manhua and was only just eighteen by the time it ceased. As a precocious teenager Mu wrote his first short story in 1930 which was published in the spring of that year in volume six of Liu Na’ou’s literary journal, Xin wenyi 新文藝 (New Literature), but his early writings are written in a rather different style to his later stories such as his seminal work Shanghai de hubuwu 上海的狐步舞 (Shanghai Foxtrot). It was not until 1932, two years after Shanghai manhua ceased publication, that Mu began to write in the modernist style for which he would later be known.65 As mentioned above, it is the case that Ye Qianyu provided illustrations for Mu Shiying’s Camel, Nietzscheist and Woman but this was not until several years later in 1934.66 Personal links between the members of the New-sensationists and the artists of Shanghai manhua had indeed been established before the 1930s as noted by Ye Qianyu, but the work of Liu Na’ou and Mu Shiying was not at this time a direct influence on Shanghai manhua. Imagery in the work of Liu Na’ou at the time, particularly with regard to the “Modern Girl,” certainly had much in common with that seen in Shanghai manhua but so too did it with Liangyou huabao, Beiyang huabao and many other pictorials. The existence of the phenomenon of the “Modern Girl” as a manipulator of men which often appears in these magazines, points to a wide-spread recognition of this trope in the Shanghai publishing world. What might be seen as evidence of a close association between the magazine’s editors and members of the New-Sensationist literary group, is perhaps more an indication of these images as part of the general discourse of modernism in Shanghai, and an association with the scenes of urban cosmopolitism as seen in pictorial magazines, the burgeoning film industry and the avant-garde literary scene.

English Decadence in Shanghai

It is from sources other than the New-sensationists that much of the subject matter in Shanghai manhua is derived; that is, from the widespread and long

65 Yan Jiayan 严家炎, Xinganjuepai xiaoshuo xuan 新感觉派小说选 [Selected Novels of the New-sensationists] (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1985), p. 5 and p. 13. 66 Wanxiang no. 1 (20 May 1934): unnumbered page. 34 CHAPTER 1 lasting interest by Shanghai intellectuals in the work of the English Decadents and European Symbolists.67 By the time of the publication of Shanghai manhua Yu Dafu 郁達夫 (1896–1945) and Guo Moruo had already been greatly inspired by English decadence, particularly the work of Oscar Wilde (1854– 1900) and had published material relating to this in the periodicals of the Creation Society. The resurgent interest and preoccupation with decadence found in Shanghai manhua later in the decade may have been partly due to the friendship between members of the editorial team of the magazine and Shao Xunmei who had returned from Europe in 1926, where he is said to have developed an interest in English poetry and art whilst studying at the University of Cambridge.68 As has been noted by others, the unmistakable figure of Shao Xunmei is frequently seen in the pages of Shanghai manhua.69 Shao was to become a central figure in the publication of cartoons through much of the 1930s due to his involvement with Shidai huabao and subsequent publications produced by his Shidai tushu gongsi 時代圖書公司 (“Modern Publications Ltd.”). The appropriation of Aubrey Beardsley’s distinctive “decadent” style was widespread in China in the publications of the 1920s and can be seen in several magazines of the time, notably in Liangyou huabao with the work of Ma Guoliang 馬國亮 (1908–2001), Wan Guchan, Ye Lingfeng and others. It is interesting to note that in later life Ma Guoliang denied any expertise in art, despite the fact that in Liangyou at this time he had drawn illustrations,

67 As recognized by Laing. Ellen Johnston Laing, “Shanghai Manhua, the Neo-Sensationist School of Literature, and Scenes of Urban Life”. http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/laing.htm. Retrieved 18 July 2012. 68 According to various sources, Shao Xunmei is said to have attended a foundation or preparatory course at the University of Cambridge and was then admitted into Emmanuel College to study either “Economics” or “English Literature.” However, this should be called into question. According to the current archivists of both Emanuel College and the University of Cambridge, a search of the book of matriculations and degrees for 1912–42 (classmark: UA Degr.43) failed to reveal any reference to Shao Xunmei under any of the following names: Shao Xunmei, Sinmay Zau, Sin May Zau, Zau Sinmay, Zau Sin May, S.M Shao or the variant Zao. The archivist has stated: “Unless he matriculated, that is formally enrolled at the start of his studies for a Cambridge degree, he will not appear in the central student records . . . and cannot properly be said to be a member of the University.” It is possible that Shao took a course offered for adults by the University’s Board of Extra- Mural Studies, “such courses did not require matriculation or lead to University degrees.” Personal correspondence with archivists at the University of Cambridge. 69 Ellen Johnston Laing, “Shanghai Manhua, the Neo-Sensationist School of Literature, and Scenes of Urban Life” and Jonathan Hutt, “The Sumptuous World of Shao Xunmei” in East Asian History, no. 21 (June 2001). Manhua Artists In Shanghai 35 including Beardsley-esque designs and many cartoons, sometimes both in the same issue.70 He could even be described as having been the main cartoonist of the magazine for a time.71 Wan Guchan and his brother Wan Laiming were contributors to many pictorials. A drawing by Wan Guchan in Liangyou as an illustration to a short story by Guy de Maupassant (1850–93) shows a black-and- white depiction of a half-naked woman asleep on what appears to be a terrace or bed, with her hair flowing over the side.72 This clearly takes its inspiration from the work of Aubrey Beardsley, particularly from his illustrations to Oscar Wilde’s Salome and is just one of the many indications of the enormous impact Salome and Beardsley’s illustrations to the play had in China during the 1920s.73 Wilde’s Salome had been translated into Chinese by the playwright Tian Han 田漢 (1898–1968) as early as 1920 and had been published in China together with Beardsley’s illustrations. An essay on The Yellow Book by Yu Dafu, “the earliest and most influential figure to adopt the decadent style”74 had appeared in Creation Weekly in 1923 and had already served as a model for Chinese writers. The Yellow Book was to become a major influence on Shao Xunmei when in 1927 he established his bookshop, the Jinwu shudian 金屋書店 (“La Maison d’Or,” Golden House Bookshop) and published an associated journal based directly on The Yellow Book, the Jinwu yuekan (Golden House Monthly).75 Jinwu yuekan was a publication inspired by the English Aesthetic Movement and included translations of the writings of Walter Pater (1839–1894); a favourite of Shao’s, George Moore (1852–1933); Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941); Paul Morand and even Thomas Hardy (1840–1928), as well as a variety of Chinese authors, such

70 “Although I am keen on art I am certainly no expert.” Ma Guoliang 马国亮, Yiyuan fengqing 艺苑风情 [Feelings on the Realms of Art and Literature] (Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chubanshe), p. 77. 71 Ma Guoliang produced a Beardsley-esque illustration in Liangyou huabao vol. 17 (July 1927): p. 25 and in the same issue provided cartoons on p. 34. A selection of his caricature portraits, including those of Xu Beihong, Lu Xun, Tian Han 田漢 (1898–1968), Feng Yuxiang 馮玉祥 (1882–1948), Wang Jingwei 汪精衛 (1883–1944) and Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石 (1887–1975) appeared in Liangyou no. 47 (May 1930): pp. 34–35. Ma is also listed as assistant editor of the magazine. 72 “Xiatian de wuhou 夏天的午後 [Summer Afternoon],” Haulot Péreret Fils by Guy de Maupassant in Liangyou huabao vol. 14 (30 April 1927): p. 14. 73 A photograph of Yu Shan 俞珊 (1908–68), who played the role of Salome in the production of Wilde’s play mounted by Tian Han and his company, can be seen in Liangyou huabao vol. 40 (October 1929): p. 20. 74 Shu-mei Shih, The Lure of the Modern—Writing Modernism in Semicolonial China, 1917– 1937 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001), pp. 115–116. 75 The Yellow Book was first published by Elkin Mathews and John Lane in London and Boston (later in New York) in 1894 and continued until 1897. 36 CHAPTER 1 as Tian Han and Xu Weinan and Shao’s close friends, Xu Zhimo, Zeng Xubai, Ni Yide, Zhang Ruogu and Fu Yanchang 傅彥長 (c.1891–1961). The final three in this list were amongst those who had their books published by the Jinwu shudian during 1930.76 As mentioned above, despite a widespread imitation of Beardsley’s style in the pictorials of the late 1920s, it was Ye Lingfeng who became known as the “Chinese Aubrey Beardsley.”77 Ye contributed a number of writings to Shanghai manhua including Chunü zhi meng 處女之夢 (The Virgin’s Dream) which appeared serially in the magazine during 1928.78 His sole cover illustration for the magazine is perhaps uncharacteristic but still shows traces of a Beardsley- esque style with the large swathes of black pigment seen to the left of the picture (fig. 1.3). At the time Shanghai manhua began publication Shao had just returned from Europe and was involved in the writing and publication of his own poetry, much of which is directly inspired by English “Decadence.” Whilst in England Shao had also been introduced to the poetry of Algernon Swinburne (1837–1909) and the Greek poet Sappho, both of whom would become central influences on his own poetic output. Several members of the editorial team of Shanghai manhua were close friends of Shao Xunmei. At least four well-known names from this team had been invited by Shao to a party which was held one month after his marriage to Sheng Peiyu in January 1927.79 A large number of guests at the party were from the world of arts and letters, including Liu Haisu, Jiang Xiaojian 江小鶼 and Xu Zhimo. Also in attendance were figures from the cartoon world, Ding Song, Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu and the Zhang brothers’ middle brother Cao Hanmei 曹涵美.80 It was perhaps Shao’s close friendship with these artists that was to inspire in them an interest in the imagery of English Decadence.

76 See advertisement, Jinwu shudian yi chuban zhi xinshu 金屋書店已出版之新書 [New Books Already published by the Jinwu Bookshop], in Jinwu yuekan vol. 1 no. 11 (August 1930): unnumbered page. These books are: Ni Yide, Jindai yishu 近代藝術 [Modern Art]; Zhang Ruogu, Wenxue shenghuo 文學生活 (Literary Life) and Fu Yanchang, Shiliu nian zhi zasui 十六年之雜碎 [Sixteen Years of Trivial Matters]. 77 Leo Ou-fan Lee, Shanghai Modern, p. 255. See Shu-Mei Shih, Lure of the Modern, pp. 114–115 for a more detailed discussion. 78 Ye Lingfeng, “Chunü zhi meng 處女之夢 [The Virgins Dream]” was published in Shanghai manhua during September and October 1928. 79 Lin Qi, Haishang caizi—Shao Xunmei zhuan, p. 30. 80 Cao Hanmei was adopted by his maternal uncle as a child and his family name was changed from Zhang to Cao. His original name was Zhang Meiyu 張美宇. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 37

The Modern and the Decadent—The Cubist Shanghai Life, Lust, and Snake and Woman

In the June 1932 issue of Shidai huabao, three cover designs which had previously appeared in Shanghai manhua were republished in a full-page feature entitled “Caricature of Today” Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (Cartoons of the Times).81 Of the three cover designs shown, two are by Ye Qianyu and one by Zhang Guangyu (Fig. 1.4, Fig. 1.5, and Fig. 1.6).82 The artists’ names are also listed as being among the six editors of that issue of the magazine, together with Shao Xunmei, Zhang Zhenyu, Zhang Kebiao 章克標 (1900–2007) and Huang Wennong. The cover designs are:

1. Liti de dushi shenghuo 立體的都市生活 (The Cubist Life of the Metropolis) by Zhang Guangyu 2. Yuhuo 慾火 (Lust) by Ye Qianyu 3. She yu furen 蛇與婦人 (Snake and Woman) by Ye Qianyu

These images represent well some of the artistic themes covered in Shanghai manhua and the distinctive styles of art used in the magazine, and were perhaps chosen by the editors of Shidai huabao for inclusion in the magazine for that very reason. The Cubist Shanghai Life by Zhang Guangyu had originally appeared on the cover of the first issue of Shanghai manhua.83 It shows a family group of a man and woman with an infant and young child, drawn in a style somewhat reminiscent of the decorative cubism of artists such as Albert Gliezes (1881–1953).84

81 Shidai huabao vol. 2 no. 7 (1 June 1932): unnumbered page. Both the Chinese title and an English title “Caricature of Today” are found in the magazine. The translation “Cartoons of the Times” is perhaps a more accurate rendering of the original Chinese. Shidai manhua is of course also the Chinese title of the long-running magazine which went by the English name “Modern Sketch.” 82 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Liti de Shanghai shenghuo 立體的上海生活 [The Cubist Shanghai Life], in Shanghai manhua no. 1 (21 April 1928); Ye Qianyu, Yuhuo 慾火 [Lust], in Shanghai manhua no. 36 (22 December 1928); Ye Qianyu, She yu furen 蛇與婦人 [Snake and Woman], in Shanghai manhua no. 4 (12 May 1928). 83 This image appears in the Shidai huabao article with a modified title; the original Liti de Shanghai shenghuo 立體的上海生活 [The Cubist Shanghai Life] as found in Shanghai manhua becoming Liti de dushi shenghuo 立體的都市生活 [The Cubist Life of the Metropolis]. Shanghai manhua no. 1 (21 April 1928) was in fact the second issue of the magazine to be published. The inaugural issue appeared on 2 January 1928. 84 See for example Albert Gleizes, Portrait de Jacques Nayral (1911), Tate Modern, T021410. 38 CHAPTER 1

Figure 1.4 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Liti de Shanghai shenghuo 立體的上海生活 (The Cubist Shanghai Life), from Shanghai manhua上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 1 (21 April 1928). Manhua Artists In Shanghai 39

This is very much the work of a decorative artist, making a nod towards the cubist style but without any attempt to emulate the fundamentals of orthodox Cubism. Zhang Guangyu’s “cubist” family are grouped together on a plinth as if representing a statue-group cast in bronze. In contrast to this, the background appears as the line-drawings of a commercial artists’ blueprint, depicting many of the sights of the modern city of Shanghai; telephone wires, skyscrapers, a car, a train, factory chimneys, a steam boat and the unmistakable outline of the Garden Bridge, one of the iconic landmarks of Shanghai. The design as a whole seems to represent an average family in the bustling metropolis. With all the sights of the city behind, the family appears to be isolated on its plinth in a body of water which perhaps represents the Huangpu River. The little boy hands his father a piece of fruit, an apple or an orange, his father crouches down, dejected in front of him. Next to them the mother feeds a baby at her breast. The contrast between the sights of the city; all movement, power and speed, and the static family group in the foreground, perhaps reflects the contrast between the everyday lives of the citizens of Shanghai and the trappings of commercialism, modernity and foreign hegemony that could be observed in the city. This design demonstrates Zhang Guangyu’s considerable skill as an artist in both the precision of the line-drawing and in its composition and layout.85 The style of Ye Qianyu’s Lust is altogether different. Here can be seen inspiration from the paintings of fin de siècle Paris, from Art Nouveau and imagery found in the poems of the English Decadents and the European Symbolists.86 The upper portions of the two figures, a man and a woman, are depicted facing each other, the woman on a higher plane than the man. Bright red flames entirely engulf the man while the woman apparently remains untouched. The man with his swarthy complexion reaches up to the fair-skinned woman as if imploring her for help, though she appears to be unmoved by his pleas. The woman, whose eyes are heavily made up, giving her the appearance of a turn of the century femme fatale figure such as Salome, reaches her hand around the man’s neck to reveal a prominent ring on her finger in the shape of a snake. The title of the picture seems to refer to the man’s lustful feelings for

85 A similar “cubist” style is used by Zhang’s brother, Zhang Zhenyu on the front cover of Shanghai manhua no. 5, entitled Dou! 鬬! [Contend!], showing two men wrestling. 86 Ye Qianyu, Yuhuo 慾火 [Lust] in Shanghai manhua no. 36 (22 December 1928): front cover. Jonathan Hutt suggests that this was painted by Ye Qianyu “after Beardsley’s ‘Salome.’ ” Jonathan Hutt, “The Sumptuous World of Shao Xunmei,” in East Asian History no. 21 (June 2001): p. 117. 40 CHAPTER 1

Figure 1.5 Ye Qianyu 葉淺予, Yuhuo 慾火 (Lust), from Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 36 (22 December 1928), front cover. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 41 the woman who remains aloof, a frequently depicted scenario in the pages of Shanghai manhua. The publishers of Shanghai manhua used a standard format, whereby the subject matter of a front cover design would be explained or interpreted in a subsequent issue in the form of a short poem or prose piece, in this case with a poem by Lu Shaofei. The language and imagery of the poem is somewhat reminiscent of the Decadent poets. Both the poem and the picture appear under the title Lust. However, in common with another cover design and its associated poem discussed below, Snake and Woman, this poem seems to be the writer’s own interpretation of the image and appears to describe a rather different scenario to that shown in the picture: the permanence of love between man and woman.

. . . The strong, virile man with the power of a lion, his passion like a burning flame, is inevitably attracted to the woman, beautiful as the goddess of love and as soft and gentle as a stream. When they chance to meet they are mutually attracted; the sun in the Heavens as if opening its great blood-red mouth faces towards the world and laughs cruelly. Love in the realm of man is like soaring red flames reaching up to the heavens, which sternly goads them on. This is as it has been forever. This is forever unchanging.87

Snake and Woman, also by Ye Qianyu, is again quite different in the style of its execution. It is a good example of the type of image that invited charges of pornography as discussed above and owing to its controversial nature has been much discussed.88 A prose poem by one “Liaoliao” (了了) can be found in the issue of Shanghai manhua that directly follows the appearance of Snake and Woman and purports to be a poetic interpretation of the image.89 From the name “Liaoliao” Lee Hak Keung concludes that the author of the poem is one Lu Liaoliao, an artist who had drawn the front cover for a previous issue of

87 Lu Shaofei, Yuhuo 慾火 [Lust], in Shanghai manhua no. 38 (5 January 1929): p. 7. 88 See Ellen Johnston Laing, Chang-tai Hung, Lynn Pan as well as Lee Hak Keung 李克強: Manhua huiyue: “Shanghai manhua” shiqi Ye Qianyu de zuopin ji qi shouzhong, 1928– 1930 漫畫繪閱:《上海漫畫》時期葉淺予的作品及其受衆, 1928–1930 (“Ye Qianyu’s Readers and his Cartoons in Shanghai Sketch, 1928–1930”). Unpublished PhD Thesis. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2008 89 Shanghai manhua no. 5 (19 May 1928): p. 7. 42 CHAPTER 1

Shanghai manhua.90 This is almost certainly correct. However, to then assume, as Lee does, with little more evidence than a concordance of the family name “Lu” 魯, that the artist Lu Liaoliao 魯了了 is one and the same person as the artist and contributor to Shanghai manhua, Lu Shaofei 魯少飛, must be a step too far.91 It is true that a number of poems of this type which appear in the magazine are by Lu Shaofei but until concrete evidence is brought to light concerning this the true identity of Lu Liaoliao will remain unknown. Again this prose poem is written in a “Decadent” style, recalling the imagery of the poetry of Charles Baudelaire and examples in a similar style by Chinese poets, for example those of Shao Xunmei himself. It reads as follows:

Under the accumulated powers and inhibitions of the old Confucian teachings, all poisonous qualities, such as vanity, obstinacy and corrup- tion, generated a pestilent atmosphere in society! Surrounded by strong material desires all poisonous qualities: such as cheating, embezzlement and trickery produced a life full of deep sores and filthy scabs! Women, usually feeble and weak, would attract these poisonous qualities and were also adept at their propagation, gradually contaminating the multi- tude with their malevolent toxins!92

Of the existing critiques of the image and its poem Lee Hak Keung’s analysis is in many respects the most convincing. He argues that this poem should be seen as Liaoliao’s own interpretation of the image and may not reflect Ye Qianyu’s original thoughts behind the image at all.93 Lee sees the cover design as depicting a “Modern Girl,” comparing her fashionable hairstyle to those seen in both contemporary cigarette advertisements and images in fashionable magazines of the period, specifically identifying a similarity to the actress Louise Brooks (1906–85),94 and indeed he is not wrong to do so, although comparisons could equally well be made with other Western film stars, whose photographs regularly appeared in pictorials of the time. Having said this, rather than attempting to link the image with any particular individual, it might be better to see it as a generic image of modern beauty as seen in the world of film in both Hollywood and Shanghai.

90 Ai de mingyun 愛的命運 [Love’s Fate], in Shanghai manhua no. 3 (5 May 1928): front cover. 91 Lee Hak Keung, Ye Qianyu’s Readers and his Cartoons in Shanghai Manhua 1928–1930, p. 54. 92 Shanghai manhua no. 5 (19 May 1928): p. 7. 93 Lee Hak Keung, p. 54. 94 Ibid., pp. 55–56. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 43

Figure 1.6 Ye Qianyu 葉淺予, She yu furen 蛇與婦人 (Snake and Woman), from Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 4 (12 May 1928), front cover. 44 CHAPTER 1

Lee sees the image as representing the idealised image of the white woman. These ideals, in the minds of the Shanghai manhua editorial team can be clearly seen in the series “Comparison of the Bodies of Peoples from around the World,” which made a regular appearance in the magazine. Seen from this point of view the woman in the picture is far from being weak and feeble as described in Liaoliao’s poem. Lee also suggests that this may be a depiction of the dangfu 蕩婦 (loose woman), giving as an example Dolores del Rio (1904– 83), star of the film, The Loves of Carmen (1927), pointing out that she was widely considered in China to be huopo 活潑 (vivacious) and ke’ai 可愛 (cute). “Vivacious” and “cute” the cover design most certainly is. This is above all a “modern” image, displaying many aspects of Shanghai’s jazz-age culture that are evident in contemporary images showing the different faces of the city’s nightlife. Whether there is any relationship in this instance with the traditional views of the snake in Chinese folklore and mythology is questionable and it is perhaps best viewed in the light of other depictions of snakes in Chinese pictorials, two of which have not previously been cited with regard to this subject. The first is of the popular American-born film star, Olive Young (known in China as Yang Aili 楊愛立 (1903 or 1907–40)) from Beiyang huabao, in a photograph which could certainly also be described “vivacious” and “cute”. This image of the film star holding a snake carries captions in both Chinese and English, “Miss Olive Young, moviestar is not afraid of snake [sic].” The Chinese title reads, “Dianying mingxing Yang Aili nüshi wanshe tu” 電影明星楊愛立女士玩蛇圖 (Film Star Miss Yang Aili Plays with a Snake).95 Several issues of this magazine later another photograph appears, “Meiren yu mang” 美人與蟒 (“Woman and Boa”).96 This shows a German woman, apparently wearing a swimming costume, holding a large python or boa constrictor. The caption to this photograph begins by reminding the reader of the photograph of Yang Aili and continues by poking fun at Western women, saying that although some believe Westerners to be fearless, it is certainly not the case as they are afraid of mice. When a Western woman sees a mouse she will jump onto a chair scream- ing from fear. As for snakes, they are gentle and cute “. . . furthermore mice are terrified of them. No wonder women like to make friends with them.”

95 Beiyang huabao 北洋畫報 [“The Pei-Yang Pictorial News”], no. 11 (11 August 1926): p. 3. Ariel Lowe Varges was an American photographer and later a newsreel journalist. See Paul French, Through the Looking Glass: China’s Foreign Journalists from Opium Wars to Mao (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2009), pp. 190–191. Vargas also supplied images for Liangyou (see for example Liangyou no. 7 (1928): p. 15. 96 Beiyang huabao no. 15 (25 August 1926): p. 4. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 45

Leaving aside any inherent meaning that may have been in the mind of the original photographer, in neither case here is the subject of these photographs explicitly depicted as a “loose woman.” On the contrary they are both depicted as brave and forthright; to the extent that they are even capable of holding a dangerous snake in their hands. There is nothing in these images to suggest that these women are being depicted as anything other than strong independent women. Playing with a snake, as the women in these three images are, is perhaps a representation of the modern woman as a lively, attractive progressive member of society and here with this image in Shanghai manhua it is contrasted with the “evils of the old society” as described in Lu’s poem, where women are depicted as weak and sickly, bringing evil and pestilence upon society. At this stage of the argument and with all this in mind, Ye Qianyu’s Snake and Woman and the associated poem by Liaoliao could be seen as representing two contrasting aspects that illustrate well the overall content of Shanghai manhua—firstly, the image of the modern girl, fearless and brave, playing with a snake, not afraid of her sexuality and rejecting the shackles of the old society, and secondly, a poem reminiscent of the poems of the English Decadents written as a metaphor for a corrupt and outdated society. The poem rejects, in no uncertain terms, the figure of the old-style woman as seen in traditional literary and artistic models of which perhaps Lin Daiyu 林黛玉 from Honglou meng 紅樓夢 (The Dream of the Red Chamber) is the best example. In this interpretation Ye Qianyu’s image is not represented by the poem and, as suggested by Lee, the image and poem may represent two different things entirely; the image, reflecting the position of the modern girl in society as an independent strong woman and the poem decrying the sickly and weak woman of the old society. This is certainly a logical interpretation based on the available material. However, one element of Ye Qianyu’s design that has not been addressed is its colour palette. This is crucial to a deeper understanding of the image. Surviving original copies of single issues of Shanghai manhua are very rare. Even rarer is a complete set of the 110 published issues. One such complete set can be found in the library of Fudan University, Shanghai and this is the set that has been consulted for the present study. One of the most striking differences between the original and the ubiquitous reprint published of 1996 by the Shanghai shudian is the difference in chromatic reproduction and tonal range. The colour palette used in the reprint is a poor reflection of that in the original and because of this an important dimension to the appreciation of the original has been entirely lost. The colours found in the original are far more subtle than those of the modern reprint which are brash and glaring and entirely out of keeping with the subtle colour palette available to the 46 CHAPTER 1 printing industry of the 1920s and 1930s. The fine quality, heavy-gauge, semi- matte paper used in the original has been replaced in the reprint by a smooth, thin shiny paper. Consequently the tactile qualities of the magazine have also been lost. When re-examining the image, it can be seen that the colours used to depict the woman in Ye Qianyu’s original painting are strikingly different from those in the modern reproduction. Most crucially for the argument here, it can be seen that the skin of the naked woman in the original is printed in a sickly green colour, as opposed to the pinkish healthy hues seen on the shiny paper of the reprint. In the light of this, it could be said that Liaoliao’s poem may be more faithful to the original than it might at first seem, and although the poem is still not necessarily an accurate depiction in words of Ye’s complete image, the two images certainly have more in common than would at first appear. Ye Qianyu’s design may be thematically linked to an image which accompanies one of a series of two articles on the subject of the German “Symbolist” artist of the Munich Secession, Franz Stück (also known as Franz von Stück, 1863–1928) by an as yet unidentified writer who wrote under the name Ping Fan 平凡. This image appears in Shanghai manhua together with several other photographic reproductions of Stück’s work and is a reproduction of a version of his Die Sinnlichkeit (Sensuality, 1889) which depicts a woman with a large snake wrapped around her body (Fig. 1.7).97 It is certainly more than likely that this reproduction of Die Sinnlichkeit was the inspiration for Ye Qianyu’s front cover as has also been suggested by Lynn Pan.98 With the painting by Stück though, its seductive qualities can be more plainly recognized. Comparing this painting with others by Stück, Ping Fan writes, “Die Sinnlickheit is even richer in seductive magic. Look at this woman’s eyes; they possess the eternal power to seduce the opposite sex. In Western mythology the snake is representative of seduction, here though it is acting as her companion.”99

97 Ping Fan 平凡, “Deyizhi minzu yu Xiduke de yishu 德意志民族與喜篤克的藝術 [German Nationalism and the Art of Stück],” in Shanghai manhua no. 14 (20 July 1928): p. 3, continued in no. 15 (28 July 1928): p. 3. This is just one of several paintings and prints by Stück which show the subject of a naked woman with a snake variously entitled Die Sinnlichkeit (Sensuality 1889) and Die Sünde (The Sin, 1893). See for example a print, Die Sinnlichkeit at the British Museum, Accession number 1984, 1006.26. Another of Stück’s paintings, Xia zhi wu 夏之舞 [Summer Dance] of 1919 (also known as The Dance of the Winds) would later appear in Funü zazhi 婦女雜誌 [“The Ladies’ Journal”] vol. 17 no. 7 (July 1931): unnumbered page. http://womag.uni-hd.de. 98 Lynn Pan, Shanghai Style, p. 138. 99 Ping Fan, “Deyizhi minzu and Xiduke de yishu [German Nationalism and the Art of Stück],” in Shanghai manhua, p. 3. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 47

Figure 1.7 Franz Stück, Die Sinnlichkeit (Sensuality), in Shanghai manhua no. 14 (20 July 1928), p. 3. 48 CHAPTER 1

Two articles concerning the work of Franz Stück had previously appeared in Shanghai’s daily newspaper Shenbao, in the art column Yishujie 藝術界 (The Art World), which was edited by Shao Xunmei’s friend and colleague Zhu Yingpeng 朱應鵬 (1895–?). The first, an article by one Bao Luoduo 包羅多, relates how he had been invited to the house of “Mr. Z:”

One day Mr. Z, of Jing’an Temple Road, invited Mr. Luo Hansu [羅漢素] and me to his home for dinner. Mr. Z is a true artist. He can compose poetry and paint and has a pleasant conversational manner which I find most endearing.100

Two questions must be addressed here. Who is Bao Luoduo, the writer of this article, and who is ‘Mr. Z’? All the evidence points towards “Mr. Z” being Mr. Zau—Mr. Sinmay Zau— none other than Shao Xunmei. Shao spelt his name in this manner for the English-speaking public and used it on a regular basis as an approximation of the pronunciation of his name in the Shanghai dialect. The description of Mr. Z as it is here certainly fits in every way with one of Shao Xunmei. A similar description of him had appeared in Shenbao earlier that year, “He has written a collection of poetry . . . and is good at painting. His paintings tend towards the style of the European Expressionists.”101 The evidence for Mr. Z being Shao Xunmei is strong. One more point which goes towards strengthening this argument concerns the writer of the article. The rather unusual name of the author, Bao Luoduo was in fact one of the pen names of Shao Xunmei’s friend and colleague in the Francophile literary community, Fu Yanchang.102 In the article in question, Fu relates how Mr. Z had acquired a volume of the reproductions

100 Bao Luoduo 包羅多 [Fu Yanchang 傅彥長], “Jieshao Deguo huajia Situke 介紹德國畫家斯多克 [Introducing the German Artist Stück],” in Shenbao 申報 (29 August 1927): Shanghai supplement, p. 3. The identity of Luo Hansu is unknown although at least one article by him did appear in Shenbao. See Luo Hansu 羅漢素, “Yishujie yuekan jieshao 藝術節月刊介紹 [Introducing the Art World Monthly],” in Shenbao (2 November 1926): Shanghai supplement, p. 5. 101 “Hunli zhi 婚禮志 [Record of a Wedding],” Shenbao (19 January 1927): Shanghai supplement, p. 18. 102 Chen Yutang 陈玉堂 (ed.), Zhongguo jinxiandai renwu minghao da cidian 中国近现代人物名号大辞典 [Chinese Modern and Contemporary Dictionary of People’s Names] (Hangzhou: Zhejiang guji chubanshe, 2005). Fu wrote articles for Shenbao using both his real name and his pen name. For an example of the former see Fu Yanchang, “Yishujie de jianglai 藝術界的將來 [The Future of the Art World),” (28 August 1927) (this was published the day before Fu’s article on Stück appeared under his penname). Manhua Artists In Shanghai 49 of Stück’s work while studying in Europe and indeed Shao had only recently returned from the UK and France. Zhu Yingpeng, editor of this regular column, was a close friend of both Shao and Fu and it is he who wrote a second, follow-up article on Stück, “Xiduoke de ouge” 希多克的謳歌 (Eulogy on Stück). In this article Zhu describes several of Stück’s paintings, one of which is the woman with snake “Sensuality.”

Around the woman’s body, powdered and made-up as if carved from jade, is entwined an enormous coiled serpent with pointed head and sharp teeth. The eyes of men are also as piercing as a sharp blade.103

In his article Zhu points to a Greco-Roman influence in Stück’s work, specifically stating that he believed his paintings were based on “Greek thought” and that they accorded with Fu Yanchang’s theories of “Movement” and “Body.” Greco-Roman culture was a major preoccupation of this intellectual circle which included Zhu Yingpeng, Fu Yanchang and Zhang Ruogu and can be seen in such writings as “Xila sixiang zai Xiyang wenhuashi shang zhi diwei” 希臘思想在西洋文化史上之地位 (The Status of Greek Thought in Western Culture), a chapter from a book jointly written by these three writers, Yishu san jia yan 藝術三家言 (Three Artists Speak on Art).104 Although it is not explicitly spelt out in the article, everything points towards Mr. Z being Shao Xunmei, the evidence for which can be summed-up as follows. The first article is written by Fu Yanchang, a friend and colleague of Shao Xunmei and the second by another member of the same circle, Zhu Yingpeng. Shao lived in a large mansion on Jing’an Temple Road (Jing’ansi lu) as did Mr. Z and he was well-known as a poet who had briefly studied painting in Paris. The two-part series on Stück which appears in Shanghai manhua is written by a writer with the pen-name Ping Fan. This pen-name name has proved more difficult to identify than that of Fu Yanchang. It is possible that it may also have been written by someone associated with this group, perhaps even Shao Xunmei himself. It is also notable that Zhang Ruogu wrote articles for Shanghai manhua and the writings of Zhu Mengshu, another figure who was

103 Zhu Yingpeng 朱應鵬, “Xiduoke de ouge—Deguo huajia 希多克的謳歌—德國畫家 [In Praise of Stück—German Artist],” Shenbao (13 September 1927): Shanghai supplement, p. 5. 104 Fu Yanchang, Zhang Ruogu and Zhu Yingpeng, “Xila sixiang zai Xiyang wenhuashi shang zhi diwei 希臘思想在西洋文化史上之地位 [The Status of Greek Thought in Western Culture],” in Yishu san jia yan 藝術三家言 [Three Artists Speak on Art] (Shanghai: Liangyou, 1928). 50 CHAPTER 1 also associated with this group through the salon of Zeng Pu, also appeared in the magazine.105 Frequent allusions to Greco-Roman culture with cherubs, Cupid and other classical figures appear in Shanghai manhua. The proliferation of both naked men and women on the covers and within the pages of Shanghai manhua is a demonstration of the many fin-de-siècle styles that the “cartoon” artists had adopted by this time, including an interest in Greco-Roman and neo-classical models.106 A preoccupation with models from classical antiquity is discussed in an excellent essay by Heinrich Fruehauf and can be seen in the context of the literary and artistic output of those in Shao Xunmei’s circle.107 Classical allusions can also be seen in Shao Xunmei’s poetry, notably with his interest in the poetry of Sappho. In approximately one third of the first twenty cover designs of Shanghai manhua, nudes are depicted in styles ranging from Art Nouveau and Art Deco to Cubist and “proto-surrealist” and many are clearly inspired by the grotesque eroticism of decadent imagery. The image of the Modern Girl with a snake, as seen on Ye Qianyu’s front cover, was designed and executed in an atmosphere permeated by these intellectual stimuli, evidence of which can be seen throughout Shanghai manhua, and that Ye produced this striking image specifically with these stimuli in mind seems to be a strong possibility.

Conclusion

In addition to an interest in decadent imagery and other Western art movements evident in the content of Shanghai manhua, it was from popular cultural sources prevalent in the everyday lives of the Shanghainese that these artists gained much of their inspiration, and these styles and images were to be adopted in the majority of pictorial magazines of the 1930s. Despite having had a clear interest in the many different styles of art and literature seen in Shanghai at the time, these artists have been marginalised, and have been kept separate from mainstream artists in Shanghai in the writings of twentieth century art historians. Two points should be noted. First, the artists in question were all involved in the commercial art world, before and during the publication of Shanghai manhua and secondly, unlike a large number of other artists who had gone abroad to study in Europe and Japan, they had received their artistic training in China often on the job under an apprenticeship system.

105 Fruehauf, “Urban Exoticism in Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature,” p. 145. 106 See Ye Qianyu, Shanghai manhua no.74 (21 September 1929): front cover. 107 This is also cited by Laing. Manhua Artists In Shanghai 51

Pang Xunqin and Ni Yide, two of the main figures in the Storm Society, had received their artistic education in Paris and Tokyo respectively. These cities have been described by Croizier as the “two main sources of influence on modern Chinese art.”108 It was to Paris or Tokyo that mainstream artists such as Liu Haisu and Xu Beihong 徐悲鴻 (1895–1953) went to study and the life and work of these two artists has been well documented by art historians. The members of the Storm Society, many of whom had studied abroad, are also to be found immortalized in the pantheon of the Chinese fine art world. The artists involved in Shanghai manhua are now remembered for their work in a different field all together; Ye Qianyu, Zhang Guangyu and others would become known as some of China’s best-loved cartoonists. However, this is to ignore their major contribution to the art world in the early part of their careers as fashion designers, commercial artists and most importantly, artists involved in the production of periodicals which were at the forefront of Chinese modernity. Citing Tokyo and Paris as the major places of influence on Chinese art and those who studied abroad as the most significant members of the modern art world should be seen as an oversimplification of the makeup of Shanghai’s art world. If it is accepted that the artists of Shanghai manhua and indeed Liangyou huabao were participants in the general discourse of modernity in Shanghai at this time, then the UK and the USA must also be seen as important sources of cultural inspiration, as art and literature from these countries is also the focus of much of the content of these magazines. The city of New York and increasingly Hollywood were to become two of the most influential places for those striving to create a modern artistic scene in Shanghai during the 1930s. A fascination with the urban landscape is one of the focuses of the New-sensationists as well as of writers such as Zhang Ruogu, and the pages of the Liangyou huabao, Shanghai manhua and its successor Shidai huabao show that the cityscape of New York with its monumental skyscrapers was to become an important model for the artists and writers living in the metropolis of Shanghai. The cartoon artists of Shanghai were major figures in the field of modern art in Shanghai during the 1920s and 1930s. It is partly due to their success as cartoonists later in the 1930s, particularly during the war, that their earlier work in the fields of modern art and popular culture has been overlooked. The rise of the ideals of Socialist Realism in both art and literature attempted to side- line modernism during the 1930s and following the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 it had no place in the new society. The early work of these artists inspired much criticism from writers in later years and has

108 Croizier, “Post-Impressionists in Prewar Shanghai: the Juelanshe (Storm Society),” p. 138. 52 CHAPTER 1 inevitably led to a certain amount of self-criticism from the artists themselves, perhaps as a necessary measure during the early days of the PRC with its many- focused and multi-faceted political agendas. Leaving aside the political prejudices and biases of critics, it can be seen from the early work of this group of artists that it had much in common with the modernist output produced under different artistic banners by groups such as the Storm Society that has subsequently been accepted as canonical by the Chinese art establishment. The work of this small group of Shanghai artists compares favourably with the work of the Storm Society which is often seen as China’s foremost avant-garde art group. The significant technical ability demonstrated by the manhua artists and their experience as jobbing artists in the commercial art world meant that they were equipped to compete on equal terms with those who had studied fine art abroad. Taking its inspiration from the USA and the UK as much as from mainland Europe and Japan, it is in the field of popular culture that Shanghai manhua has been categorized. However, the nature of popular culture in Shanghai at this time and its close association with modernity and experimentation in both the visual arts and literature leaves room for a reassessment of the work of this group. It is the case that the received history of modern art in China has favoured certain figures and named specific groups as the only practitioners worthy of serious study. If the work of the Shanghai cartoonists is looked at afresh it can be seen that their work was as important in the history of Chinese modern art as that of figures from more recognised groups. In the following chapter the examination of the work of these artists will continue, using as its main focus the life and work of their colleague Shao Xunmei. CHAPTER 2 Shao Xunmei and his Circle

Shao Xunmei and Pictorial Magazines

The close association that existed between Shao Xunmei, the cartoonist artists and the literary circles of Shanghai has been introduced in Chapter One. As publisher and editor, Shao was involved in the publication of many of the most important magazines during the 1930s. His life and work will be further examined in this chapter to demonstrate his standing as a major figure in the world of art and literature and to emphasize the close relationship he had with the artists who are the main focus of this book. Shao did not write a full-scale autobiography.1 However, much information concerning his life and work can be found in a number of short autobiographical writings published in his own magazines. A full-length biography of Shao Xunmei by Lin Qi, Haishang caizi 海上才子 (A Talent from Shanghai), is largely based on these writings. In addition, a short but informative account of his life was written by his wife, Sheng Peiyu 盛佩玉 (1905–c.1988), in the 1980s.2 In the English language, a biography by Jonathan Hutt was published in 20013 and a more recent book by Gloria Bien, Baudelaire in China: A Study in Literary Reception gives a biography of Shao, presenting him as one of three Chinese decadent poets, together with Yu Gengyu 于賡虞 (1902–1963) and Yu Dafu.4 Much of the material for this chapter has been taken from Shao’s own writings, including his magazine articles and personal letters. The way in which Shao is discussed here is rather different to previous studies that focus on

1 An unpublished partial family history written in English by Shao Xunmei My Triangle of Grandfathers can be found in the Hahn Mss. in the Lilly Library, Indiana University. 2 Sheng Peiyu 盛佩玉, “Wo he Shao Xunmei 我和邵洵美 [Shao Xunmei and Me],” in Huzhou shizhuan xuebao no. 2 (1985). 3 Jonathan Hutt, “The Sumptuous World of Shao Xunmei,” in East Asian History no. 21 (June 2001): pp. 111–142. This article covers aspects of Shao’s life that are not addressed at any length here and can be referred to for further information concerning his life and work. There is also an unpublished doctoral thesis by Wang Jingfang 王京芳, Shao Xunmei he tade chuban shiye 邵洵美和他的出版事业 [Shao Xunmei and his Publishing Career] (doctoral thesis, Huadong Normal University, 2007). 4 Gloria Bien, Baudelaire in China: A Study in Literary Reception (University of Delaware Press 2012), pp. 107–126.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ��6 | doi ��.��63/9789004307940_004 54 CHAPTER 2 him. Here Shao’s life and work is examined through a study of his friends, colleagues and associates. Such an approach will demonstrate Shao’s central position in the history of the cartoon in 1930s Shanghai and will shed further light on the lives of those in his circle who were involved in the areas of art, design and literature, including the figures introduced in Chapter One, Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu and Ye Qianyu. Above all, the purpose of this chapter is to contextualize. The areas covered—salon culture, fashion, design, the theatre-all contribute to the contextualization of the world of the cartoonists and their relationship to Shao Xunmei, a central figure in their own individual histories. As mentioned in the previous chapter, in public circles and particularly in English-language contexts, Shao Xunmei was most often known by the name Sinmay Zau.5 The magazines he published, in common with most other Chinese publications of the time, were also given both Western and Chinese names. His first publication, Jinwu yuekan, modelled after The Yellow Book, was known by the French name, La Maison d’Or. A list of publications with which he was closely involved continues with several groundbreaking magazines published, or printed, by his Modern Publications Ltd. and the Di-yi chubanshe 第一出版社 (Number One Publishing Company). These are: Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”) (1929–37), Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) (1934–37), Shiritan 十日談 (“The Decameron”) (1933–34), Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”), Lunyu 論語 (“The Analects”) (1932– 37 and 1946–49); two magazines published in separate Chinese and English versions, Shengse huabao 聲色畫報 (“Vox”) and Ziyoutan 自由談 (“Candid Comment”); and several other associated publications, including Shidai dianying 時代電影 (Modern Film), Wenxue shidai 文學時代 (Literary Times) and Renyan zhoukan 人言周刊 (Renyan Weekly). In addition to his work as publisher, Shao’s name can be found on the editorial board of several other publications.6 Contributors to all these magazines, just a small selection of those with which Shao was involved, include many of the foremost figures in the cartoon world. In 1934 an article by Shao Xunmei appeared in Shidai huabao entitled “Huabao zai wenhuajie de diwei” 畫報在文化界的地位 (The Status of Pictorials in the Cultural World) that goes someway towards explaining Shao’s

5 Gloria Bien suggests that Shao chose to spell his name in this way because of associations with decadence through a play on the word “sin.” It is perhaps more likely that this is an approximation of the pronunciation of his name in the local language of Shanghai. Gloria Bien, Baudelaire in China, p. 121. 6 For example Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 [Art and Literature Pictorial]. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 55 views on pictorial magazines and why he devoted so much time to their publication.7 He states that he wrote the article partly to demonstrate the position of the pictorial magazine in Chinese society but also to show the affinity that existed between this type of periodical and himself, both as a writer and publisher. Although he does not mention it in the article, Shao wrote this to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Dianshizhai huabao 點石齋畫報 (Dianshizhai Pictorial), widely recognised as China’s first pictorial magazine. Another article on the history of pictorial magazines appeared in the same issue of Shidai huabao written by Huang Tianpeng 黃天鵬 (1909–1982). This was entitled “Wushinian lai zhi huabao” 五十年來之畫報 (Fifty Years of Pictorials) and was based on a lecture he had given at Fudan University.8 Citing the Juchai huabao 菊儕畫報 (Juchai Pictorial or Chrysanthemum Companion Pictorial), a magazine published more than twenty years before, Huang mentions one contributor to it as having claimed, “If pictorial magazines are compared to periodicals with text, then looking at pictorials is like watching a play or an opera and reading periodicals with text is like enjoying Chinese story- telling.” Here the author is suggesting that if someone cannot understand the words of a play they can still enjoy the action on stage, the costumes and scen- ery, but when listening to traditional Chinese story-telling if the words are not understood there is nothing left to be appreciated. Huang continues by quoting the same writer: “Of the people who look at pictorials, those who are unable to read can enjoy the pictures, but with a periodical with text, if one cannot read, looking at them is a waste of time. As soon as a pictorial is looked at . . . no matter whether you are a woman or a child . . .” it will be easily understood. The author rather predictably compares this to the saying “A Picture Paints a Thousand Words.” This is the basic tenet of Huang’s article. Shao Xunmei’s essay is a rather different piece of writing, as it is seen from a more personal angle. Shao relates how in conversation at dinner one evening, a friend asked him why he spent so much time producing pictorials and had no interest in publishing “serious” publications. To this rather

7 Shidai huabao vol. 6 no. 12 (10 November 1934). Reprinted in Shao Xunmei Yi ge ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 [One Man’s Conversation] (Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008), pp. 73–77. 8 Huang Tianpeng, “Wushinian lai zhi huabao 五十年來之畫報 [Fifty Years of Pictorials],” in Shidai huabao vol. 6 no. 12 (10 November 1934): p. 316. A version of this article also appears as: Huang Tianpeng, “Wushinian lai huabao zhi bianqian 五十年來畫報之變遷 [The Vicissitudes of Pictorial Magazines in the Past Fifty Years],” in Liangyou huabao no. 49 (August 1930): pp. 36–37. 56 CHAPTER 2 provocative question Shao gave a lengthy reply and began by posing a question of his own; asking his friend why he thought pictorial magazines were not “serious.” Although this friend is not named, it can be seen from writings of the time that several individuals involved in the publishing world were not as supportive of pictorials as they were of literary and textual magazines. For example, the short-lived magazine Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 came in for criticism by Zheng Zhenduo 鄭振鐸 (1898–1958) who considered it to be nothing more than vulgar and lowbrow. Although Wenyi huabao was not one of Shao Xunmei’s own publications he is named as one of its editors. It is reported in the editorial column of this magazine that the editors had received a letter from a friend in Beijing stating that Zheng Zhenduo had given a lecture on the current situation in the Chinese literary world in which he had proclaimed that the reason why Wenyi huabao was not selling well was due to its lack of good taste.9 In their defence the editors of the magazine wryly pointed to an image they had used on the front cover of the third issue of the magazine, a photograph of a Buddhist cave sculpture, the use of which was no doubt a deliberate choice by the editors to get back at Zheng for his comments. This sculpture had not only been publicly admired by Zheng but the photograph had been taken by one of his own friends, Zhao Cheng 趙澂 (dates unknown).10 The covers of the two previous issues, both drawn by artists who worked for the magazine, were entirely different to this photographic example in both appearance and concept.11 It should be noted that Zheng Zhenduo’s criticism of Wenyi huabao is aimed at its content rather than at its format as a pictorial magazine, as it is in fact no less high-brow than many other pictorials of the time, including the popular Liangyou huabao and Shao Xunmei’s magazines Shidai huabao and Wanxiang. Indeed it has much in common with Wanxiang as many of the same writers and artists contributed to both magazines. It contains short stories and

9 “Bianzhe suibi 編者隨筆 [Random Jottings of the Editors],” in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): unnumbered page. 10 Zheng Zhenduo and the photographer Zhao Cheng, together with the writer Bingxin 冰心 (1900–1999) and five others, formed the Pingsui yanxian lüxingtuan 平綏沿綫旅行團 [Pingsui Railway Line Travel Group] in July 1934. See Bingxin, Bingxin youji 冰心游記 (Beixin shuju 1935). http://www.bingxin.org/databank/zp/sw/pwy.htm. Retrieved on 10 May 2014. 11 These are Guo Jianying, The Dream of Jean Cocteau in Wenyi huabao inaugural issue (10 October 1934): front cover (this owes much to Cocteau in its design) and an untitled piece by Zhou Duo in Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 2 (15 December 1934). Only four issues of the magazine were ever published. The cover of Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 4 (15 April 1935) shows an unidentified Western woodcut. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 57 articles by well-known writers, illustrated by artists from many different backgrounds. However, it was not above all a politically motivated magazine and this might be the underlying reason for Zheng’s disapproval. In response to his friend’s question as to why he devoted so much time to the publication of magazines, Shao points to the educational value of the pictorial magazine. He opines that although the call for “universal education” had been bandied about for some time, it had still met with no real success and believed that the so-called “serious” publications that his colleagues were then producing could be appreciated by only a very limited readership and were therefore entirely ineffectual as educational tools. Shao states that the aim of the pictorial magazine is to allow readers to learn whilst enjoying themselves and not for them to be made to feel that reading is a chore. Those who are already able to read could broaden their interests by reading the articles in pictorials and those who couldn’t read could glean knowledge simply by looking at the pictures. He suggests that once the attention of the illiterate had been caught through the pictures in a magazine, they would gradually grow dissatisfied with the limitations of pictures and become curious about the meaning of the text, eventually showing an interest in learning to read. Shao’s well-meaning dream, to foster a habit for reading among the common people, met with little support from his rather conservative dinner partner. In Shao’s article his main focus is on Chinese magazines. He does not mention any of the fashionable foreign magazines available in Shanghai at the time, such as Vanity Fair, Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar although it is known that he was an avid reader of these. However, he does make brief mention of publications such as the Illustrated London News and L’Illustration and their recent reprinting of photographs of scenes from WWI in response to the worldwide political situation. Here Shao points out the importance of images, in this case photographs, for the understanding of world events. He clearly thought that the publishing of graphic photographs of battlefield scenes was the most effective way to show the horrors of war and that the written word was incapable of matching the immediacy of the photographic medium. The publishers of Shanghai’s main daily newspaper Shenbao, with a daily circulation of 150,000 in 1930, had clearly understood the selling power of images.12 In an advertisement placed in the China Critic that year, the editors

12 According to The China Yearbook (using “the latest available sources”) Shenbao had the largest daily circulation of any Chinese newspaper at 150,000. See H.G.W. Woodhead, The China Yearbook 1934 (Shanghai: The North-China Daily News and Herald Ltd., 1934), pp. 658–661. 58 CHAPTER 2 of Shenbao invite companies to advertise in their pictorial supplement as this had become “the best women’s advertising medium.” With another readership in mind, the following year, an advertisement in Shenbao asks the question:

Do Foreigners Read Chinese Newspapers?”—“Formerly: No.—Now: Yes! Since Shun Pao [Shenbao] started its Sunday Pictorial Supplement, foreigners have begun to take an interest in Chinese Newspapers. Because: Pictures are a Universal Language.13

To the publishers of Shenbao, their pictorial supplement, using the universal language of pictures, had become an important medium through which to communicate with two areas of society who found difficulty in reading Chinese newspapers; those women who might not have received an adequate education but perhaps were still in charge of running the family home, and foreigners who were not only unable to read Chinese but had no intention of learning. Shao Xunmei points to “The New Literature Movement” and what he sees as the limited success it had had in gaining a readership, claiming that “proletarian” literature now had an even smaller readership than “high-class” literature. He expresses the view that although the readership for pictorials is limited, they are published for the benefit for the “masses,” not just for a small section of society. Shao’s use of the term the “masses” (dazhong 大衆) here refers to the Chinese people in much the same way as his colleagues Zhu Yingpeng, Zhang Ruogu and Fu Yanchang were doing;14 as a broad term referring to the populace in general, with none of the political overtones it would take on in the hands of the left-wing writers. This can be seen elsewhere, in the title of the popular magazine Dazhong 大衆, which went by the English name The Cosmopolitan and was closely related to both Liangyou and Shidai huabao.15 Shao’s motivation behind his own publications was not politically factional.

13 China Critic, vol. 4 no. 27 (2 July 1931): p. 665. 14 Fruehauf, “Urban Exoticism in Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature,” pp. 139–142. 15 Dazhong was established by Liang Desuo 梁得所 (1905–1938) in November 1933 following his resignation as the editor of Liangyou and ran until May 1935. In 1936 he became editor of Shidai huabao soon after Shao Xunmei had resigned from the post. See Kuiyi Shen, “A Modern Showcase,” pp. 151–153. http://art.ncu.edu.tw/journal/ words/%E7%AC%AC12%E6%9C%9F03-KuiyiShen.pdf. See also Li Yongjun 李勇军, Tushuo minguo qikan 图说民国期刊 [Illustrated Talks on Republican Periodicals] (Shanghai: Shanghai yuandong chubanshe, 2010), pp. 178–181. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 59

Rather, he hoped for the popularization of literature and the arts for the bet- terment of the people from a purely apolitical point of view.

. . . [pictorials] are not primarily produced to express the publisher’s own opinions but are there to address themselves to the needs of the masses. Pictorials do not regard editorial opinion as important but pay attention to the pleasure of the reader. Pictorials do not attempt to transform social traditions by a few words of persuasion but attempt to show the reader both their good and bad points. They have no selfish goals and are there to introduce people to ideas, not to put across the ideas of the publishers.16

Furthermore, to Shao, reading should be seen as neither a luxury nor a duty, otherwise readers would adopt a frivolous attitude towards it or somehow feel obligated to spend time doing it. If books are to be used to improve the lives of the people then first a reading habit must be fostered amongst ordinary working men and women. Shao makes it clear that he is not asking the readers to flatter or pander to the interests of the common man but is simply urging them to be more broadminded in their approach to publishing and education. According to Shao, the most effective way to foster an interest in reading is to introduce the people to the joys of the pictorial. First, pictures must be used to satisfy the eye of the “reader;” Shao considers this to be best achieved with the pictorial content of his own magazine Shidai huabao. Secondly, the spirit should be enlivened by making the content of the magazine interesting; to him this was the function of the magazine Lunyu. Only after having reached this stage could individuals be persuaded to read the “serious” books championed by Shao’s dinner partner. Shao hoped that once the people had had the habit of reading fostered within them, his own magazines would prove to be food for the intellect, in addition to being pleasing to the eye and enlivening for the spirit. As will now be shown, similar ideas are expressed in his views concerning engagement with art and literature on a “higher” plane—in the literary salon.

16 Shao Xunmei, “Huabao zai wenhujie de diwei 畫報在文化界的地位 [The Status of Pictorials in the Cultural World,” in Yi ge ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 [One Man’s Conversation], pp. 75–76. 60 CHAPTER 2

Shao Xunmei and Salon Culture

More than a year before Shao’s essay on pictorial magazines was published another of his articles had appeared in Shidai huabao on the subject of the Shanghai socialite, Bernadine Fritz (1896–1982),17 her “salon” and Shanghai literary culture in general.18 Shao believed that the best way to encourage the reading of literature at the “higher” end of the social strata was through the formation of literary and artistic salons. What he considered to be the Chinese equivalent of these, where poker and mah-jong were played, bore no comparison to the Western- style literary salon in his mind. Shao begins his article by introducing Fritz:

. . . the Madame de Salon is a figure of real importance. It is therefore proper that Mrs. Fritz, who has been resident in Shanghai for a number of years, should be introduced and revered in this article.

According to Shao, Fritz held her salon at least twice a week. An examination of the Shanghai press reveals that over the years an invitation to Fritz’s salon would become de rigueur for any Western celebrity visiting Shanghai. Many of her guests would also give lectures or performances at her invitation for the International Arts Theatre (IAT), her own brainchild. The IAT could be seen as an extension of Fritz’s salon and her role in Shanghai as a society hostess. It was very much a family affair as her sister Aline Sholes was at one time both director and secretary of the organisation.19 Before continuing with this discussion it should be noted that there are a number of inconsistencies in Shao’s article. First, according to him, Bernadine Fritz, a great lover of world literatures, had written a literature column for the English-language magazine, the China Critic.20 Although it is certainly possible that Fritz contributed to the magazine in some capacity, her name does not appear in the magazine between the years 1928 and 1935 and most certainly is not to be found amongst the list of editors and staff, all of whom

17 Bernadine Fritz was also known as Bernadine Szold-Fritz. 18 Shao Xunmei, “Huating furen—jieshao Fulici furen 花廳夫人—介紹弗麗茨夫人 [Madame de Salon—Introducing Mrs Fritz],” in Shidai huabao vol. 4 no. 9 (July 1933), reprinted in Shao Xunmei, Yi ge ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 [One Man’s Conversation], pp. 69–72. 19 “At the I.A.T.,” in the North-China Herald (25 March 1936): p. 555. 20 This magazine was founded by a group of Anglophile Chinese in 1928 and was also known under the Chinese name Zhongguo pinglun zhoukan 中國評論周刊 [China Commentary Weekly]. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 61 were Chinese. Fritz’s close friend Emily Hahn is a different matter. She did make contributions to the magazine as did many of their acquaintances, both Western and Chinese.21 A second inconsistency is that in her memoir, Shao’s wife, Sheng Peiyu, mentions how Shao had met Fritz when he was introduced to her by three managers of British American Tobacco in 1936. This does not accord with the primary source material as Shao’s article about Fritz had been published three years earlier. Another discrepancy is Shao’s suggestion that the IAT was in existence as early as 1933.22 This is despite the fact that it is not until 1935 that the organisation is mentioned in the press as having been formed the previous year. As Shao alludes to the existence of the organisation at this early date it should perhaps be assumed that the IAT at that time was simply an extension of, or precursor to, Fritz’s salon. The 1935 article in the North-China Herald belatedly trumpeted the official arrival of the IAT in January 1935:

For the first time in its history, China will have an International Arts Theatre Group dedicated to furthering dramatic and allied arts in the community. Although the Group was first instituted last year and presented with marked success “The Soul of the Ch’in” at the Grand Theatre, it is now in a formative stage owing to its reorganization on broader and more comprehensive lines.23

In subsequent years, guests of the IAT would include Charlie Chaplin and Anna May Wong, as well as lesser known figures such as the three Chen siblings: Percy, Sylvia and Jack, who all gave lectures for the organisation (see Chapter Six). Percy Chen would himself become closely involved with aspects of the group’s activities as he appeared among the cast list for the IAT’s production of Lady Precious Stream as one of three “special advisors.”24 An undated letter from Percy Chen’s Russian wife Mucia to his sister Sylvia accurately describes in her faltering English the function of the IAT as a place where foreign guests were welcomed.

21 See Emily Hahn, “An Open Letter to my Chinese Friends,” in the China Critic vol. 13 no. 13 (June 25 1936): pp. 301–302. Fritz’s friend Lin Yutang 林語堂 (1895–1976) was on the editorial board of the magazine. 22 Shao Xunmei, Yi ge ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 [One Man’s Conversation], p. 72. 23 “The International Arts Theatre Group-Re-organization of Unique Cultural Interest,” in the North-China Herald (30 January 1935): p. 176. 24 “Lady Precious Stream—Shanghai’s Presentation at the Carlton Theatre,” in the North- China Herald (3 June 1935): p. 19. 62 CHAPTER 2

You know, the I.A.T. is a very hospitable place, so if anyone who is little known an artist passes through Shanghai, he always finds a nice tea or cocktail parties.25

Shao Xunmei’s article on Bernadine Fritz should not simply be seen as a eulogy on her achievements as a society hostess; it was intended to be a serious criticism of Chinese social circles and what Shao saw, rightly or wrongly, as a lack of interest in literature that existed within them. He saw the Western-style salon as a place for literary discussion, not a place for games and gambling as in the case of the Chinese equivalent. A similarity can be seen between this and his opinions on pictorial magazines. If something is to be popularized, first it must be made indispensable within the lives of the Chinese people. To him the educated elite were as guilty as the illiterate masses in their lack of interest in literature and the arts. Shao had certainly made Fritz’s acquaintance as early as April 1933, as a typed letter dated the 4th of that month, addressed rather formally to “My Dear Mrs. Fritz” with Shao’s name signed in full, “Sinmay Zau,” exists in the papers of Bernadine Fritz at Yale University.26 Shao begins this letter by informing Fritz that he and an unidentified person or persons, had been to visit Rudolf Friml (1879–1972) the day before.27 Friml, composer of the operetta The Vagabond King, was in Shanghai at the time collecting material for his latest project, one that was going to be largely “Chinese” in flavour.28

25 In this letter Mucia Chen mentions recent meetings with Charlie Chaplin (who visited Shanghai in March 1936) and Anna May Wong. Although the letter is undated it must have been written in the summer of 1936. It was sent from, Apartment 2, 7 Tifeng Road. Mucia and Percy Chen had been living at this address for “the last months of 1935” and were renting the flat through the family of Eugene Chen’s new wife, Georgette Chiang. See Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 09; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. See also Percy Chen, China Called Me, pp. 273–4. 26 More than two dozen letters exist in the papers of Bernadine Fritz in the Yale Beinecke Library. Early letters such as this, are addressed to “Mrs Fritz” but by the second half of 1933 Shao is on first-name terms with Bernadine Fritz. Bernadine Szold-Fritz papers [c.1933]. YCAL MSS 544 Box 5 f. Zau, Sinmay. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. 27 Letter: Shao Xunmei to Bernadine Fritz dated 4 April 1933. Bernadine Szold-Fritz papers [c.1933]. YCAL MSS 544 Box 5 f. Zau, Sinmay. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. 28 The article reads as follows: “Among the interesting visitors to this port is Mr. Rudolph Friml, the well-known playwright-composer. He arrived here last week from Hong Kong where he stayed for some time collecting material for his next production which is to be Shao Xunmei And His Circle 63

This was the sort of information that would have been of real interest to Fritz in her capacity as society hostess and Friml would almost certainly have received an invitation to one of Fritz’s parties. Shao’s short letter also informs Fritz that he had invited some of his own friends to her house for tea, clearly in response to her own request. Here can be seen Shao’s efforts to foster a desire for intellectual gatherings amongst the Chinese community put into action, although in this case, his guests, all from the social elite in the world of popular music and film, would certainly not have needed prompting on matters of behaviour or etiquette. The short letter reads as follows:

Miss Butterfly has promised to come to your tea party, with her will come one Mr. Chu, who is supposed to be her guardian angel. Mrs Lee, who is known as Miss Zee Lai, a famous singer, and her husband, the composer of the welknown [sic] chanson populaire “Mow-mow-yui” will also be glad to be your guests. Will you be good enough to tell me if I have invited too many friends for you?

Shao had invited two of the most famous film stars of the day: “Miss Butterfly,” namely, Hu Die 胡蝶 (1908–1989), known in English as Butterfly Wu, who by then had already starred in films such as Huoshao hongliansi 火燒紅蓮寺 (The Burning of Red Lotus Temple) (1928), Genü Hong Mudan 歌女紅牡丹 (Songstress Red Peony) (1931) and Tixiao yinyuan 啼笑姻緣 (Fate in Tears and Laughter) (1932); and “Miss Zee Lai,” Xu Lai 徐來 (1909–1973), who was at this time an up-and-coming star, whose first film, Canchun 殘春 (The Last Days of Spring) was produced that very year.29 Xu Lai’s husband (in the letter unnamed) was none other than Li Jinhui 黎錦暉 (1891–1967), composer of popular music, pioneer of “Chinese jazz” and, as noted by Shao, composer of the song Maomao yu 毛毛雨 (“Fine Rain”).30 This song, written in 1927, had been made popular by his own daughter, Li Minghui 黎明暉 (1909 or 1911–2003), who

largely Chinese in character. He is at present staying at the Cathay Mansions and is continuing his quest for local colour.” See the North-China Herald (April 12 1933): p. 57. 29 Xu Lai’s name is written by Shao in an approximation of the Shanghai local language as Zee Lai. Here referred to by her husband’s name Lee, Xu Lai was originally called Xu Jiefeng 徐潔鳳. Bernadine Szold-Fritz papers [c.1933]. YCAL MSS 544 Box 5 f. Zau, Sinmay. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. 30 For a comprehensive account of Li Jinhui and his music see Andrew F. Jones, Yellow Music (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2001). 64 CHAPTER 2 had been a performer together with Xu Lai in Li Jinhui’s own song-and-dance troupe.31 A small selection of the many literary and artistic figures invited to dinner at Fritz’s around this time can be seen from the letters and notes Shao sent to Fritz and include Aaron Avshalomoff (1895–1964), composer of “The Soul of the Chin” which as seen in the above quotation was performed in 1933 by the IAT.32 On one occasion he invited to Fritz’s, Xie Shoukang 謝壽康 (1897– 1973), former Chinese Minister in Belgium and then member of the Chinese governmental body the Lifa yuan 立法院 (Legislative Yuan),33 together with one Mr. Kuo (almost certainly Guo Zixiong 郭子雄 (dates unknown)). Shao had known Xie Shoukang since their time studying in Paris in 1925 and he is written of fondly by Shao in a later series of writings which appeared serially in the Shanghai newspaper Xinbao 辛報 in 1937.34 Xie Shoukang was amongst the group of friends, which included Xu Beihong and his wife Jiang Biwei 蔣碧薇 (1899–1978), who visited the seminal L’Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts) together in 1925.35 According to Shao, Xie and Guo were both admirers of Fritz and wanted specifically to talk to her about the Chinese branch of the PEN Club,36 an organization with which both Shao and she were heavily involved.37 Xie Shoukang’s association with Shao’s own salon in Shanghai, is attested in the magazine Xin shidai yuekan 新時代月刊 (The New Era Monthly) which relates how, in 1931, Shao Xunmei had “hosted

31 Ibid., p. 93. 32 Undated Letter: Shao Xunmei to Bernadine Fritz [c.1933]. YCAL MSS 544 Box 5 f. Zau, Sinmay. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. A “Chinese ballet” by Avshalomoff was again performed by the IAT three years later and Jack Chen wrote a lengthy review of a performance. Chen I-wan [Jack Chen], “Chinese Ballet opens at ‘Met’—I.A.T. Production Wins Praise from Chen,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (16 December 1936): p. 15. 33 Xu Youchun 徐友春 et al (eds.), Minguo renwu da cidian 民国人物大辞典 [Biographical Dictionary of the Republican Period] (Shijiazhuang: Hebei renmin chubanshe, 1991), p. 1575. See also the North-China Herald (June 1933): p. 479. 34 Reprinted in Rulin xinshi 儒林新史 [New History of the Scholars] (Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008), pp. 67–117. 35 Ibid., pp. 79–81. 36 Undated Letter: Shao Xunmei to Bernadine Fritz [c.1933]. YCAL MSS 544 Box 5 f. Zau, Sinmay. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. 37 For more on Shao’s involvement in PEN see Jonathan Hutt, “Monstre Sacré: The Decadent World of Sinmay Zau,” in China Heritage Quarterly. http://www.chinaheritagequarterly .org/features.php?issue=022&searchterm=022_monstre.inc Shao Xunmei And His Circle 65 a simple meal at his home” to which he had invited several people including many of those pertinent to this study. These include: the writers Liu Na’ou, Shi Zhecun, Dai Wangshu 戴望舒 (1905–1950) and Zhang Ruogu, and the artists Zhang Zhenyu and Cao Hanmei. This article goes on to recount how Xie Shoukang, together with Shao’s good friends Xu Zhimo and Xu Beihong, had arrived late when the feast was already over.38 With direct reference to PEN the names of both Xie Shoukang and Guo Zixiong are given in another entry in the same issue of the magazine:

The ninth meeting of international P.E.N. is currently being held in The Hague. The Chinese P.E.N. had originally asked Dr Xie Shoukang to attend, but because Dr Xie is back in China for a holiday, Guo Zixiong has gone over instead.39

On 17 February 1933, Shao had presented gifts to George Bernard Shaw on behalf of PEN in the company of Lin Yutang 林語堂 (1895–1976) and other members of the organization, when Shaw made a fleeting visit to Shanghai.40 It was in the very same month, February 1933, that a visit to Shanghai and a presence at Fritz’s parties is narrated in Memoirs of an Aesthete, the autobiography of Harold Acton (1904–1994).41 Shao would most certainly have approved of Acton. As a poet and self-styled aesthete, he was everything that Shao most admired. Having arrived in 1932, he was to make China his home until 1939, residing in Beijing, setting for his humorous novel Peonies and Ponies. Acton’s brief visit to Shanghai in 1933 was in the company of his friend, the diplomat and amateur horologist, Simon Harcourt-Smith.42 Bernadine Fritz, who he had known in Paris and London, acted as hostess and according to Acton was deter- mined that he should see, taste and smell everything that was in the “steaming

38 See Michel Hockx, Questions of Style: Literary Societies and Literary Journals in Modern China, 1911–1937 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), p. 203, citing Xin shidai yuekan 新時代月刊 [The New Era] vol. 1 no. 1 (August 1931): pp. 7–8. 39 Hockx, p. 202, again citing Xin shidai yuekan [The New Era] vol. 1 no. 1 (August 1931): pp. 7–8. 40 See “Students ‘Welcome’ Shaw,” in the North-China Herald (22 February 1933): p. 294. 41 North-China Herald vol. 186 (1 February 1933). As reported in the paper, Acton was in the city “ . . . making a study of the comparative history of China and Italy.” 42 It was later in the same year that Simon Harcourt-Smith was to publish his horologi- cal catalogue: A catalogue of various clocks, watches, automata, and other miscellaneous objects of European workmanship dating from the XVIIIth and the early XIXth centuries, in the Palace Museum and the Wu ying tien (Beijing: Kelly and Walsh, 1933). 66 CHAPTER 2 oven” of Shanghai.43 Acton described the Chinese City as realizing all that had ever been said of “human ant-heaps,” judging the International Settlement to be little different. Having a preference for the imperial city of Beijing, he was clearly not fond of the buildings of Shanghai’s Bund, the banks and hotels built in a variety of Western monumental styles, which he saw as having little con- nexion with the people of China, fancifully describing them as a long line of “poisonous toadstools sprung up from the mud.”44 Acton remembered Fritz’s parties, her salon as described by Shao Xunmei, which took place in her apartment. Here she was kept busy, organising gatherings for the Shanghai elite, “Bernadine ever within the reach of a telephone, cool as a cucumber . . . was organising elaborate buffet-suppers and teas.” He relates that for one of these soirees she invited an old Chinese musician to play the guqin zither, the “tinkle” of which he describes as being “distant and remote” from the cosmopolitan audience present. With regard to this diverse mix; Fritz’s foreign friends and her Chinese society acquaintances, Acton suggests that no crowd could have been more jumbled. Inevitably, amongst those he encountered were Emily Hahn, and a regular at such parties, Lin Yutang.45 Acton was well aware of Lin Yutang’s work as a publisher and his magazine Lunyu, “the Chinese Punch” as he called it,46 as well as the China Critic, to which Hahn and no doubt several of Fritz’s party guests contributed. The latter apparently reminded Acton of the student magazine, the Isis47 for which he had occasionally written during his time as a student at Christ Church, Oxford in the early 1920s, although the description of this “official undergraduate magazine” as “boring and hearty . . . written for beer drinkers and rugger play- ers” as given by Acton’s friend Evelyn Waugh, does not invite immediate comparison with the China Critic.48 By 1935, despite an apparent disdain for Lin Yutang, Acton was writing occasional pieces for T’ien Hsia Monthly, another magazine with which Lin had become involved. Emily Hahn, Shao Xunmei and Jack Chen would all contribute to this popular English-language publication. Acton was to become a pioneering translator of modern Chinese poetry into English, in collaboration with Chen Shixiang 陳世驤 (1912–1971), and their

43 Harold Acton, Memoirs of an Aesthete (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1984), p. 286. 44 Ibid., p. 287 and p. 292. 45 Ibid., pp. 287–288. 46 Harold Acton and Chen Shih-Hsiang, Modern Chinese Poetry (London: Duckworth, 1936), p. 171. Acton declares Lunyu to have a “Rotarian brand of facetiousness.” 47 Acton, p. 288. 48 “Evelyn Waugh and the Art of Fiction,” interview by Julian Jebb, in the Paris Review no. 30 (1963). Shao Xunmei And His Circle 67 translations appeared in T’ien Hsia in 1935.49 These included “A Journey” by Li Guangtian 李廣田 (1906–1968); two poems by Dai Wangshu “My Memory” (Wo de jiyi 我的記憶) and “Fly in Autumn” (Qiuying 秋蠅); and one by Wen Yiduo 聞一多 (1899–1946) “The Dead Water” (Sishui 死水). These were amongst the poems which appeared the following year in Acton and Chen’s London published volume, Modern Chinese Poetry, a collection which included poems by most of the leading Chinese poets of the day, including those listed above plus, Xu Zhimo, Guo Moruo, Zhou Zuoren 周作人 (1885–1967), Shen Congwen 沈從文 (1902–1988), Chen Mengjia 陳夢家 (1911–1966), Bian Zhilin 卞之琳 (1910–2000), Shao Xunmei and others.50 Shao Xunmei’s contributions were two poems written in his typical decadent vein, The Serpent and The Mystic Light.51 It is quite likely that these poems, rather than being full-blown translations by Acton, are edited forms of Shao’s own English versions. This certainly seems to be the opinion of Gloria Bien with regard to the poems of Bian Zhilin, whose fourteen poems in the same collection she identifies as being Bian’s own translations from Chinese to English.52 Following the arrival of Monroe Wheeler in Shanghai, Acton recounts how the topic of conversation at Fritz’s salon turned to Jean Cocteau. Fritz remembered Cocteau at the Boeuf sur le Toit, the cabaret he frequented, which she had visited when she was in Paris. Acton noted that Fritz was disappointed at not having been able to persuade Cocteau himself to visit Shanghai. Neither had she been successful in persuading Glenway Wescott, Monroe Wheeler’s partner, to come, as he was apparently reluctant to leave his home at the Hotel Welcome in Villefranche-sur-mer, a resort where Cocteau regularly stayed, sometimes for stretches of many months. Fritz consoled herself with the knowledge that her friend Rose Covarrubias and her husband would soon be visiting Shanghai, “Miguel Covarrubias will be with us soon, and that’s something to look forward to . . . ”53 Shao Xunmei also held a regular salon at his home and his friend Yu Dafu, who lived close to him in the Jing’an temple district of Shanghai, was a regular visitor. As Yu remembered:

49 See T’ien Hsia vol. 1 no. 1 (August 1935): p. 70. 50 Several of these poems had already appeared in the American, Poetry magazine and in the Peiping Chronicle. 51 She 蛇 [The Serpent] and Shenguang 神光 [Mystic Light]. 52 Gloria Bien, Baudelaire in China, p. 188. 53 Acton, pp. 321–322. 68 CHAPTER 2

At that time Shao’s family home was still in the gardens directly opposite the Jinwu Bookshop. When I had free time and needed people to chat with I had only to visit Xunmei in his study as it was always full of guests and wine ran freely. It was in Xunmei’s meetings that I finally got to know the group of young literati in Mr. Zeng’s circle including Fu Yanchang and Zhang Ruogu.54

As related by Sheng Peiyu, she and Shao would also meet with friends to discuss art and literature at the Sunya Tearooms, situated on the second floor of a building on North Sichuan Road in Shanghai. Many of the guests who visited Shao at home would also meet in the tearooms, including Zhang Ruogu, Fu Yanchang, Yu Dafu, Zhu Weiji 朱維基 (1904–71), Fang Xin 芳信 (1902–63) and Lin Weiyin 林微音 (1899–1922).55 In an article in Shiritan Shao also mentions a “little club” that he and his friends had at the house of Zhang Zhenyu and how they had invited Miguel Covarrubias there for dinner during his time in Shanghai (see Chapter Three).56 Shao Xunmei was also closely involved in the expatriate scene in Shanghai. Pictures taken in 1935, seen in a double-page photographic spread in the North-China Herald, show some of the people with whom he was associated.57 Several of these were close friends of his and are central to his story during this period. One photograph shows Tang Ying 唐瑛 (1910–1986) and her fellow actor Henry Liu rehearsing for a forthcoming production of Lady Precious Stream, a play by Xiong Shiyi 熊式一 (1902–91) that had become immensely popular since its recent extended run in London.58 In another photograph can be seen Bernadine Fritz with Emily Hahn and Doris Chen59 (no relation to Percy Chen who appears with his wife Mucia in a different photograph on the same page). It was at this time that Shao, as a regular visitor at Fritz’s

54 Yu Dafu 郁達夫, “Ji Zeng Mengpu xiansheng 記曾孟朴先生 [Remembering Master Zeng Mengpu],” in Li Jin 李今 (ed.), Yu Dafu zuopin xin bian 郁達夫作品新編 [A New Anthology of Works by Yu Dafu] (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2010), pp. 237–240. 55 Sheng Peiyu, “Wo he Shao Xunmei,” p. 12. 56 Shao Xunmei, “Kefoluopisi 珂佛羅皮斯 [Covarrubias],” in Shiritan 十日談 no. 8 (20 October 1933): p. 7. 57 “Shanghai Entertainment in the Early Summer Sunshine,” in the North-China Herald (19 June 1935): pp. 478–479. 58 For information on the London production see Diana Yeh, The Happy Hsiungs: Performing China and the Struggle for Modernity (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2014). 59 Doris Chen played the part of Lady Golden Stream in Lady Precious Stream in Shanghai. Photographs of her and the other members of the cast also appear in the North-China Daily News Summer Supplement (23 June 1935): p. 21. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 69 society parties, first met Emily Hahn, who was famously to become his girlfriend and later his “concubine.”60 Emily Hahn’s vivid description of Bernadine Fritz and her elevated position in Shanghai expatriate society appeared in her book China to Me.

Mrs. Fritz—Bernadine—had thought of and set in motion a sort of club known as the International Arts Theatre or, anticipating governmental habits, the IAT. She rounded up all the women in town to help, and some did and some didn’t . . . The IAT did concerts and lectures and debates and now and then a play. What made it good was that the concerts were Russian or German or whatever; the debates took into account such extremely controversial subjects as “Birth Control in China” (three catholic priests attended, with skyrocket results), and the plays were damn good, especially Lady Precious Stream with an all-Chinese cast.61

Shao Xunmei attended the performance of Lady Precious Stream held at the Carlton Theatre, having hosted a party for the opening night.62 It was Shao’s close friend Tang Ying who took the leading role in the play.

Ing Tang-lee [Tang Ying] as Precious Stream was excellent. She acted with a great amount of charm and absolutely to the manner born, while her delightful personality showed itself in the delicacy of her movements and general poise.63

This was one of the first major productions of the IAT. It was directed by Bernadine Fritz’s sister, Aline Sholes, in collaboration with Mr. S.Y. Wong and “as a first effort” was said to have done “infinite credit” to the IAT.64 The play was performed in English and, as mentioned by Hahn, with a cast of Chinese actors. Although Xiong Shiyi’s play had been closely modeled on a well-known Peking Opera, Wang Baochuan 王寳釧, the audience who attended the Carlton

60 Daniel Sanderson, “T’ien Hsia—Emily Hahn does all under Heaven,” in China Heritage Quarterly, no. 22 (June 2010). http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/tien-hsia.php? searchterm=022_mickey.inc&issue=022 Retrieved on 20 June 2012. 61 Emily Hahn, China to Me (London: Virago Press, 1987 [1944]), p. 5. 62 Shao is among several people listed in the North-China Daily News to have hosted such a party. North-China Daily News (22 June 1935): p. 7. 63 “ ‘Lady Precious Stream’—Shanghai’s Presentation at the Carlton Theatre,” in the North- China Herald (3 June 1935): p. 19. 64 Ibid. A caricature of S.Y. Wong by Sapajou appears in the North-China Herald (June 26 1935): p. 526. 70 CHAPTER 2

Theatre production would have been very different to that which frequented the regular Chinese opera venues in Shanghai.65 The audience for this production would have necessarily been English-speaking, consisting largely of the expatriate community of Shanghai, with a smattering of well-to-do Chinese such as Shao Xunmei and his society friends.66 So good was the performance of the leading lady Tang Ying that she was asked to star in a proposed production of the play in New York. It was reported that if she accepted the role she would be “the first Chinese lady of high family to act professionally either in China or abroad.”67 However, by 1936 it is reported that any plans to take her to the USA had come to nothing as she was apparently not satisfied with the terms of the contract.68 The New York production went ahead without her, opening at the Booth Theatre on Broadway on 27 January 1936, where it ran for one hundred and five performances before going on tour later in the year.69 One reviewer of the Broadway production, apparently not overly impressed, judged that apart from the lead actors, the performances were nothing short of “common.”70

65 The following year S.Y. Wong would direct another Chinese play for the IAT entitled “Dragon and Phoenix” which was translated into English by Samuel M. Mizisch. Photographs of five Chinese members of the cast can be seen in “Cast of I.A.T.’s Next Studio Production,” in the North-China Daily News (Magazine Supplement vol. 7 no. 18) (3 May 1936): p. 3. 66 One press report states that the costumes used in the production were all Chinese and indeed photographs of the costumes, which appear to be traditional Chinese opera costumes, can be seen in many newspapers and magazines at the time, for example in Yule zhoubao 娛樂周報 [“Variety Weekly”] vol. 2 no. 6 (1936): p. 112. Another report lists the musical instruments used in the Shanghai production. These were the pipa 琵琶, guqin 古琴, dongxiao 洞簫 and erhu 二胡. “Zhongju xiyan, Wang Baochuan 中劇西演，王寳釧 [Chinese Play Western Performance, Wang Baochuan],” in Zhonghua 中華 [China] no. 36 (1935): p. 19. 67 “New York Offer to Local Lady—Mrs Tsufa Lee Asked to Play Lady Precious Stream,” in the North-China Herald (18 December 1935): p. 482. 68 “Tang Ying Li Zufa lihun 唐瑛李祖法離婚 [Tang Yin and Li Zufa Divorce],” in Yule zhoubao 娛樂周報 [“Variety Weekly”] vol. 2 no. 6 (1936): p. 112. 69 James Harbeck, “The Quaintness—and Usefulness—of the Old Chinese Traditions: The Yellow Jacket and Lady Precious Stream,” in Asian Theatre Journal vol. 13 no. 2 (Autumn 1996): p. 243. 70 Ibid., p. 244, citing, Brooks Atkinson: “ ‘Lady Precious Stream,’ by Dr. S.I. Hsiung, or the Poor Gardner who Made Good.” Review of Lady Precious Stream, Booth Theatre, New York, in the New York Times (28 January 1936). From 1941–1945 Brooks Atkinson would be sent by the New York Times to China to cover the news in the wartime capital Shao Xunmei And His Circle 71

Whilst the performances in Shanghai were still underway it was reported that a film version, to involve all the actors from the production, was being considered due to the phenomenal success of the play. The film maker Shi Dongshan 史東山 (1902–55) was to direct and it was to be financed by the Yihua yingpian gongsi 藝華影片公司 (The Yihua Film Company), a company which up until that time had made exclusively Chinese-language films.71 Previous films directed by Shi Dongshan had included the 1931 Yin Han shuangxing 銀漢雙星 (Two Stars of the Milky Way) starring Jin Yan 金焰 (1910-1983), and Nüren 女人 (Women), starring Li Minghui, which in 1935 was one of the eight films chosen to represent China at the First Moscow Film Festival, and the only one of the eight to have been produced by the Yihua film company.72 Doubts, as to whether any interest would be shown in a film version of Lady Precious Stream outside cities in China that had substantial numbers of English-speaking residents, soon put a stop to any plans.73

The Yunshang Fashion Company

Almost a decade earlier, in 1927, Tang Ying, her close friend Lu Xiaoman 陸小曼 (1903–1965), Lu’s husband the poet Xu Zhimo, and Shao Xunmei had been involved in a commercial venture; the founding of the Yunshang fuzhuang gongsi 雲裳服裝公司 (Yunshang Fashion Company (hereafter “Yunshang”)).74 Shao’s great friend, the sculptor Jiang Xiaojian, who he had first known in Paris, was also involved in the company, as was Ye Qianyu, both as clothes designers.75 By the time of the founding of Yunshang, the Cartoon Society had

of Chongqing. Whilst in China he was amongst the many foreign journalists to make his way to the Communist base at Yan’an. See Paul French, Through the Looking Glass, pp. 232–233. 71 Ping 萍 “Jiaojihua Tang Ying shang yinmu 交際花唐瑛上銀幕 [Socialite Tang Ying to Ascend the Silver Screen],” in Qingqing dianying 青青電影 [“Chin-chin Movie Magazine”], no. 549 (1935): p. 3. 72 See Chapter Five pp. 183–187 for more on the 1935 Moscow Film Festival. 73 “Chin-chin Movie Magazine,” no. 549 (1935): p. 3. 74 Xu Zhimo’s first wife Zhang Youyi was also involved in the company. See Antonia Finnane, Changing Clothes in China (London: Hurst, 2007), p. 133. 75 Only three individuals are mentioned by Cao Juren as partners in the company, Tang Ying, Jiang Xiaojian, and the lawyer Jiang Yiping 江一平 (1898–1971) who does not appear to be mentioned in other sources. See Cao Juren 曹聚仁, Shanghai chunqiu 上海春秋 [Shanghai Annals] (Beijing: Xinhua shudian, 2007), p. 245. 72 CHAPTER 2 been firmly established and the year after saw the publication of Shanghai manhua. At the same time, artists such as Ye Qianyu and Wan Laiming were drawing illustrations of the latest Shanghai fashions for popular magazines such as Liangyou huabao. Ye Qianyu, Zhang Guangyu, Wan Laiming, Lu Shaofei and many others would contribute examples of the “fashion sketch” to Shanghai manhua and to many other magazines during the late 1920s and early 1930s.76 In Shanghai manhua, pictures of this type were a regular feature on pages four and five of this eight-page periodical and through them can be traced changes in fashion that occurred throughout the period of its publication. Well before the publication of Shanghai manhua, the drawing of fashionable beauties had been a source of income for several future members of the Cartoon Society. Zhang Guangyu had worked as a commercial artist for the Nanyang Tobacco Company and he and Ding Song also worked for British American Tobacco, producing pictures of beautiful young women for posters and cigarette cards.77 For Ye Qianyu the drawing of fashion sketches and the depiction of young women in the most fashionable clothes of the day became an important part of his work for both Yunshang and Shanghai manhua. The close association between Ye Qianyu and the fashion world cannot be overemphasized. He would continue to work as a fashion designer well into the 1930s and his preoccupation with the painting of female dancers, during and after the 1940s, should be seen as an extension of this. Those involved in the formation of Yunshang were a close-knit group of friends who were all heavily involved in Shanghai’s artistic life. Shao Xunmei had first known Tang Ying as a thirteen-year-old girl.78 By the time of the

76 Ye Qianyu, “Sanjian xin de dayi shiyang 三件新的大衣式樣 [Three New Styles of Overcoat],” in Shanghai manhua no. 32 (24 November 1928): p. 4. See also Ye Qianyu, “Shiyong de zhuangshu mei 使用的裝束美 [The Beauty of Practical Clothing],” in Liangyou huabao no. 13 (30 March 1927): p. 34 and Shanghai manhua (1 February 1928); (5 May 1928): p. 4; (26 May 1928): p. 4; and (9 June 1928): p. 4, all drawn by Ye Qianyu. Zhang Guangyu provided similar drawings for Shanghai manhua no. 2: p. 4; and an early attempt by Lu Shaofei appears in Shanghai manhua no. 7 (2 June 1928): p. 4. 77 Zhang Yamin 张亚民 et al. (eds.), “Zhongguo manhua de dianjizhe—Zhang Guangyu 中国漫画的奠基者-张光宇 [The Founder of the Chinese Cartoon—Zhang Guangyu],” in Zhongguo manhua shuxi: Zhang Guangyu juan 中国漫画书系：张光宇卷 [Chinese Cartoon Series: Zhang Guangyu Volume] (Hebei: Hebei jiaoyu chubanshe, Hebei 1994), unnumbered page. See also Bi and Huang, Zhongguo manhuashi, p. 83. 78 Guo Ming 郭明 [Shao Xunmei], “Cong buzhang dao xiaojie 從部長到小姐 [From Department Head to Young Lady],” in Shidai huabao, vol. 2 no. 10, reprinted in Buneng shuohuang de zhiye 不能説謊的職業 [A Profession That Cannot Lie], pp. 54–55. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 73 foundation of Yunshang, Tang Ying at the age of just sixteen or seventeen was already known as one of the most popular society hostesses in Shanghai. This can be seen from a number of articles about her, and depictions of her, in popular magazines of the time, for example in Ziluolan huabao 紫羅蘭畫報 (Violet Pictorial).79 In one report she appears as the central figure among a large number of society ladies at a fundraising event for the Northern Expedition.80 In this rather lengthy article the topic of Yunshang is briefly raised by the article’s author, the prolific writer of so-called “Butterfly and Mandarin Ducks” literature, Zhou Shoujuan 周瘦鵑 (1894–1968). Perhaps due to modesty, or from a sense of propriety, Tang Ying refused to speak to Zhou about the subject of the company and referred him to her colleague Jiang Xiaojian. The outcome of any interview which might have taken place with Jiang is not reported. References to Yunshang in the press are surprisingly few and it is a great loss to research on the company that Tang Ying was not prepared to speak to Zhou on this occasion. A dearth of information about Yunshang notwithstanding, several articles and photographs with Tang Ying as the subject appear in pictorial magazines, attesting to her popularity at the time.81 In 1926 she had appeared in Shanghai huabao and in the same year can be seen the first of many photographs of her in the Tianjin-published Beiyang huabao. An accompanying caption reads: “Miss Ing Tang, the most popular society beauty in Shanghai, dressed as Lillian Gish in ‘Orphans of the Storm.’ ”82 At the end of that month she appears again, “Miss Ing Tang, the most popular society beauty in Shanghai” and in April the following year she is still being described in the same terms.83 A photograph of her appears on the front cover of Liangyou in August 1927 and she can be seen in Shanghai manhua the following year.84 Her photograph appears again on the front cover of the August 1928 issue of Liangyou with the caption:

79 Ziluolan huabao 紫羅蘭畫報 was the pictorial supplement of the magazine Ziluolan 紫羅蘭 [Violet]. 80 Ziluolan huabao [Violet Pictorial] (29 July 1927): unnumbered page. This is also reported in Tuhua shibao 圖畫時報 [Illustrated Times], no. 377 (1927): p. 4. 81 Ziluolan huabao [Violet Pictorial] vol. 2 no. 16 (27 August 1927); vol. 2 no. 18 (26 September 1927); and vol. 2 no. 19 (10 October 1927): unnumbered pages. 82 “Tang Ying nüshi yu Sheng ba xiaojie 唐瑛女士與盛八小姐 [Miss Tang Ying and the eighth Miss Sheng],” with the additional title “Haishang er mingyuan 海上二名媛 [Shanghai’s Two Famous Young Ladies],” in Shanghai huabao (21 July 1926) and Beiyang huabao (1 September 1926): unnumbered pages. 83 Ibid., (20 April 1927). 84 Liangyou (30 August 1927): front cover, and Shanghai manhua no. 5 (19 May 1928): p. 6. 74 CHAPTER 2

“Mrs C.F. Li formerly Miss Ing Tang the most popular society lady in Shanghai.”85 By this time she had changed her name, following her marriage in October 1927, to Li Zufa 李祖法 (dates unknown) and in subsequent English-language newspaper articles is often referred to as Mrs Tsufa Lee.86 Despite the lack of information in the press, a certain amount of information about Yunshang can be gleaned from advertisements, several of which appear in Shanghai manhua and Shanghai huabao. The Shanghai huabao advertisements show Yunshang’s company logo to be a group of three traditional, stylized Chinese clouds, crowned by a lotus with the characters 雲裳 (Yunshang) written in archaic seal script. Two of these advertisements are particularly informative as they describe the products and services offered by the company.87 It is the case that a 1928 advertisement for the Yunshang Fashion Company showed “ . . . not a wide range of modern dress styles but rather a wide range of modern patterned textiles,”88 seemingly showing that the sale of cloth was the company’s main business. However, it is clear from the Shanghai huabao advertisements that Yunshang sold ready-made, off-the-peg clothing, as much as, if not more than it did lengths of fabric, and a lot more besides. In these advertisements the services offered by the company are divided into three departments, Fuzhuangbu 服裝部 (Clothing Department), Shuaranbu 刷染部 (Print and Dyeing Department) and Zhuangshibu 裝飾部 (Decorative Department). The first of these, offered formal attire, theatrical costume, overcoats, undershirts, dance clothing, uniforms, capes and shawls. The dyeing department engaged “masters in the printing of original chemically dyed patterned cloth.” The fabrics department did indeed supply fabric for homemade and tailor-made designs “for the customers’ convenience” but as just one of the many services offered by the company. Another advertisement in Shanghai huabao states enthusiastically that Yunshang was the highest class, fairest and most reasonably priced women’s clothing shop in Shanghai and lists several more products and services that were offered by the company: “all types of shoes, hats, scarves, perfume, makeup, earrings and posies—not one that is not exquisite.”89 In addition to these, there was food and drink available in

85 Liangyou (8 August 1928): front cover. 86 The North-China Herald (8 October 1927): p. 58. Almost a decade later plans for her divorce and subsequent marriage to “a man from Canton” were announced in Yule zhoubao 娛樂周報 vol. 2 no. 6 (1936): p. 112. 87 Shanghai huabao (6 May 1928): unnumbered page and (18 June 1928): unnumbered page. 88 Antonia Finnane, Changing Clothes in China, pp. 115–116. 89 Shanghai huabao (21 December 1927): unnumbered page. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 75 the Shipinbu 食品部 (Foods Department) as detailed in an advertisement in Shanghai manhua.90 A vast array of hand-drawn advertisements for the company appeared in Shanghai manhua, at least one in every issue of the magazine. These appear on the same pages as the fashion sketches and illustrate well the styles that Ye Qianyu and his colleagues had adapted from comparable images in foreign publications such as Vogue. It is probable that other sources of inspiration for these fashion sketches, as well as for much of the imagery found on the front covers of Shanghai manhua, were from earlier images, such as the fashion designs of Paul Poiret (1879–1945) that had originally appeared in magazines such as La Gazette du Bon Ton; publications which are likely to have been available to Chinese artists second-hand in the foreign-language bookshops of Shanghai. All advertisements in Shanghai manhua were hand drawn and were incor- porated into an integrated tableau, appearing identical, in style and colour palette, to the other drawings on the page (fig. 2.1).91 Sketches of this type were drawn by all artists who contributed to Shanghai manhua, including Lu Shaofei, Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu and Huang Wennong. Ye Qianyu’s connection with the fashion world would continue well into the 1930s. During 1931–32 he provided a regular fashion page for the women’s magazine Linglong for which he gave advice on the wearing of the latest fashions as well as depictions of them.92 Tang Ying herself also made occasional contributions to this magazine, including design sketches of a swimming costume on one occasion and on another a charming description of a dress “as thin as cicada’s wing” suitable for the dance hall.93 A photograph of Tang Ying and Lu Xiaoman standing in front of the Yunshang shop window, with a

90 Shanghai manhua no. 6 (26 May 1928): p. 4. The address of the shop is given as “Bubbling Well Road, opposite the trolley bus stop at the diagonal bridge.” This was not far from Shao Xunmei’s family home. According to a map of 1932 the stop for buses and trolley buses was at the point where present day Nanjing Xilu and Shimen Yilu meet, round the corner from what was then Xieqiao Lu. 91 Ye Qianyu, [Fashion Sketches] in Shanghai manhua no. 32 (24 November 1928). 92 See for example Ye Qianyu, “Qiuchu xinzhuang 秋初新裝 [New Clothing for the Start of Autumn],” in Linglong no. 25 (1931): p. 905. 93 Tang Ying, “Nuzi youyong zhi shizhuang 女子游泳之時裝 [A Fashionable Swimming Costume for Ladies],” in Linglong no. 21 (1931): p. 743 and “Dongji neiwai zhi xin zhuang 冬季内外衣之新裝 [New Over and Under Garments for the Winter],” in Linglong no. 44 (1932): p. 1769. 76 CHAPTER 2

Figure 2.1 [Fashion Sketches], in Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 32 (24 November 1928). Bottom left: Ye Qianyu, San jian xin de dayi shiyang 三件新的大衣式樣 (Three New Styles of Overcoat). Bottom right: advertisement for overcoats designed by the Yunshang fashion company. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 77 mannequin being dressed in the background, shows Tang Ying proudly showing off a sequined knee-length skirt; no doubt one of her own creations.94 The fashion sketches in Shanghai manhua show that the speciality of the company in 1928 was the winter overcoat. Many years after the event, the writer Cao Juren 曹聚仁 (1900–1972) remembered the rise in popularity of the ladies overcoat in Shanghai, which had taken over from the cape in the period after the founding of the Republic. The overcoat, as adapted by Chinese designers, was to become de rigueur for all fashionable ladies in Shanghai. Cao remembered that amongst several shopping districts in which women’s clothing could be bought was the Jing’an Road area, where Yunshang and its rival Hongxiang were situated, close by to Shao Xunmei’s home. These became the most famous outlets for overcoats and were extensively advertised in Shanghai manhua. Following the popularity of the winter coat, came the overcoat for spring and autumn, suitable for both seasons, and even a special lightweight version for the summer. Fur coats were worn for the cold Shanghai winters. At first, the high-quality furs from the extreme northeast were sought. Later cheaper imports became available such as sable from America, rabbit from Germany and fox fur in a wide range of colours and grades.95 An advertisement in Shanghai manhua (unusually actually signed by Ye Qianyu) proclaims, “Autumn Overcoats-Style-Material-Manufacture-from Yunshang they’re the best.”96 These were strikingly similar to the wraps which were appearing in Vogue and Vanity Fair at the time and Ye Qianyu was an avid reader of such magazines. The coats in a variety of styles take pride of place on the front cover of the magazine in the autumn of 1928 (fig. 2.2).97 Depictions of these wrap-around coats appear in many contexts in Shanghai manhua: on cover designs, in advertisements and fashion sketches and also in cartoons including Ye Qianyu’s own “Wang xiansheng.” A particularly good example of what this garment meant in the Chinese context can be seen in a photograph which carries the caption:

94 “Yunshang menqian zhi Tang Ying Lu Xiaoman nüshi 雲裳門前之唐瑛陸小曼女士 [Miss Tang Ying and Miss Lu Xiaoman in front of Yunshang],” in Tianpeng huabao 天鵬畫報 (Tianpeng Pictorial) no. 13 (1927): p. 13. 95 Cao Juren 曹聚仁, Shanghai chunqiu 上海春秋 [Shanghai Annals] (Beijing: Xinhua shudian, 2007), pp. 245–246. 96 Shanghai manhua no. 27 (20 October 1928): p. 4. 97 Ye Qianyu, Qiudong zhi zhuang 秋冬之裝 [Clothing for Autumn and Winter], in Shanghai manhua no. 30 (10 November 1928): front cover. 78 CHAPTER 2

Figure 2.2 Ye Qianyu 葉淺予, Qiudong zhi zhuang 秋冬之裝 (Clothing for Autumn and Winter), from Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 30 (10 November 1928), front cover. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 79

It could be said that young ladies who have been to Paris always have a special interest in clothing. Having returned to China, Zheng Hanying was very interested in the improvements in clothing that had taken place in China in the last couple of years and was of course very happy to change out of the clothes she had brought back from Paris. The coat in the photograph above was made on behalf of the Yunshang Company. This is the most fashionable style of coat this winter.98

From this it can be seen that the Chinese designers had modified Western designs to create styles that were considered peculiarly “Chinese” and women were even casting off the latest Paris fashions to wear the Chinese styles that had become so popular in Shanghai. Ye Qianyu was briefly active in the organ ization of Shanghai’s first fashion show which took place from 18–24 March 1928. As related by Ye himself, he was responsible for inviting nightclub hostesses from local establishments to act as catwalk models for the show which took place at the department store Whiteaway, Laidlaw and Company on Nanking Road.99 In this show, the designs of clothing for spring and summer were divided into Chinese and foreign sections; the Chinese section consisting of creations exclusively designed for Yunshang. At this time, what was considered to be “modern” was increasingly defined and led by fashion and popular culture, and as a fashion designer and modern artist Ye Qianyu was instrumental in the parallel display of these two genres within the pages of pictorial magazines. Ye Qianyu also published a volume dedicated to the subject of fashion. A short article introducing this and another associated book appeared in Shanghai manhua accompanied by two captioned photographs.100 One of these pictures shows a cover design by Ye Qianyu for his book, Xiandai zhuangshu 現代裝束 (Modern Clothing) with the caption, “If you’d like to see the content of this book please ask for it at Dafeng Silks on Fuzhou Road or at Yunshang on Jing’an Road.” Next to this is an advertisement for Jingshan sheyingji 靜山攝影集 (The Collected Photographs of Jingshan) with an accompanying photograph entitled “Yunshang” by one of the major photographers in Shanghai at the time, Lang Jingshan (1892–1995). Two photographs by Lang Jingshan in another magazine show perhaps the most unusual examples of products made by Yunshang. These are a number

98 Shanghai manhua no. 28 (27 October 1928): p. 6. 99 Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian, Chapter 7. A report concerning this fashion show appeared twice in Shanghai manhua: Shanghai manhua no. 37 (29 December 1928): p. 3 and Shanghai manhua no. 50 (6 April 1929): p. 3. 100 Shanghai manhua no. 73 (14 September 1929): p. 6. 80 CHAPTER 2 of stuffed, embroidered cushions in the shape of a fish, shrimps and crabs, together with others showing brightly coloured scenes in the English Aesthetic style.101 Lang Jingshan was one of Shao Xunmei’s closest friends. As early as 1912 he had worked as a photographic journalist for Shenbao and was later a regular contributor to Shanghai manhua. By that time, in 1928, he had established the Zhonghua sheyingshe 中華攝影社 (Chinese Photography Society)102 and thereafter contributed regularly to magazines published by Shao’s Modern Publications Ltd. Despite being one of China’s premier photographers and having worked as a professional for many years, a report in the English-language newspaper, the North-China Herald refers to him as an “amateur”.

Mr Chin-san Long holds a foremost place amongst Chinese photographic artists, and his studio in Frenchtown is filled with exquisite studies, many of which have gained awards at exhibits in Europe. Incidentally, he is the foremost amateur photographer to make use of gold and silver flecked papers for scenic studies, such as “Spring Leaves”.103

Images of, and contributions by, the members of Shao Xunmei’s circle, Tang Ying, Jiang Xiaojian and Lang Jingshan appear in the pages of the Shanghai manhua alongside several depictions of Shao himself during the time of its publication. Shao was close friends with a circle of artists, designers and photographers well before his involvement with them in any professional capacity as a publisher.

The Zhang Brothers—Designers

When Shao Xunmei and Sheng Peiyu moved to their new home in 1930, Shao commissioned Zhang Zhenyu to design the furniture for it. Both Zhang Zhenyu and his brother Zhang Guangyu are now best known for their work as “cartoonists” during this period. However, the Zhang brothers should not be simply seen as cartoonists. They were prolific designers of furniture and other objects in their own right. Zhang Zhenyu’s furniture designs for Shao were constructed in teak by the Shanghai meishu jiaju gongsi 上海美術家具公司

101 Tuhua shibao no. 385 no.1, p. 2. 102 Shi Ying 时影 (ed.), Minguo yishu 民国艺术 [Republican Art] (Beijing: Tuanjie chubanshe, 2004), pp. 180–183. 103 “Photographic Studies by Chin San Long,” in the North-China Herald (21 August, 1935): p. 292. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 81

(Shanghai Fine Art Furniture Company) and found a place in his new home alongside Shao’s treasured portraits of Sappho and Swinburne that had always been given pride of place. These could be seen together with more of his prized possessions: a composite photograph of The Yellow Mountains by Lang Jingshan, a portrait of Shao by Xu Beihong and a bronze bust of him, sculpted by Jiang Xiaojian. A photograph of Jiang at work on this bust can be seen in Shanghai manhua.104 Shao wrote an article that describes the background behind the commissioning of this bust in which he recalls the time he had spent as a student in Paris. He remembered that opposite a Chinese restau- rant that he and his friends frequented, the Wanhualou 萬華樓 (Mansion of Myriad Blossoms), there was a shop that sold plaster casts of famous people. Having been clearly fascinated by these Shao had decided that he would like a bust done of himself and commissioned Jiang Xiaojian to sculpt it.105 Shao was noted for his narcissism and believed himself to have “the eyes of Byron; the chin of Dante; the nose of Freud and the beard of Shakespeare.” Perhaps less flatteringly he describes himself as “having a face like a horse”106 and an elongated face with a prominent nose is indeed one of Shao’s most distinctive features. Design was clearly a major and long-term interest for both Zhang brothers. An example of the brothers’ furniture design can be seen in a double- page photographic spread accompanying an article, “Xin gudian chenshe” 新古典陳設 (New Classical Furnishings), in which can be seen a desk and chair of red lacquer flecked with gold.107 These were photographed for the article by Ye Qianyu who had for some time been well-known as a photographer. It is almost certain that it was Ye, as photographer, who was responsible for the inclusion in the scene of the blue-and-white curtains seen in one of the images. A feature written by him in Wanxiang is illustrated with several

104 Shanghai manhua no. 51 (13 April 1929): p. 3. 105 Shao Xunmei, Rulin xin shi [New History of the Scholars], pp. 105–106. 106 In the 1940s Shao Xunmei sometimes signed his name with a signature in the form of a stylized horse’s head. A letter from Shao, sent from his home address at 1802 Lin Sen Road, Shanghai, to Emily Hahn, dated 17 December 1947, is signed by Shao in this manner, spelling out his English name “Sinmay.” Hahn Mss. Manuscripts Department, Lily Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. See also a short note to Bernadine Fritz which reads: “Did you like this my new signature? Can you decipher it? It stands for Zau Sinmay.” This was sent by Shao from Jack Dempsey’s Great Northern Hotel whilst he was in New York in 1946. See Bernadine Szold-Fritz papers [c.1933]. YCAL MSS 544 Box 5 f. Zau, Sinmay. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. 107 Wanxiang no. 2 (20 June 1934): unnumbered page. 82 CHAPTER 2 different patterns of blue and white cloth, at least one of which is similar, if not identical, to the pattern on the curtains seen in these photographs.108 An anonymous article in the Shanghai-published magazine Wenhua109 shows several examples of modern furniture and architectural design; a modern house and an architectural plan, two examples of tubular steel framed chairs and a nest of tables and other furniture. Most notably, in addition to these, there is an example of a design for “printed mohair furniture covering” which is described as being in a “Sappho design.” It can be no coincidence that this fabric was named after a poet so admired by Shao Xunmei. His great admiration for the poet Sappho and his interest in modern furniture design certainly suggests a link between Shao, this article, and by extension the other articles on the theme of modern design which appear in this magazine.110 Shao’s own magazines Shidai huabao and Wanxiang carry very similar articles on design written by Zhang Guangyu and Zhang Zhenyu.111 Although the artists of Shao’s Modern Publications contributed rather little to Wenhua, and no author-attributed articles by them were published in the magazine, it is possible, bearing in mind the close association between the Zhang brothers and Shao Xunmei, that the articles on modern design by unnamed authors that appear in Wenhua were also penned by them.112 If Shao had simply been after furnishing his new house with modern furniture he need not have gone as far as to commission Zhang Zhenyu to design it for him. Modern furniture of all types was readily available in the heart of the city’s shopping district. By 1933 the Dahua tiechang 大華鐵廠 (Dahua Steel Factory) in Nanking Road was offering ready-made chrome-plated tubular steel furniture similar in type to that illustrated in Wenhua the previous year and more than a little reminiscent of designs that had been produced at the

108 Ye Qianyu, “Lanqing baihuabu tu’an yu shidai zhuangshi 藍青百花布圖案與時代裝飾 [Blue-and-White Patterned Textiles and Modern Clothes Design],” Wanxiang no. 1 (20 May 1934): unnumbered page. 109 “Jindai yishu yu jiating 近代藝術家庭 [Modern Art and the Home],” in Wenhua [“The Culture Arts Review”], no. 29 (July 1932): p. 23. 110 “Xiandai jiating de buzhi 現代家庭的佈置 [Layout of the Modern House],” Wenhua no. 21 (25 June 1931): p. 37 and “Jindai yishu yu jiating,” p. 26. There is a gap in publication between issue number 26 (December 1931) and number 27 (May 1932), no doubt as a result of the Japanese attack on Shanghai which occurred during this time. 111 Wanxiang no. 2 (20 June 1934): unnumbered page. 112 Photographs of Zhang Guangyu and Ding Song appear in Wenhua no. 1 (August, 1929): p. 33 and of Lu Shaofei in Wenhua no. 2 (September 1929): p. 35. Although Zhang Guangyu’s contribution to the magazine is small at least one painting by him appears in Wenhua no. 2. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 83

Bauhaus in the mid-1920s.113 The Dahua factory represented part of the commercial side of modern furniture design in Shanghai. The Zhang brothers were more interested in the production of hand-made art furniture, with one-off limited editions. In 1932 Zhang Guangyu wrote a design book entitled Jindai gongyi meishu 近代工藝美術 (Modern Arts and Crafts), an advertisement for which appeared in Shidai huabao. Many areas of design are covered in this book including architecture, interior design, stage design, advertising photography, book cover design, commercial art, and drawing.114 Modern interior design is the subject of an earlier feature in Shidai huabao which shows examples of Zhang Guangyu’s designs, one for a studio, including designs for a desk and a lamp, and the other for patterned cloth.115 In the same issue two more pages on the theme of design appear under the title “Shidai gongyi” 時代工藝 (Modern Arts and Crafts). The first page of this illustrates examples of interior design and architecture, including a photograph of the Capitol Cinema, one of the most famous of the “Art Deco” cinemas in Shanghai, and the second shows a design for a desk lamp by Zhang Guangyu, together with a “French- style modern room,” a ceiling light designed by his brother, a spiral staircase and, rather surprisingly, a design for a modern church. In 1930, the same year in which Zhang Zhenyu had designed furniture for Shao, a series of articles appeared in Shidai huabao entitled “Shidai gongyi meishu zhi yanjiu” 時代工藝美術之研究 (Modern Arts and Crafts and Fine Art Research) written by Zhang Guangyu.116 This can be seen to be a nod towards the European art and design world of the latter nineteenth century, an interest that would seem to have persisted for the Zhang brothers at least until the appearance of their furniture designs in Wanxiang in 1934. The names of the Zhang brothers, together with that of Shao Xunmei, were amongst those on the list of members of the Yimeishu hezuoshe 藝美術合作社 (The Arts Cooperative

113 The factory was opposite the Hong miao 虹廟 [Rainbow Temple] situated on Nanking Road close to Fookien Road [Fujian Lu]. Advertisements for the factory appeared in Xin sheng zhoukan 新生周刊 [New Life Weekly] and Dongfang zazhi 東方雜誌 [“Eastern Miscellany”] (19 October 1933) vol. 30 no. 20 (on the back page of the pictorial supplement Dongfang huabao 東方畫報 [Eastern Miscellany Pictorial]). A later advertisement appeared with captions in both Chinese and English for the “Diaward Steel Furniture Co., Ltd.,” in Shidai huabao no. 118 (May 1937): unnumbered page. The designs resemble those of Marcel Breuer, for example, his Club-chair (1925–26) or the B3 chair (later renamed the Wassily chair). See also Wenhua no. 29 (July 1932): p. 23. 114 Shidai huabao vol. 2 no. 11 (1 August 1932): unnumbered page. 115 Shidai huabao vol. 2 no. 8 (16 June 1932): unnumbered page. 116 Shidai huabao no. 7 (1 August 1930): p. 25 and Shidai no. 8 (23 August 1930): p. 22. 84 CHAPTER 2

Society) that appeared in Shanghai manhua in November 1929.117 This was a society that clearly took inspiration from English Arts and Crafts design and the Aesthetic Movement. The advertisement for the society shows that its members were involved in the diverse disciplines of painting, architecture, clothes design, sculpture, furniture and metalwork in much the same way as those associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement had been in Britain in the nineteenth century. The list of members also includes the names of his close friend Jiang Xiaojian and that of the multi-talented Wan Laiming, who, together with his four brothers, as Wanshi xiongdi 萬氏兄弟 (The Wan brothers), was a major figure in the world of cartoon animation. Many of the same names can be found together on a roughly contemporaneous list which shows the major contributors to Shidai huabao at the time. Even at the early date of 1929 this list is very specific about the particular specialities of each individual contributor, despite the wide interests they all held and the different fields in which they had been working up to that time. They are listed by discipline:118 “Top-notch famous cartoonists of Shanghai,” Ye Qianyu, Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu (these three were also known for their photography at the time),119 Lu Shaofei, Ding Song, Huang Wennong, Fang Xuegu, Chen Qiucao (these last two were to become better known as “serious painters”); “Avant-garde photographers,” Lang Jingshan, Zhang Zhenhou and Hu Boxiang (Hu had long been famous for the painting of calendar posters of Shanghai beauties and worked for British American Tobacco, as had Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu and Ding Song);120 and the “Literary giants,” Ye Lingfeng and Ni Yide. By this time Ye Lingfeng had already become known as “The Chinese Aubrey Beardsley” and was equally adept in the fields of both the visual arts and literature. Ni Yide was making a name for himself as a writer of fiction but would later become an important figure as an artist and writer in the Storm Society and as a theorist in the field of Western modern art in China.

117 Shanghai manhua no. 81 (9 November 1929): p. 3. The society was established on 1 November 1929. 118 Shidai huabao (20 October 1929): unnumbered page. 119 Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu and Ye Qianyu all had their photographic work published. See for example Zhang Guangyu, Deng xia 燈下 [Under the Lamp], in Qiangwei 薔薇 (Rose) no. 1 (1928): p. 8 and a group of photographs by Ye Qianyu and Zhang Zhenyu of a trip to Hangzhou’s West Lake, in Shanghai manhua no. 39 (12 January 1929): pp. 6–7. 120 See Ellen Johnston Laing, Selling Happiness: Calendar Posters and Visual Culture in Early Twentieth-century Shanghai (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004), p. 68. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 85

A Depiction of Shao Xunmei by Wang Zimei

Despite a close association with Shao Xunmei that had lasted for many years, in 1936 Zhang Guangyu and Zhang Zhengyu (Zhenyu) broke away to establish their own publishing company Duli chubanshe 獨立出版社 (“The Independence Press”). In the same year, an article, apparently critical of them and their new publishing venture, was written by Shao and published in the magazine Renyan zhoukan.121 This article directly concerns the cover design of one issue of their magazine Duli manhua. From the information found in the editorial on the final pages of the magazine, “Dubai” 獨白 (Monologue), the title of the cover design in question can identified as: “Shiren you diyu” 詩人游地獄 (A Poet Wanders in Hell) (fig. 2.3).122 In his article Shao mentions the title of the design but states that he has forgotten the name of the artist who painted it. “Forgetting” the name of the artist might have been a deliberate ploy on Shao’s part so as not to embarrass Wang Zimei who is clearly named as the artist in the Dubai column. Although the title and author are mentioned in the magazine, no explanation is given as to the image’s meaning. Shao Xunmei gives the following description of the image:123 “In a grey background, with aeroplanes above and a tank below, in the centre there is an army.” Actually the background is multi-coloured with a sky of blue, yellow, red and green and the ground depicted in violet. The “army” consists of three demons, throwing their arms up in the air as if in pain and despair, two in the background and one standing centrally, diagonally across the page. Shao continues his description “In the left hand corner, using a different style of brushwork, a man with a green face is depicted. This man holds a book in his hands on which are written three characters, xiaopinwen.”124 Shao goes on to heavily criticise the image. Indeed, this is unsurprising as although it is not explicitly stated, the poet depicted in the picture is clearly none other than Shao himself. It shows a slim man with an aquiline nose, black hair and goatee beard, wearing a traditional long robe, i.e. the manner in which he is depicted in all but

121 Shao Xunmei, “Yi ge yishujia de quangao 一個藝術家的勸告 [A Piece of Advice from an Artist],” Renyan zhoukan 人言周刊, vol. 2 no. 42 (1936), reprinted in Yi ge ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 [One Man’s Conversation], pp. 103–105. 122 Duli manhua no. 5 (25 November 1935): front cover. 123 At times the description does not accord precisely with the scene in the picture so it is likely that Shao wrote the article sometime after he actually saw it. 124 Neither the book nor its title is visible on the front cover of the copy of Manhuajie in Fudan University library as the pages of the magazine had been trimmed when several issues were bound together. 86 CHAPTER 2

Figure 2.3 Wang Zimei 汪子美, Shiren you diyu 詩人游地獄 (A Poet Wanders in Hell), from Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”) no. 5 (25 November 1935), front cover. The poet depicted here is almost certainly Shao Xunmei. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 87 his earliest portraits.125 However, here he is shown with green skin and long, sharply-pointed fingernails and is clearly supposed to represent a demon, or the devil himself. A notable omission from Shao’s own description of the image is the yellow snake which appears at the bottom of the image. In fact the snake is further evidence that the figure is indeed supposed to represent Shao, as he was said to have had a special relationship with snakes following an incident that occurred when he was a baby. This story would have been widely known among Shao’s circle of friends and indeed can even be found in one of his published articles.126 The snake is no doubt included in the picture to further indicate that Shao is its subject. To be fair to the artist, it should be pointed out that Shao’s apparent disgust at being depicted as the devil may be to some extent unfounded. In the painting, Wang Zimei may simply be hinting at the time when Shao’s preoccupation in his own poetry had been with the world of English Decadence and European Symbolism; with snakes, demons and devilish creatures. Wang Zimei’s own understanding of this type of imagery, perhaps grossly misinter- preted, may have given rise to the offending painting. Shao’s description continues: “If we look at the painting from the point of view of inherent meaning, the artist is asking, in this period of world war is there still a place for those who write poetry?”127 He is of course referring to the title of the painting “A Poet Wanders in Hell.” To Shao the question here is why the book in the man’s hand should have “xiaopinwen” written on it. He suggests that in the view of the average person, xiaopinwen 小品文 (short literary essays) represent “boring or senseless writing.” Here though he is not just referring to the average person on the street. Xiaopinwen had been the subject

125 Other portraits of Shao include a photograph of him and his wife at the swimming pool taken by Lang Jingshan in Shanghai manhua no. 68 (10 August 1929): p. 3; a similar photograph by Lang in Shidai huabao no. 1 (20 October 1929): p. 27; a photograph of Jiang Xiaojian at work on a sculpture of Shao, in Shanghai manhua no. 51 (13 April 1929): p. 3 and a paper-cut portrait of Shao by Wan Laiming in Shanghai manhua no. 101 (5 April 1930) (all cited by Ellen Johnston Laing). A figure on the front cover of Shanghai manhua no. 68 (Shiren 詩人 [Poet] by Ye Qianyu) is also almost certainly a depiction of Shao. 126 One day, as a baby Shao had been left alone for a short time by his nanny in the family garden and on her return she found a yellow snake wrapped around the basket in which he was calmly sleeping. The child remained entirely unharmed. From this time on he was thought to have a close affinity with snakes. See Shao Xunmei, “Ouran xiangdao de yiwangle de shiqing 偶然想到的遺忘了的事情 [Chance Recollections of Forgotten Events],” in Jinwu yuekan 金屋月刊 vol. 1 no. 11, reprinted in Rulin xin shi [New History of the Scholars], pp. 16–19. 127 Shao Xunmei, “Yi ge yishujia de quangao,” p. 103. 88 CHAPTER 2 of a 1933 critique by Lu Xun who had bemoaned the fact that this form of literature could no longer be compared to classic examples from the past. He saw it as having sunk to such depths in recent years that in Shanghai, where it had become so popular, it could now only be compared to a prostitute who, no longer able to attract clients to her own boudoir, had been compelled to slap on copious amounts of make-up and roam the streets at night.128 To Lu Xun, the literary essay had been degraded to such an extent that it was now a shadow of its former self, having to rely on artificial adornment such as humour, in order to survive. Lin Yutang’s Lunyu (a magazine to which Lu Xun had contributed earlier that year, but had left under less than friendly circumstances) is an example of a magazine in which such essays were published and was indeed the archetypal “humorous” magazine; the idea of youmo 幽默 (humour) being particularly associated with Lin Yutang and his publications.129 Shao Xunmei was a regular contributor of xiaopinwen to Lunyu in 1933 and would continue to be involved with the magazine for many years to come. In his essay Shao suggests that the view that xiaopinwen are in some way “boring” or “senseless” if coming from the average person, should not be such a great surprise, but when the judgement is that of an artist, and his opinion is expressed on the cover of a magazine published by the Zhang brothers (who he so clearly admires), it makes him desperately sad. He concedes that boring poems and boring xiaopinwen do indeed exist but to satirize xiaopinwen, poetry and cartoons in this way is to be devoid of the sincerity of a true artist.

If I were to lay further charges against this type of art I would even say that the circumstances whereby Chinese art and literature have sunk to such depths in recent years is entirely the fault of such people. This is because, when it comes to art and literature, the average person’s power of understanding is superficial and, no matter what, they only understand the concept of “fame and profit.” Even if we were to use all our ener- gies to explain the aims of art and literature to them they would still not understand. So isn’t the sort of irresponsible criticism that we have seen [here] likely to make them look down on art and literature even more?130

128 See Lu Xun, “Xiaopinwen de weiji 小品文的危機 [The Crisis of the Literary Essay],” in Lu Xun quanji, vol. 5, pp. 169–173. 129 See David E. Pollard, “Lu Xun’s Zawen,” in Leo Ou-fan Lee, Lu Xun and his Legacy (Berkeley, London: University of California Press, 1985), p. 80. Lunyu is described in advertisements as “China’s only humorous magazine,” see Shiritan no. 10 (10 November 1933): unnumbered page. 130 Shao Xunmei, “Yi ge yishujia de quangao,” p. 104. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 89

The idea that the common man is incapable of understanding art and that art should not be made accessible to all, is certainly not the view of a large proportion of the artistic community of Shanghai at the time. In fact, it was just the opposite view to this that many artists and writers were trying to propagate, including by this time many of Shao’s friends and colleagues in the publishing world. As will be further explained in the following chapters, this was a time when many of Shao’s colleagues were taking a conscious shift to the left in their politics. Artists who had been involved with his publishing ventures earlier in the decade were now, in late 1935, increasingly thinking along political lines and would ultimately be looking at ways for art to be used in the call for National Salvation. In this article Shao clearly still believes in the ideals of “art for art’s sake” that had been so prevalent in the Shanghai art world during the 1920s. He continues in the same vein:

With regard to the myriad things—if one does not have the capacity to understand them they are often thought laughable. We may feel those people laughable who carry out military manoeuvres from morning until night; we may feel those people laughable who strive to their utmost to make money, right up until their death with no opportunity of spending it; we may feel those people laughable who think “believeism” [Xiangxinzhuyi 相信主義] to be the real truth; we may feel that Lu Xun is laughable or Tian Han. But if you have the power of understanding of a true artist you will be capable of understanding all their difficulties and will be able to take pity on them or to sympathize with them. All great artists have such magnanimous tolerance and only those who are motivated by fame and profit will be pig-headed and stubborn.131

Shao is understandably rather insulted by the depiction of himself as the devil and is venting his anger not just at Wang Zimei but also at those in the artistic community who do not hold the same view as him concerning the individual- ity of the artist. Shao expresses the idea that although one may not understand something, there is no need to dismiss it out of hand, and acceptance of art produced by others is the way of the true artist. However, this was certainly not the view of certain sectors of the art world at the time. By this time the woodcut movement had for years been propounding the ideas of “art for life’s sake” with Lu Xun as its figurehead. A study of the letters of Lu Xun reveals that the motivation behind the production of woodcuts was centred round a narrow set of criteria concerning what was considered correct in political terms and it may be to this, as well as to the policies of groups such as the League of Left-wing

131 Ibid., p. 105. 90 CHAPTER 2

Writers, that Shao is referring when he singles out the names of Lu Xun and the dramatist Tian Han in his article.132 Shao clearly saw the ideals of “Pure Art” as the foundation on which all art should be based and may well have considered the idea of art as a political medium to be in some way laughable. However, he did not see this as a reason for a full-scale attack on Lu Xun or on the League of Left-wing Writers. He continues in his advice to Wang Zimei:

. . . a true cartoon artist must have a profound understanding and a sympathetic attitude in his humour, even when criticising. One should most certainly not ape the average person’s lack of insight and make irresponsible generalizations so as to reveal one’s own superficiality. This is a piece of sincere advice from one sincere artist to another.133

A Letter to Emily Hahn

This article shows Shao to have been deeply insulted by the depiction of himself as the devil. It also points to a side of his personality that is rarely shown in his literary output. Perhaps Shao was not always as full of confidence and bravado as many of his writings would suggest. An unpublished letter of 24 December 1939 to Emily Hahn shows another side of his character. The self- assured aspect of Shao’s personality that he displayed in public and in his writings masks another more vulnerable side to his nature; a lack of confidence and an apparent emotional reliance on his former girlfriend Emily Hahn. At the time of the writing of this letter, Hahn had left Shanghai for Hong Kong and Shao was impatiently awaiting her reply, having written to her several times in quick succession. In this letter, which displays Shao’s idiosyncratic English, it can be seen that Shao was still thinking very much in the way he had done in the 1920s as seen in his early poetical output and that his aesthetic preoccupations had not changed. He recalls how, three years earlier, he had had a traumatic psychological and physical experience which was now repeating itself due to Hahn’s absence. The imagery found in this short passage conjures up the world of English Decadence, the poetry of Baudelaire and the Symbolist paintings of Franz Stück that had preoccupied him and his circle of friends a decade before.

132 See Ma Tiji 马蹄疾 and Li Yunjing 李允经 (eds.), Lu Xun yu xinxing muke yundong 鲁迅与新兴木刻运动 [Lu Xun and the New Woodcut Movement] (Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1985), pp. 311–357. 133 Shao Xunmei, “Yi ge yishujia de quangao,” p. 105. Shao Xunmei And His Circle 91

Disappointment. Fear. Shame. Self-realization . . . you realize at last, and for the first time, that you are really nothing, NOTHING! It happened during your ABSENCE, [. . .], and I was never stopping thinking of you. But suddenly a shiver came upon me; it went through my throat that I was almost choked to death. It rested on my heart and my heart struggled, struggled and I was completely exhausted. All the life went out from me, first from my limbs and then my whole organisms. I couldn’t sit up any longer and I somehow managed to get my bed. Oh, the WEIGHT, I couldn’t even stand my own weight. I could see that my body was declining and would soon recede into nothing, the body would disappear under my own weight; and when the body was gone, there would be left on the sheet my heart, excited and burning red after the struggle. At that moment of thinking, no not I and not thinking, but thought itself pointing at me with its monstrous finger and bade me to listen. I couldn’t refuse to listen nor to close my ears with my own hands: there was nothing left of me but my faculty of hearing.

More in the same vein follows and he ends with the words:

I kissed your photograph on Christmas Eve and will on New Year too. You will see the marks when you come home. I cried too, a lot. Ha, Ha. Shame on me! I am supposed to be a man though, and old. It’s terrible come to think of it. However, I am an Oriental and it should be probably expected of me. We Chinese . . .134

This chapter has focussed on Shao Xunmei as a major figure in Shanghai’s publishing world and as an important individual in the city’s art and literary circles. Without Shao’s publications, the artists who are the main focus of this study, would have been deprived of a significant outlet for their artwork and without this outlet and the exposure which it afforded, they could not have attained the elevated position in the art world that was to be theirs in the late 1930s. This detailed examination of various aspects of the life and work of Shao Xunmei and his circle goes some way to contextualizing the working lives of the cartoonists and shows how they were involved, not just in the major literary and artistic discourses of Shanghai at the time, but also in the areas of popular culture and design. These artists were closely associated with Shao

134 Unpublished letter written in English: Shao Xunmei to Emily Hahn, dated 24 December 1939. Hahn Mss. Manuscript Department, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. 92 CHAPTER 2

Xunmei at the time when Miguel Covarrubias visited Shanghai in 1933 and it was through Shao that they were given the opportunity to meet the Mexican artist. As a mutual friend of Miguel Covarrubias and Shao Xunmei, Bernadine Fritz, would be the catalyst for a meeting of minds that would have a profound and lasting effect on the future of art in China. part 2

Adoption of Foreign Models in Art and Literature

∵

CHAPTER 3 Miguel Covarrubias

In Part One it has been shown that the inspiration for the artists who worked for Shanghai manhua and the magazines published by Shao Xunmei in the early 1930s came largely from nineteenth-century European models such as English Decadence and European Symbolism, the Aesthetic Movement, the Arts and Crafts movement and the art of the fin-de-siècle. In Part Two it will be shown how a concomitant fascination with the artwork and imagery of American popular culture, of urban New York and of Hollywood films found in the medium of foreign magazines, and in particular the caricatures of Miguel Covarrubias in Vanity Fair in the early 1930s, began to give way, during the middle of the decade, to a focus on the work of George Grosz as a major inspiration for Chinese artists as the threat of war approached.1 Writing about the magazine Shidai manhua in the late 1930s, Huang Mao, himself a well-known cartoonist and contributor to wartime periodicals such as Jiuwang huakan 救亡畫刊 (National Salvation Pictorial),2 points to three Western caricaturists as having been inspirational for Chinese artists:

. . . much work by foreign artists was introduced to China. Chinese artists were frequently influenced by such-and-such an artist or such-and-such a school and took the same, or a similar path [to those artists]. This situation can . . . be seen in Shidai manhua particularly with regard to Covarrubias, Grosz and Sapajou.3

The name Sapajou, penname of Russian cartoonist Georgii Avksent’ievich Sapojnikoff, would have been familiar to all English-speaking expatriates in Shanghai as he worked for fifteen years as the cartoonist for one of the main English-language newspapers in China, the North-China Daily News. As a White Russian working for a foreign community newspaper, Sapajou may not at first seem an obvious candidate as a role model for cartoonists primarily

1 The impact of the Western cartoon on the work of the Chinese cartoonists is introduced in Chang-tai Hung, War and Popular Culture, pp. 34–39. 2 Jiuwang huakan 救亡畫刊 [National Salvation Pictorial] was published as a supplement to Jiuwang ribao 救亡日報 [National Salvation Daily] which was published from 1937 to 1941. 3 Huang Mao, p. 30.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ��6 | doi ��.��63/9789004307940_005 96 CHAPTER 3 drawing for the Chinese community, but he was singled out by the cartoonist Hua Junwu 華君武 (1915–2010) as having been an influence on him as a schoolboy4 and both Huang Miaozi and Yu Feng acknowledged their debt to the Russian in interview.5 The cartoons of Shen Zhenhuang in magazines such as Yongsheng 永生 (Life Eternal) published in the mid-1930s are also clearly inspired by Sapajou’s cartoons. In addition to the artists listed by Huang Mao, several other Western artists have been cited as having been influential on Chinese cartoonists. The cartoons of David Low, which occasionally appeared in the North-China Daily News as well as being reprinted in Chinese-language publications, have been cited in this regard, notably with the cartoons of Te Wei 特偉 (1915–2010).6 It is even said that Lu Xun had examples of David Low’s cartoons in his collection alongside those of Frans Masereel (1889–1972) and Käthe Kollwitz (1867– 1945), two major sources of inspiration for the Chinese woodcut artists.7 In addition, artists from earlier periods such as Honoré Daumier (1808–79) and Francisco Goya (1746–1828) are often named.8 The content of the short-lived journal Wenyi huabao illustrates several aspects of the state of Chinese

4 “Sabaqiao” 萨巴乔 [Sapajou], in Xinmin wanbao 新民晚報 (2 June 1997) cited in Richard Rigby, “Sapajou’s Shanghai,” in the China Heritage Quarterly, no. 22. http://www.china heritagequarterly.org/features.php?searchterm=022_sapajou.inc&issue=022. 5 Richard Rigby, Sapajou’s Shanghai 6 Huang Yao cites George Grosz, Miguel Covarrubias and David Low as still being influential in Hong Kong as late as 1960. See Huang Yao, “Cong chun yishu tuibian chulai de qianghan— wushi nian lai de manhua zatan 從純藝術蛻變出來的強漢—五十年來的漫畫雜談 (A Sturdy Fellow Transformed Out of Pure Art—Miscellaneous Talks on Fifty Years of Cartoons),” in Guanghua ribao 光華日報 (“Kwong Wah Yit Poh”) [Malaysia (Jubliee edition)] (1960). This article was kindly supplied by Carolyn Wong of the Huang Yao Foundation. 7 Paul Hogarth found examples of work by these artists in 1954 when perusing the “various anthologies and folios” in the Lu Xun museum in Shanyin Road, Shanghai, a place which he describes as being “more than a museum,” deeming it to being nothing less than “a lab- oratory of art.” See Paul Hogarth, Looking at China: With the Journal of the Artist (London, Lawrence and Wishart, 1956), pp. 72–74. The museum is now the “Former Residence” of Lu Xun in Shanghai. Its counterpart in Beijing, Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan 北京鲁迅博物馆 [The Lu Xun Museum, Beijing] is where documents, manuscripts and works of art such as those mentioned by Hogarth have been kept since 1956. 8 For the influence of Goya and Daumier see Huang Mao, pp. 3–4. See also Shen Qiyu: “Zhongguo manhuajia you Sulian hui de liwu 中國漫畫家由蘇聯回的禮物 [A Gift from a Cartoonist Returned from the Soviet Union,” in Guangming 光明 vol. 1 no. 9 (10 October 1936): p. 572. Miguel Covarrubias 97 modernism at the time of its publication, both visual and literary, and contains many illustrations directly inspired by modern Western artists and art schools. For example, Liang Baibo’s “surrealist” works, possibly inspired by the art of Joan Miró (1893–1983),9 and Guo Jianying’s sketches in a style reminiscent of Jean Cocteau (1889–1963).10 As mentioned in Chapter One, these illustrations are found alongside writings by, amongst others, the chief editors of Wenyi huabao, the New-sensationist Mu Shiying and his colleague Ye Lingfeng. Of the many different art forms admired and imitated by the Chinese cartoonists it is the work of George Grosz and Miguel Covarrubias that should be seen as being of central importance to the history of the Chinese cartoon in the 1930s and the strong admiration many Chinese cartoonists felt for the work of these two artists resulted in significant changes to the artwork being produced in Shanghai during that decade. Although the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias has often been cited, by both Western and Chinese writers, as having had an impact on the work of cartoonists in China during the 1930s, exactly how this manifested itself has never been examined in detail. Neither have the details of Covarrubias’s visits to China in 1930 and 1933 been fully documented. Almost all biographical accounts of Zhang Guangyu mention the influence of Covarrubias on his work.11 A widespread acknowledgement of this is attested by Yu Feng who in the early 1990s commented, “. . . scholars all know that he [Zhang Guangyu] was influenced by Western art and most significantly by the Mexican artist Covarrubias.”12 However, apart from the most superficial of analyses, the extent of this influence has never been shown. There are surprisingly few books written about Miguel Covarrubias. To some scholars he is a major figure in the discourse of American modernity, to others he is of little or no significance, his name often being entirely omitted

9 Illustrations to the story “Tianshe fengjing 田舍風景 [Pastoral Scene],” by Mu Shiying 穆時英, in Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): pp. 31–40. For more on the subject of Surrealism in China see Chapter Six. 10 See for example the front cover of the inaugural issue of Wenyi huabao (10 October 1934) and illustrations to a story by Liu Na’ou Sharen weisui 殺人未遂 [Attempted Murder], in Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 2 (15 December 1934): pp. 13–17. 11 See Bi and Huang, Zhongguo manhuashi, p. 119 and Michael Sullivan, Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1996), p. 121. 12 Yu Feng 郁风, “Shanghai de manhua shidai 上海的漫画时代 [Shanghai’s Cartoon Era],” in Yu Feng sanwen jingxuan 郁风散文精选 [Selected Essays of Yu Feng] (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2010), p. 180. 98 CHAPTER 3 from the standard art history books. Adriana Williams’s biography, Covarrubias, the most comprehensive English-language study available, contains only brief information about his visits to China and Japan. Professor Williams is also co-author of two other books about Covarrubias: Covarrubias in Bali which, as the title suggests, focusses on the time he spent on the Indonesian island, and Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali—Shanghai, which includes a number of important sketches drawn by Covarrubias on his trips to China. His wife Rose’s short memoir The China I Knew (edited by Adriana Williams) has important information concerning his 1933 China trip which is not available in other sources.13 Another important English-language study is The Covarrubias Circle, published in 2004, which examines the life and work of some of the major figures in Covarrubias’s life.14 This book was published to coincide with the exhibition, “Miguel Covarrubias: A Certain Clairvoyance” mounted at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in Austin, Texas, in 2004, the cen- tennial year of Covarrubias’s birth. The dual language Miguel Covarrubias Four Miradas—Four Visions likewise, was published to accompany a series of four commemorative exhibitions held in Mexico in 2004 and 2005.15 Covarrubias’s own seminal work Island of Bali does not mention his visit to China or any other stopover en route to the islands. However, useful details concerning his movements can be found in amongst other places the “Editor’s Uneasy Chair” column of Vanity Fair, a magazine to which Covarrubias contributed for many years. Newspapers such as the North-China Daily News have proved vital for the corroboration of evidence concerning the dates of his visit to China but perhaps surprisingly no such information is available in Shanghai’s Chinese-language newspapers. The magazine Lunyu banyuekan reproduced Covarrubias’s drawings regularly in its pages during 1933 but despite the huge impact his work had on several of the artists who contributed to this magazine no actual mention is made in the magazine of his visit to Shanghai. This may have something to do with the existence of two lengthy articles about Covarrubias by Shao Xunmei which can be found in his own magazines Shiritan and Shidai huabao at this

13 I am most grateful to Adriana Williams for supplying me with a copy of the unpublished draft of this text. It has been published as: Rosa Covarrubias, Adriana Williams (ed.), The China I Knew (San Francisco: Protean Press, 2005). 14 Kurt Heinzelman et al., The Covarrubias Circle: Nickolas Muray’s collection of twentieth- century Mexican art (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004). 15 This book contains a useful list of his works as well as reproductions of several of Covarrubias’s sketches done in China and Japan (although incorrectly citing several of the latter as being on Chinese subjects). See Chino en escritorio [“Chinaman [sic] at desk”] and Chiang Kai-shek, in Miguel Covarrubias Four Miradas—Four Visions, (Mexico: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2005), p. 200. Miguel Covarrubias 99 time. These two articles are by far the most substantial source for information concerning Covarrubias’s 1933 visit.16 Among the Chinese cartoonists, it was not just Zhang Guangyu who adopted Covarrubias’s work as a model; his brother, Zhang Zhenyu, Ye Qianyu, Zhang E, Hu Kao, Liao Bingxiong 廖冰兄 (1915–2006) and many others were all drawn to the Mexican’s caricatures and adopted aspects of his work in their own.17 Unlike George Grosz or David Low, whose work was also influential on the Chinese, Miguel Covarrubias actually met with and befriended a number of the Chinese artists who so admired his work. Before attempting an analysis of the impact of Covarrubias’s artwork on the Chinese cartoonists, it will be necessary to give a detailed account of his movements during the time he spent in China and this will form the first half of this chapter. Several of the individuals he met during this time were important Chinese artists who would become profoundly affected by his work. It is therefore important to establish the details of Covarrubias’s engagement with these artists in order to build a truer chronological picture of the part the Mexican artist played in the history and transformation of the cartoon in China during the 1930s. How Covarrubias’s influence manifested itself and to what extent

16 In Xixu cangsang ji liunian Ye Qianyu mistakenly gives the year of Covarrubias’s visit to Shanghai as 1935. Varying accounts of his visits to China are given in the following secondary sources: Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, p. 183; Cai Tao 蔡涛, Huanghelou da bihua yu kangzhan chuqi Zhongguo xiandai meishu de zhuanxing 黄鹤楼大壁画与抗战初期中国现代美术的转型 [“The Anti-Japanese Propaganda Mural in Huanghelou (1938) and the Turning Point of Modern Chinese Art”], (unpublished doctoral thesis, Zhongguo meishu xueyuan, 2013), pp. 80–81; Shao Hong 綃紅, “Huang Miaozi tan Shao Xunmei 黄苗子谈邵洵美 [Huang Miaozi on Shao Xunmei],” http://book .people.com.cn/GB/69362/4805974.html. Retrieved 29 January 2012; Michael Sullivan, Art and Artists of Twentieth Century China, p. 121; Yu Feng, “Shanghai de manhua shidai [Shanghai’s Cartoon Era]”; Alison Carroll, “East and West? A Different Story: the Impact of Mexico on 20th Century Asian Art,” in Art Monthly Australia, no. 213 (September 2008): p. 15; Chang-tai Hung: War and Popular Culture, p. 39; John Crespi, “China’s Modern Sketch,” http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/modern_sketch/ms_essay01.html ; Lynn Pan, Shanghai Style, p. 137; Charles A. Laughlin, “The Analects Group and the Genre of Xiaopin,” p. 212; and Carolyn FitzGerald, Fragmenting Modernism: Chinese Wartime Literature, Art, and Film, 1937–49 (Leiden: Brill, 2013), pp. 87–88. It is notable that little mention of Covarrubias is made in the unpublished doctoral thesis on Shao Xunmei by Wang Jingfang. Despite Shao’s clear admiration for the Mexican and his work no mention is made of his visit to China in the time-line which appears in the thesis. See Wang Jingfang, Shao Xunmei he tade chuban shiye, pp. 183–199. 17 The influence of Covarrubias on Liao Bingxiong has been recognised by Chang-tai Hung and others. See Hung, War and Popular Culture, pp. 110–111. 100 CHAPTER 3 his artistic styles were adopted by the Chinese will form the second half of the chapter. Most of the material that forms the basis of this chapter has been collected from primary sources. It has been necessary to refer extensively to these, due to the large amount of contradictory and misleading information in much of the secondary source material. The primary documentary evidence conclusively shows that Covarrubias visited China twice, both times as one of several stop-overs en route to Bali; first during his honeymoon in 1930 and later in 1933, having secured a Guggenheim Fellowship to carry out anthropological research. It is also certain that he was in New York and Mexico during the years immediately following his final departure from the East, having returned from Bali in the summer of 1934, and made no further trips to East Asia or South East Asia during his life- time. The entire time that Covarrubias spent in China amounted to no more than five or six weeks.

Covarrubias Goes to China: 1930

In an article in Shidai huabao Shao Xunmei states that he got to know the work of Covarrubias by reading the American magazine Vanity Fair, firstly through his black-and-white line drawings and subsequently with the reproduction of a full-colour painting entitled George Gershwin’s An American in Paris which appeared in the magazine in 1930.18 Covarrubias had been commissioned to produce this painting by Steinway and Sons in 1929 as one of a series of paintings by a number of artists, all of which took famous musical compositions as their theme and were used to advertise the firm’s pianos.19 Covarrubias’s

18 Shao Xunmei, “Kefoluopisi ji qi furen 可佛羅皮斯及其夫人 [Covarrubias and His Wife],” in Shidai huabao vol. 5 no. 4 (16 December 1933). This appeared twice, first as part of the main text, with a descriptive caption entitled “American in Paris, France,” in Vanity Fair vol. 33 no. 6 (February 1930): p. 59, and then, the following month, in an advertisement for Steinway Pianos in Vanity Fair vol. 34 no. 1 (March 1930): unnumbered page. 19 For example an advertisement in Vanity Fair shows an artistic interpretation of Igor Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps painted for the Steinway collection by Serei Soudeïkine, in Vanity Fair vol. 31 no. 6 (February 1929). Later that year can be found, Rockwell Kent, The Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla, in Vanity Fair vol. 33 no. 3 (November 1929): inside back cover (inspired by Richard Wagner’s opera Das Rhinegold). Miguel Covarrubias 101 contribution to this series had won the National Art Directors Prize for advertising illustrators and as a result of this he was able to make his first trip to Bali.20 In a later article written for Shiritan Shao states that it was also in Vanity Fair that he had first read of Covarrubias’s impending arrival in China in 1930.21 Despite extended enquiries amongst his contacts, Shao was unable to ascertain the exact date that the Mexican couple would arrive and consequently failed to meet them at all during their first trip to China in June that year. Around the same time though, Shao did get to meet Marc Chadourne, author of China, a book for which Covarrubias was to provide a series of illustrations that would subsequently prove important to the history of the cartoon in China. Very little information is available about Covarrubias’s first visit to China, which lasted for a period of just one or two weeks. He and his wife had been married in April 1930 in New York and set sail for Bali from San Francisco on 3 May on the Cingalese Prince in the company of the Hollywood film stars Claudette Colbert and Norman Foster.22 They had arrived in Shanghai sometime in mid-June and were to leave for the “Dutch East Indies,” via Hong Kong and the Philippines, on the Javanese Prince later that month.23

20 Adriana Williams and Yu-Chee Chong, Covarrubias in Bali, p. 13; Miguel Covarrubias Cuatro Miradas—Four Visions, p. 205 and Vanity Fair vol. 34 no. 6 (August 1930): p. 19. 21 Shao Xunmei, “Kefoluopisi 珂佛羅皮斯 [Covarrubias],” in Shiritan no.8 (20 October 1933): pp. 6–7. A short report appeared in “The Editor’s Uneasy Chair” column of Vanity Fair in August 1930 stating that Covarrubias had “recently sailed on a tramp steamer bound for the Orient where he plans to remain for almost a year.” See Vanity Fair vol. 34 no. 6 (August 1930): p. 19. 22 The marriage took place in Kentfield, New York, on April 24 1930. Williams and Chong, Covarrubias in Bali, p. 13. See also the North-China Daily News (2 October 1933): p. 18; and “Claudette Colbert, Noted Paramount Movietone Star, is here for Short Stay,” in the China Press (16 June 1930): p. 2. 23 Ibid. In 1926 Foster had been involved in the production of the Broadway play The Shanghai Gesture, a 1941 film version of which would later involve Bernadine Fritz’s sister Aline Sholes as technical advisor. It will be remembered that Sholes directed the Shanghai production of Lady Precious Stream at the Carlton Theatre in 1935. From 1937 Norman Foster would direct a series of films starring Peter Lorre about “Mr. Moto,” a sort of Japanese equivalent of Charlie Chan, for which he drew on his experiences in East Asia. Much of the series was set in San Francisco and Shanghai. See Bernard F. Dick, Claudette Colbert: She Walked in Beauty (Jackson MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2008), pp. 112–113. 102 CHAPTER 3

As discussed in Chapter One, Marc Chadourne had been in Shanghai in May 1930 as the guest of the editor of the Journal de Shanghai and a newspaper article reporting this appeared on 13 May.24 This same report, and a later version in a Singapore newspaper, both mention that Chadourne would be staying in China for three to four months, so he would certainly have been in China and very possibly in Shanghai at the time of the Covarrubias’s arrival just one month later.25 If they did meet at this time, and the likelihood of this seems very high, Covarrubias would certainly have had plenty of opportunity to make sketches for China at Chadourne’s request during his brief stay before leaving for Bali at the end of the month. Due to the brevity of Covarrubias’s sojourn in Shanghai it is also certainly possible that some of the twenty-eight illustrations used in the book were based on photographs.26 Several of Covarrubias’s drawings from this period point to the use of photographs as models; an illustration in China of Chiang Kai-shek’s propaganda train must have been copied from one of the many depictions which had appeared over the years in the Chinese press27 and it is certain that the portrait of Chiang Kai-shek himself could not have been drawn from life as Covarrubias did not meet him. It should also be remembered that Rose Covarrubias herself was a prolific photographer and a photograph by her even exists showing Chadourne together with Covarrubias and their friend, the painter Walter Spies (1895–1942), taken during their time in Bali.28 Similarly, Marc Chadourne may have provided photographs as models for the illustrations. A 1930 newspaper report concerning Chadourne and his gathering of material for the writing of his book about the East states that, “In his travels he takes many photographs of the natives and the country which will be used to illustrate the new book.”29 This suggests that

24 “New French Book on China: Well-known Author Preparing Material for Treatise,” in the North-China Herald (13 May 1930): p. 267. 25 “New French Book on China: Author Now Travelling for Material,” in the Straits Times (6 June 1930): p. 22. 26 See for example those published in Adriana Williams and Bruce W. Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali-Shanghai ([Indonesia]: Red and White Publishing with Island Arts, 2012), pp. 83–119. 27 See for example Shanghai manhua no. 58 (1 June 1929): p. 2. 28 Williams and Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches, p. 13. A journalist in Shanghai even noted her predilection for photography. See “Caricaturist Covarrubias’s First Impression of Change in China is the Split Skirt,” in the China Press (3 October 1933): front page of Second Section p. 9, continued on p. 11. See Adriana Williams, Covarrubias (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994), p. 67. 29 “New French Book on China,” in the Straits Times (6 June 1930): p. 22. Miguel Covarrubias 103 it is certainly possible, but by no means certain, that some of Covarrubias’s illustrations to China used Chadourne’s own photographs as models. Assuming that Chadourne was indeed in Shanghai in June 1930, the most likely scenario is that he would have asked Covarrubias to provide illustrations for his book there and then. If though, in the unlikely event that their paths did not cross at this time but Chadourne knew that they would be meeting in Bali the following year, then a request by letter could also have been a possibility. For Chadourne to have waited until he arrived in Bali to ask Covarrubias for the sketches would have been leaving it rather late as he did not arrive in Bali until the middle of January.30 Whatever the series of events behind the commissioning of the illustrations, it is abundantly clear that several of the finished drawings in China were directly based on existing sketches that Covarrubias had drawn during his trip to Shanghai. For example, a picture in China of two girls dancing together in a Shanghai nightclub is clearly based on more than one surviving sketch31 and another, showing a young woman’s face in profile, has much in common with an illustration in Chadourne’s book.32 There appears to be no primary evidence to show that Covarrubias returned to Shanghai to gather material for the illustrations for Chadourne’s book at the time of this first stay in Bali, or that he went back via China on his return trip to America. Instead, the evidence suggests that on their return, he and his wife sailed to the USA via Europe and did not return to Shanghai again until 1933.33 In March 1931 a short article in Vanity Fair announced Covarrubias’s return from Bali to the USA:

30 As stated by Adriana Williams, Chadourne arrived in Bali sometime after the Galungan Festival. In 1931 the ten-day Galungan festival began on 7 January so Chadourne will have arrived in Bali sometime after 17 January. Thanks to Professor Mark Hobart for calculating the date and for providing information on the Balinese calendar. 31 Marc Chadourne, Harry Block (tr.), China, (New York: Covici Friede, 1932), p. 83. Williams and Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali-Shanghai, p. 96. 32 This appears twice in Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali-Shanghai, first on p. 95 under the title Sing Song Girl VII, and then on p. 104 with the title Profile III. See Chadourne, China, p. 135. 33 On their return journey the Covarrubiases visited Paris where they met Colin McPhee who just happened to be on his way to Bali to make a study of Gamelan music. They provided him with a letter of introduction to Walter Spies. See Carol J. Oja, Colin McPhee: Composer in Two Worlds (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1990), p. 65. 104 CHAPTER 3

. . . it will interest our readers to know that Miguel Covarrubias, the famous Mexican caricaturist, has just returned from his world tour via the Orient, with a splendid portfolio of sketches in colour.34

Covarrubias would become known in China partly because of his contributions to Vanity Fair but his not inconsiderable fame in the Chinese art world would also be due to a fascination by a number of artists with his illustrations for Chadourne’s book which was published in French in 1931 and the following year in English. As a book of local interest for the expatriate community in Shanghai the two versions would have been available for purchase at the bookshops Librairie d’Extrême-Orient and Kelly and Walsh.

Covarrubias Goes to China Again: 1933

Perhaps the main source of Covarrubias’s artwork available to the Chinese cartoon artists was Vanity Fair which was published in the USA by Condé Nast publications. With regard to the circulation of the magazine, the current archivist of Condé Nast publications has unequivocally stated in personal correspondence that “there was no concerted effort to distribute the Conde Nast magazines in the Far East at all during [the 1930s]” and further suggests that “any issues that did turn up would have been brought there by readers.”35 However, the existing evidence found in contemporary Chinese and Japanese writings points to a regular if not widespread readership of the magazine in both China and Japan36 and a readership amongst artists and writers in Shanghai is most certainly known to have existed. As mentioned earlier, according to Ye Qianyu, during the late 1920s and 1930s, he and Zhang Guangyu would frequently visit the bookshop Kelly and Walsh on Nanking Road to buy foreign magazines. It was in Vanity Fair that Ye Qianyu first saw what he called Covarrubias’s “famous people of the world column,” which is

34 Vanity Fair vol. 36 no. 1 (March 1931): p. 31. They had spent a total of nine months abroad. See Williams and Chong, (Singapore-Paris-Kuala Lumpur-Bali: Editions Didier Millet, 2005), p. 16. 35 Personal email correspondence with the Archive Director of Condé Nast Publications, January 2012. 36 See for example Ai Na 艾納 [Feng Binfu 馮賓符 (1914–66)], “Cong zuijin de zhengbian tandao Riben de xinwen jiancha 從最近的政變談到日本的新聞檢查 [Concerning Japan’s News Censorship with Regard to the Recent Coup d’etat],” in Yongsheng 永生 (7 March 1936): pp. 9–10. Miguel Covarrubias 105 most certainly his “Impossible Interviews” series. With regard to Covarrubias’s artwork Ye states, “Guangyu was attracted by his technique of exaggeration and I studied his sketching skills.”37 However, Ye Qianyu could not have known about Covarrubias’s sketching methods simply by looking at his finished work in Vanity Fair as the sketches themselves never found their way into the publication. Covarrubias’s finished artwork was always based on a number of pre- liminary sketches and the caricatures which appeared in print were, without exception, highly studied and refined, having undergone much revision and re-drawing before being published as finished works of art. Only after having met Covarrubias in person, and seeing the Mexican at work with sketchbook in hand, did Ye Qianyu learn about his methods. In the preface to his collection of drawings Lüxing manhua 旅行漫畫 (Travel Cartoons) published in 1936, Ye Qianyu wrote:

In the autumn of 1933 the Mexican cartoonist Covarrubias came to Shanghai and I saw the preparatory sketches for paintings that he had done on his round the world trip. This made me think that I might also give it a try on the travels I was planning to make in China. After he left I immediately began to practice sketching figures . . .38

It was after meeting Covarrubias that Ye gradually laid his camera aside and adopted Covarrubias’s habit of carrying a sketch book with him wherever he went.39 In interview, in response to “readers’ questions” about when he first began to draw sketches, Ye Qianyu recalled:

In the autumn of 1933, when I made the acquaintance of Covarrubias in Shanghai, I noticed that he always carried with him a small notebook to record the various things he saw on his travels for use as creative material. From this time on I also began to carry a sketchbook with me.40

37 Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian, Chapter 20. 38 Cited in Zhang Tianman 张天漫, Ye Qianyu: Zhongguo ming huajia quanji, 叶浅予：中国名画家全集 [Ye Qianyu: Complete Collection of Famous Chinese Artists], (Shijiazhuang: Hebei jiaoyu chubanshe, 2002), p. 85. 39 Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian, Chapter 10. In his memoirs Ye Qianyu mentions how he turned from photography to sketching. 40 Hao Zhihui 郝之辉 and Sun Yun 孙筠 (eds.), Ye Qianyu renwuhua jiangyi 叶浅予人物画讲义 [Studies on the Figural Painting of Ye Qianyu], (Tianjin: Tianjin shuji chubanshe, 2010), p. 36. The same information is given by Ye Qianyu’s biographer Bao Limin 包立民, in Yishu dashi zhi lu congshu—Ye Qianyu 艺术大师之路丛书•叶浅予 [The Path of the Great Artists Series—Ye Qianyu], (Wuhan: Hubei meishu chubanshe, 106 CHAPTER 3

Despite an apparent similarity in the working methods of the two artists, in fact their approach to the art of sketching was fundamentally different. Covarrubias used his sketches as studies for finished works, whereas to Ye Qianyu the sketch itself was the finished article. For Ye and other Chinese artists sketching became an art form in itself and would become an important and separate genre in the field of art in China during subsequent decades. Later, Cao Hanmei was to enthuse about Ye Qianyu’s adoption of Covarrubias’s “decorative line,” a feature of the latter’s work embraced by many Chinese artists including Cao’s own brother, Zhang Guangyu. Cao Hanmei claimed that Ye’s style did indeed change as a result of coming into contact with Covarrubias’s work but the strong points of his work, namely his talent for humour and the decisive fluency of his technique, were in no way compromised by it. By 1936 Cao was to opine that Ye Qianyu’s “lively technique had reached the pinnacle of perfection and possessed even deeper significance” as a result of his exposure to Covarrubias’s work.41 As a result of a casual conversation with Bernadine Fritz in 1933, Shao Xunmei learnt that the Covarrubiases had in fact been her guests during their 1930 visit. This had been at a time when Shao had not yet made her acquaintance. He also found out from her that the couple would soon be arriving in China for a second visit. Bernadine Fritz had known the Covarrubiases since the 1920s and she and her husband are described in the Chinese press as “old-time friends of the Mexican artist and his wife.”42 According to Adriana Williams this 1933 visit to Shanghai was made specifically to see the Fritzes and indeed it was as their “house guests” that the Covarrubiases visited the city for the second time.43 Covarrubias and his wife left the USA for Bali on 18 August 1933 and were expecting to arrive in Surabaya in late October.44 They were to stay in China

2002), pp. 15–17. In the on-line versions of Ye Qianyu’s autobiography Xixu cangsang ji liunian the year of Covarrubias’s visit to China is incorrectly given as 1935. See Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian, Chapter 20. 41 Manhuajie, no. 7 (5 November 1936): unnumbered page. 42 China Press (3 October 1933): front page of Second Section p. 9 continued on p. 11. Bernadine Fritz and Rose Covarrubias would remain friends long after Miguel Covarrubias’s death in 1957. 43 “Prominent Guests Seen at Cunningham Dinner,” in the China Press (7 October 1933): p. 4. “Guests attending included, Judge Milton D. Purdy, Mr. and Mrs. Chester Fritz and house guest, Mrs. Miguel Covarrubias . . .” 44 Miguel Covarrubias was well-known for his dislike of passenger ships and a preference for travelling on freighters. On both trips to Bali he and his wife travelled on the Cingalese Prince. They apparently transferred to a local steamer after their stopover in Shanghai. Miguel Covarrubias 107 until sometime shortly after 25 October before moving on to their final destination.45 A short report of 30 September in the North-China Daily News announced their arrival in Shanghai:

An interesting visitor to Shanghai is Covarrubias, famous as a cartoonist in the United States. He and Mrs. Covarrubias are staying for a few weeks in Shanghai before proceeding to Bali, and while here are being entertained by a number of friends, among whom are Mr. and Mrs. Chester Fritz who are giving a series of cocktail parties in their honour. Of particular interest to residents of the Far East are Covarrubias’s drawings which illustrate Chadbourne’s [sic] book “China”.46

Shao Xunmei had received a letter from Bernadine Fritz on 23 September informing him of the Covarrubiases impending arrival, although the exact date of their arrival is hard to deduce. Although the North-China Daily News and its weekly digest, the North-China Herald, both report that he arrived on the morning of Sunday 1 October, an article in the China Press gives the more plausible time of “the end of September.”47 As Shao Xunmei met the couple on 1 October at the Fritz’s house for lunch, an arrival time just prior to that date would seem most plausible.48

See Williams and Chong Covarrubias in Bali, p. 29. Covarrubias was not alone in his preference for commercial vessels. Brooks Atkinson, theatre critic for the New York Times, who it will be remembered would later write a review of the Broadway production of Lady Precious Stream (See Chapter Two p. xx), wrote a travel book about his experiences on board the Cingalese Prince which was published the very same year that Covarrubias returned to the USA after his trip to Bali. According to Atkinson the route taken by the ship (using the place names of the day) was: New York, Mobile, Houston, through the Panama Canal, San Pedro, San Francisco, Yokohama, Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila, Cebu, Davao, Macassar, Surabaya, Semarang, Pamanukan, Batavia, Telok Betong, Singapore, Port Swettenham, Belwan Deli, Penang, Colombo, Port Said, Messina, Naples, Halifax, Boston and back to New York. See Brooks Atkinson, The Cingalese Prince (New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., 1934). 45 China Press (25 October 1933): front page of second section, p. 9. “Mr Covarrubias and his wife have visited Peiping [Beijing] and returned to Shanghai a few days ago.” They were apparently still in Shanghai on the date this article appeared. 46 North-China Daily News (30 September 1933): p. 19. 47 North-China Daily News (2 October 1933): p. 18; North-China Herald (4 October 1933): p. 14. 48 Shao Xunmei, “Kefoluopisi [Covarrubias],” in Shiritan no. 8 (20 October 1933): pp. 6–7. 108 CHAPTER 3

It is in only two Shanghai newspapers, the North-China Daily News and the China Press, that reports about Covarrubias’s visit appear. Other English- language newspapers such as the Shanghai Times and the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury make no mention of him and neither do any of the Chinese- language newspapers.49 Covarrubias did not make any official public appear- ances nor did he undertake any professional engagements whilst in Shanghai.50 If he had done so, no doubt more reports would have appeared in the newspapers. He did however attend several parties and social engagements and it was with a series of cocktail parties organised by Fritz that his arrival in Shanghai was celebrated.51 Bernadine Fritz threw the first of her parties on 3 October in her fashionable, luxury flat in The Cloisters, Route de Boissezon (now Fuxing Xilu) in the French Concession. This apartment complex, built in the “Spanish style,” was ideal for entertaining, with a large garden and a roof terrace.52 It is reported that amongst the guests “were a large number of Chinese artists,” the term “artist” here no doubt referring to those involved in the performing arts as well as the visual. Mei Lanfang, the Peking Opera star, was there and is mentioned by name.53 Other guests who are not named but are likely to have been amongst those present, include members of Shao Xunmei’s circle, Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu and Ye Qianyu, all of whom were his colleagues in the publishing world. A photograph which appeared in Shanghai manhua two years prior to this shows a similar group to that which might have attended Fritz’s party. Here Mei Lanfang can be seen in the company of seven other

49 No reports concerning Covarrubias’s visit appear to exist in any other foreign-language newspapers, including the French, Le Journal de Shanghai and the Japanese newspapers published in Shanghai, Nichi nichi shimbun 日日新聞 [The Daily News] and Mainichi shimbun 每日新聞 [Daily News]. 50 Yu Feng is incorrect in her belief that Covarrubias went to Shanghai to work for Vanity Fair. Yu Feng, p. 180. 51 “Covarrubias Here,” in the North-China Daily News (30 September 1933): p. 19 and “At Mrs Chester Fritz’s,” in the North-China Daily News (7 October 1933): p. 14. 52 Tess Johnston and Deke Er, Western Architecture in Old Shanghai (Hong Kong: Old China Hand Press, 1993), pp. 32–33. 53 The term “Peking Opera” is used here rather than “Beijing Opera.” The Chinese term Jingju 京劇 does not translate into English as “Beijing Opera” but means something closer to “Drama of the Capital.” The long standing English term “Peking Opera” was originally used to refer to Jingju but is not a translation of the term and can therefore be legitimately used today as the English name for Jingju. Miguel Covarrubias 109 people, at least three of whom were close associates of Shao Xunmei: Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu and the photographer Lang Jingshan (fig. 3.1).54 Forty-four sketches from Covarrubias’s two China visits have recently been published together with a small selection of those he did in Bali.55 The sketches are mostly untitled, or carry generic titles such as Sing Song Girl, or Facial Study (possibly supplied by the editors). However, a small number have the names of the sitters appended. A sketch of a Peking Opera performer with the title Shan Shao Yun in Tung An Chan Shi Theatre is of the actor Shang Xiaoyun 尚小雲 (1899–1976), who together with Mei Lanfang, were considered to be two of the four great male exponents of the dan role (female lead) in Peking Opera during the twentieth century. Mei Lanfang had clearly already made an impression on Covarrubias during his visit three years before, as in one of the illustrations to China a depiction in miniature of the Peking Opera star can be seen in a poster hanging on an office wall.56 Covarrubias clearly much admired Peking Opera and its costumes as such a theme can be seen in several of his sketches, for example, one of “Piggy,” i.e. Zhubajie 豬八戒 from the classic Chinese novel Xiyouji 西遊記 (Journey to the West) drawn on a piece of notepaper from the Cathay Hotel, Shanghai.57 Covarrubias was in good company with his fascination for Peking Opera and in particular Mei Lanfang. As will be shown in Chapter Five, Mei was to take the Soviet Union by storm two years later, gaining admirers such as Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948), Constantin Stanislavski (1863–1938) and Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874–1940).58

54 Shanghai manhua, no. 91 (18 January 1930): p. 3. This was taken at the photographic studios of Shi Shipan 石世磐 (dates unknown) (also known by the English name S.B. Stone). Below this group photo, on the original page, appear individual photographs taken by Lang Jingshan of Mei Lanfang and two of his companions who would accompany him on his forthcoming trip to the USA. 55 Williams and Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali-Shanghai. 56 Marc Chadourne, China, p.111. 57 For other sketches by Covarrubias on Peking Opera themes see Williams and Carpenter, pp. 111–119. Material now in the Archivo Miguel Covarrubias shows that Covarrubias continued in later years to show an interest in Peking Opera and the performing arts in China. http://catarina.udlap.mx:8080/xmLibris/projects/covarrubias/browse/project.jsp?path=/db/xmlibris/Sala de Archivos y Colecciones Especiales/Fondo Moderno/ Archivo Miguel Covarrubias/China: Danza Popular I—Fotografías, notas y recortes/ retrieved 29 August 2014. 58 See Min Tian, Mei Lanfang and the Twentieth-century International Stage: Chinese Theatre Placed and Displaced (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). 110 CHAPTER 3

Figure 3.1 [Photograph], from Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 91 (18 January 1930), p. 3. According to the original caption the figures in this group are ( from left to right): the painter Wu Tianweng 吳天翁; Secretary General [actually “a member of the information section”] of the League of Nations Xia Qifeng 夏奇峰 (see: Who’s Who in China (1931) p. 141]; the painter Zhang Guangyu 張光宇; Mei Lanfang 梅蘭芳; the scholar Feng Shuluan 馮叔鸞; the painter Zhang Zhenyu 張振宇; the photographer Lang Jingshan 郎靜山; and Chinese Opera Singer Yao Yufu 姚玉芙.

At Fritz’s welcome lunch for Covarrubias, Shao Xunmei offered to take the Mexicans on an excursion to Suzhou. According to Rose Covarrubias’s memoirs, The China I Knew (an account written some years later largely detailing their culinary experiences in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou) the trip was made possible because their “close friend, Sinmay Zaw [Shao Xunmei], a Chinese poet, had been lucky betting on the game of Jai-Alai . . .”59 Shao was a notorious gambler and was also famously generous towards his friends and a gambling win on a game of Jai Alai (a ball game originally from the Basque Country sometimes called Pelota), then hugely popular in Shanghai, may well have prompted him to invite his new friends on a

59 Rose Covarrubias, The China I Knew, MS kindly supplied by Adriana Williams. Miguel Covarrubias 111 trip to Suzhou.60 Rose Covarrubias lists the individuals present on the trip as Bernadine Fritz, Shao’s colleague in the publishing world Lin Yutang 林語堂 (1895–1976) and his wife Lin Cuifeng 林翠鳳 (dates unknown), “The Chang Boys” (i.e. Zhang Guangyu and Zhang Zhenyu), Sinmay Zaw (Shao Xunmei), and “Chiunyan Yih”. This last name is almost certainly a variant of “Chinyu Yeh”, one of the spellings adopted by Ye Qianyu for the romanization of his name.61 Ye Qianyu was to proudly take credit for persuading Covarrubias to paint a caricature of Shao Xunmei and for its subsequent publication in Shidai huabao for which he periodically acted as editor: “A foreign artist, directly providing material for a Chinese pictorial, and me as editor, this made me really rather proud.”62 Lin Yutang’s presence is notable as it was around the time of the trip on 16 October that he resigned from the editorship of the magazine Lunyu, handing over editorial responsibilities to Tao Kangde 陶亢德 (1908–83).63 Rose Covarrubias remembered that on the third evening of their trip to Suzhou the group feasted on freshwater crabs and “one of the Chang boys” ate more than fourteen.64 It may be one of the Zhang brothers who is the subject of an existing sketch by Covarrubias, “Eating Crabs at Soochow”, one of several surviving from this trip that also includes a sketch for a portrait of Shao

60 Shao Xunmei, “Ji zhong du yu ji ge ren 幾種賭與幾個人 [A Few Types of Gambling and a Few People],” in Shidai manhua no. 2 (20 February 1934): [p. 12]. Shao was particularly fond of Jai Alai, which had been introduced to Shanghai in the 1930s. In 1934 he wrote of his admiration for one player in particular, Gubalong 古巴龍 [The Cuban Dragon], almost certainly “Cubano” who is described as a “consistent winner” and “hard hitter” in advertisements for the game found in the North-China Daily News throughout 1933/34 (for example on 17 October 1933: p. 13). Even when watching a sporting event Shao’s preoccupation with literature was evident. He compares the Cuban Dragon to three Chinese writers: “Amongst essayists I always think that [Zhang] Kebiao, [Shi] Zhecun and Mao Dun [茅盾 (1896–1981)] have something in common. Perhaps it’s their silence amongst strangers, perhaps it’s something hidden behind their smiles. Whatever it is, at the Jai Alai stadium I found someone who could have been their brother.” Shao goes on to explain that this player Cubano gives nothing away to his opponents and has great powers of self-control and concentration. “I believe that if he were a novelist he would be unwilling to give away the plot of his novel and advertise it to the world in advance, but after two months of absence he would produce a grand tome of many thousand words.” 61 See two silhouettes by Wan Laiming, one of Mr. S.M. Shao (Shao Xunmei) and the other of Mr. Chinyu Yeh (Ye Qianyu), in Shanghai manhua no. 101 (5 April 1930): p. 3. 62 Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian Chapter 20. 63 Lin Yutang’s hands-on editorship of Lunyu was in fact short lived. See Wang Jingfang, Shao Xunmei and his Publishing Career, p. 139. 64 Williams, Covarrubias, p. 79. 112 CHAPTER 3 entitled, Our Host Soochow Picnic Sinmay Zau.65 At least two such sketches of Shao exist. Both depict his distinctive facial features and his high collared Changpao gown seen in left profile. The Soochow picnic example is a typical Covarrubias caricature but the other is somewhat less free in its execution;66 neither appears to be a direct study for an existing caricature. Another surviving sketch, a caricature of a “Laughing man”, although unattributed, is almost certainly a depiction of Lin Yutang.67 As previously mentioned, Lin was well- known for his preoccupation with “humour” which had been explored in the magazine Lunyu and there are several photographs in existence of him laughing in a strikingly similar fashion to that in Covarrubias’s sketch. After the party’s return from Suzhou the Covarrubiases travelled to Beijing for ten days, again in the company of Bernadine Fritz.

Mr. Miguel Covarrubias, the Mexican painter and caricaturist, and his wife Rosa Rolando, the Mexican [sic] dancer, are now in Peking with Mrs. Chester Fritz of Shanghai, whose host they have been for the last few weeks en route to Bali, for a year, where Mr. Covarrubias will illustrate a book on Bali and do a series of Chinese and Balinese portraits and sketches for “Vanity Fair”.68

In this report no mention is made of other travellers to Beijing and Shao’s own articles certainly make it clear that he did not accompany them. After 18 October, reports concerning the couple in the North-China Daily News cease, although further information is recorded in Shao’s articles, “Covarrubias and his Wife” in Shidai huabao and “Covarrubias” in Shiritan. The latter article also appeared in an English-language version in the China Press introduced and translated into English by an unnamed journalist with the headline, “Chinese Poet Gives Praise to Noted Mexican Artist—Sinmay Zau Publishes

65 See an Inventory of the Adriana and Tom Williams Collection of Miguel Covarrubias in the art collection of the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. Box 4.16, Accession Number 2007.12.41. This portrait appears under the title “Our Host Soochow Picnic Sinmay Lau” [head profile of man with beard] in the catalogue. See also “Eating Crabs at Soochow” [man sitting at table and eating crabs]. Box 4.15. Accession Number 2007.12.40. Also in Harry Ransom Center is the drawing [Miguel, Rosa, and Bernadette at dining table in train] Box 4.14. Accession Number 2007.12.39. 66 Williams and Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali-Shanghai, p. 100 and the Adriana and Tom Williams Collection of Miguel Covarrubias in the Art Collection of the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 67 Williams and Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali-Shanghai, p. 100. 68 North-China Daily News (18 October 1933): p. 6. Miguel Covarrubias 113

Resumé of Covarrubias’s Work in Local Chinese Magazine, Together With Original Sketches by Caricaturist.”69 According to the Shiritan article, Shao and Covarrubias met almost every day whilst the Mexican was in Shanghai. In their first meeting Covarrubias told Shao that he had given an interview to a journalist in which he had spoken about his views on the recent progress of Chinese art. Covarrubias had singled out the work of Zhang Guangyu as being particularly noteworthy, considering him to possess a thorough understanding of Western art but also having the ability to utilize the best of Eastern art within his work. Shao invited Covarrubias to his own house and also accompanied him to Zhang Zhenyu’s home where a banquet had been prepared for him.70 Zhang’s house is described by Shao as “their little club”, a meeting place for his friends and colleagues. Shao relates how, having eaten his fill of such delicacies as shark’s fin soup, Covarrubias began to draw his portrait. Having made sketches from several angles—full face and profile, and with different expres- sions, smiling and serious—Covarrubias put them in his pocket and told Shao that he would take them away to work on in detail. The next day Covarrubias sent round two finished portraits to Shao, one in black and white and the other in full colour.71 It had been reported in the North-China Daily News that on arrival in China Covarrubias had said he was:

. . . not at all certain that he will make studies of the great-and-near-great here, since experience had taught him that the subject is not always able to view the finished drawing with the correct amount of attachment and anyone familiar with his incisive, though almost bizarre treatment must sympathise with the viewpoint.72

A certain reticence to be involved with the press notwithstanding, Covarrubias did produce several finished drawings as well as a series of sketches during his second trip to China. Shao Xunmei mentions five colour portraits: one of Zhang Guangyu, two of Shao (one black and white the other in colour) and a

69 China Press (25 October 1933): front page of second section, p. 9. 70 This was the home of Zhang Zhenyu at Guba xincun 古拔新邨 [Guba New Village] (now Fumin Xincun 富民新村) in the Jing’an district of Shanghai. 71 The use of sketches as studies for finished paintings was common practice for Covarrubias. See Mercurio López Casillas, “Mexico First and Last,” in Miguel Covarrubias 4 Miradas 4 Visions, p. 36. 72 North-China Daily News (2 October 1933): p. 18. 114 CHAPTER 3 self-portrait plus a portrait of Chester and Bernadine Fritz.73 Although Shao only lists these five portraits, as already mentioned, Covarrubias certainly made many more sketches while in China.74 There was also at least one caricature drawn of Covarrubias whilst he was in China. This was by Sapajou of the North-China Daily News.75 Bearing in mind the high esteem in which the Chinese apparently held Covarrubias, it is more than a little surprising that more portraits of him do not survive. No known portraits of him by Chinese artists exist and the only other extant caricatures of Covarrubias from the time he spent in China are self-portraits; the one mentioned above, found in Shao’s Shiritan article,76 another of the artist and his wife reproduced in the China Press (originally used by Covarrubias as a Christmas card)77 and another unpublished example that has recently come to light in an album of material concerning a Shanghai nightclub called the “Little Club.” This is not the above mentioned salon-style club belonging to Shao and his friends which met at the home of Zhang Zhenyu, but a seasonal “select dining and dancing place” in Bubbling Well Road (now Nanjing Xilu), the opening of which in autumn and closing in the summer, were major events in Shanghai’s social calendar.78 The album was compiled by Celia Desmond, who since November 1932 had acted as Mistress of Ceremonies at the Little Club.79 Amongst various items of ephemera to be found in the album is a programme of events from the club (a small leaflet on stock card) on which there is a self-portrait drawn by

73 Shao Xunmei, “Kefoluopisi ji qi furen.” A caricature, said to be of Chester Fritz, exists in the “addition to the Chester Fritz Papers” deposited by his aunt Katherine Tiffany in the Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota. Another: “Christmas card with two Covarrubias reproductions of works dedicated to Bernadine Szold Fritz and Chester Fritz, ca. 1930” is in The Library of Stanford University, California. 74 See Williams and Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali-Shanghai 75 Sapajou [caricature of Miguel Covarrubias], in the North-China Daily News (2 October 1933): p. 18. 76 The illustrations found in this article are a self-portrait by Covarrubias, and a portrait of Shao Xunmei on p. 6; a picture of a man and woman sitting on a bench; and a portrait of a woman entitled Mou nüshi 某女士 [A certain woman], in Shiritan no. 8 (20 October 1933): pp. 6–7. This last illustration also appears under the title Wang xiaojie 王小姐 [Miss Wang] in Shao Xunmei, “Kefoluopisi ji qi furen [Covarrubias and His Wife],” in Shidai huabao vol. 5 no. 4 (16 December 1933): unnumbered page. 77 A black-and-white version of this card can be found in the Archivo Miguel Covarrubias, no. 32825 and a colour version in the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, 10000263. 78 North-China Herald (9 September 1930): p. 292; (20 October 1931): p. 111; (6 June 1934): p. 371. 79 Information kindly supplied by Steve Upton of the Upton Sino-Foreign Archive, Concord, New Hampshire. Miguel Covarrubias 115

Covarrubias with his signature below and the dedicatory inscription “for Miss Celia Desmond” written above.80 It has been established by Adriana Williams that Covarrubias arrived back in New York sometime around 1 August 1934 and the trip from Bali to the USA was to take 58 days. Williams has also shown that Covarrubias wrote a letter, dated June 1934, whilst on a brief sojourn in Java.81 The wording of this letter certainly implies that by this time Covarrubias had already left Bali for good. If he subsequently left Java during the first week of June then it would indeed suggest that the first days of August were the time of the couple’s arrival back in the USA. It is most unlikely that Covarrubias visited China for a third time on his way back from Bali to America for the simple reason that there is no primary documentary evidence in the English- or Chinese-language sources available in China to suggest that he did. By this time Covarrubias’s fame in China would have been such that another visit would certainly have been a scoop for the Chinese newspapers that had covered his trip in 1933. Such an event would also have been prime material for the magazines Shiritan and Shidai huabao, in which the articles on Covarrubias had previously appeared, as well as the other magazines associated with Shao Xunmei in 1934, a year that was to become known as Zazhinian 雜誌年 (Magazine Year) due to the large number of periodicals published at that time.

Covarrubias’s Illustrations to Chine (China)

In his Shiritan article, Shao states that the first time he had come across Covarrubias’s illustrations for Marc Chadourne’s book Chine (China) was in an American magazine. These black-and-white line drawings had appeared in several publications in the USA to coincide with the publication of the English version of the book in 1932, including the Saturday Review of Literature, the New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune.82 Rather surprisingly

80 Both the programme and the album can be found in the Upton Sino-Foreign Archive, Concord, New Hampshire. 81 Letter to Henry Allen Mo. See Adriana Williams and Yu-Chee Chong, Covarrubias in Bali, p. 34. 82 Illustrations for China were reprinted in Saturday Review of Literature vol. 8 no. 47 (11 June 1932): p. 780. See also “Chinese ‘Red’ Soldiers Armed by Moscow,” “Returned Students,” reprinted in the New York Times (7 September 1932); Illustration for China, reprinted in the New York Herald Tribune and for “J.O.P Bland, Last of the Old China Hands,” both in the New York Herald Tribune (18 December 1932): p. 3. See Beverly Cox and Denna Jones Anderson, Miguel Covarrubias Caricatures, p. 152. 116 CHAPTER 3 they did not appear in Vanity Fair, though six colour drawings related to them had appeared in the March 1931 issue, one of which is a colour version of an illustration found in Chadourne’s book.83 This is no doubt one of the colour drawings from the “splendid portfolio,” as described in Vanity Fair, which Covarrubias had brought back from his first trip to the East.84 The first appearance in a Chinese publication of Covarrubias’s illustrations for China was in the 1932 article by Zhang Ruogu published by Shao Xunmei in Shidai huabao in which four drawings were reproduced: Chiang Kai-shek’s propaganda train, Chiang’s portrait, a portrait of the female revolutionary Xie Bingying 謝冰瑩 (1906–2000) and one of the Great Wall of China.85 The following year Shao wrote that of the twenty-eight drawings in China, he was most attracted to one of a Chinese couple chatting on a park bench.86 This had appeared in Lunyu in March that year under the title Gongyuan youhui 公園幽會 (Tryst in the Park) together with two others from the book and would also appear in Shao’s Shiritan article and the translation of it that was to appear in The China Press.87 Several other illustrations from China had been reprinted in Lunyu during 1933, all well before Covarrubias’s arrival in China for the second time. It is clear that Covarrubias’s work, although familiar to some Chinese readers through Zhang Ruogu’s article or from reading Vanity Fair, was not widely known at this time. A telling editorial note written by Lin Yutang (who at this time had not yet met Covarrubias) for the June 1933 issue of Lunyu supports this assertion. Illustrations had already appeared in the magazine in January and March but it was the depiction of Xie Bingying on 1 May which prompted Lin Yutang’s note:

83 Charles T. Trego, “Red, White and Blue Peril,” in Vanity Fair vol. 36 no. 1 (March, 1931): pp. 52–53 and p. 84. See also the sketches reproduced in Williams and Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali-Shanghai, pp. 96–97. 84 Vanity Fair vol. 36 no. 1 (March 1931): p. 31. It is noteworthy that it was early in 1931 that Covarrubias and other caricaturists who worked for Vanity Fair had begun to increase production of full-colour caricatures as a result of improved printing techniques adopted by Condé Nast. See Kurt Heinzelman, The Covarrubias Circle, p. 134. The drawing in colour shows two girls dancing together and also survives as a pencil sketch entitled “Swaying Willow.” See Adriana Williams and Bruce W. Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches, p. 96. 85 Zhang Ruogu, “Xin shidai de Zhongguo [China in the New Age],” Shidai huabao vol. 3 no. 3 (1 October 1932): unnumbered page. 86 Shao Xunmei, “Kefoluopisi,” in Shiritan no. 8 (20 October 1933): p. 6. 87 Lunyu, no. 13 (16 March 1933): p. 484. The three illustrations from China appear on this page with the Chinese titles Gongyuan youhui 公園幽會 [Tryst in the Park], Bao[biao] yu fuweng 保[鏢]與富翁 [Bodyguards and Millionaire] and Zhongguo nüzi 中國女子 [Chinese women]. Miguel Covarrubias 117

[The depiction of Xie Bingying] which appeared in issue no.16 is not mocking of her. It is the work of the Hungarian [sic] artist Miguel Covarrubias originally seen on the cover and in a critique about Xie Bingying in the French book by Marc Chadbourne [sic]. This gentleman’s [Covarrubias’s] pen work is most excellent . . .88

Leaving aside Lin Yutang’s factual errors, which simply display his limited knowledge of both Covarrubias and Chadourne at the time, the content of this statement suggests that complaints had been received concerning Covarrubias’s drawing of Xie Bingying, compelling Lin to give an explanation about the work of this apparently unknown artist. In fact Chadourne’s description of Xie Bingying in his book as a snotty-nosed child revolutionary is not altogether respectful of this much admired figure and any complaints that had been received about the drawing might well have been, to some extent, justified.89 As Emily Hahn astutely put it with regard to Chadourne’s writing, “. . .[his] style is breezy, cocky, and has that faint tinge of amused superiority with which a Frenchmen usually regards any country but his own.”90

Chinese Artists and the Covarrubias Style

The impact of Covarrubias’s work on Chinese artists was even recognised by the English-language press. A lengthy article in the North-China Daily News, announcing his arrival states:

[Covarrubias’s] smart drawings from “Vanity Fair” have been reproduced endlessly in the vernacular papers and magazines while aspirants from Canton to Peking strive to imitate the peculiar style that has won him an international reputation.91

These “aspirants” can be identified as some of the best-known Shanghai cartoon artists: Zhang Guangyu, Ye Qianyu, Wang Zimei, Hu Kao and Liao

88 Lunyu, no. 18 (1 June 1933): p. 642. 89 Chadourne, China p. 127–131. 90 Emily Hahn, “The China Boom,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly [c.1937] See: http://www.china heritagequarterly.org/tien-hsia.php?searchterm=022_boom.inc&issue=022. Retrieved on 11 May 2014. 91 “Mexican Artist Visitor—Mr. M. Covarrubias on Trip to East—Bound Eventually for Magic Bali,” in the North-China Daily News (2 October 1933): p. 18. 118 CHAPTER 3

Bingxiong as well as a host of minor artists. By 1935, when Covarrubias had long since returned to the Americas, several Chinese artists were still drawing in a manner reminiscent of his early style. Wang Zimei’s Yuejing 月經 (Throughout the Month) in Dianying manhua,92 shows strong similarities to early cartoons by Covarrubias in the New Yorker as well as to his illustrations for the book, The Prince of Wales and other Famous Americans (1925),93 both early examples of the style that Covarrubias was to develop for his illustrations for China. Again in 1935, Wang Zimei was to recognise the work of Covarrubias as having been an influence on Zhang Guangyu.94 Zhang’s drawings for the long- running cartoon series “Minjian qingge” could be seen in several magazines by this time. These have been widely recognised as having been directly influenced by the Mexican (fig. 3.2).95 Ye Qianyu was amongst the first to have commented on this:

[Zhang Guangyu’s] Folk Love Song series not only shows the time he has spent working with Chinese traditional woodcuts but also, from the point of view of form, reveals the spirited precision of German artists and the skill for exaggeration of the Mexican artist Covarrubias . . .96

Several modern scholars have noted Zhang’s debt to Covarrubias. In his article “The Analects Group and the Genre of Xiaopin,” Charles A. Laughlin

92 Wang Zimei 汪子美, Yuejing-meiyue jian zhi dianying jing ye 月經—每月間之電影經也 [Throughout the Month, Month by Month in (the World of) Film], in Dianying manhua 電影漫畫 [Movie Cartoons], no. 5 (20 September 1935). This may be a pun on the word yuejing which means “menstruation” but could also be interpreted as meaning “what has occurred in the past month.” 93 See a portrait of Eugene O’Neill, in The Prince of Wales and Other Famous Americans (New York, 1925), reproduced in The Covarrubias Circle, p. 18. 94 Wang Zimei, “Zhongguo manhua zhi yanjin ji zhanwang 中國漫畫之演進及展望 [The Evolution and Future of Chinese Cartoons], in Zhou Limin 周立民 and Wang Xiaodong 王曉東 (eds.), Manhua shenghuo—Lao Shanghai qikan jingdian 漫画生活—老上海期刊经典 [Cartoon Life—Classic Periodicals of Old Shanghai] (Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan chubanshe, 2004), p. 267. This was first published in Manhua shenghuo 漫畫生活 [Cartoon Life] no. 13. 95 Zhang’s series became extremely popular with Chinese readers and appeared in several cartoon magazines, including Shanghai manhua and Duli manhua (for both of which he acted as main editor) and on a regular basis in Shidai manhua. 96 Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian, Chapter 16. This passage is also quoted in Gan Xianfeng 甘險峰, Zhongguo manhuashi 中国漫画史 [The History of Chinese Cartoons] (Ji’nan: Shandong huabao chubanshe, 2007), p. 103. Miguel Covarrubias 119

Figure 3.2 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Minjian qingge 民間情歌 (Folk Love Songs), in Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 12 (20 December 1934) [p. 34], signed by Zhang with his characteristic “deconstructed” signature—“Guangyu”. Modern Sketch (Shidai manhua); Colgate University Libraries Digital Collections, with permission. cites Covarrubias’s impact on the cartoon artists of Lunyu, again with regard to the China illustrations.97 One artist not mentioned by Laughlin was perhaps the most notable example of an artist working for Lunyu to take on aspects of Covarrubias’s style. This was Chen Jingsheng 陳靜生 (dates unknown) who was not only inspired by Covarrubias’s drawings in China but it can be seen that several of his cartoons had been directly copied from them. Cartoons of this type can also be seen in Shiritan, the clearest examples of which are in Chen’s cartoon column “Shiri manhua” 時日漫畫 (Cartoons of the Times) in which some show direct

97 Charles A. Laughlin, “The Analects Group and the Genre of Xiaopin,” in Denton and Hockx, Literary Societies of Republican China (Lanham, Boulder, New York, Toronto, Plymouth, UK: Lexington Books, 2008), pp. 207–240. 120 CHAPTER 3 imitation of Covarrubias’s figurative drawing in China. In one a man dressed in traditional Chinese clothing hiding a book behind his back, is being strangled by a second figure dressed in the fashionable garb of a 1930s student (fig. 3.3).98 The latter bears a striking resemblance to two of the three Chinese “returned students” that Covarrubias drew for China and the facial features of the man under attack are copied directly from another in the book which shows a couple dancing arm-in-arm.99 Another similar example is Chen’s Longtang pingmin tushuguan 弄堂平民圖書館 (The People’s Alleyway Library) which shows children reading, apparently at a roadside stall selling comic books.100 Here it is the facial features of the subjects and other details such as their foot- wear which are directly copied from Covarrubias’s work. The faces of the boys are almost identical to several illustrations in China, notably to the illustration of the man and woman dancing, and the girls in the drawing bear a similarity to the Covarrubias illustration of the couple on a bench so admired by Shao Xunmei.101 Although a link between the illustrations in China and those in some Chinese magazines has previously been established, one crucial fact that has never been addressed is that the reproductions of the Covarrubias illustrations as found in Lunyu are not actually reproductions at all but are all close copies or re-drawings of the originals. There is no question that the outlines of these figures have been hand-copied using a pencil and tracing paper and the detail filled in afterwards by hand.102 All resultant discrepancies found in “Covarrubias drawings” in Lunyu can also be seen in Zhang Ruogu’s Shidai huabao article,

98 Shiri manhua 時日漫畫 [Cartoons of the Times], in Shiritan no. 23 (20 March 1934): unnumbered page. This caricature refers to the so-called He-Xu Controversy in which He Jiahuai 何家槐 (1911–1969) was accused of plagiarising the work of Xu Zhuanpeng 徐轉蓬 (dates unknown). 99 For the caricature of the students see Chadourne, China, p. 165. The illustration of the dancing couple appears in Lunyu under the title Zhongguo zhi shejiao shenghuo 中國之社交生活 [Chinese Social Intercourse], Chadourne, China, p. 97. 100 Chen Jingsheng, Longtang pingmin tushuguan 弄堂平民圖書館 [The People’s Alleyway Library)], in Lunyu no. 26 (1 October 1933): p. 88. 101 Chadourne, China, p. 97 and p. 145. 102 For example, if Covarrubias’s original version of the illustration of the group of three students in China is directly compared to the equivalent image in Lunyu, a number of marked differences can be clearly seen. Just two examples illustrate this well: in China the bow tie of the figure standing on the right is black but in Lunyu it is white and the spectacles worn by this same figure have clear broad frames in the China version but in Lunyu their outline is indistinct. It is regretted that due to issues of copyright it has not been possible to reproduce any of Miguel Covarrubias’s artwork in this book. Miguel Covarrubias 121

Figure 3.3 Chen Jingsheng 陳靜生, [Cartoon] in Shiri manhua 時日漫畫 (Cartoons of the Time), in Shiritan 十日談 (“The Decameron”) no. 23 (20 March 1934), unnumbered page. 122 CHAPTER 3 although the reproductions in both Shiritan and The China Press, are accurate and faithful to Covarrubias’s originals.103 Such poor reproductions can also be seen with examples of the work of George Grosz used as illustrations for the collection of political fairy tales, Xiao Bide 小彼得 (Little Peter) by the Austrian writer Hermynia zur Mühlen (1883–1951) as translated by Lu Xun (see Chapter 4 pp. 135–137).

“Impossible Interviews”

The first caricature in Miguel Covarrubias’s series “Impossible Interviews” appeared in Vanity Fair in December 1931 under the provisional title “Imaginary Interviews no. 1.” This image, Aimée Semple McPherson vs. Mahatma (stick) Gandhi,104 established a format of unlikely meetings between famous people which would last for years to come.105 Having settled on the title “Impossible Interviews” for the second caricature in the series, a further nineteen caricatures appeared in series as a whole, coming to an end in September 1933 with Impossible Interviews no. 20—Lucrezia Bori vs. Kate Smith.106 Almost exactly one year before Covarrubias second visit to Shanghai, Zhang Guangyu had briefly attempted a similar feature to “Impossible Interviews” in Shidai huabao under the English title “If” and the Chinese, “Nande pengtou” 難得碰頭 (Rare Meetings).107 Over two years after their publication, in February 1935 (not long after Covarrubias had returned to the USA), the editors of Vanity Fair published a report in their “Editor’s Uneasy Chair” column under the title “Piracy.” It had come to their notice (perhaps directly from Covarrubias himself) that “the Shanghai Miscellany’s [in fact “Modern

103 Zhang Ruogu, “Xin shidai de Zhongguo [China in the New Age],” Shidai huabao vol. 3 no. 3 (1 October 1932): unnumbered page. China Press (25 October 1933) on the front page of second section, p. 9. These have the following titles in English: “Miguel Covarrubias, by Himself,” “Chinese Students in a Local Park,” and “A Chinese Girl of Shanghai.” The portrait of Shao which appears in Shiritan is not reproduced in the China Press. 104 Vanity Fair vol. 37 no. 4 (December 1931): p. 56. 105 The majority of cartoon captions used in the series were written by Cory Ford (1902–1969) under the pen name “John Riddell.” Ford and Covarrubias had previously collaborated on the book Meaning No Offense and in 1932 would go on to produce In the Worst Possible Taste. 106 This series proved so popular that it even sparked off a spoof advertisement in Vanity Fair for Nash Cars, showing a conversation between two motorists, under the title “Possible Interview no. 1001,” in Vanity Fair vol. 38 no. 3 (May 1932): p. 7. 107 This appeared in Shidai during September and October 1932. Miguel Covarrubias 123

Miscellany” i.e. Shidai huabao] erudite editors, stole, pirated, shanghaied, or borrowed . . . [the] idea of the Impossible Interviews . . . [and] . . . hired an artist to imitate Miguel Covarrubias.” A reproduction of Zhang Guangyu’s depiction of Chiang Kai-shek and Mussolini from “If”108 “. . . chattering to each other in doubtlessly humorous Chinese” was illustrated in the Vanity Fair report.109 This act of “piracy” turned out to be the catalyst for a second series of Covarrubias’s Impossible Interviews110 in Vanity Fair and after a break of more than a year, in December 1934, the feature was resurrected and continued to appear in the magazine until it ceased publication on its amalgamation with Vogue in March 1936.111 Thereafter, “Impossible Interviews” continued to appear in Vogue.112 Following Zhang’s 1932 series, other cartoons by him in a similar style appeared in Shidai huabao including the series “Xin wutai” 新舞臺 (The New Theatrical Stage).113 This also has much in common with Covarrubias’s caricatures “Private Lives of the Great,” another regular series by Covarrubias which appeared in Vanity Fair. In subsequent years, several Chinese artists adopted the idea of unlikely meetings between famous people. In 1937 Wang Zimei produced his Tianhua luanzhui 天花亂墜, a set phrase that literally means “Heavenly Flowers Rain Down in Confusion” carrying the meaning, to make a wild boast as if it were raining flowers, and here translated as “Extravagantly Imaginative Depictions.” This cartoon, showing four hypothetical meetings between famous people, included those between Anna May Wong and Greta Garbo, Maxim Gorky and Charlie Chaplin, Joseph Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt and George Bernard Shaw and Lin Yutang, each with a dialogue caption.114 As mentioned in Chapter Two, a meeting between this last pair was not so “extravagantly imaginative,” as Lin Yutang had been part of the welcom- ing committee of the Chinese branch of International PEN that had met Shaw

108 Shidai huabao vol. 3 no. 1 (1 September 1932) under the title “If” and the Chinese, Nande pengtou 難得碰頭 [Rare Meetings]. See also a meeting between General Cai Tingkai 蔡廷鍇 and the “Young Marshal” Zhang Xueliang 張學良, in Shidai vol. 3 no. 3 (1 October 1932). 109 No satisfactory reproduction of this image is available. 110 Vanity Fair vol. 43 no. 6 (February 1935): p. 28. 111 From 12 March to 10 May 1936 Covarrubias exhibited eleven of his “Impossible Interviews” and seventeen other paintings from Bali, Java, Africa and Harlem at the “Fifteenth International Exhibition of Water Colours, Pastels, Drawings and Monotypes” at the Art Institute of Chicago. 112 Miguel Covarrubias, “Stalin versus Elsa Schiaparelli,” in Vogue (15 June 1936). 113 See also Xinwutai vol. 4 no. 1 (1 March 1933) to Xinwutai no. 8 vol. 4 no. 11 (1 August 1933): unnumbered pages. 114 See Huang Ke et al., Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, p. 171. 124 CHAPTER 3 on his visit to Shanghai in February 1933.115 Many of the figures depicted by Chinese artists were the same as those seen in Covarrubias’s work and that of other Vanity Fair artists; namely, world figures recognised for their contributions to the fields of politics and popular culture. Zhang Guangyu’s brother, Zhang Zhengyu (who had changed his name from Zhenyu) had his own take on the idea. A cartoon by him in Duli manhua is unlike the colourful examples done by his brother or by Covarrubias but is a line drawing in a style somewhat similar to the front covers he and Zhang Guangyu had regularly produced for the magazine Shiritan.116 It is not clear whether, by this stage, such cartoons were directly inspired by the concept of Covarrubias’s Vanity Fair series or if they had become a popular genre adopted by the Chinese in response to artistic interaction amongst themselves. In the case of the Zhang brothers it is reasonable to assume that their close working relationship had inspired similar responses as a result of their exposure to the caricatures of Covarrubias. Other painting styles adopted by Zhang Guangyu also show a debt to Covarrubias. One, executed in a style reminiscent of Covarrubias’s paintings of Balinese subjects, bears a strong resemblance in both style and subject matter to a cover painted by Covarrubias for Vanity Fair entitled Rockefeller City.117 Zhang’s cover shows a fight between a robot and a dinosaur set in a jungle scene; Covarrubias’s original shows dinosaurs in the jungle with skyscrapers looming above them. Here Zhang’s debt to Covarrubias is in both form and content.118

115 See Michel Hockx, Questions of Style: Literary Societies and Literary Journals in Modern China, 1911–1937 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), pp. 115–117. It was Shao Xunmei who presented gifts to Shaw on behalf of the organization. See “Students ‘Welcome’ Shaw,” in the North-China Herald (22 February 1933): p. 294. See also Jonathan Hutt, “The Sumptuous World of Shao Xunmei,” p. 140. 116 Zhang Zhengyu, Mei Huisi jinjian Lin zhuxi: Jiashe de hua 梅蕙絲覲見林主席: 假設的話 [Mae West in an Audience with Chairman Lin—Just Supposing!], in Duli manhua no. 1 (25 September 1935): unnumbered page. 117 Zhang Guangyu, Kexue yu lixiang 科學與理想 [Science and Ideal], Wanxiang no. 2 (20 June 1934) and Miguel Covarrubias, Rockefeller City, Vanity Fair (April 1933): front cover. 118 Another clear debt to Covarrubias’s painting can be seen in much of the work of the cartoonist Liao Bingxiong 廖冰兄 (1915–2006), for example in his “Imperialism” which was to appear in a pictorial spread in the American magazine Asia in 1937. See [Jack Chen] “Chinese Cartoons,” in Asia vol. 37 no. 12 (December 1937): p. 835. Another example is his Biaozhun nucai 標準奴才 [A Typical Lackey], which was shown at the First National Cartoon Exhibition in 1936. The influence of Covarrubias’s work on this painting has been Miguel Covarrubias 125

Large-scale Group Caricatures

In 1933, Haolaiwu mingxing haiyu tu 好萊塢明星海浴圖 (Hollywood Film Stars at the Seaside), a large-scale full-colour group caricature by Covarrubias, appeared in the August and December issues of Shidai huabao, that is, both before and after Covarrubias’s second visit to China.119 It had appeared in Vanity Fair in August of that year under two different titles: in the key showing the characters, numbered as they appear in the picture as Hollywood’s Miami Beach and on the contents page of the magazine as Miami Beach— Caricatures of the Screen Stars.120 This striking group study became the model for a number of later group caricatures that appeared in Chinese publications, perhaps the most notable example being Yan Zhexi’s Zhongguo Haolaiwu 中國好萊塢 (Chinese Hollywood) (fig. 3.4).121 Yan’s painting was one of the exhibits shown at the 1936 First National Cartoon Exhibition and was reproduced in black and white in the commemorative edition of the magazine Manhuajie. This appeared on the same page as another striking group portrait, Wang Zimei’s Jinghu manhuajie 京滬漫畫界 (The Cartooning Circle of Nanjing and Shanghai) (fig. 3.5),122 which shows all the major figures involved in Shanghai cartoon production at the time on an outing to the hills on the Double-ninth Festival, just two months before the opening of the FNCE (First National Cartoon Exhibition). Wang Zimei’s cartoon is of the same type as the bathing scenes, in as much as it shows a large number of people gathered together, posing as if for a group photograph all facing towards the camera. In an essay introducing the FNCE, Cao Hanmei clearly sees these two cartoons as being related, describing them as:

cited by a number of writers. See for example Hung, War and Popular Culture, pp. 110–111 and Bi and Huang, Zhongguo manhuashi, p. 143. 119 Shidai huabao vol. 4 no. 12 (16 August 1933) and vol. 5 no. 4 (16 December 1933): unnumbered pages. 120 Vanity Fair vol. 40 no. 6 (August 1933): pp. 24–25 with the key on page 23. 121 Manhuajie 漫畫界 no. 7 (5 November 1936): unnumbered page. Cited in Xie Qizhang 谢其章, Manhua manhua 漫画漫话 [Leisurely Talks on Cartoons] (Beijing: Xinxing chubanshe, 2006), p. 148. 122 Manhuajie no. 7 (5 November 1936). Jinghu manhuajie 京滬漫畫界 [The Cartooning Circle of Nanjing and Shanghai] was published in colour in Shanghai manhua no. 6 (10 October 1936). See British Museum: BM 2009, 3022.74. This was also known by the title Manhuajie Chongyang denggao tu 漫畫界重陽登高圖 [The Cartooning Circle Climbing the Mountains on the Double Yang Festival]. 126 CHAPTER 3

Figure 3.4 Yan Zhexi 嚴折西, Zhongguo Haolaiwu 中國好萊塢 (Chinese Hollywood), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no. 7 (5 November 1936), unnumbered page. Here can be seen many, if not all, the stars of the silver screen in China up to the year 1936. The inspiration for this type of group portrait came from Miguel Covarrubias’s “Hollywood’s Miami Beach” originally published in Vanity Fair in August 1933.

. . . a display of a contest of magic powers, both are painstakingly drawn masterpieces that display consummate skill . . . In the eyes of we bystand- ers both artists possess remarkable abilities and it is impossible to say if one surpasses the other.123

Ding Cong and the Mexican Muralists

In 1935, Ding Cong, son of the founder member of the Cartoon Society, Ding Song, made a contribution to this genre, with Yinhe xingyu tu 銀河星浴圖 (Stars of the Silver Screen Bathing).124 The cartoon historian Xie Qizhang asserts that this was painted in direct imitation of “a foreign cartoonist” (clearly

123 Cao Hanmei 曹漢美, Manhuajie no. 7 (5 November 1936): unnumbered page. Another group caricature in this genre, also drawn by Wang Zimei, is the 1935 Quanguo yundon- ghui “dianying yanyuanzu” quanti youyong xuanshou 全國運動會“電影演員組” 全體游泳選手 [All the Competitors from the “Film Star Team” of the National Athletics Meeting], Huang Ke et al., Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, p. 170. 124 See Huang Ke et al., Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, p. 172. Miguel Covarrubias 127

Figure 3.5 Wang Zimei 汪子美, Jinghu manhuajie 京滬漫畫界 (The Cartoon Circle of Nanjing and Shanghai), in Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 6 (10 October 1936). Many of the cartoonists who would contribute to the First National Cartoon Exhibition can be seen in this group portrait. From left to right: Back row: Zhang Yingchao 張英超, Lu Zhixiang 陸志庠, Ding Cong 丁聰 and Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹. Middle row: Wang Zimei 汪子美, Lu Fu 魯夫, Zhu Jinlou 朱金樓, Te Wei 特偉, Huang Yao 黃堯, Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Zhang Zhengyu 張正宇, Hu Kao 胡考, Lu Shaofei 魯少飛, Gao Longsheng 高龍生 and Zhang Leping 張樂平. Front row: Wang Dunqing 王敦慶, Liang Baibo 梁白波, Ye Qianyu 葉淺予 and Huang Miaozi 黃苗子. COLLECTION OF MARY GINSBERG. referring to Covarrubias).125 Xie cites Ding Cong’s self-proclaimed interest in Western pictorials and Hollywood films and suggests that traces of the styles of foreign artists can be seen in his work. A debt to foreign magazines in the work of Ding Cong is cited by Lynn Pan, who quotes the artist as having said that he used to scour the second hand bookshops of Shanghai for back issues of Western pictorial magazines such as Vanity Fair.126 Ding’s interest in popular Western magazines is also attested by Marcia R. Ristaino who interviewed

125 Xie Qizhang, Manhua manhua, p. 88, and Xie Qizhang, “Ding Cong fuzi de zaonian manhua 丁聪父子的早年漫画 [The Early Cartoons of Ding Cong and his Father],” in Yongyuan de Xiao Ding 永远的小丁 [The Eternal Xiao Ding], pp. 111–117. 126 Pan, Shanghai Style, pp. 117–118. 128 CHAPTER 3 him in 2007 and 2008, not long before the artist’s death in May 2009127 and this can be seen in at least one of Ding’s contributions to the Chinese magazine Manhuajie. On a page showing a four-part cartoon series on the theme of art, entitled Yishu si jia yan (Four Artists Speak on Art), an issue of Vogue magazine can be seen in one of the cartoons, the subject matter of which shows that the magazine was seen as a source of all that was most stylish in the area of fashion design.128 Although the name of Ding Cong is not amongst those who are reported, in the extant newspaper and magazine articles, to have met with Covarrubias in 1933, he has stated in interview that he did indeed meet him while he was in Shanghai and there is certainly evidence of inspiration from Covarrubias in his Stars of the Silver Screen Bathing as well as other scattered examples. It was said by Ding Cong in interview that whilst in Shanghai, Covarrubias inspired him (then a sixteen-year-old teenager) with the “realism and the public orientation of his art.” There is indeed no reason to doubt the fact that Covarrubias made a deep impression on Ding Cong but it should be noted that the more explicitly political cartoons of both Ding and many others in this circle would only come to maturity well after Covarrubias’s departure from China. It is the contention of this study that a swing to the left amongst the cartoonists in general, particularly with regard to the artists involved with the production of Shanghai manhua, had not by this time taken place. In the first half of the 1930s these artists belonged first and foremost to the modern art world and the flourishing popular cultural scene of Shanghai, and this can indeed be seen in Ding Cong’s own Stars of the Silver Screen Bathing which shows no apparent political focus at all. It should be noted that this group caricature was not published until 1935, two years after Covarrubias’s departure from China. This and the aforementioned Yishu si jia yan (Four Artists Speak on Art) of 1936 are examples of Ding Cong’s cartoons with an apolitical subject matter, published at a time when an increasing number of artists were looking to left-wing political themes in their work. From the point of view of politics and propaganda, the position of Covarrubias in the first half of the 1930s was similar to that of his Chinese counterparts. Generally speaking, it was not until later in life

127 Marcia R. Ristaino, China’s Intrepid Muse—The Cartoons and Art of Ding Cong (Warren CT: Floating World Editions, 2009), p. VII. 128 Ding Cong, “Yishu si jia yan 藝術四家言 [Four Artists Speak on Art],” in Manhuajie (5 December 1936): unnumbered page. This may be a humorous reference to the book Yishu san jia yan 藝術三家言 [Three Artists Speak on Art] of 1928 written by Fu Yanchang, Zhang Ruogu and Zhu Yingpeng. Miguel Covarrubias 129 that Covarrubias became overtly political in his art and although his personal views always tended very much towards the left, he should not be seen as a political artist in the same way as, for example, the “The Mexican Muralists”, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, collectively known as Los tres grandes (The Three Greats).129 The art of these figures would become hugely popular in China in the 1950s when their left-wing status would be openly celebrated by Chinese artists. It should be noted in passing that although Covarrubias had produced wall panels for the library of John Work Garrett and his wife Alice Warder Garrett in 1933130 and was later commissioned to provide six large maps entitled “Pageant of the Pacific” as the centrepiece for Pacific House at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, San Francisco in 1939,131 Covarrubias is not usually remembered as a “muralist.” His main output as an artist was as a painter of caricatures and portraits and his work as a muralist does not even approach the output of Los tres grandes. With regard to the political aspect of Covarrubias’s art as apparently seen by Ding Cong, Covarrubias grew up in an atmosphere permeated by the Mexican Revolution and this formed a left-wing political outlook that he would hold throughout his life, but it should also be remembered that he was a major contributor to popular magazines that were in no way politically orientated, many of his caricatures having less to do with politics than with the popular cultural scene of 1920s and 1930s New York.132 What may appear to be exceptions to this are the drawings he provided for Peace by Revolution: An Interpretation of Mexico by Frank Tannenbaum, published just weeks prior to his trip to the

129 Edward Lucie-Smith, Latin American Art in the 20th Century (Thames and Hudson: London, (1993) 2004), p. 55. Other notable artists in Mexico who contributed to the medium were Pablo O’Higgins (1904–83), Juan O’Gorman (1905–82), and Jean Charlot (1898–1979) who was also a contributor to Vanity Fair. See for example the front cover to Vanity Fair vol. 45 no. 1 (September 1935): pp. 22–23 and Vanity Fair vol. 45 no. 6: pp. 18–19. 130 Williams, Covarrubias, pp. 72–73. 131 Ibid., pp. 101–104. 132 See for example: A Salon Recital of Modern Music—One of Those Awesomely Elegant Evenings which Society has to Suffer—as Seen by Covarrubias, in Vanity Fair vol. 31 no. 6 (February, 1929): p. 54; Star Bright, Star Light, First Bar I’ve Seen Tonight, in Vanity Fair vol. 34 no. 6 (August 1930): p. 28; a cover illustration of Greta Garbo, in Vanity Fair vol. 37 no. 6 (February 1932); and Covarrubias’s drawings of female boxers in an article by Paul Gallico “Ladies must Fight,” vol. 39 no. 5 (January 1933): pp. 38–40. His work as a book illustrator also bears this out. See The Prince of Wales and Other Famous Americans (1925); An Anthology of the Blues by W.C. Handy (1927); Meaning no Offence by John Riddell (1928); Frankie and Johnny by John Huston (1930) and Typee by Herman Melville, (1935). 130 CHAPTER 3

Far East in 1933.133 These line drawings, clearly stylistically related to his illustrations for China, depict figures and scenes from the Mexican Revolution. However, they do not deal with upheaval in the same way as the wartime caricatures of the Chinese would in magazines published after the outbreak of war and although they clearly deal with a revolutionary subject they should not be seen as overtly political in their outlook. Covarrubias was illustrating Tannenbaum’s book not as a personal political statement (although his beliefs would have supported the subject matter), not as a piece of political propaganda, but simply as illustrations for a book about an important period in the recent history of Mexico. They are a celebration of Mexico after the agrarian revolution, not a call to arms for revolutionary action. This sets them apart from drawings specifically provided for political or propaganda purposes. They are less overtly political in their aim than for example a print by his fellow countryman José Clemente Orozco, Zapatistas (1935) which was chosen by the Chinese to appear under the name Shoulingmen 首領們 (Leaders) in the inaugural edition of Wenyi zhendi in 1938.134 It is not known whether Tannenbaum’s book was known to the Chinese at the time, although one single illustration from it did appear in Shanghai manhua in 1934 under the name, Moxige canjia gemingjun de nüren 墨西哥參加革命軍的女人 (Mexican Women of the Revolutionary Army).135 This single illustration may indeed have been influential on the publishers and readership of the Shidai manhua, including Ding Cong, although an accompanying short article by Lin Yutang likens the image, and Chinese manhua in general, to traditional Chinese literati painting and includes no political discussion.136 With further regard to how Covarrubias might have inspired Ding Cong with the “realism” of his art, it should be noted that Covarrubias was only a “realist” inasmuch as he was not a follower of abstraction or the latest movements in

133 Frank Tannenbaum, Peace by Revolution: An Interpretation of Mexico (Columbia University Press: New York, 1933). The acknowledgements in Tannenbaum’s book are dated 1 August 1933. Covarrubias left for the Far East on the 18th of that month. 134 Wenyi zhendi, 文藝陣地 [Art and Literature Battlefield] vol. 1 no. 1 (16 April 1938): unnumbered page. 135 This illustration is cited in John A. Crespi, China’s Modern Sketch-1—The Golden Age of cartoon Art, 1934–1937 http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/modern_sketch/ms_essay02. html. The title as it appears in Tannenbaum’s book is Soldaderas in the Revolution. 136 Lin Yutang, “Shuo manhua 說漫畫 [On Cartoons],” in Shidai manhua no. 2. In this article the character “Lin” 林 in Lin Yutang’s name is incorrectly printed as “Bei” 杯. It is also possible but perhaps unlikely that this is a pseudonym of another writer altogether. Miguel Covarrubias 131 modern art (despite being very much aware of them).137 Covarrubias was at this time primarily known as a caricaturist but had also exhibited gouache and oil portraits and scenes of Bali after his return from that country in 1931, for example at the Valentine Gallery, New York, in an exhibition that opened on 28 January 1932.138 This first trip to Bali had had a profound effect on his work and he began to pursue a distinctive figural style of painting that would inform his work as a caricaturist. Covarrubias’s art was certainly not part of an outlook linked (for example) to a Socialist Realist approach, as Ding Cong’s comment seems to imply, and any “public orientation” in his art at this time is mainly with regard to his work for popular magazines such as Vanity Fair. Covarrubias was not producing his art as part of a widespread left-wing move towards the promotion of the public consumption of art as displayed for example in the work of international groups such as the Artists’ International Association in England, or the American Friends of the Chinese People. In the output of Mexican artists this is better reflected in the work of Diego Rivera and the other Muralists, all of whom had apparently also been inspirational to Ding Cong. This is supported by what Tannenbaum writes:

. . . the greatest prophet of the Mexican Revolution has been Diego Rivera, who has discovered and revealed to the world the profound dignity and strength of his people. The frescoes of Diego Rivera represent the best dream, the deepest aspect of the common people of Mexico. Someday the very ideals of the revolution, if they should be lost in the debris of political turmoil, and personal ambition, may be rediscovered in his paintings. It is perhaps not too much to say that as long as his paintings are allowed to remain on the public walls so that the common people can rediscover themselves in them, the Mexican Revolution will remain safe, at least as an ideal—permanent, as a dream to be achieved.139

This is said of Diego Rivera, despite the fact that it was Miguel Covarrubias who provided illustrations for his book. The work of Rivera and Covarrubias is quite different in aim and orientation (despite the two being close friends) and the difference between them must be recognised. Although Covarrubias’s views had much in common with those of Rivera from the point of view of

137 See for example Miguel Covarrubias, The Tree of Modern Art, in R.H. Wilenski, “The Tree of Modern Art,” in Vanity Fair vol. 40 no. 3 (May 1933): pp. 36–37 and p. 61. 138 Williams, Covarrubias, p. 69. 139 Tannenbaum, Peace by Revolution, p. 181. 132 CHAPTER 3 left-wing political allegiance, Covarrubias was by no means as consistently propagandistic or didactic in his work as Rivera. Perhaps a lapse of time had coloured Ding Cong’s view on this matter and the publicly orientated, political side that is understood to have been inspirational, came from Diego Rivera and the Mexican Muralists and not from Covarrubias at all. Recent research by the artist and writer Zheng Shengtian 鄭勝天 (b.1938–) certainly supports this theory. A debt to the art of Mexico can be seen in Chinese art throughout the central decades of the twentieth century. Zheng states that when he was young, many students of his age were “excited” about Mexican art as an alternative to Socialist Realism and during the early 1960s several major Mexican artists visited China with exhibitions of their work. Zheng’s own interest was such that he even claims that when he was growing up his “most important influence” was from Mexico.140 Michael Sullivan, who knew Ding Cong personally, points to what he saw as a strong debt to both Rivera and Covarrubias in his work of the 1940s.141 This is certainly logical with regard to the Socialist Realist work of Rivera but less so with Covarrubias’s art which, by this time, was considered by many to be simply “decorative.”142 It may have been the prevalence of an interest in the art of the Mexican Muralists in the decades immediately following the 1930s that prompted Ding Cong to remember in later life Covarrubias’s work as having been centred round proletarian art and the painting of murals.

140 Randian 燃點 http://www.randian-online.com/en/features/features-2011/searcher- zheng-shengtian-lost-mexicans.html. Zheng Shengtian led a research team which included Yao Zhonghua (painter and head of Yunnan Painting Institute) who recalled the “large murals by Diego Rivera that recruited the Indian tradition and Western modernism excited us and refreshed our eyes. It was in congruence with our artistic pursuit . . . we were having feverish dreams about making murals.” See also Chapter seven, pp. http:// haudenschildgarage.com/532/supported-program-mexicochina-exchange-in-the-1950s. htm. 141 See Ding Cong, Xianshi tu 現實圖 [Picture of Reality] (1946), in Michael Sullivan, Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China, p. 123 and Modern Chinese Art: The Khoan and Michael Sullivan Collection (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2001), pp. 66–70. 142 See Jack Chen, “Xie zai ‘touqiang’ zhi qian 寫在『投槍』之前-所亞漫畫集序 [Written Before ‘The Spear’—Preface to the Collected Cartoons of Suoya],” in the Wenyi 文藝 column (no. 484) of the Hong Kong edition of Da gongbao 大公報 (“Ta Kung Pao” also known as “L’Impartial”) (29 December 1938): p. 8; and Huang Miaozi, “Lun manhua 論漫畫 [On Manhua],” in Liangyou huabao no. 121 (October 1936): pp. 52–53. Touqiang 投槍 [The Spear], a collection of Yu Suoya’s cartoons, was published in Hong Kong in August 1939. Miguel Covarrubias 133

Miami Beach is a good example of the somewhat apolitical nature of much of Covarrubias’s work. Visually this large-scale bathing scene has much in common with the murals of Rivera, with regard to the finely detailed composition of the scenes depicted, but it can be clearly seen that there is no overt political message to be found in it. Similarly, another group portrait, despite its osten- sible political theme, does not have any cautionary or didactic aim. President Roosevelt’s Inauguration is simply a group caricature of American political figures and holds no apparent underlying message.143 A small-scale reproduction of this group portrait appeared in China in Liangyou huabao as an accompanying illustration to an article by Huang Miaozi, “Lun manhua” 論漫畫 (On Cartoons), together with a cartoon by William Gropper (1897–1977) which had also originally appeared in Vanity Fair. In the article Huang Miaozi describes Covarrubias as a “decorative caricaturist,” declaring his work to have “a beautiful regularity of rhythm, full of the spirit of modern art.”144 In 1938 Covarrubias’s style was still being described as “decorative”, for example by Jack Chen,145 but by this time it had come to be seen in Chen’s circle as something of a pejora- tive term. Such a “frivolous” approach as that which had been taken by artists such as Covarrubias, was to lose favour in China as the decade progressed and would ultimately be replaced by the need for a revolutionary art that was more in keeping with the prevailing call for National Salvation.

The Legacy of Covarrubias

In his introduction to the book The Covarrubias Circle Kurt Heinzelman points out that “Covarrubias, in many ways, has been lost to official . . . cultural histories of the modernist era.”146 An indication of the extent to which he has been forgotten as a major figure of the 1920s and 1930s can be seen in his lack of presence in the historiography of modern Western art. For example, in one popular survey of twentieth-century Latin American art he is mentioned only in passing, as having been influential on another Mexican painter and is simply described as an “Art Deco caricaturist and occasional painter . . . who enjoyed

143 President Roosevelt’s Inauguration, in Vanity Fair vol. 40 no. 1 (March 1933): pp. 20–21 (a key to the group portrait appears on page 19) and Miami Beach both took the place of the “Impossible Interviews” feature for the month in which they appeared. 144 Liangyou huabao no. 121 (October 1936): pp. 52–53. 145 Jack Chen, “Xie zai ‘touqiang’ zhi qian [Written Before ‘The Spear’—Preface to the Collected Cartoons of Suoya],” in Da gongbao (29 December 1938): p. 8. 146 Heinzelman, The Covarrubias Circle, p. 2. 134 CHAPTER 3 considerable success in New York, making drawings for periodicals like Vanity Fair.”147 This is not a true reflection of Covarrubias’s position in the art world during the first half of the twentieth century, when he enjoyed great popularity in Mexico, the USA and throughout the world. Insufficient recognition of Covarrubias’s achievements as an artist can also be seen with regard to his contribution to the history of art in China. Despite a widespread recognition of the impact of his work on Zhang Guangyu, the full extent of his influence in China has never previously been understood. This crucial part of Covarrubias’s legacy is almost entirely unrecognised, not only in Anglo-centric cultural histories and Hispanic studies, but also in the fields of Sinology and Chinese art history. With regard to a further question posed by Heinzelman, as to “. . . how and why Covarrubias’s specific accomplishments have passed from consciousness,”148 an answer may be found in the dividing line that has been erected to separate “popular art” and “fine art” into entirely separate fields. For many artists of the 1920s and 1930s, European, American, Mexican or Chinese, this dividing line was not so strictly defined. The Chinese cartoonists and artists who worked for the flourishing magazine publishing industry certainly considered themselves to be part of the modern art scene of Shanghai and in the field of literature too, the breaking down of artificial barriers between popular culture and highbrow literature was a notable feature of the avant-garde writings of the New-sensationists and other literary groups. In the chapter which follows, another example of the assimilation of Western artistic styles into the work of the Chinese cartoonists will be examined. The Chinese artists involved in the adoption of aspects of the artwork of the German artist George Grosz were born during the period of the First World War and grew up during a time of unrest in Shanghai, with the 1927 revolution and the Shanghai incident of 1932. These events were to prove instrumental in forming the basis for a new politically motivated artwork amongst this younger generation, which was to ultimately grow into a fully politicised propaganda tool in the hands of the Shanghai cartoonists with the outbreak of war with Japan in 1937.

147 Lucie-Smith, Latin American Art in the 20th Century, p. 102. 148 Heinzelman, The Covarrubias Circle, p. 2. CHAPTER 4 The Chinese Cartoonists and George Grosz

The work of Miguel Covarrubias had a significant impact on Chinese cartoonists working in Shanghai during the first few years of the 1930s after which time the German artist George Grosz became a model for many. By the mid- 1930s the group of cartoonists who had dominated the field at the beginning of the decade had been augmented significantly. It was a second wave of cartoonists, somewhat younger than those who had founded the Cartoon Society in 1926, that would be dominant in the adoption of the so-called “Grosz-style.” This second wave of artists was less familiar with the world of fin-de-siècle European art that had been introduced to their senior colleagues by figures such as Shao Xunmei and his literary and artistic circle. The main proponents of the “Grosz-style” Cai Ruohong and Lu Zhixiang, together with their peers Ding Cong and Hua Junwu, would show themselves to be more immediately concerned with politics than their predecessors and were largely responsible for the shift to the left amongst cartoonists that took place during the mid-1930s.

The Art of George Grosz in Shanghai

George Grosz’s artwork had been known in China since the publication of Lu Xun’s 1929 translation of Was Peterchens Freunde erzählen (What Peterkin’s Friends Say) which contained six of Grosz’s drawings as illustrations. This collection of fairy tales, written in 1921 by the Austrian left-wing author Hermynia zur Mühlen, was her first major work and the first in a series of short story collections entitled, Märchen der Armen (Fairy Tales of the Poor) published by Wieland Herzfelde’s Malik-Verlag in Berlin.1 Zur Mühlen’s politically charged tales, published by Lu Xun as Xiao Bide 小彼得 (Little Peter), tell the story of Peterkin, a little boy who, confined to bed with a broken leg (his mother at work

1 Hermynia zur Mühlen, Was Peterchens Freunde erzählen, Märchen von Hermynia zur Mühlen mit zeichnungen von George Grosz [What Peterkin’s Friends Say, Fairy Tales by Hermynia zur Mühlen with Drawings by George Grosz] (Berlin: Malik-Verlag, 1921). See also Hermynia zur Mühlen, The End and the Beginning: The Book of my Life. Translated, Annotated and with an Introduction by Lionel Gossman. Open Book Publishers http://www.openbookpublishers. com/reader/65.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ��6 | doi ��.��63/9789004307940_006 136 CHAPTER 4 in a factory), listens to everyday objects around him tell of their suffering in the oppressive world in which they “live.” Lu Xun’s translation used as its source a 1927 Japanese version of the stories, published in Tokyo by Hayashi Fusao 林房雄 (1903–1975), then a leading figure in the proletarian literature movement in Japan.2 By this time Grosz had been popular in the left-wing circles of Japan for some time. Writer, artist and founder of the avant-garde group Mavo, Murayama Tomoyoshi 村山知義 (1901–1977) had studied in Berlin in the early 1920s and on his return to Japan brought back many examples of Grosz’s work. It was Murayama who introduced Yanase Masamu 柳瀬正夢 (1900–1945) to the work of Grosz. Yanase was highly affected by both his ideas and his art and began to draw political cartoons in the style of the German. Both Yanase and Murayama wrote about Grosz’s art3 and it was in 1929, the same year that Lu Xun’s translation of Xiao Bide appeared, that Yanase published his Musan Kaikyū no Gaka Georuge Gurossu 無産階級の画家ゲオルゲ・グロッス (The Proletarian Artist George Grosz) which included a varied selection of Grosz’s works plus a lengthy introduction by the Japanese artist.4 To Yanase, Murayama and other left-wing artists and writers, Grosz was above all a proletarian artist.

2 Heruminiya tsūru Miyūren ヘルミニヤ・ツール・ミユーレン Hermynia zur Mühlen, Hayashi Fusao 林房雄 (tr.), Chīsai Pētā 小さいペーター [Little Peter] (Tokyo: Gyoseikaku, 1927). Lu Xun (tr.), Xiao Bide 小彼得 [Little Peter], in Lu Xun quanji 鲁迅全集 [Complete Works of Lu Xun] (Renmin wenxue chubanshe: Beijing, 1973), vol. 14, pp. 235–229. Lu Xun’s translation was originally published by Chunchao shuju, Shanghai, in 1929. 3 See Gennifer Weisenfeld, Mavo: Japanese Artists and the Avant-Garde, 1905–1931 (Berkley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2002), p. 297 note 32. 4 Yanase Masamu 柳瀬正夢 (1900–1945) (ed.), Musan Kaikyū no Gaka Georuge Gurossu 無産階級の画家ゲオルゲ・グロッス [The Proletarian Artist George Grosz] (Tokyo: Tettō Shoin, 1929). It was in 1929 that Yanase Masamu parodied the American comic strip Bringing up Father by George McManus with his Kanemochi Kyōiku 金持ち教育 [Bringing up a Rich Man]. Only the year before, Ye Qianyu had begun his own McManus inspired Wang Xiansheng in Shanghai manhua. The cartoonist Okamoto Ippei 岡本一平 (1886–1948) had introduced Bringing up Father to the Japanese public as early as 14 November 1923. Ye Qianyu knew of the comic strip through its appearance in the Shanghai-published China Press and it is most unlikely that he would have been aware of the Japanese version. See Frederik L. Schodt, Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics, (New York: Kodansha America, 1983), pp. 44–45 and pp. 50–51. Much later in 1936 an article on Yanase by one, Liu Yuan 柳園, was published in Shidai manhua. In this article Yanase’s art, as “a tool for political struggle,” is compared to that of George Grosz, William Gropper and José Clemente Orozco. “Liulai Zhengmeng [Yanase Masumu] de manhua yishu 柳瀨正夢的漫畫藝藝術 [The Cartoon Art of Yanase Masumu],” in Shidai manhua no. 31 (20 October 1936): [pp. 39–41]. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 137

Lu Xun’s version of Xiao Bide retained Grosz’s drawings as found in the original but these were crudely copied by an unknown artist and reprinted to accompany the Chinese text, much in the same way as Miguel Covarrubias’s drawings had been copied for reprinting by the publishers of Lunyu. Lu Xun himself recognised the poor quality of the reproductions and blamed it on a number of things: the inferiority of printing technology in China, the repeated reprinting that the material had undergone and on the printers themselves.5 Three years after the publication of Xiao Bide, one of Grosz’s lithographic portfolios from Lu Xun’s own private collection, “The Robbers” was shown in an exhibition of German prints held at the German Bookshop in Shanghai in 1932,6 but it was not until two or three years after this exhibition that a craze for Grosz’s work really made itself felt in China, partly in response to articles and pictorial features that appeared in the magazine Wenyi huabao in 1934 and 1935.7 A satirical review by Lu Xun concerning the second of these pictorial spreads pokes fun at the publishers of the magazine for the manner in which they had presented three of Grosz’s prints, and this critique may well have sparked off a subsequent heightened awareness of the German’s work. Lu Xun’s article will be examined in some detail below but first, an account of Grosz’s life and work, written by Zhang Chongwen 張崇文 (dates unknown) for Wenyi huabao, will be examined.8 In fact, although attributed to Zhang Chongwen, this article appears to be a much truncated version of an autobiographical account Grosz himself wrote for the publication Der Spiesser-Spiegel in 1932.9 It can be identified as such by certain similarities in form and content between both pieces of writing and can therefore be seen as a similar type of

5 Lu Xun, Lu Xun quanji [Complete Works of Lu Xun], vol. 14, p. 240. 6 Deguo zuojia banhua zhanlanhui 德國作家版畫展覽會 [Exhibition of Prints by German Artists]. See Lu Zongfeng 陸宗鋒 (ed.), Zhongguo xinxing banhua wushi nian xuanji 中國新興版畫五十年選集 [Collection of Prints Celebrating Fifty Years of the Chinese New Woodcut Movement] (2 vols.), (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, 1981), vol. 2, p. 1. 7 “Geluosi de sumiao 格羅斯的素描 [The Sketches of George Grosz],” in Wenyi huabao inaugural issue (10 October 1934). This is found on the second of six unnumbered pictorial pages between pp. 30–31. Another two-page spread of Grosz’s work appeared in Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): two unnumbered pages placed before p. 1. 8 Zhang Chongwen 張崇文, “Deguo fengci huajia Qiaozhi Geluosi 德國諷刺畫家喬治•格羅斯 [The German Satirical Artist George Grosz],” in Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): p. 21. 9 George Grosz, Der Spiesser-Spiegel [translated variously as “The Philistines’ Mirror” or the “Image of the German Babbit”], pp. iii–viii. 138 CHAPTER 4 article to Zhang Chongwen’s translation of Paul Morand’s The Art of Dying as discussed in Chapter One. Zhang Chongwen’s article on Grosz recounts selected information from the German artist’s autobiographical account, apparently to show him in the light that young Chinese intellectuals of the time would have wished to see him; as an artist very much in the same vein as themselves, an artist with left-wing tendencies who produced propaganda illustrations and political caricatures for journals and magazines. It presents Grosz quite correctly as an anti-authoritarian and as an artist who learnt from his surroundings but also shows him to have produced works for political ends using what Zhang Chongwen calls the “great weapon” of caricature as his tool. The call to use caricature as a weapon, to use the “pen as sword” was becoming increasingly prevalent in the Chinese publishing world and both writers and artists were being urged to use their art for patriotic and revolutionary causes.10 Zhang tells of Grosz’s rejection of Berlin Dada, although, in his own account, Grosz mentions the movement in a positive light. Zhang dismisses Dada as a “train without rails” perhaps due to a disapproval of Dada’s inherent nihilism and its apparent rejection of political activism which was becoming increasingly important in the lives of the Chinese artists. It was at this time, in the mid- 1930s, that a swing to the left among cartoonists was taking place. Ironically, Grosz’s active participation in left-wing politics was short-lived and by the time of the publication of Der Spiesser-Spiegel he had all but rejected his politically active past. Perhaps so as not to discourage the Chinese artists and in an effort to show Grosz in a positive light, Zhang Chongwen does not mention the German’s expulsion from school in 1908 or the time he had spent in a psychiatric hospital and his dismissal from the army during WWI. He may have considered that alluding to these apparently negative aspects of Grosz’s life would run contrary to the positive image of him as a like-minded revolutionary that he was attempting to portray. Indeed, with regard to Grosz’s time in the army, despite Grosz’s pathological hatred of the military, Zhang chose to show it in a positive light, “In the trenches he made many sketches, attracting great reactions from within the ranks . . . he jumped for joy having been awakened to an understanding of this ‘Great Weapon’.” Possibly in an attempt to further appeal to the young Chinese intellectuals, when relating Grosz’s involvement in publishing at this time, Zhang refers

10 See for example Shidai manhua vol. 1 (15 April 1934): front cover. The cover design shows a mounted knight formed out of an ink bottle, with a set-square for a shield, and a pen for a lance. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 139 to a journal published by Wieland Herzfelde (1896–1988), Die Neue Jugend by the Chinese title Xin qingnian 新青年 (New Youth). Xin qingnian is indeed an accurate Chinese translation of the German title but here Zhang is almost certainly attempting to make a connection between the German magazine and the earlier Chinese publication of that name, first published by Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀 (1879–1942) in 1915.11 Zhang’s brief article concludes by stating that it was the work of Grosz’s early period that was the model for what was to become known as the “Grosz-style;” a style that was, according to Grosz himself, recognizable in the work of other artists but importantly, one that he had thrown overboard by that time “for the sake of a greater vitality.” This was a style that now in 1935 was taking China by storm and was being adopted by many artists at a time when Grosz himself had not only rejected it, but had repudiated his left-wing political affiliations and was in the process of searching for new artistic forms in his adopted home New York. By the time that Huang Mao wrote his Manhua yishu jianghua (Talks on Cartoon Art), there were clearly many imitators of Grosz, both good and bad, as Huang warns of the dangers of blindly imitating the “Grosz-style” commenting that those whose grounding in the art of sketching is unsure or who have insufficient awareness of the social situation will certainly not be able to attain the desired results; if when drawing in the Grosz-style one only copies the outside appearance, imitating it on the surface, “eating but not digesting,” then failure will be inevitable.12 Lu Xun’s 1935 critique on the Wenyi huabao pictorial feature, entitled “Manhua er you manhua” 漫畫而又漫畫 (Caricatures of Caricatures), begins by stating that lithographic reproductions of Grosz’s pen-and-ink sketches had by that time become familiar to a Chinese audience.13 As mentioned above, this was largely due to his own efforts as he possessed prints by Grosz in

11 The Chinese magazine Xin qingnian 新青年 [New Youth] was published from September 1915 to July 1922. 12 Huang Mao, p. 10. Interestingly, a brief dabbler with the Grosz-style in the USA was the author Henry Miller (1891–1980), who relates in his introduction to the American edition of Grosz’s Ecce Homo how he had been so taken with his work, when he first saw it in 1927, that he himself began to draw and paint himself, telling his readers: “. . . since I had never evinced the least ability to draw, this first successful effort gave me confidence to continue a pursuit which has given me as much, if not more, pleasure than writing.” See George Grosz, Ecce Homo, introduction, by Henry Miller (New York: Grove Press, 1966), p. vii. 13 Lu Xun, “Qiejiating zawen er ji 且介亭雜文二集 [A Second Collection of Miscellaneous Writings from the Qiejie Pavilion],” in Lu Xun quanji [The Complete Works of Lu Xun] (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1973) vol. 6, pp. 239–240 dated 28 February 1935. This short essay first appeared in Manhua he xiaopinwen 漫畫和小品文 [Cartoons and Literary Vignettes]. 140 CHAPTER 4

Figure 4.1 George Grosz, [Selection of artworks], in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial) vol. 1 no. 3 (25 February 1935). One page from the two-page spread is reproduced here. See footnotes on page 141 for details. Reprinted with permission of the Estate of George Grosz. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 141 his collection. The pictorial spread in Wenyi huabao includes eight of Grosz’s sketches and two photographs of the artist (fig. 4.1).14 Three of the drawings are singled out by Lu Xun, because the editors of the magazine had seen fit

14 Eight of Grosz’s drawings and two photographs of the artist in Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): two unnumbered pages before p. 1. These are as follows: Page 1: Top right: Qiaozhi Geluosi 喬治•格羅斯 [George Grosz]. Photograph of George Grosz by Horst P. Horst (1906–99), originally from Vanity Fair vol. 41 no. 3 (November 1933): p. 35. Top left: Weisheng de sanbu 衛生的散步 [A Healthy Stroll]. Black-and-white print. Original titles: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité; Licht und Luft dem Proletariat; The Workmans Holiday (1919). See Alexander Dückers, George Grosz—Das druckgraphische werk (Frankfurt am Main: Propyläen verlag, 1979)—Mappenwerke: M III, 4, Gott mit uns, p. 58. Bottom right: Niuyue fengjing 紐約風景 [New York Scene]. Black-and-white print. Title appears as: Street Scene, New York, (1932) in Hans Hess: George Grosz (London: Studio Vista, 1974), p. 178. Bottom left: Hama yang de fuweng 蝦蟆樣的富翁 [The Toad-like Rich]. A black-and- white print of a pen and ink drawing (1929–21). See Dückers: George Grosz—Das druckgraphische werk, Mappenwerke—Die Räuber, MV, 2, p. 63 and p. 198. This appears as: Die Besitzkröten/The Toads of Possession in Frank Whitford, The Berlin of George Grosz— Drawings, Watercolours and Prints (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997), p. 128. Page 2: Top right: Neng youyong de qu youyong, tai ruo de jiu chenxiaqu ba 能游泳的去游泳，太弱的就沈下去吧 [Those who can swim, go and swim; those who are too weak, go and sink!]. White line drawing on a pink background. This work appears as Krieg [War] (1924) in Dückers, E100b, p. 44 and p. 173. A drawing with the title: Schwimme, wer schwimmen kann, und wer zu plump ist, geh’unter! [Let those swim who can—the heavy may sink (1921)] appears in Dückers. This is not the same image as that in the Chinese magazine. Top middle: Xiangle shenghuo ba 享樂生活吧 [Lead a Life of Pleasure!]. White line drawing on a black background. Top left: Lirun de you[lai] 利潤的由[來] [The Origins of Profit] [the final character in this title is missing]. White line drawing on a blue background. In 1929 it appeared in Lu Xun’s translation of Hermynia zur Mühlen fairy tales to illustrate the story Mei de gushi 煤的故事 [The Story of Coal]. See H•至尔•妙伦 [Hermynia zur Mühlen], Xiao Bide [Little Peter], in Lu Xun quanji 鲁迅全集 [Complete Works of Lu Xun] (Renmin wenxue chubanshe: Beijing, 1973), p. 243 and Hermynia zur Mühlen, Was die Kohle erzählt (What the Coal Says) in Märchen von Hermynia zur Mühlen mit Zeichnungen von Georg Grosz Was Peterchens Freunde erzählen, p. 4. Middle right: Shiye 事業 [Unemployed]. Black-and-white print. This also appeared in Lu Xun’s translation of zur Mühlen’s book in the story Tiehu de gushi 鉄壺的故事 [The Story of the Iron Pot], p. 284. See Was der Eisentopf erzählt [What the Iron Pot Says], in zur Mühlen, Was Peterchens Freunde erzählen, p. 28. 142 CHAPTER 4 to change the colours in which they were printed, all appearing as white line drawings on backgrounds of blue, pink or black.15 Lu Xun criticised the editors for taking it upon themselves to alter the prints in a manner that he saw as inappropriate. Shanghai “had been taken by surprise” with the publication of these reproductions. Lu Xun sarcastically describes them as “extremely colourful and very fine looking,” and it is certainly hard to imagine what Grosz himself would have thought of them as there is nothing in his oeuvre to suggest that he would have approved of these re-workings. Lu Xun’s own view is that the publishers of Wenyi huabao had been both presumptuous and vulgar in their reproductions. He says ironically that he had finally come to understand that the process whereby artists mix and match colours for their artwork is a wasted effort, as the editors of Wenyi huabao had thought nothing of producing these colour reproductions in a manner contrary to the intention of the artist. He ends his scathing criticism with the suggestion that these reproductions were nothing less than “caricatures of caricatures.”16 Lu Xun’s criticism had not come out of the blue. In all likelihood it was not just aimed at the named editors of the magazine, Ye Lingfeng and Mu Shiying, two writers that Lu Xun had no time for, but it may also have been a dig at another of his literary foes, Shao Xunmei, who was also involved in the editing of the magazine. It has been shown in Chapter Two that Lu Xun’s opinion of xiaopinwen as for example in Lunyu in 1933 was less than complementary. By the time of the publication of Wenyi huabao in 1934, which although much more flamboyant in appearance was not so very different from Lunyu in its approach, Lu Xun refused to be involved with any periodical associated with Shao and attacked his work in his correspondence and in his published writings.17

Bottom right: Gongzuo de Geluosi 工作中的格羅斯 [Grosz at Work]. [Photograph] Grosz in his studio, Berlin, 1924. This photograph also appears in Yanase Masamu (ed.), Musan Kaikyū no Gaka Georuge Gurossu [The Proletarian Artist George Grosz]. See also Ralph Jentsch, George Grosz, Berlin-New York (Milan: Skira, 2008), p. 263. Bottom left: Xunlan de shijie 絢闌[爛] 的世界 [A Splendid World]. Multi-coloured reproduction. See Dückers [S 1 XIV Ach, knallige Welt, du seliges Abnormitätenkabinett “O Crazy World, You Blissful Cabinet of Freaks” (1916), p. 84 and p. 224. SI, XIV from Ecce Homo. 15 Page 2: Top right: Neng youyong de qu youyong, tai ruo de jiu chenxiaqu ba [Those who can swim, go and swim; those who are too weak, go and sink!]. White line drawing on a pink background; Top middle: Xiangle shenghuo ba [Lead a Life of Pleasure!]. White line drawing on a black background and; Top left: Lirun de you[lai] [The Origins of Profit]. White line drawing on a blue background. 16 Lu Xun quanji, vol. 6, p. 240. 17 Jonathan Hutt, “The Sumptuous World of Shao Xunmei,” pp. 124–125. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 143

George Grosz and China

It would appear from reading Grosz’s A Big Yes and a Little No and other autobiographical writings, that his understanding of matters concerning China and the Chinese was minimal. Grosz tells how, in his childhood, he was fascinated by pictures of the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) and would diligently copy the tiny figures of soldiers in battle seen in picture books and magazines.18 When relating his childhood memories he seems to have become somewhat confused. If, as he suggests, he was drawing these pictures at the age of six- years-old this would have been in the year 1899, the time of the Boxer Uprising in China (1898–1900), several years before the start of the Russo-Japanese War. In fact, whether or not Grosz was unwittingly fascinated by images of the upheavals in China proper, or by the Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria may not be that important as it was simply the depictions of soldiers in battle that preoccupied him. Suffice to say, these images would remain influential on his work for years to come. Despite his apparent limited knowledge of China, Grosz did draw at least one caricature with China as its theme. Capital against China (1924), a political caricature drawn in a manner somewhat reminiscent of David Low, shows British, American, French and Japanese troops marching on China. This possibly belatedly refers to the hypothetical situation brought about by the carving up of German colonial territory after the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 and the proposal to hand over the Shandong peninsula to the Japanese. Above the marching troops looms a giant figure in formal dress leading warships by strings towards China.19 The only other time that Grosz seems to have engaged in Chinese politics was in 1925, the year after he drew this caricature, when he was “co-signatory of an address of sympathy to the Chinese People.”20 This address of sympathy is most likely to have been in support of Chinese protestors during the May 30th Incident in Shanghai, when unarmed civilians were gunned down by the police and this would certainly have been in accord with his political thinking at the time and his loathing of draconian authoritarian bullying.21 These

18 George Grosz, A Big Yes and a Little No (London: Hamlyn, 1983), p. 1 and p. 9. 19 See Uwe M. Schneede, George Grosz—Life and Work (New York, Universe Books, 1979), p. 92 and p. 172. 20 Ibid., p. 95. 21 Support for the protestors and their cause was widespread in Europe. The situation in Britain at the time is covered by Tom Buchanan in his study East Wind: China and the British Left, 1925–1976 (Oxford: OUP, 2012), pp. 22–27. 144 CHAPTER 4 two instances, together with a few somewhat non-committal references to Chinese painting in his later writings,22 are the only examples to show that Grosz had any interest in China whatsoever. What is most certain is that Grosz’s writings give no indication at all that he was aware of the enormous popularity of his work in that country during the 1930s. It is important to note in this regard that not one of the many biographies of George Grosz, or the standard works that refer to him, make any mention of this important fact. Grosz’s knowledge of Japan was equally superficial. Referring to the time he studied in Dresden in 1909–10, Grosz mentions an early interest in drawing from nature, in “the Japanese style,” sketching café scenes and people in the street going about their daily business.23 By this time in Europe the impact of Japanese art on the work of such artists as Vincent Van Gogh (1853–90) and Claude Monet (1840–1926) had been felt for some time, partly due to an increasing exposure to Ukiyo-e 浮世絵 (Pictures from the Floating World). However, what Grosz is referring to as the “Japanese style” is more likely to be the Japonisme of the Art Nouveau that had become fashionable in Germany under the name, Jugendstil (Youth Style). Grosz considered that the “long- legged, lively figures” of Emil Preetorius (1827–1905) exemplified this style, which he saw as being specifically influenced by the work of the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760–1849).24

Proponents of the “Grosz-style”

It has been shown that a craze for Grosz’s work peaked in the years following the controversy between Lu Xun and the editors of Wenyi huabao and that the works by Grosz that were to become most influential on the Chinese were the products of the years of the First World War and the early 1920s. To be more specific, in addition to the portfolio The Robbers and the illustrations to Little Peter, many of the manhua drawn by Grosz’s Chinese imitators have

22 See for example a letter of 31 July 1949 to a former classmate from Berlin, Otto Schmalhausen, which makes mention of the paintings of Bosch and Bruegel with “a wealth of beautiful details rendered with a simplicity reminiscent of Chinese paintings.” Quoted in M. Kay Flavell, George Grosz: a Biography (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1988), p. 264. 23 Grosz, A Big Yes and a Little No, p. 66. 24 Ibid., p. 68. Two examples of illustrations by Grosz in the Jugendstil style are a theatre programme design for the Gauklerfest (Conjuror’s Festival) of 1911 and another from two years earlier entitled Two Men. Both shown in Schneede, George Grosz—Life and Work, pp. 12–13. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 145 similarities in style and execution to his work published by Malik-Verlag in Berlin during the early period, such as the “Erste George Grosz Mappe” (First George Grosz Portfolio) and the subsequent “Kleine Grosz Mappe” (Small Grosz Portfolio) published in 1917.25 Many cartoonists in Shanghai were to come under the influence of George Grosz, but it is the work of Cai Ruohong and Lu Zhixiang that is most often singled out by critics as being closest to that of the German artist. Many other artists produced works that were reminiscent of his style. In the magazine Manhua manhua 漫畫漫話 (Leisurely talks on Cartoons) it is the sketches of Zhang E (which appear alongside those of Lu Zhixiang and Cai Ruohong) that are the most striking.26 Another artist, not usually cited as a follower of Grosz, is Liao Bingxiong. Liao was a prolific artist who was producing cartoons in a number of styles, including that of Miguel Covarrubias. A group of six cartoons of 1934, Shanghai de zhijue 上海的直覺 (Shanghai Intuition) in Shidai manhua clearly shows a debt to Grosz’s early work drawn during WWI.27 Another artist, Lu Zhixiang, began producing cartoons for Shanghai manhua at the age of eighteen and thereafter would continue to make occasional contributions to the magazine. His earliest work was produced in an environment inspired by followers of the English Decadents and European Symbolists and is found alongside the cartoons of Zhang Zhenyu, Ye Qianyu and Huang Wennong. For example, one cartoon that reflects the preoccupation with Greco-Roman and Neo-classical themes fostered by the group of Shanghai intellectuals associated with Shao Xunmei at the turn of the decade, shows Cupid with arms outstretched in exasperation, his bow-and-arrow cast on ground, exclaiming, Banbuliao 辦不了!!! (I Can’t Deal With It!!!), while assorted suitors, appearing in the shape of a question mark, encircle a young woman with fashionably permed hair.28 Lu’s contributions to Shanghai manhua are only occasional,29 but for the September 1929 issue he was responsible for the drawing of the

25 The themes of the images in The Robbers (nine drawings plus a frontispiece): Xile jiben “Qiangdao” jingju tu 席勒劇本《強盜》警句圖 [Epigrams on Schiller’s play “The Robbers”] are based on excerpts from Friedrich Schiller’s play of 1781, Die Räuber [The Robbers]. These are lithographic reproductions of Grosz’s first attempt at working with brush and ink. See Schneede, George Grosz—Life and Work, p. 78. They had been exhibited in the exhibition of German prints in Shanghai in 1932. 26 See for example Manhua manhua vol. 1 no. 4 (July 1935). 27 Shidai manhua no. 22 (20 October 1935): [p. 61]. 28 Shanghai manhua no. 23 (22 September 1928). See also Ye Qianyu, Kuaile de aishen 快樂的愛神 [Happy Cupid], in Shanghai manhua no. 74 (21 September 1929): front cover. 29 Shanghai manhua no. 27 (20 October 1928): p. 5; no. 74 (21 September 1929): p. 5; no. 80 (6 November 1929): p. 5; no. 94 (15 February 1930): p. 7. 146 CHAPTER 4 cover illustration entitled, Xianxian he suo si? 閒閒何所思? (At Idle Times, of What do You Think?) (fig. 4.2).30 In this painting, a young woman dressed in a slip with gartered stockings sits in an arm-chair with cigarette in hand blowing smoke rings into the air. Around her lie one of her discarded shoes, her dress, a penknife and cigarettes. By her side is an ashtray designed in the form of a kneeling man dressed in a tuxedo, holding the ashtray bowl aloft. This is in keeping with both the modernist and popular cultural content of Shanghai manhua and is apparently unrelated to the politically motivated work which was to characterise Lu Zhixiang’s later work of the 1930s. It is directly inspired by the trope of the subjugated man, first seen in China in the work of the followers of the Symbolists and English Decadence which later becoming so central to the writings of the New-sensationists. Increasing politicization in Lu’s work begins to be seen in the cartoons he drew for Shidai manhua, and comes to maturity in 1936 with his response to the ever-increasing threat of war. During the time he worked for Shidai manhua Lu Zhixiang continued to produce black-and-white sketches for Liangyou.31 These sketches, although to some extent inspired by Grosz, show a style far removed from anything produced by the German, consisting of free flowing, stylized representations of such diverse places as dance halls and the Shanghai stock exchange. Here perhaps can be seen a link between the styles of Covarrubias and Grosz, with the development of a smooth and fluid sketching style, dependent on an amalgamation of drawing techniques practiced by both artists, which would be most clearly seen in the sketching style of Ye Qianyu in, for example, his Qianyu suxie ji 淺予速寫集 (Qianyu’s Collection of Sketches) published by the Zhang brothers’ Independence Press in 1936, and would increasingly be found in the work of a number of other Chinese artists thereafter.32

30 Shanghai manhua (14 September 1929): front cover. This title calls to mind the line from the anonymous poem of the Northern Wei dynasty “Mulan shi” 木蘭詩 [The Song of Mulan] which reads, Wen nü he suo si 問女何所思 (My daughter, of what do you think?). See Xu Yuanchong 许渊冲, Mulan shi 木兰诗 [Song of Mulan], in Han Wei Liuchao shi yibai wushi shou 汉魏六朝诗一百五十首 [“Golden Treasury of Chinese Poetry from Han to Sui (206 BC–AD 618)”] (Beijing: Peking University Press, 1996), pp. 368–375. 31 See for example Wuchang suo jian 舞場所見 [Seen in the Dance Halls], in Liangyou no. 112 (December 1935): pp. 50–51. 32 Ye Qianyu mentions that Lu Zhixiang developed his sketching style under the influence of Grosz and he developed his own under that of Covarrubias. However, aspects of an amalgamation of the work of the two Western artists can be seen in the work of both Chinese artists. See Ye Qianyu, Xixu cangsang ji liunian, Chapter 18. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 147

Figure 4.2 Lu Zhixiang 陸志庠, Xianxian he suo si? 閒閒何所思? (At Idle Times, of What do You Think?), from Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 73 (14 September 1929), front cover. 148 CHAPTER 4

The work of the other main exponent of the “Grosz-style” in the popular imagination, Cai Ruohong, appears only in the later issues of Shidai manhua. In the colourful Dushi li de seqing shangren 都市裏的色情商人 (Pornography Businessmen of the Metropolis) no debt to Grosz can be seen.33 This example is unlike Cai’s sketches on social themes showing the downtrodden working classes that were appearing in Dazhong shenghuo 大衆生活 (Life of the Masses) and Manhua shenghuo at the same time. In this picture a scantily clad dancer who is tied to a crucifix is being watched by two men, a photographer and journalist. Cai Ruohong is best known for his cartoons showing the extreme poverty of sectors of Shanghai society. This example shows Cai approaching the theme of social dissoluteness in what he no doubt considered to be a humorous manner; his criticism is aimed at pornographers and the seedy underworld of Shanghai. What is significant and needs to be stressed in no uncertain terms is that it was Lu Zhixiang and not Cai Ruohong, at this time, who was drawing “Grosz-style” caricatures in Shidai manhua. The subsequent widespread adoption of the “Grosz-style” by a number of Chinese artists notwithstanding, one year later it was Cai Ruohong who was singled out as being Zhongguo xiandai xinxing de Geluosi 中國現代新型的格羅斯 (China’s New Grosz).34 Lu Zhixiang’s cartoons in Shidai manhua are described by Huang Mao as being “valuable” when compared to contributions by other cartoonists in that journal, many of which he considered to be pornographic.35 In fact, the two cartoons selected by Huang Mao as typical examples of Lu Zhixiang’s work Jietou de yutian 街頭的雨天 (A Rainy Day on the Streets) and Duhui de xinzang 都會的心臟 (The Heart of the Metropolis)36 seem to have been deliberately chosen to show Lu’s work in a certain light. Other cartoons by Lu Zhixiang are far more extreme in sexual content than those by artists which Huang chooses to criticize and indeed are rather shocking even to twenty-first- century eyes. Huang Mao, writing during the war when political content had become the dominant criteria by which to judge a cartoon’s worth, had chosen a selection of Lu’s work that would appeal to the socially conscious left-wing activists in much the same way that Zhang Chongwen had been selective in

33 Shidai manhua no. 24 (20 December 1935): [p. 22]. 34 Huang Ding 黃鼎, “Qiaozhi Geluosi ji qi manhua zai Zhongguo de yingxiang 乔治•格羅斯及其漫画在中国的影响 [George Grosz and the Influence of his Caricatures in China],” in Manhua he shenghuo 1935. Cited in Bi and Huang, p. 130. 35 Huang Mao, p. 30. 36 Shidai manhua no. 24 (20 December 1935): [p. 32] and Shidai manhua no.3 (20 March 1934): [p. 29]. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 149 his retelling of Grosz’s life story. An example of Lu Zhixiang’s work that will not have been so appealing to the politically conscious faction was seen in Shidai manhua under the English title: The Most Marvellous Performance of the Isako’s Circus—the rape of a young Chinese girl.37 This depicts a circus act where a man with the head of a large cat is preparing to rape a young girl in front of an audience. The meaning of this cartoon is unclear but perhaps has something to do with the Isako circus’s visit to Shanghai just over one month before Lu’s sketch was published.38 The owner of this circus, famous throughout the Far East, was a Russian from Harbin, Frank Izako (or Isako), “king of the sawdust ring in the Orient . . .,”39 a showman and a highly successful self-publicist. One year previously, Isako had celebrated his sixtieth anniversary in the circus business. “The merry master of the sawdust ring . . .” was rather patronizingly quoted as having said, “I will give a show that ees the best of all shows. Pleeze you come and see it. It will be the grand show.”40 As previously mentioned, the exact meaning of Lu Zhixiang’s unsettling sketch is unclear but it may well refer to a number of news items which appeared about the circus at the time. The lion tamer, Mr. Dammo (Damoo Gangaram Dhotre), had successfully trained a tiger to act with lions in one cage “. . . without so much as using a whip”41 and had even managed to develop an act in which two tigers and a ram performed together. It may be stories such as these coupled together with a charge of cruelty to animals against the circus manager Jacob Blecker, who was accused of keeping “a python and a pigeon . . . together in the same cage,”42 and another story of a mysterious man in the circus’s employ who was spotted on arrival in Shanghai just a month prior to the drawing of the cartoon, that had prompted Lu’s drawing. The description of this mysterious man certainly encourages fanci- ful stories; “. . . dressed in a rain coat, topped by a sun helmet [the man] was distinguished by a black mask which he would not remove . . . in the mask were

37 The Chinese title is simply Yisugu maxiban zhong zui jingcai jiemu zhi yi 伊素古馬戲班中最精彩節目之一 [One of the Most Exciting Acts at the Isako Circus], in Shidai manhua no. 17 (20 May 1935): [p. 6]. 38 My thanks to John A. Crespi for providing initial information concerning the Isako Circus. 39 “Circus King in Orient,” in the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (4 April 1934): p. 3. 40 Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (11 May 1934): p. 3. 41 Straits Times (16 April 1934): 17. See Damoo Gangaram Dhotre and Richard J. Taplinger, Wild Animal Man, (Little Brown and Cie., 1961). 42 “Circus Manager Fined for Cruelty to Animals,” in the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1 May 1934): p. 3. 150 CHAPTER 4 only slits for his eyes and an opening for his mouth . . .”43 Here, in Lu Zhixiang’s sketch, undoubtedly a far-fetched depiction of the Isako circus, the artist is certainly not condoning what is clearly a very shocking scene. However, not long after this sketch was published, the subject matter and the manner in which it is depicted would no longer be acceptable to either the cartoonists or their audience, as unequivocal propagandistic criticism of the social and political situation using a limited number of political and military themes, was to increasingly dominate the agenda as war approached.

A Foreigner’s View of the Grosz Imitators

In 1936, Jack Chen arrived in Shanghai from Moscow, where he had been working as a cartoonist and journalist. Towards the end of that year he wrote an article for the Voice of China in which, amongst other things, he criticises Chinese artists for their slavish imitation of George Grosz. Chen vehemently upheld the view that Grosz did not “depict the positive forces of the people that will build and are building a new world.”44 Pessimism is indeed one of the characteristics of Grosz’s work. He depicts the ills of society full of rage and fury, rarely showing the positive side of humanity. However, far from simply attacking Grosz and his work, Chen is perhaps bemoaning the fact that many Chinese artists were not yet approaching their art with the spirit of heroic revolution in the manner of the Soviet artists he so admired.45 This assertion is borne out by later articles written by associates of Jack Chen which criticise many of the cartoonists exhibiting at the 1936 National Cartoon Exhibition for their lack of political engagement (see Chapter Six).46 Writing in January 1937 in the English-language journal T’ien Hsia Monthly Jack Chen reiterates much of the material that he had used in his article written for the Voice of China:

43 “Isako Circus now in Shanghai—Unloading Process Thrills a Huge Crowd,” in the North- China Herald (24 April 1935): p. 141. 44 Jack Chen, “Realism for Artists,” in the Voice of China [1937]: pp. 15–16. 45 See for example Jack Chen, Soviet Art and Artists—Life and Literature in the Soviet Union. (London: The Pilot Press, 1944). 46 Liu Shi 劉獅, “Quanguo manhua ping 全國漫畫評 [A Critique of the National Manhua Exhibition],” in Shenbao (10 November 1936): p. 18 and Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui 關於全國漫畫展覽會 [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 151

In cartooning . . . the influence of George Grosz is far too strong. As a result of this influence many young artists have learned to see and depict only the negative aspects of life—to disclose its evils. Uncritical imitation has led to a vagueness of composition, to a dangerous stressing of the decorative qualities of line in disparagement of deep emotional content.47

This same sentiment is expressed by Chen with regard to the art of the woodcut artists:

They often seem to revel in looking at the dark side of things. Their art would be still more popular and more useful if they could learn to depict the positive facts of contemporary life and make their art an invigorating force as well as a mirror of social evils.48

Perhaps Chen’s criticism of the Chinese artists is justified, if seen from the standpoint of a left-wing revolutionary keen to spread the positive traits of Socialist Realism, but it must be pointed out that the same sense of anger and pessimism can be seen in much of his own work and with the advent of war, which was to prompt Chen’s departure from China, “disclosing the evils” of the Japanese became accepted as one of the major roles of the progressive artist. Having pointed out the flaws of Grosz and his Chinese imitators, later in the same year Jack Chen singles out Cai Ruohong as one of the most talented of the younger generation of Chinese artists:

Tsa Jo-hung [Cai Ruohong] is one of a large group of cartoonists who combine their newspaper work with serious art study, seeking their models in the streets rather than in the studios. He is a self-taught artist depending for his schooling on the study of foreign graphic art.49

Here Chen praises Cai for seeking his models in the street. Clearly this was considered a positive trait by the Chinese artists, as George Grosz had been singled out by Zhang Chongwen as having taken his work out onto the streets.

47 Chen I-fan [Jack Chen], “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 4 no. 1 (January 1937): p. 46. 48 Ibid., p. 45. 49 Chen I-wan [Jack Chen], “The Younger Group of Shanghai Artists,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 5 no. 2 (September 1937): p. 150. 152 CHAPTER 4

Contrary to what Chen suggests in the above quotation, Cai Ruohong had formally studied art at college and had attended the Shanghai meishu zhuanke xuexiao 上海美術專科學校 (Shanghai Fine Arts School) from 1930 to 1931.50 Chen continues:

He [Cai] began drawing when the work of George Grosz was the vogue in Chinese radical art circles, and though he is seeking his themes with Chinese reality, his vision is still heavily influenced by the great German artist. He is experiencing difficulties common to many of his young colleagues and is seeking an art style that will be completely expressive of his own specifically Chinese outlook while digesting what he can learn from a study of the art heritage.51

Cai Ruohong: China’s “New Grosz”?

It is in an article written in December 1935 by Huang Ding 黄鼎 (dates unknown) that Cai Ruohong is first referred to as “China’s New Grosz.”52 In this article “Qiaozhi Geluosi ji qi manhua zai Zhongguo de yingxiang” 喬治•格羅斯及其漫畫在中國的影響 (George Grosz and the Influence of his Caricatures in China), Huang compares the styles of Cai Ruohong and George Grosz with one another, to demonstrate why Cai should be so deserv- ing of this title. He does not compare Cai’s work with that of any other Chinese artist and his intention does not appear to be to elevate him to a status higher than other artists of the day. Huang’s reason for writing the article was to show the similarities between the works of the two artists. However, the end result is that he demonstrates several clear differences between them. Huang quite rightly suggests that Grosz’s work is more angular and rigid than Cai’s soft and “decorative” style and this is one of the most obvious differences that anyone comparing the work of the two might recognize. In contrast, Jack Chen sees a prevalence of uncritical imitation in Cai’s work, producing “a dangerous stressing of the decorative qualities of line.”53 There is quite clearly a disparity between the interpretations of the two writers. Chen sees Grosz’s drawing as “decorative” but Huang sees this decorative line as being a

50 Bi and Huang, Zhongguo manhuashi, pp. 128–129. 51 Chen I-wan, “The Younger Group of Shanghai Artists,” p. 150. 52 Manhua he shenghuo no. 2 (20 December 1935). Cited in Bi Keguan, p. 130. 53 Chen I-fan, “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art,” p. 46. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 153 specific feature of Cai’s work but not of Grosz’s. Huang does not see the decorative qualities in Cai’s work as being a weakness but importantly he sees them as being the fundamental difference between the work of the two artists. Chen on the other hand sees Cai’s imitation of the “decorative qualities of line” as evidence of an imitation of Grosz’s work, but by doing so fails to recognize one of the fundamental distinguishing factors of the German’s style, the characteristic angular strokes and the uneven jagged line he employs in his work. This dissimilarity is partly to do with differences of technique. The outlines of Grosz’s figures are made up of many small strokes of a reed-pen but in the work of both Lu Zhixiang and Cai Ruohong the line is fluid and unbroken.54 To demonstrate the perceived likenesses between the two artists, Huang Ding compares two works, one by each artist, pointing out what he sees as similarities in composition between the two, both of which use contrast and comparison to demonstrate the disparities between the lives of the rich and poor.55 Several of Cai Ruohong’s pictures of this type had appeared in a series in Dazhong shenghuo, the first of which was a set of four pictures contrasting the lives of boat builders with those of the rich, who use their boats only for pleasure trips.56 This method of direct comparison is employed by him a number of times in the series. Huang Ding singles out a related drawing by Cai Ruohong entitled Pidan nidan 皮噉泥噉 (Eating Bark and Mud—possibly a pun on the English word “Picnic” as pronounced in regional dialect) which contrasts the lives of starving refugees, with nothing to eat but the bark of the trees, with a depiction of the leisured classes indulging in a full-blown out- door feast.57 A set of drawings by Cai in Dazhong shenghuo on the same theme, entitled Yecan 野餐 (Picnic) contrasts three sketches of the poor with another of picnickers to communicate the same message (fig. 4.3).58 Huang Ding suggests that there are major similarities between Pidan nidan and a print by Grosz from 1921, Früh um 5 Uhr! (“Five in the Morning” or “Dawn”)59 in which Grosz contrasts the drunken lives of the privileged few, carousing into the early

54 It is known that the Chinese artists did use a similar reed-pen as that used by Grosz but they may not have been aware of the specific techniques used by him. 55 Huang Ding, Manhua he shenghuo cited in Bi and Huang, Zhongguo manhuashi, p. 130. 56 Dazhong shenghuo vol. 1 no. 2 (23 November 1935): p. 53. 57 Illustrated in Huang Ke et al., Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi [An Illustrated Record of Old Shanghai Cartoons], p. 208. 58 Dazhong shenghuo vol. 1 no. 5 (1 December 1935): p. 126. Two of the four drawings can be seen in fig. 4.3. 59 See Dückers, George Grosz—Das druckgraphische werk, M IV, 7, p. 62 and p. 196. 154 CHAPTER 4

Figure 4.3 Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹, Yecan 野餐 (Picnic), in Dazhong shenghuo 大衆生活 (Life of the Masses) vol. 1 no. 5 (1 December 1935), p. 126. Here are shown just two of the four drawings that originally appeared on the page.

hours of the morning, with those of the factory workers, who are compelled to start work just as the revelry of the wealthy is coming to an end.60 The similarities are clear and it is more than likely that Grosz’s original was used as a direct model for Pidan nidan and for the whole of Cai’s Dazhong shenghuo series. Cai Ruohong’s main preoccupation by this time was to use art, as Chen had put it, as “a mirror of social evils,” stressing the subjects of poverty and the social divide. Cai himself pointed to this period as a turning point in his work, when, under the influence of Lu Xun, he had begun to produce work of a more politicized nature (see Chapter Six). It can be seen that there are broad similarities in drawing style between the work of Grosz and Cai despite the differences recognised by both Huang and Chen. It is in message rather than technique that the similarities are most noticeable and it is clear that a certain imitation in subject matter (as again recognised by both critics) has indeed taken place, although here too there are

60 In addition, Huang Ding singles out two other sketches by Cai Ruohong, The Barber shop and The Streets in May as having much in common with the work of George Grosz. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 155

Figure 4.4 Zhang E 張諤, Dongxi liang zhanshen 東西兩戰神 (The Gods of War of East and West), in Manhua manhua 漫畫漫話 (Leisurely Talks on Cartoons) vol. 1 no. 2 (May 1935), unnumbered page. 156 CHAPTER 4 recognizable differences between the two. Huang Ding’s claim for Cai Ruohong as “China’s New Grosz” has become widely accepted in the received history of the cartoon but this appellation has been instrumental in overstating the similarities between the artwork of the two artists. It has been mentioned that a number of other cartoonists, including Lu Zhixiang, Liao Bingxiong, Ye Qianyu and Zhang E could all equally well have been described in this way. See for example Zhang E’s adoption of aspects of Grosz’s work in his colourful and striking Dongxi liang zhanshen 東西兩戰神 (The Gods of War of East and West), in Manhua manhua (fig. 4.4).61 Although even in later years Cai himself admitted a debt to Grosz’s work it can be seen that the overall effect of his drawings in the “Grosz-style” are somewhat different to those of the German.62 Grosz’s sketches expose the ills of society by revealing the squalid, cruel and depraved lives of the rich whereas Cai’s works contrast the misery of the poor with the carefree and happy-go-lucky lives of the leisured classes. The violence and obscenity inherent in much of Grosz’s work is clearly absent in Cai’s, along with much of its impact.

The Chinese View of Grosz’s Work

Imitation of Grosz’s work by Chinese artists was based on a rather narrow cross-section of his work, the artwork which formed the basis of the “Grosz- style” being mostly from the period of WWI and the early 1920s. This was by no means due to a limited exposure to Grosz’s work, but was the result of a certain selectivity in what the Chinese chose to emulate. It was Grosz’s work of the early period that seemed to best express the artistic, political and social views that (in the mid-1930s) the Chinese were propounding. The Chinese artists may have seen Grosz’s prints as the work of a fellow socialist but his association with radical left-wing politics had been short-lived. The view that Grosz had once expressed, that “. . . the only solution for the truly revolutionary artist is to aim to be understood by the broad masses, and to work for the liberation of the proletariat”63 accorded well with the agenda of the Chinese artists but had been thoroughly repudiated by him by the time his work had been adopted as a model.

61 Manhua manhua vol. 1 no. 2 (May 1935): unnumbered page. 62 Hung interviewed Cai Ruohong in Beijing on 29 September 1989 and it was then that he acknowledged his artistic debt to Grosz. Hung, War and Popular Culture, p. 304 (notes). 63 Flavell, George Grosz, a Biography, pp. 41–42. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 157

As far back as 1929, in the preface to Little Peter, Lu Xun had introduced Grosz to the Chinese public as having adopted a left-wing stance in preference to the Berlin Dada movement of which he had previously been a prominent member. According to Lu Xun’s analysis he had done this so that he could give more “content” and “thought” to his work.64 This view is echoed by Zhang Chongwen in his Wenyi huabao article when he suggests that Grosz had soon become disappointed with the “train without rails” [i.e. Dada], but having re- opened “the window of reason he looked ahead” most certainly implying to a Socialist future.65 However, even at the time Lu Xun made his remarks, Grosz was no longer as involved in politics as he had been in earlier years. Grosz’s later work could be seen in China in Chinese publications and also in foreign magazines such as Vanity Fair but the Chinese artists still chose to seek inspiration from early examples. By the 1940s Grosz himself had become tired and even seemingly a little ashamed of much of his earlier output and by the time he had established his home in the USA several years earlier, he had embarked on a rethinking of his artwork, particularly of just that work which had been so influential on the Chinese. With regard to how the Chinese viewed Grosz’s work, Chang-tai Hung quotes Hu Kao in 1934 as saying, “The fact that the work of the great German cartoonist Grosz is included in The Complete Works of World Art attests to the importance of the cartoon in Western society.”66 This may be seen as a misrep- resentation by Hu Kao of Grosz’s work as he did not see himself as a “cartoonist.” It can be seen in his biographical writings that shortly after Grosz’s arrival in New York in 1932, he was bemoaning what he saw as a widespread misrep- resentation of his work. In the following passage the word “Americans” could easily be substituted by “Chinese”:

Alas those few Americans who knew me thought of me as a satirical artist, first and foremost. They liked me for my bitter, hate-filled caricatures, and most of them considered the period in which they were drawn my best. I had become a kind of legend, a relic from the Roaring Twenties, and people assumed that I was incapable of doing anything else. With our prejudices and limited powers of understanding, we humans tend to

64 Lu Xun, Preface to Xiao Bide, p. 240. 65 Zhang Chongwen, “Deguo fengci huajia Qiaozhi Geluosi,” p. 21. 66 Hung, War and Popular Culture, p. 125 quoting “Xiwang yu manhuajie 希望於漫畫界 [Hopes for the Cartoon Circle],” in Qianqiu 千秋 [One Thousand Years] no. 15 (1 January 1934): pp. 7–8. 158 CHAPTER 4

think that anyone who has made a name for himself in one field is totally unfit for all others.67

Clearly Grosz viewed his own work in a somewhat different light to both the Chinese and Americans. Grosz did gain some popularity in America shortly after his arrival in the USA and his drawings appeared in Vanity Fair on a number of occasions, alongside artists such as William Gropper and Miguel Covarrubias.68 In November 1933 a portrait photograph of Grosz by Horst P. Horst (1906–99) appeared in Vanity Fair.69 This photograph later appeared in Wenyi huabao and would certainly have been copied directly from the American magazine.70 The caption in Vanity Fair reads:

At the age of forty, George Grosz is probably the most widely known living artist. His fame is the result of a variety of causes: an extraordinary fecundity and energy; a devastating satirical gift; twenty-one illustrated books and thirteen portfolios. Frequent exhibits in the world’s principal capitals; a distinguished career as a teacher (most recently, of the New York Art Students’ League); a supremacy in water color and the fathering of the new art of photomontage.71

In fact this “new art” of photomontage was not so new. Grosz himself claimed to have been its inventor as early as 1915, together with his friend and fellow Dada member, John Heartfield (1891–1968), though Raoul Hausmann (1886– 1971) had also made the claim that it was he and Hannah Höch (1889–1978) who had been the first to use the technique.72 A much later work by Grosz (a collage with photographic elements rather than a pure photomontage), American Landscape appeared as a diminutive illustration in a 1933 issue of Vanity Fair. This shows many of the things that must have struck the artist as being most typical of modern America: a scantily clad model, a tyre from a modern car, a stylish leather shoe, plus newspaper cuttings, the disembodied facial

67 Grosz, A Small Yes and a Big No, p. 184. 68 Vanity Fair vol. 39 no. 2 (October 1932) and five sketches entitled, “The Depression,” in Vanity Fair vol. 40 no. 6 (August 1933): p. 18. 69 Vanity Fair vol. 41 no. 2 (November 1933): p. 35. 70 Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): unnumbered page. 71 Vanity Fair vol. 41 no. 2 (November 1933): p. 35. 72 See Dawn Ades, Photomontage (London: Thames and Hudson, 1986), pp. 19–21 and David Evans, “Photomontage,” in The Grove Dictionary of Art (London: Macmillan, 1996), vol. 24, pp. 685–686. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 159 features of fashionable women, and images of Native Americans in full head- dresses (fig. 4.5). This was a clear prototype for a Chinese version by an anonymous artist that appeared in Shidai manhua under the strikingly similar title of Shanghai fengjing 上海風景 (Shanghai Landscape) (fig. 4.6).73 Both the content and composition of the two examples have much in common. Shanghai Landscape also includes newspaper cuttings in the background, plus photographic clippings of a car tyre and fashionable shoes, a chic model and disembodied body parts, together with many of the most idiosyncratic sights to be found in Shanghai at the time: a Sikh policeman, mah-jong tiles and an opium pipe. There can be little doubt that Shanghai fengjing was based on Grosz’s original as the composition of the two works are so strikingly alike and it is more than likely that the American example was first seen by the Chinese artists of Shanghai in Vanity Fair. Although American Landscape appeared in that magazine towards the end of 1933, already by 1932 it had undergone significant revisions by Grosz himself. With additional assorted eyes and mouths, now affixed in profusion to all objects found in the original (growing out from each with varying degrees of incongruity), as well as figures of deeply tanned body builders, distorted sym- bols of the American body beautiful which stand in stark contrast to the Native Americans that had formerly been so prominent, American Landscape had been transformed into the significantly more complex work, Keep Smiling.74 Such revisions constitute nothing less than a metamorphosis into an entirely different work to that which was to be copied as Shanghai Landscape by the anonymous Chinese artist in 1934.75 Grosz’s work continued to appear in Vanity Fair in 1933 and 1934.76 Despite an awareness of his recent work, the Chinese artists still concentrated their attention on Grosz’s early lithographic prints which had been reproduced in Chinese journals and magazines. Chinese artists certainly knew of his recent work in Vanity Fair as well as his early oil paintings through reproductions in Chinese magazines. In one pictorial feature in Manhuajie, “Qiaozhi•Geluosi

73 George Grosz, American Landscape, in Vanity Fair vol. 41 no. 3 (November 1933): p. 35 and Shanghai Landscape, in Shidai manhua no. 1 (15 April 1934): p. 23. 74 I am grateful to Ralph Jentsch, managing director of the George Grosz estate, for kindly supplying me with information concerning Grosz’s collage Keep Smiling. 75 Keep Smiling, in the collection of the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (IVAM), accession number 1986.37. A pen and ink drawing by Grosz of the same name had appeared more than a decade earlier. See Keep Smiling, University of Michigan Library, Image Record 695331. 76 George Grosz, Manhattan Lunch Counters, in Vanity Fair vol. 41 no. 4 (December 1933): pp. 36–37; New York Chameleon City, in Vanity Fair vol. 43 no. 3: p. 37. 160 CHAPTER 4

Figure 4.5 George Grosz, American Landscape, in Vanity Fair vol. 41 no. 3 (November 1933): p. 35. Reprinted with permission of the Estate of George Grosz; originally published in Vanity Fair. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 161

Figure 4.6 Anon, Shanghai Fengjing 上海風景 (Shanghai Landscape), in Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 1 (15 April 1934) [p. 23]. Modern Sketch (Shidai manhua); Colgate University Libraries Digital Collections, with permission. 162 CHAPTER 4

Figure 4.7 “Qiaozhi•Geluosi shi de huihua jiqiao” 喬治•格羅斯氏的繪畫技巧 (The Painting Technique of Mr. George Grosz), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no. 5 (5 August 1936). With Permission of the Estate of George Grosz. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 163 shi de huihua jiqiao” 喬治•格羅斯氏的繪畫技巧 (The Painting Technique of Mr. George Grosz), four oil paintings are reproduced in black and white (fig. 4.7).77 However, these would be passed over by the Chinese in favour of his early prints. In the West, Grosz had earned his place in the art history books by the success of his entire oeuvre. His early work such as Whisky (1918); Schönheit, dich will ich preisen! (Beauty, I wish to praise thee); Sonniges Land (Sunny Country) (c.1920); his oil paintings such as Selbstmörder (Suicide) (1916) and Der Liebeskranke (Lovesick) as well those reminiscent of Carlo Carrà (1881–1966) and Giorgio De Chirico (1888–1978), Republikanische Automaten (Republican Automatons) (1920) and Der Neue Mensch (The New Man) (1921), in addition to his drawings and lithographs, were all part of the corpus that went towards building Grosz’s reputation in Europe as one of Germany’s leading artists. However, a certain bias towards his early work was also evident in the West. In the received historiography it has been suggested that Grosz’s satirical depictions of German life, during and after WWI, along with his period as an exponent of Berlin Dada and as an experimenter with futurist-inspired images, all gave way to new and less progressive styles in his oeuvre when he moved to the USA. The view that, “. . . Grosz lost in his promised land something he never regained” has been widespread among Western art historians.78 It should be recognized though, that Grosz continued to produce important works in various styles whilst in America. The distinctive street scenes of Berlin gave way to those of New York. Many of the watercolours produced after Grosz’s arrival in New York in 1933 are painted in a similar style to those from Germany in the late 1920s. As observed by Flavell, Grosz’s work in the 1930s and 1940s continues to “offer commentary on the social and political disasters of those years,”79 although this was certainly not with the same biting satire that could be seen in his earlier work. Of course his sketches of city life could never be the same; a sketch of the New York subway such as Birth of a Legend, 1941

77 Manhuajie no. 5 (5 August 1936). Top right: Deguo shiren Max Hermann xiaoxiang 德國詩人 Max Hermann [Neisse] 肖像 Porträt des Schriftstellers Max Hermann-Neisse [Portrait of the Writer Max Hermann-Neisse] (1925); Top left: Shehui zhushi 社會柱石 Stützen der Gesellschaft [Pillars of Society] (1926); Bottom left: Wuchang yijiao 舞場一角 (German title unknown) [A View of a Dancehall] also known in English as “Ballroom” (1929). This painting was confiscated by the Nazi’s in 1933 and its present whereabouts are unknown. See Hans Hess, p. 168; Bottom right: Jiehe zhi yin 結合之因 (German and English titles unknown) is one of a series of paintings in which Grosz’s wife Eva and her sister Lotte served as models. It is related to Grosz’s Maler und Modell [Artist and Model] of 1928. See Ralph Jentsch, George Grosz, Berlin-New York, (Milan: Skira, 2008), p. 167. 78 See H.H. Arnason, A History of Modern Art (London: Thames and Hudson, 1969), p. 319. 79 Flavell, George Grosz, p. 4. 164 CHAPTER 4 would inevitably take on a new flavour as the sights of New York were so fundamentally different from those of Berlin. Nevertheless, these sketches continued to be undeniably from the pen of Grosz. Grosz’s long-term adversary Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980) evidently thought that by settling in America Grosz had turned his back on politics and had become part of the capitalist world he had previously so despised. Kokoschka wrote sarcastically in a letter to his friend, the poet Albert Ehrenstein (1886–1950), “George Grosz, the well-known International Communist, has annexed himself to fatherlandish sentiments, and runs a drawing-school for American pork-butchers and the daughters of war profiteers to boot.”80 Even by the time this letter was written in 1933 Grosz had indeed largely turned his back on the use of caricature as a political weapon and was to increasingly take the view that he would so clearly express with the publication of a collection of his drawings in 1944. In an introduction to this collection of formal portraits and figural studies, mostly from the late 1930s and 1940s, he wrote that he was presenting “for the first time to the public certain drawings . . . as a record of an artistic development.” He goes on to give his thoughts on the limitations of caricature: “In portraying and satirizing the events of the day, the comedies and tragedies of the passing scene, the artist is like a fiddler scraping on too small a violin. There is only a small place in great art for the quips and digs and innuendo of the satirist. In all humility I offer you evidence that I have outgrown the satirical phase of my artistic development.”81 In China, Grosz’s later work continued to be passed over in favour of his early oeuvre. In 1941, the writer of a brief report in the Hong Kong newspaper Huashangbao 華商報 (“Hwa Shiang Pao”), relates how they had heard of the recent “progress” that Grosz had shown in his work in a New York exhibition that year.82 At this time in China the term “progress” jinbu 進步 almost

80 Letter sent from Paris by Oscar Kokoschka to Albert Ehrenstein dated 18 January 1922, in Olda Kokoschka and Alfred Marnau, Oskar Kokoschka Letters 1905–1976 (London: Thames and Hudson, 1992), p. 132. 81 George Grosz, George Grosz Drawings with an Introduction by the Artist (New York: H. Bittner & Co., 1944), pp. 7–8. 82 Huashangbao (19 November 1941): unnumbered page. In 1941, an exhibition entitled “George Grosz” was mounted at the Museum of Modern Art, New York and ran from 8 October–2 November. It was organised by Lenore Browning, Secretary of the Department of Painting and Sculpture and Elodie Courter, Director of Circulating Exhibitions. One quarter of the exhibits shown in the exhibition were from Grosz’s Dada period. See Anne Umland, Adrian Sudhalter and Scott Gerson (eds.), Dada in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2008), p. 310. Another exhibition of Grosz’s work, “Paintings of the Nude” was mounted at the Walker Galleries, New York from 31 March–26 April 1941. The Chinese Cartoonists And George Grosz 165 exclusively referred to political progress from a left-wing perspective but it can be seen from Grosz’s own writings that by this time he had entirely rejected his left-wing past. Despite the subject matter of much of his work, which continued to show an awareness of social ills (such as the scenes of the Depression in New York) the work he produced in America was not aggres- sively political in the same way that it had been in Europe in the early years of his career and the term jinbu, in the sense that the Chinese were using it at the time, could certainly not be applied to it. The editors of Huashangbao still saw fit to publish Grosz’s early caricatures as part of their own wartime propaganda and a 1941 issue of this newspaper includes a reproduction of Der Weisse General (The White General), a pen-and-ink drawing that had appeared in the eighth issue of the German Communist periodical Die Pleite (Bankruptcy) of November 1923.83

Conclusion

During the 1930s many artists in Shanghai took George Grosz as a role model, adopting aspects of what they saw as the “Grosz-style” to a greater or lesser extent in their own work. This term was well-known in China but had also been used by Grosz himself to describe certain aspects of his own work that had spawned imitators in the West. Many of the most famous cartoonists working in Shanghai during this period adopted aspects of the “Grosz-style” at one time or another during their early careers, including Lu Zhixiang, Cai Ruohong, Zhang E, Liao Bingxiong and Ye Qianyu. The fact that writers such as Huang Mao warned against blind imitation of the “Grosz-style” is evidence of the widespread popularity of his work in China. The sketches of Cai Ruohong during the mid-1930s were so reminiscent of Grosz’s work in the eyes of at least one commentator that he was dubbed “China’s New Grosz.” This title stuck but could equally well have been given to a host of other artists whose work during 1934/35 was also reminiscent of the German artist. In an effort to promote the “Grosz-style” and to show the German artist in a favorable light to left-wing artists, an article about Grosz appeared in Wenyi huabao in 1935. This article uses Grosz’s own words, carefully chosen and manipulated by its author, Zhang Chongwen, to demonstrate to the Chinese artists that Grosz’s work was the

83 Huashangbao (3 September 1941): unnumbered page. According to a caption in this newspaper the image had also appeared in the French pictorial magazine Vu. Vu was published from 21 March 1928 to 29 May 1940. See also Dückers, George Grosz—Das druckgraphische werk, p. 42 and p. 168. 166 CHAPTER 4 same in form, content and message as their own. Similar manipulation of Lu Zhixiang’s oeuvre was undertaken to emphasize the artist’s left-wing political credentials. Grosz himself was clearly unaware of his popularity in China and his own knowledge of the Far East was limited. However, his early work would prove to be of great importance to the development of the cartoon in China and was a major element in the transformation of the cartoon from an art form inspired by English Decadence, European Symbolism and fin-de-siècle art movements, via Western popular culture through its inclusion in pictorial magazines, to a propaganda tool in the fight against fascism in the hands of the progressive left. In Part Three the focus shifts from one on China alone to one that takes in both Europe and America. The following chapter will take a more detailed look at Jack Chen and his work, following his arrival in Shanghai in 1936. Chen’s visit, originally to recruit cartoonists to take part in an exhibition in Moscow, turned into a two-and-a-half year quest to disseminate the work of the Chinese cartoonists around the world in an effort to help raise money for aid to China during the war. In tracing Jack Chen’s movements from 1936 to 1938 the following three chapters will demonstrate how the Chinese cartoonists he championed fitted into the wider picture of a worldwide fight against fascism, supported by several international artistic and political organisations. Part 3 The Dissemination of Chinese Political Art

∵

CHAPTER 5 Jack Chen in China

We must note well—it is the best art that makes the best propaganda. JACK CHEN1

An important but little-known figure in the Shanghai art world during the years 1936 and 1938 was the journalist and cartoonist Jack Chen. Although Chen produced many cartoons and articles for the Shanghai press at this time, the main significance of his achievements in the field of Chinese art lies in the part he played in the dissemination of cartoons and woodcuts to parts of China and the international art stage that would otherwise have remained ignorant of their existence. After an extended period in China during the years 1936 and 1937, Chen took exhibitions around Europe and the USA until late in 1938. These exhibitions included a large number of woodcuts, a selection of his own works and the work of major Chinese cartoon artists such as Ye Qianyu, Zhang Guangyu, Ding Cong and Hu Kao. At the same time, Chen was also introducing these artists to the English-speaking public through articles in magazines such as T’ien Hsia Monthly and the American publications Asia and China Today. After showing Chinese art in the UK in 1937 and in the USA in early 1938, Chen took a large number of works by British and American artists back to China and Hong Kong. Following this, a third and final exhibition was taken to Europe but was called off due to the outbreak of war. Chen’s valuable contribution to the field of Chinese cartoons is unique in the history of Chinese modern art, as he was one of only a few Westerners to focus his attention firsthand on this type of art during the Republican period.2 However, apart from a brief mention of this episode in Chen’s life

1 Chen Yifan [Jack Chen], “Yishujia de weida liliang he weida zeren 藝術家的偉大力量和偉大責任 [The Great Power and Great Responsibility of the Artist],” in Guomin gonglun 國民公論 (Public Opinion) vol. 1 no. 2 [Hankow] (1938): p. 17. 2 In 1940 Michael Sullivan (1916–2014) went to China as an aid worker driving for the Red Cross. During his time there he met several artists and began collecting Chinese modern art, the fruits of this can be seen in the Khoan and Michael Sullivan Gallery at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and in the catalogue Modern Chinese Art: The Khoan and Michael Sullivan Collection (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2001). The majority of the collection was acquired after the war but some notable works from this period include: Ding Cong, “Cartoon of Michael Sullivan” (1945) Modern Chinese Art: The Khoan and Michael Sullivan Collection,

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi ��.��63/9789004307940_007 170 CHAPTER 5 in his 1975 autobiographical account Inside the Cultural Revolution and a version of these events in Return to the Middle Kingdom, as related by Chen’s wife Yuan-tsung Chen, this period in his life and his contribution to the history of Chinese art has been all but forgotten.3 In addition to these accounts there are a few scattered publications which also make brief mention of him. Shuang Shen’s “The Itinerant Career of Jack Chen” gives a brief evaluation of the articles Chen wrote for T’ien Hsia Monthly which appeared as part of her broader study of English-language periodicals published in China.4 A book by Him Mark Lai, Chinese American Transnational Politics, contains similarly cursory information.5 An excellent recent study on Sino-British relations by Tom Buchanan briefly mentions the time Chen spent in England immediately before and during WWII, with particular reference to his contributions to British newspapers such as the Daily Worker,6 and another recent study by Patrick Wright makes mention of Chen several times, using as its sources Chen’s own published writings and those of Yuan-tsung Chen.7 In Chinese, a recent PhD thesis also gives brief mention of Chen’s contribution to the Chinese art world in the late 1930s.8 A selection of Chen’s cartoons is now permanently on display at the Zhongshan Museum in Guangzhou and in 2013 the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, mounted an exhibition of his work. It is also at the Hoover Institution (where Chen taught in later life) that the Jack Chen Archives are now housed. A small selection of his drawings were amongst the

p. 11; Ding Cong, “Old Woman” (1945), p. 66; Ding Cong, “Seated Soldier” (1945), p. 68; Chen Xiaonan 陳曉南 (1909–1993), “Sow” (1948?), pp. 60–61; Guan Shanyue 關山月 (1912–2000), “River with Waterwheel and Cranes” (1945), pp. 82–83; Pang Xunqin, “The Letter” (1944/5), p. 111; “Two Miao Girls” (1944/5), p. 113 and several others by Pang, pp. 113–116. 3 Jack Chen, Inside the Cultural Revolution, (London: Sheldon press, 1976), p. 43. Yuan-tsung Chen, Return to the Middle Kingdom—One Family, Three Revolutionaries, and the Birth of Modern China (New York: Union Square Press, 2008). 4 Shuang Shen, Cosmopolitan Publics: Anglophone Print Culture in Semi-colonial Shanghai (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2009), pp. 71–76. 5 Him Mark Lai, Chinese American Transnational Politics (Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 2010), pp. 197–198. 6 Tom Buchanan, East Wind—China and the British Left, 1925–1976 (Oxford: OUP, 2012), pp. 78–79 and p. 84 etc. 7 Patrick Wright, Passport to Peking: A Very British Mission to Mao’s China (Oxford: OUP, 2010), p. 66 and p. 233. 8 Cai Tao, Huanghelou da bihua yu kangzhan chuqi Zhongguo xiandai meishu de zhuanxing [“The Anti-Japanese Propaganda Mural in Huanghelou (1938) and the Turning Point of Modern Chinese Art”], pp. 89–90. Jack Chen In China 171 exhibits at the British Museum’s “The Art of Influence: Asian Propaganda,” which was held from 30 May–1 September, 2013.9 Apart from the attention paid to his work in these exhibitions and the scattered examples of writings which refer to him, the period of Chen’s life before the 1950s has been almost entirely passed over and his unique contribution to the dissemination of Chinese modern art has remained largely undocumented. In this chapter, through an examination of several of Chen’s articles, his extant art work, a number of unpublished letters, and an interview with Mrs. Yuan-tsung Chen, a re-evaluation of his contribution to the Chinese art world during the 1930s will be undertaken.

Chen Arrives in Shanghai

Before his arrival in China, Chen lived in Moscow for a number of years, where he had studied art and subsequently worked for the English-language newspaper the Moscow News.10 As early as November 1930 his name can be found in China in connection with this newspaper. A short report concerning the Moscow News found in the Shanghai-published China Weekly Review describes Chen as “Chinese assistant editor” of the paper under the main editorship of B.S. Vasutin, Anna Louise Strong and Maxwell S. Stewart.11 Chen’s first visit to China had been in the late 1920s when he and his siblings had followed their father, Eugene Chen (Chen Youren 陳友仁 (1878–1944) to Hankou, where he was a leading figure in the Wuhan Government. It was in Hankou, for the Peking People’s Tribune, that Chen drew his first cartoons.12 During their time in China, Jack, his elder brother Percy and sister, Sylvia, all extremely ambitious in their chosen fields, would take full advantage of their family connections to further their respective careers.13 It was in the mid-1930s that Jack Chen decided to try to make China his base. In his autobiographical account Inside the Cultural Revolution, published

9 See exhibition catalogue: Mary Ginsberg, The Art of Influence: Asian Propaganda (London: British Museum Press, 2013). The Jack Chen Papers. Online Archive of California: http:// www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8rv0pf2/. Retrieved 27 May 2014. 10 Jack Chen, Soviet Art and Artists, p. 29. 11 China Weekly Review (29 November 1930): p. 493. 12 Si-lan Chen Leyda, Footnote to History (New York: Dance Horizons, 1984), p. 77. 13 Their younger sister Yolanda appears not to have been so much in the public eye. 172 CHAPTER 5 in 1979, Chen states that he arrived in Shanghai in 1935.14 However, if the existing evidence is examined it can be seen that such an early date would have been highly unlikely. On 9 January 1936, Chen’s sister Sylvia had given a talk for the IAT in Shanghai15 and departed from China on 24 January (Chinese New Year’s Day) aboard the ship Sever. If what she recounts in her autobiography is correct—that she visited Jack Chen and his family in their country home near Moscow on her return16—Jack Chen cannot have left Moscow for Shanghai until sometime in early February. He had certainly been in China for a number of days before he wrote a letter from Shanghai’s French Concession to cartoonist David Low on 13 February. This being the case, the time of Chen’s arrival in China is most likely to have been sometime during the first ten days of February 1936.17 After having worked for some time as a cartoonist in Moscow, Chen was now keen to promote his work in China and on several occasions in his letters states that he was hoping to make Shanghai his base.18 According to Yuan- tsung Chen’s account, on arrival in China, Jack Chen mounted an exhibition of his work at the Lyceum Theatre.19 The Lyceum was the home of the Shanghai Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC) and although there is nothing in the available source material to indicate that the theatre was used for anything other than dramatic performances, the showing of films and for concerts, it is of course possible that Chen was able to display his cartoons in the foyer or other part of the theatre. This would certainly have been a convenient venue for such an exhibition as the theatre was situated just a couple of minutes’ walk from his lodgings at 415 Rue Cardinal Mercier, the address from which Chen wrote his letter to David Low soon after arrival in Shanghai.20

14 Jack Chen wrote: “I arrived in Shanghai in 1935. I wrote drew, and travelled until 1937,” in Chen, Inside the Cultural Revolution, p. 43. 15 See “A Soviet Utopia for Women—Mr. Eugene Chen’s Daughter Paints Bright Picture,” in the North-China Herald (15 January 1936): p. 96. 16 Si-lan Chen Leyda, Footnote to History, pp. 219–224. See also: “Sylvia Chen Sails, to Dance Here Later,” in the China Press (26 January 1936): p. 9 (second section). 17 Another possibility that must be entertained is that Sylvia Chen’s visit to her brother’s house near Moscow took place at a different time altogether and the information provided in her biography is in some way less than accurate. 18 See for example an unpublished letter addressed to “Miss Frost” sent from Shanghai dated 24 March 1937: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 19 Yuan-tsung Chen, Return to The Middle Kingdom, p. 303. 20 Present-day Maoming Nanlu 茂名南路 [Maoming Road South]. See unpublished letter: Jack Chen to David Low. Gen MSS 96. Box 8 folder 405 Chen, I-wan (Jack) David Low Papers. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. 13 February 1936. Jack Chen In China 173

By that time Chen had already been in correspondence with David Low for some time. Three years prior to his arrival in China, while working in the USSR, Chen had sent Low a letter dated May 1933 from his Moscow address.21 In this letter Chen thanks Low for his permission to quote him on the subject of “artists and the struggle against war” in an introduction written for an exhibition he had jointly organised as a member of the “International Union of Revolutionary Artists.”22 Chen’s letter shows him to be already active in politics and was, as he put it, taking a stand against those “poor fellows who still dream of ‘pure art’.”23 This was a theme that Chen would constantly address in his writings; ideas firmly rooted in the training he had received at the VKhUTEMAS (State High Art and Technical Studios) in Moscow.24 Chen’s 1936 letter goes on to recount a meeting with Sapajou, the cartoonist of the North-China Daily News. Chen quotes Sapajou as saying he had met Low in the company of other cartoonists “some years ago” in London. Sapajou’s meeting with Low may have been more recent than Chen describes. In 1935 Sapajou had taken several months leave from his job at the North-China Daily News and was in England from July to October that year.25 In September it is reported that Sapajou had recently been to Sheffield and Rotherham in England’s industrial north, visited the “United Steel Works” and had even been down a mine. The reasons for his trip are not given. The most pertinent piece of information in this short report is that it states that his fame had spread to Fleet Street, which was at the time “by no means uninterested in his presence in London.”26 Here, in the centre of London’s newspaper world, he may well have met with David Low and other cartoonists then working in London. Chen’s letter to Low clearly shows his left-wing political stance, in contrast to Sapajou’s apparently noncommittal views concerning the Spanish Civil War. As Chen wrote to Low, “he was very encouraging about my drawings though naturally he is not quite in agreement with my ideas.”27 At this time Sapajou was regarded by the publishers of the North-China Daily News as a mainstay of the newspaper, “. . . apart from his artistic genius and gift of crystallizing pictorial judgments on events Sapajou has the great merit of avoiding malice. His

21 Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to David Low. Gen MSS 96. Box 8, folder 405, 13 May 1933. Sent from room 413 of the Hotel Metropole, Moscow. 22 Low’s return letter to Chen (whereabouts unknown) was received on 2 May 1933. 23 Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to David Low, 13 May 1933. 24 Chen, Soviet Art and Artists, pp. 12–13. 25 Unpublished letter to David Low, 13 February 1936. Also see “Sapajou,” in the North-China Herald (3 July 1935): p. 1. 26 North-China Herald (24 September 1935). 27 Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to David Low. Gen MSS 96. Box 8 folder 405. 13 February 1936. 174 CHAPTER 5 pencil is on the side of the whimsical rather than of the caustic, and therein lies one of his charms.”28 Sapajou would display his political leanings in 1942, maintaining his “whimsical” style but switching his allegiances with the publication of his work in the fortnightly, Nazi-party-sponsored dual-language publication Ouya huabao 歐亞畫報 (“Europe-Asia Illustrated News”) 29 and in The XXth Century, a magazine financed by the German Foreign Office and published in Shanghai.30 It should be remembered in Sapajou’s defence that, as a White Russian in Shanghai, he was effectively stateless and would certainly not have had many choices of career at this stage in his life. It seems unlikely that he would have been as willing a propagandist or collaborator with the far right as were some individuals who continued to live and work in Shanghai in wartime.31 Sapajou’s political views notwithstanding, Chen describes the Russian as “undoubtedly one of the best cartoonists in the Far East.”32 After his letter to David Low in February 1936, no further information concerning Chen’s presence in Shanghai before the autumn is extant. During this period a large quantity of articles and cartoons by him appear in the Moscow Daily News and its weekly digest the Moscow News, at about the same time that they vanish from Chinese sources.33 It may logically be assumed that Chen had returned to Moscow during this time, apparently after a trip to Beijing, and had stayed there at least until the end of May when his cartoons in the Moscow newspapers are replaced by those of Boris Yefimov and others. It is probably shortly after this that Chen returned to Shanghai as by September his cartoons begin to appear again in the Chinese press.

28 “Sapajou,” in the North-China Herald (3 July 1935): p. 1. 29 See for example Sir Stafford Reassures in Ouya huabao 歐亞畫報 [“Europe-Asia Illustrated News”], vol. 3 no. 11 (10 June 1942): p. 6. 30 Sapajou drew a regular feature for the magazine “Cartoon of the Month.” Another contributor to this publication was Eileen Chang (Zhang Ailing 張愛玲) (1920–95). 31 For example Hilaire du Berrier, Lawrence Klindt Kentwell, Raymond Alan and Eugene Pick, as discussed in Bernard Wasserstein, Secret War in Shanghai (London: Profile Books, 1998). 32 Chen maintained an acquaintance with Sapajou throughout the period of his stay in China as another letter to David Low shows. See unpublished letter: Jack Chen to David Low dated 26 September 1937: “I also bring greetings from Sapajou the cartoonist of the North China Daily News in Shanghai, with whom I had several animated discussions!” 33 See for example a cartoon by Jack Chen, Pack up your troubles in your own kit bag—Italy takes note of a new development, in the Moscow News no. 7 (12 February 1936): p. 4; and an article by Chen I-Wan [Jack Chen], “Every Red Army Unit is School for Art,” in the Moscow News, no. 9 (26 February 1936): p. 10. Jack Chen In China 175

The Cartoons of Jack Chen in Shanghai

Chen’s cartoons for the Moscow News had been known to the Chinese cartoonists even before his arrival in China. In a letter sent from Shanghai the previous year, Sylvia Chen suggests to her brother that he would have been surprised to know the number of people in Shanghai who were familiar with his cartoons.34 Three of his cartoons from the Moscow News were later reprinted in Dongfang zazhi 東方雜誌 (“The Eastern Miscellany”) after his return to China in September.35 These appeared alongside those of David Low and other foreign artists in the regular feature, Shijie xiao fengci 世界小諷刺 (Small Satires of the World).36 Soon after this, Chen’s cartoons began to appear in left-wing Chinese periodicals such as Shenghuo xingqikan 生活星期刊 (Life Weekly) which were published by the important figure in the Shanghai publishing world, Zou Taofen 鄒韜奮 (1895–1944). Chen may have been invited to contribute to this and other related magazines through an acquaintance with Jin Zhonghua 金仲華 (1907–68), a central figure in Zou Taofen’s Shenghuo publishing company. Jin, who wrote articles under his own name and the pen names Mengru 孟如and Yangshan 仰山, wrote a regular feature for this magazine entitled Meizhou shishi manhua 每週時事漫畫 (Weekly Cartoons of Current Events) which was illustrated by Cai Ruohong. The format used for this feature, of cartoons about current affairs with lengthy captions, was used in a number of associated magazines with cartoons provided by both Cai Ruohong and Shen Zhenhuang 沈振黃 (1912–44), a cartoonist who quickly recognised the central importance of the cartoon in the dissemination of political ideas.37 Cartoons by Shen Zhenhuang in Jin Zhonghua’s Yongsheng 永生 (Life Eternal) are reminiscent of those of Sapajou who, as mentioned in Chapter Three, was a source of inspiration for several Chinese cartoonists.38 Shen also drew cartoons for “Tuhua de shijie” 圖畫的世界 (The Illustrated World) in collaboration

34 Si-lan Chen Leyda, Footnote to History, p. 219, citing a letter dated 27 November 1935. 35 Three unsigned cartoons with the English title “Japanese Life and Property Must be Protected,” in Dongfang zazhi (16 September 1936): pp. 82–83. 36 Another cartoon (unsigned) appeared in the same column on 1 October 1936: p. 73. 37 See Hung, pp. 134–135. Hung quotes Shen Zhenhuang’s “Duiyu manhua xuanchuan gongzuo de yijian 對於漫畫宣傳工作的意見 [Opinions on Cartoon Propaganda Work],” pp. 222–223, citing, Qian Jiaju 千家駒, Hu Yuzhi 胡愈之, and Zhang Tiesheng 張鐵生, (eds.), Kangzhan de jingyan yu jiaoxun, 抗戰的經驗與教訓 [Experience and Lessons during the War of Resistance] (Shenghuo shudian, 1939). 38 See Zhongguo de hai lu kong quan 中國的海陸空權 [The Power of China’s Navy, Infantry and Airforce], in Yongsheng vol. 1 no. 2 (14 March 1936): p. 5. 176 CHAPTER 5 with Jin.39 Jack Chen was to contribute several cartoons to a series of this type in another of Jin Zhonghua’s magazines Shijie zhishi 世界知識 (World Knowledge) entitled Yi ge manhuajia de shijie youji 一個漫畫家的世界游記 (A Record of the World Travels of a Cartoonist). The first cartoon to appear in the series has a brief caption written by the editor (i.e. Jin Zhonghua) stating that, by that time, Chen needed no introduction to the Chinese public as he was already a well-known cartoonist whose work could be seen in both Chinese and foreign magazines.40 This series featured Chen’s alter ego “Xiao Chen” 小陳 (Little Chen), a diminutive farm boy who travelled the world. This character, for which Chen had high hopes, was later mentioned in a letter to his sister:

I am now publishing serially a journey round the world in cartoons the character here is called little Chen a Chinese peasant boy. In a month or two it will come out in book form, as a pamphlet.41

There are no records of whether this book/pamphlet was ever published but these distinctive cartoons were included in at least four issues of Shijie zhishi during 1937, with eight appearing in each instalment.42 With Chen’s knowledge of the Chinese cartoon world and his apparently close working relationship with the cartoonists, it is most surprising to find him producing a cartoon character with the name “Little Chen.” As mentioned in the introduction to this book, the original “Little Chen” had been the cartoon creation of Ye Qianyu and as sidekick to Mr. Wang was widely known in China, having appeared in several periodicals including Shanghai manhua as much as a decade before. In addition to this series, in the main body of the magazine, Chen drew cover designs for Shijie zhishi, several of which show his strong opposition to British foreign policy at the time.43

39 See for example, “Tuhua de shijie 圖畫的世界 [The Illustrated World],” in Dazhong shenghuo 大衆生活 [Life of the Masses] inaugural issue (16 November 1935): pp. 20–21. 40 Shijie zhishi 世界知識 [World Knowledge] vol. 6 no. 1: p. 24. 41 Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to Si-lan Chen dated 24 March 1937: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 42 Shijie zhishi vol. 6 nos. 1, 2, 3 and 6. 43 Jack Chen, Yingguo zai shijie wutai shang de biaoyan 英國在世界舞臺上的表演 [England’s Performance on the World Stage], from Shijie zhishi vol. 6 no. 5 (16 May 1937): front cover, and Riben yu Yingguo: Mimi de qinghua 日本與英國：秘密的情話 [Japan and England: Secret Love Talk], from Shijie zhishi vol. 6 no. 6 (1 June 1937): front cover. For other covers designs by Chen see vol. 5 no. 10 (1 February 1937); vol. 5 no. 12 (1 March 1937); Jack Chen In China 177

Jin Zhonghua would be a major supporter of Chen’s work throughout the time he was in China and held both him and his cartoons in high esteem. In 1938 he became involved with the Hong Kong newspaper Xingdao ribao and Chen’s cartoons and articles would appear frequently in its pages throughout the period of his stay in the British colony (see Chapter Seven). In 1936 Jin Zhonghua was a major contributor to Shenghuo xingqikan. Jack Chen’s first artwork for that magazine was a cover design for a special edition published to celebrate the double-tenth (10 October) celebrations that year.44 Chen also contributed cartoons regularly to the main body of Shenghuo xingqikan as well as the occasional article, one of which appeared in November 1936 entitled “Beixing yinxiang” 北行印象 (Impressions of a Trip to the North), translated into Chinese for the magazine by an unknown translator. This tells of Chen’s experiences during a trip to the North of China, describing his time in the Japanese-occupied areas.45 It is notably different to the English-language article that Chen wrote about a trip to the North which would appear in T’ien Hsia Monthly in 1937.46 In this article Chen tells how he had travelled to Beijing, had visited galleries and exhibitions and met with artists such as Qi Baishi 齊白石 (1864–1957) and Pu Ru 浦儒 (1896–1963). Chen’s aim had been to collect artwork for the planned Moscow exhibition but at this stage had found it hard to find the material he had originally hoped for.47 During his time in Shanghai, Chen worked as a freelance reporter for several English-language newspapers. He appears to have had a special relationship with the American-owned Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury as several articles by him appear in that paper.48 As with his writings for the Moscow News, Chen’s articles are not restricted to the subjects of the visual arts and politics.

vol. 6 no. 9 (16 Jul 1937); and vol. 6 no. 10 (1 August 1937). Prior to this Zhang E had provided regular covers for the magazine. See for example Shijie zhishi vol. 4 no. 10 (1 August 1936) and vol. 4 no. 11 (16 August 1936). 44 Shenghuo xingqikan 生活星期刊 vol. 1 no. 19 (11 October 1936): front cover. 45 Jack Chen, “Beixing yinxiang 北行印象 [Impressions of a Trip to the North],” in Shenghuo xingqikan (11 November 1936): p. 71. 46 According to the evidence as found in a letter from Jack Chen to David Low this article was originally written in 1936 but not actually published until January 1937. See the unpublished letter from Jack Chen to David Low of 13 February 1936. 47 Chen I-fan, “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 4 no. 1 (January 1937): pp. 35–48. 48 Jack Chen, “Crisis Gives Impetus to Cartoons, Manchurian Incident brought Art to the Fore among Caricaturists,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (9 November 1936): p. 9; “Chinese Ballet opens at ‘Met’,” (16 December 1936): p. 15; “Attack on Unity,” (4 May 1937): unnumbered page. 178 CHAPTER 5

For example, the lengthy article on the performance of Aaron Avshalomoff’s “Chinese ballet” for the IAT appeared in the newspaper in December 1936.49 He had long been indirectly involved in the world of dance through his sister Sylvia and her participation in the field of modern dance. An existing letter to his sister, apparently giving her unsolicited advice on her dancing career, is echoed in this article.50 Whilst in Moscow, Chen had tried his hand at costume design, first designing costumes for a dance devised by his sister in 1930, “The Militarist,” and later in 1936 for another dance of the same name.51 These costume designs were signed by Chen using the upper case “CHEN.” Here the letters of his name are rather elongated and angular in style but more often his signature would appear in a manner strikingly similar to that of David Low. During the 1930s he also signed his work using his adopted Chinese name, Chen Yifan 陳依範 (also written as 陳伊範 in for example Shijie zhishi), often Romanized as “Chen I-wan” and would also occasionally use the single Chinese character 陳 (Chen).52 According to Sylvia Chen, the Chen family traditionally gave their children Chinese names in addition to the “English” names which appeared on their birth certificate, hers being Chen Si-lan 陳西蘭 (Chen Xilan).53 In the case of Jack Chen, his birth name was Ivan Felix Bernard Acham.54 A similarity can be clearly seen between the pronunciation of Chen’s first name “Ivan” and the

49 Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (16 December 1936): p. 15. 50 See for example, unpublished letter: Jack Chen to Si-lan Chen dated 10 July1931: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/ Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Tamiment Archive New York. 51 The Militarist is signed “Chen ’36,” see Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 13; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Several other full-colour costume designs survive in the Tamiment Archive. These include: Boat Girl; Saviour of the Settlement; Landlord; Crying in the Wilderness; Street-player; Aristocrat. The first two designs Boat Girl and Saviour of the Settlement (a depiction of a Scottish soldier) are signed “Yeh 1936” and the remainder are signed “Chen 1936.” The identity of “Yeh” is unknown. Boat Girl was used for the front cover design of Si-lan Chen Leyda’s autobiography, Footnote to History apparently in the belief that it had been drawn by Jack Chen. 52 As disclosed by Jay Leyda in his book Dianying, Jack Chen also later wrote under the pseudonym “Yao Hua” for the magazine People’s China in the early 1950s. See for example “New China’s Films,” in People’s China (16 April 1951). Cited in Jay Leyda, Dianying: An Account of Films and the Film Audience in China (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1972), notes pp. 484–485. 53 Si-lan Chen Leyda, Footnote to History, p. 3. 54 Yuan-tsung Chen.com http://yuantsungchen.com/new_page_10.htm. An image of Jack Chen’s birth certificate is shown on this website. Jack Chen In China 179 unofficial Chinese version of his name “Yifan” (I-wan). As Sylvia Chen later recalled, “my reborn concern for China led me to give up my English name of Sylvia and take back my never-used Chinese name of Si-lan. Jack, touring with an exhibition of Chinese woodcuts, was now Chen I-wan.”55 An earlier article from the North-China Herald in 1927, reporting the arrival of Jack Chen and his sisters in Shanghai in March of that year, complicates matters even further. It shows that, at this early time, Chen had preferred to use yet another version of his name, “Mr. B.A. Chen.” B.A. Chen is described in the article as being about nineteen years old and was said to be calling himself Mr. A. Chen during the voyage,56 the initials B.A. presumably standing for Bernard Acham. Evidently, at this time Jack Chen preferred to be known by the name Acham Chen. This preference was short-lived and well before his 1936 visit to China he was to become widely known as Jack Chen.

Chen and Soviet Socialist Realism

The earliest extant article written by Jack Chen whilst he was in China apparently appeared in print several months after it was actually written and is mentioned by Chen in his letter to David Low of 13 February 1936.

The Editors of Tien Hsia Monthly here (issued by the Sun Yat Sen Institute) very kindly presented me with a bundle of separate printings of my article on contemporary Chinese art—my first pamphlet—which I am sending to all my friends.57

This can only refer to an article which appears almost a year later in January 1937 in T’ien Hsia entitled “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art”58 as there is no article written by Chen issued by the publishers of the magazine before that date.59 In the extant version from T’ien Hsia, Chen discusses the various schools and approaches to art prevalent in China at the time.

55 Si-lan Chen-Leyda, Footnote to History, p. 247. 56 North-China Herald vol. 162 (5 March 1927): p. 373. 57 Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to David Low. 13 February 1936. 58 Chen I-fan, “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 4 no. 1 (January 1937). 59 It is certainly possible that the article had undergone revisions sometime between its acceptance and publication in the magazine, but unless a copy of his pamphlet comes to light there is no way of verifying this. 180 CHAPTER 5

He divides these schools into three groups, the first being the traditional school which he describes as “ideologically the most backward.” This is the group to which Chen claims most artists in China belong.60 The second, “corresponds to the state of slow transition to modernism through which the great mass of bourgeois and petty bourgeois intellectuals are now passing,” and the third group, to which Chen attaches himself, is “expressive of the vanguard tendencies of the advanced intellectuals inspired by the San Min Chu I [Sun Yat-sen’s Sanminzhuyi 三民主義 (Three Principles of the People)] and Marxist movements that are fermenting [sic] in China.”61 Here Chen is referring to the Socialist Realism of Soviet Russia (although, at this time the term Shehuizhuiyi xianshizhuyi 社會主義現實主義 (Socialist Realism) was not used in China).62 The third group listed above is further described by Chen in an article “Realism for Artists” as the “revolutionary vanguard spirit of China’s young intellectuals and students” which he claims had given rise to the “new arts” of cartooning and woodcuts.63 Chen’s thoughts on art were not in any way out of the ordinary. He had formulated them during his time in Moscow in the years prior to his arrival in China. It would appear though that they were new to at least some of those in Shanghai cartoon circles, as in December 1936 Hu Kao was to write an article in which he expressed the hope that Chen’s “new” ideas would serve as a guide to the cartoonists.64 Of the three categories of art outlined by Chen above, it is only the third that he considers to be worthwhile. Having said this, in one article Chen reveals a certain admiration for the work of Qi Baishi, describing it as having an easy and free “air of good fellowship.” Despite Qi’s work being of a type usually denigrated by Chen, he appears to have been rather fond of his paintings.65

60 Chen I-fan, “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art,” pp. 35–36. 61 Ibid., p. 36. 62 Lorenz Bichler, “Coming to Terms with a Term: Notes on the History of the Use of Socialist Realism in China,” in In the Party Sprit (Amsterdam, Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1996), p. 31. 63 Jack Chen, “Realism for Artists,” in the Voice of China [1937]: p. 15. 64 Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 65 Jack Chen, “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 4 no. 1 (January 1937). “Realism for Artists,” in the Voice of China [1937]. Chen declares Qi Baishi’s paintings to be “. . . pictures of his own gentle humanism incarnated in various forms.” Jack Chen In China 181

A more typical piece of writing by Chen appeared in November 1936 in Shenghuo xingqikan on the subject of artists in the Soviet Union.66 This had been a favourite theme of his since his arrival in China. In early November he gave a talk on this subject to the members of the IAT, no doubt at the invitation of Bernadine Fritz. The talk, “Art in the Soviet Union” was widely advertised in the foreign-language press67 and was subsequently reported at length in several local newspapers.68 The talk was also an opportunity for Chen to exhibit a selection of his cartoons. The China Press announced in advance that, “some of the finest examples of Mr. Chen’s work as a cartoonist will be on view in the Studio on Tuesday afternoon . . . both his drawings and his lecture will have a wide appeal to members of the I.A.T.”69 The day this appeared in print also happened to be the first day of the First National Cartoon Exhibition (see next chapter) which was mounted at the Sun Company Building just a few hundred yards up Nanking Road from the IAT’s home at 55 Yuanmingyuan Road, close to Shanghai’s Bund. This was by no means the only talk Chen gave whilst he was in Shanghai. A lengthy article entitled, “Zhongguo manhuajia you Sulian hui de liwu” 中國漫畫家由蘇聯囘的禮物 (A Gift from a Cartoonist Returned from the Soviet Union) appeared in the magazine Guangming 光明 (Light), written by one of the magazine’s editors Shen Qiyu 沈起予 (1903–70), a former member of the Creation Society and the League of Left-wing Writers. This gives a detailed account of another of Chen’s talks.70 Although written on related themes this was rather different to both the IAT lecture and the Shenghuo xingqikan article.71 Shen Qiyu’s article includes a translation into Chinese of a large part of Chen’s original talk, which was delivered in English. This mentions two

66 Shenghuo xingqikan (22 December 1936): p. 358. Another article by Chen on the Soviet Union, covering the areas of politics, economics industry and agriculture, appeared in 1936 in the Tianjin published Nanda 南大. Chen Yifan 陳伊範, Xia Ne 夏訥 (tr.) “Jinri zhi Sulian 今日之蘇聯 [The Soviet Union Today],” in Nanda no. 1 (1936): pp. 14–17. 67 Shanghai Times (1 November 1936): p. 4; China Press (1 November 1936): p. 7; Le Journal de Shanghai (3 November 1936): p. 6. 68 For example the China Press (4 November 1936): p. 9. 69 Ibid. (1 November 1936): p. 7. 70 Shen Qiyu 沈起予, “Zhongguo manhuajia you Sulian hui de liwu 中國漫畫家由蘇聯囘的禮物 [A Gift from a Cartoonist Returned from the Soviet Union),” in Guangming 光明 vol. 1 no. 9 (10 October 1936): pp. 570–572. The article as it appears here is a translation from the Chinese. 71 “Art Vital To Progress of Soviet Union,” in the China Press (4 November 1936): p. 9. This article reports Chen’s talk at the IAT. Also see Jack Chen, “Yishujia zai Sulian 藝術家在蘇聯 [Artists in The Soviet Union],” in Shenghuo xinqikan (22 November 1936): p. 358. 182 CHAPTER 5 important pieces of information: Chen’s intention to take an exhibition to Moscow in 1938 and the clear statement that he had been sent to China by an organisation in the USSR for the specific purpose of recruiting artists for the exhibition.72

A few days ago, someone informed me that a Chinese cartoonist who has recently returned from Moscow is interested to meet with Chinese intellectuals and is keen to find Chinese cartoonists to take part in an exhibition to be held in Moscow in 1938. With the prospect that this might be an opportunity to learn a little about the art world of the Soviet Union I joined the meeting with pleasure. Amongst many familiar faces, I spied the recently returned cartoonist. He is perhaps a little younger than I, wears spectacles, has a slightly protruding jaw and has the dark brown skin of a Southeast Asian. The host of the meeting introduced him as Chen Yifan, son of the famous foreign relations expert Mr. Chen Youren. He was born and brought up in England [sic] and is unable to speak Chinese.73

Shen Qiyu goes on to recount much of Jack Chen’s speech. It is given here at length as it is an important and unique record of his intentions:

Tonight it is a rare honour to have this opportunity to speak to intellectuals who are so conscientiously struggling [against adversity] during this time of national crisis. From this day on I hope that I myself might be so diligent. It has been my life’s ambition to assist China in achieving liberation through cultural pursuits. Tonight, meeting with all those present has restored my spirits. With regard to the Chinese people; on the one hand there are a considerable number of progressive individuals and on the other there are still many who are backward [in their thinking]. We must assist the former in pushing forward the latter. On this occasion, having returned to this country, I see that China’s democratic consciousness has developed

72 Zhongliu中流 [Mid-stream] vol. 1 no. 4 (20 October 1936): pp. 357–258. This article stirred up an existing feud between the editors of the magazines Guangming and Zhongliu, a disagreement which does not relate to the content of the article but concerns the translation of specialist terminology, including that regarding the Soviet artists known as Kukryniksi as it pertains to an album of cartoons that Chen had brought from the USSR. Although this is an interesting argument concerning the niceties of translation practice during the 1930s, the arguments do not concern Chen’s lecture and will not be discussed here. 73 Shen Qiyu, “A Gift from a Cartoonist Returned from the Soviet Union,” p. 570. Jack Chen In China 183

significantly. From now on we must be ever more diligent in overcoming the national crisis. Each citizen has a job, a task, and the task of the writer is to nurture the democratic consciousness of the people. Artists and writers of today are not like those of before; they must have society as their target. Their tasks are as follows: first, to diligently cast off feudal thinking and the ideologies of individualism and at the same time to avoid the shortcomings of America and Europe. Secondly, they must cooperate with the government in the struggle for democracy and National liberation. Relying only on the military in this time of war against the enemy is not enough; the people must also play their part. At the same time, on the international front, they [artists and writers] should also be in contact with the oppressed peoples [of other countries] and establish resistance together, recognising who is friend and who is foe.

Here Chen is anticipating the task that was to occupy him during the next few years; the exhibitions mounted in the UK on behalf of the Artists’ International Association and the China Campaign Committee in the UK, and in the USA those organised by the American Friends of the Chinese People and other organisations.

At this time, the reason for opposing the fascist nations is that if they are allowed to flourish the number of countries that they occupy will be greatly increased. These words are not new. Mr. Sun Yat-sen has already said this and now we need only to diligently seek their application and truth. The third task of artists and writers is to increase the democratic spirit. Since my return to China I have carried this out to the best of my ability. Because my area of expertise is in cartoons I particularly hope to cooperate with cartoonists. Naturally, I also very much hope to be able to work in cooperation with intellectuals from all backgrounds, however, with regard to this I can only make criticisms from the point of view of a cartoonist. In addition, I hope to carry out work to fully promote cultural relations between China and the Soviet Union.

Chen continues with mention of Sergei Eisenstein, an important figure in the Soviet film scene and a personal friend of the Chen family. Jack Chen knew the film director through Jay Leyda, Eisenstein’s one-time assistant and husband of Jack Chen’s sister Sylvia. Chen’s talk continues as follows:

The Soviet Union has a deep interest in the culture of China. The famous Soviet [film] director, Eisenstein has said that last year there were three important events that occurred in the cultural world of the Soviet Union, 184 CHAPTER 5

the first was the introduction of traditional opera by Mei Lanfang, the second was the introduction of Mickey Mouse, and the third was the Chinese Art Exhibition.74

By the time Chen gave this talk, Eisenstein had shown an interest in Mickey Mouse and the other products of the Walt Disney studios since at least 1930, when he had visited the USA and the Disney studios in person.75 A series of photographs exist from that time, showing Eisenstein, together with Walt Disney and two others, with a knee-high cut out of Mickey Mouse by their side. One now famous image amongst these shows Eisenstein alone, playfully shaking hands with the Mickey Mouse cut out.76 The cartoons of Disney were to remain important in Eisenstein’s theories on film for years to come and a series of fragmentary writings on Disney’s films were later edited by Jay Leyda and published together in 1986.77 In his talk, Chen is referring to the year 1935, when a selection of animation shorts had been sent by Disney to the First Moscow Film Festival. Eisenstein was president of the prize-giving jury for the festival and at the time had insisted that the first prize should go to Disney’s 1933 “Silly Symphony,” the Three Little Pigs. Instead, this was awarded a “special” prize and the first prize went to what was to become a socialist realist classic Chapayev,78 a film that would become popular in left-wing circles worldwide. Later that year, in response to a poll by

74 In the article the name “Eisenstein” is accompanied by a question mark. Perhaps Shen Qiyu was unaware of who Eisenstein was. A letter sent to Chen’s sister much later in 1946, reveals a number of details concerning the filmmaker’s opinions on recent films of the time, which he had gleaned through casual conversation. This clearly shows that Chen and Eisenstein were on friendly terms. Chen wrote of Eisenstein: “He thought ‘Caesar and Cleopatra’ [1945, starring Vivien Leigh] rather poor and was not as impressed as I thought he would be by [Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film] Henry V.” Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to Titta and Jay, dated 25 July 1946: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 75 Eisenstein arrived in New York in May 1930 and only returned to the USSR in April 1932. See Harlow Robinson, Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood’s Russians: Biography of an Image (Lebanon NH: University Press of New England UPNE, 2007). 76 For a photograph of Eisenstein with Mickey Mouse in Hollywood in 1930 see Jay Leyda (ed.), Eisenstein on Disney (Calcutta, Seagull Books, 1986), unnumbered pages. At the time of this book’s publication these photographs were housed in the Eisenstein Cabinet. 77 Jay Leyda (ed.), Eisenstein on Disney (Calcutta: Seagull Books, 1986). 78 Esther Leslie, Hollywood Flatlands: Animation, Critical Theory and the Avant-Garde (New York: Verso, 2004), p. 228. Jack Chen In China 185 a film magazine, Eisenstein again declared Three Little Pigs to be “the year’s major achievement in the advancement of film art.”79 China had sent eight films to the Moscow Film Festival, including Yuguang qu 漁光曲 (Song of the Fisherman), starring Wang Renmei 王人美 (1914– 1987), which received an honorary award80 and apparently “left an extraordinary impression on the audience,”81 and Zimeihua 姊妹花 (Twin Sisters) which starred Butterfly Wu in the dual role of both eponymous twins.82 Butterfly Wu visited Moscow herself, as part of the Chinese delegation to the festival, and was the only film star amongst the Chinese representatives.83 She and the other delegates travelled to Moscow in the company of a troupe of actors and musicians who were visiting the USSR to perform with the Peking Opera star Mei Lanfang. Mei gave several performances in the USSR and these were to become one of the major events of the year.84 At the time of Mei’s visit, Jack Chen was in Moscow working for the Moscow News and Mei’s performances were covered extensively in the newspaper. At the end of March, one of many photographs of Mei Lanfang appeared in the newspaper, together with an article written by Chen, “Mei Lan-fang, Noted Chinese Actor, Wins Warm Applause.”85 In the

79 Jay Leyda (ed.), Eisenstein on Disney (note no. 6, unnumbered page). Eisenstein also praised another Silly Symphony, the Skeleton Dance. In an essay concerning his admiration for Walt Disney written in 1941 he described this film as having been “unsurpassed.” Ibid., p. 1. 80 This was the first Chinese film ever to receive a major award at an international film festival. See Zhiwei Xiao, Encyclopaedia of Chinese Film (London: Routledge 2002), p. 105. 81 Jay Leyda, Dianying, p. 93. As related by Leyda: “To its first foreign audience of 1935 it seemed a miracle, with an effect similar to that on later European audiences of Rashomon and Pather Panchali.” Leyda, Dianying, p. 94. 82 The eight films sent by China to the festival were: two from 1933; Zimeihua and Chuncan 春蠶 [Spring Silkworms], both made by the Mingxing film studio; and six from 1934: Kong gulan 空穀蘭 [Orchid in an Empty Valley] (which also starred Hu Die) and Chonghun 重婚 [Bigamy] both also Mingxing productions; Yuguang qu and Dalu 大路 [The Big Road] from the Lianhua studio; and Nüren 女人 [Women] and Taolijie 桃李劫 [Plunder of Peach and Plum], produced by the Huayi and Diantong film companies respectively. See Hu Die 胡蝶, Liu Huiqin 刘慧琴 (ed.), Hu Die huiyilu 胡蝶回忆录 [Hu Die Remembers] (Beijing: Wenhua yishu chuabanshe, 1988), pp. 83–84. 83 Zhiwei Xiao, Encyclopedia of Chinese Film, p. 192. 84 After this success, a return trip to take twenty Russian actors and musicians to Beijing was planned and this was to be organised by Jack Chen’s brother Percy at the behest of the Sino-Soviet Cultural Society. See “Soviet Dancers and Musicians to Tour China: Concert Group of 20 Will Return Visit of Mei Lan-fang,” in the China Press (6 November 1936): p. 14. 85 J.C. [Jack Chen], “Mei Lan-fang, Noted Chinese Actor, Wins Warm Applause” and a photo of Butterfly Wu with Eisenstein and Tretyakov both in the Moscow News no. 13 (28 March 186 CHAPTER 5 same issue, a photograph appears of Butterfly Wu, together with Eisenstein and the poet and playwright Sergei Tretyakov (1892–1937), a representative of VOKS (All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries) and author of both a poem and a play of the name Rychi, Kitay! (Roar, China!), written in 1924 whilst he was teaching at Peking University. The play would subsequently become extremely popular in left-wing circles worldwide and was inspirational for a number of Chinese woodcut artists, including Li Hua 李樺 (1907–1994), who produced his iconic Nuhou ba, Zhongguo 怒吼把, 中國 (Roar, China!) in 1935.86 Eisenstein was present at Mei Lanfang’s performances in Moscow, as too was Berthold Brecht (1898–1956) and both men wrote essays inspired by Mei’s performances.87 Eisenstein was apparently so fascinated by Mei that he watched all his performances and at the end of the run filmed an excerpt from one of the plays he had performed Hongni guan 虹霓関 (The Rainbow Pass).88 A roundtable conference was organised by the USSR International Cultural Exchange Association which was attended by major figures of the Soviet theatre and film world, including Eisenstein, Constantin Stanislavski (1863–1938) and Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874–1940).89 On returning to China a grand reception was given in honour of Mei Lanfang by the Soviet

1935): p. 7 and p. 12. See also Chen I-Wan [Jack Chen], “Mei Lan-fang and the Soviet Theater,” the Moscow News no. 16 (18 April 1935): p. 2 and p. 11. 86 Xiaobing Tang, Origins of the Chinese Avant-garde, pp. 222–227. A.C. Scott, Mei Lan-Fang: Leader of the Pear Garden (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1959), p. 117. 87 Sergei Eisenstein, “To the Magician of the Pear Orchard,” in Richard Taylor (ed.), William Powell (tr.) Writings, 1934–1947: Sergei Eisenstein Selected Works, vol.3. (London: I.B. Tauris, 2010), pp. 56–67. Berthold Brecht’s essay was entitled, “Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting.” A note in the manuscript states that the essay was written as a result of seeing Mei Lanfang perform in Moscow. The essay was published at a much later date. Leonard C. Pronko, Theater East and West: Perspectives Toward a Total Theater (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), p. 56. 88 Min Tian, Mei Lanfang and the Twentieth-century International Stage: Chinese Theatre Placed and Displaced (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), pp. 139–140. According to Jay Leyda, who was also there “. . . no one was happy with the results,” Leyda, Dianying, p. 98. A photograph of Mei Lanfang in rehearsal with Eisenstein and Tretyakov was taken by Leyda and appears in his book. Leyda, Dianying, Plate 8, unnumbered page. 89 Ge Baoquan 戈寳權, “Mei Lanfang Hu Die fu E xuanchuan xiju 梅蘭芳胡蝶赴俄宣傳戲劇 [Mei Lanfang and Hu Die visit Russia to Promote Chinese Drama],” in Wanxiang no. 3 (June 1935): unnumbered pages. Ge Baoquan (1913–2000) was in Moscow at the time of Mei Lanfang’s visit as correspondent for the newspaper Da gongbao. See also Jin Fu, Chinese Theatre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), p. 110. Jack Chen In China 187

Ambassador D.V. Bogomoloff. Amongst the guests were Butterfly Wu, Emily Hahn, Bernadine Fritz and her sister Aline Sholes.90 The exhibition of Chinese art which had also apparently so inspired Eisenstein took place in mid-1934 and was reported in the Moscow News.91 This had also been organised by VOKS and featured paintings by Xu Beihong and Liu Haisu92 as well as a selection of historical works: “Along the walls of the several rooms in the Moscow Historical Museum devoted to the exhibition of Chinese painting, some 80 moderns overlook cases in which lie tablets, plaques, and scrolls of Ming, Sung and Yuan and later masters.”93 A photograph showing Xu Beihong and his wife Jiang Biwei, together with the “wife of Sergei Tretyakov” and an unknown woman, appeared in the inaugural issue of Wenyi huabao.94 These three occasions—Mei Lanfang’s performances, the showing of Disney’s cartoons in the Moscow Film Festival, and the Chinese art exhibition of 1934—were all examples of the vibrant Moscow arts scene to which Chen hoped to contribute with his exhibition of Chinese cartoons. Chen’s talk con- cluded with the words:

On this occasion when I departed Moscow, the Soviet Union entrusted me to conscientiously work towards the mounting of an exhibition of Chinese cartoons to be held in Moscow in 1938. At the time the Foreign Section of the Soviet Society of Authors entrusted me with a collection of cartoons to bring here to present to the writers and artists of China. I hope that tonight the Chairman will pass this around for all to see.95

This speech is of real significance to the story of Jack Chen in China. In no other article are Chen’s intentions so succinctly and explicitly spelt out. Just a few weeks later his sister Sylvia was relaying his plans to members of their family:

90 “Shanghai Welcomes Mr. Mei Lan-Fang,” in the North-China Herald (21 August 1935): p. 291. 91 For example, Rue Menkan, “Exhibit Shows Art of China,” in the Moscow News no. 22 (26 May 1934): p. 2. 92 Min Tian, Mei Lanfang and the Twentieth-century International Stage, pp. 103–104. 93 Moscow News no. 22 (26 May 1934): p. 10. 94 Wenyi huabao inaugural issue (10 October 1934): unnumbered page. 95 This was an album of cartoons by the Soviet cartoon group Kukryniksi. Shen Qiyu, “A Gift from a Cartoonist Returned from the Soviet Union,” pp. 570–572. 188 CHAPTER 5

. . . Jack is travelling about China and is evidently having the time of his life . . . He’s giving good interviews, he makes a little newspaper money, and is collecting an exhibition of modern Chinese art to be shown here [Moscow] in 1938.96

Jack Chen’s subsequent aim was expressed in a letter to his sister several months later. Chen’s ambitions had grown, now the exhibition was to go to London and mainland Europe:

I am taking I think I told you a wood-cut exhibition and my own stuff back to Moscow to show there. And shall try to bring it to Paris and London, if it can be managed.97

The article by Shen Qiyu continues by relaying information he had heard concerning Chen’s opinions on the Chinese cartoon world. As mentioned above, Chen’s ideas on art follow the theories of Socialist Realism which had been formulated and adopted as Communist Party doctrine whilst Chen was in Moscow. His writings on the adoption of Socialist Realism in the Soviet Union as he witnessed it paint a rosy picture of the status of artists there.98 This can be seen in the article written for Shenghuo xingqikan but is most clearly outlined in his later book, Soviet Art and Artists published many years later in 1944.99 Similar ideas expressed in Chen’s book are recounted by Shen Qiyu in his article, “Mr. Chen believes that everyone should learn from the realist styles of the French Artist, Daumier and the Spaniard, Goya.”100 As Chen saw it, it was realism in all its forms that was the future of art for China and the caricature was an ideal medium, the stylistic and compositional foundations of which should be based on the work of artists as diverse as Francisco Goya, Honoré Daumier, David Low, Boris Yefimov, Fred Ellis (1885–1965) and Daniel Robert Fitzpatrick (1891–1969). In 1937 Chen would write that the art of these individuals should be used as models and as aids “in attaining a deeper realism

96 Si-lan Chen Leyda, quoting a letter dated 1 November 1936, p. 229. 97 Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to Sylvia Chen dated 3 May 1937: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 98 Jack Chen, “Artists in the Soviet Union,” p. 358. See also Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 99 Jack Chen, Soviet Art and Artists—Life and Literature in the Soviet Union. See Chapter 2 “The Artists Training,” pp. 11–31, and Chapter 3 “Artists at Work,” pp. 32–68. 100 Shen Qiyu, “A Gift from a Cartoonist Returned from the Soviet Union,” p. 572. Jack Chen In China 189 in our art, a stronger sense of composition and clarity and directness of imagery.”101 In Chen’s opinion drawing in the “Grosz-style” must be avoided. The pessimism that Chen saw to be prevalent in the work of Grosz was a far cry from the heroic realism he aspired to. An inherent pessimism was also Chen’s main criticism of the Chinese woodcut, though he had much to say in favour of certain examples and many were included in his subsequent touring exhibitions.102 At this stage, he was convinced that woodcut artists were striving for “quantity rather than quality.”103 In contrast to this somewhat negative image, elsewhere Chen had propounded the idea that it was the woodcut artists who had been “the pioneers of a modern revolutionary art in China.”104 He bemoaned the fact that although a revolutionary outlook had been utilized by the woodcut artists, no such efforts had been made in the mediums of lithog- raphy, oil painting and etching, and was calling for a re-evaluation of brush and ink painting as a vehicle for revolutionary art.105 The exhibits Chen would later take to Europe and the USA contained many woodcuts, an example of which appeared in the January 1937 issue of T’ien Hsia Monthly under the title The Live Line. This woodcut, by Huang Xinbo 黃新波 (1916–1980), one of several by him formally in Chen’s collection and now housed in the British Museum, has been crudely mounted on thick black paper (in common with several others in this collection) and has the Chinese title Shengcunxian 生存線 (The Survival Line) inscribed in pencil upon the mount. This woodcut, along with three others, was used to illustrate a 1937 article, “War—in Black and White” in which an anonymous writer reaffirms Chen’s intention to take this material on tour to Moscow, London and Paris.106 Chen’s view, that the majority of woodcuts were prone to a spirit of “tragic pessimism,”107 was also his view of the writings of Lu Xun108 who, as “Father of the Chinese Woodcut” had been highly supportive of two recent woodcut exhibitions mounted in Shanghai in September 1936, shortly before his death

101 Jack Chen, “Realism for Artists,” in the Voice of China [1937]: p. 15. 102 Ibid. 103 Ibid. 104 Chen I-Wan [Jack Chen], “For a Revolutionary Brushwork,” in the Voice of China [1937, date unknown]: p. 15. 105 Ibid. 106 “War—in Black and White,” in Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury [16 July 1937]. 107 Jack Chen “Realism for Artists,” [date unknown]: p. 15 and Chen I-fan [Jack Chen] “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Art,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly (January 1937): p. 45. 108 According to Yuan-tsung Chen in an interview conducted by Paul Bevan on the morning of the 6 April 2011 in Hong Kong. 190 CHAPTER 5 on October 19th.109 On a number of occasions Chen expressed his feeling that the “influence” of foreign artists was too strong, perhaps referring in part to the effect of the recent Soviet woodcut exhibition.110 This is a criticism echoed by Shao Xunmei who had been personally involved in the organization of that exhibition.111 However, in Chen’s view, this unwelcome foreign influence did not apparently include those artists from the Soviet Union, Britain and the USA who he so clearly admired, namely, Boris Yefimov, Fred Ellis and David Low, and he clearly did not recognise any influence that he might have had as being “foreign.” To Chen, in the search for a modern art for China, only realism could hold the answer. Furthermore, this realism must be inspired by a left-wing, “revolutionary democratic nationalism” and should only be judged worthwhile if it could be proved to be valuable to the progress of China. “It is the prime need of China and her millions to be able to see and feel and visualize things realisti- cally . . . and in art only realism can do this.”112 These aims were being realized by American artists such as Fred Ellis, so admired by Chen, as well as the artists of the Artists’ International Association, several members of which had been in Moscow prior to 1936, at the same time as Chen.113 In a review in the China Press of Chen’s talk for the IAT, he is quoted as having said, “At present I can say that all artists are satisfied with the way Kerjentsev114 is working in the Committee for Arts, they all agree with the fundamental art policy—for a social, realistic, widely-spread art.”115 This optimism about Soviet art is echoed in his article published in Shenghuo xingqikan:

. . . at the moment all artists are agreed as to the fundamental task of art and have recognised the high responsibility of improving the cultural level of the masses through the propagation of socialist ideas . . . an all

109 An exhibition of Soviet woodcuts was mounted for one week at the Baxianqiao YMCA in Shanghai from 20 February 1936, and in the same venue Di-er ci quanguo muke liudong zhanlanhui 第二次全國木刻流動展覽會 [The Second National Travelling Woodcut Exhibition] took place from 2 October 1936. 110 Chen I-fan, T’ien Hsia Monthly (January 1937): p. 46 and “Realism for Artists,” p. 15. 111 Shao Xunmei, “Muban hua 木版畫 [Woodcuts],” in Shidai vol. 9 no. 5 (20 April 1936): unnumbered page. Reprinted in One Man’s Conversation, pp. 139–143. 112 T’ien Hsia Monthly (January 1937): pp. 47–48. 113 Si-lan Chen Leyda, Footnote to History, p. 233. 114 Platon Mikhailovich Kerzhentsev (1881–1940). 115 “Art Vital To Progress of Soviet Union,” in the China Press (4 November 1936): p. 9. Jack Chen In China 191

pervasive, fervent, youthful spirit has made artistic life in the Soviet Union into an extremely moving experience.116

These ideas were in accordance with a similar spirit of optimism that was prevalent in the left-wing publishing world of Shanghai, and fitted well into the increasingly dominant left-wing discourse that could be seen to be emerging at the time. The rise of a left-wing consciousness amongst many Shanghai intellectuals in the early 1930s had, by this time, begun to spread to a number of artists involved in the cartoon world, although it important to note that even by the end of 1936, Hu Kao was still expressing the hope that Chen would be able to give some inspiration on the political front to what he still saw as the “backward cartoon circles” of Shanghai.117 Intellectuals of a left-wing bent would have sanctioned Chen’s articles and cartoons as the products of a forward-thinking and like-minded person. By 1937 Chen was declaring that the artists in Shanghai, “. . . have at last awakened to the almost untouched field of themes in their extraordinary city.”118 As a review of one of Chen’s T’ien Hsia Monthly articles which appeared in the North-China Herald so succinctly puts it:

The contention thus developed is that Shanghai is at last producing artists. The tone of vigorous realism in their drawings is most encouraging. Mr Chen I-wan rightly discerns in it vitality and human appeal. It avoids the conventional and yet maintains fidelity to the basic canons of craftsmanship.119

In Chen’s article that is the subject of this review, he discusses many of the well-known cartoon artists of the time but also refers to several foreign artists resident in Shanghai, Rachel Levis, Henry Eveleigh and Paddy O’Shea, the last of these often singled out by Chen as being one of the most promising of Chinese artists (see Chapter Seven). Of course, the view that a definition of a “Shanghai artist” or a “Chinese artist” could include members of the foreign community, the so-called “Shanghailanders,” legitimized Chen’s own position as a foreign artist in China. Although Chen consistently refers to himself as

116 Jack Chen, Shenghuo xingqikan, p. 358. Translated from the Chinese. 117 Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 118 Chen I-Wan [Jack Chen], “The Younger Group of Shanghai Artists,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 5 no. 2 (September 1937): p. 147. 119 “Tien Hsia,” in the North-China Herald (22 September 1937): p. 437. This is a review of the September 1937 issue of the magazine and Chen’s contribution to it. 192 CHAPTER 5

“Chinese” it should not be forgotten that he was a British National, of mixed race, born in Trinidad. In an excellent essay in the book Africa in Europe: Studies in Transnational Practice in the Long Twentieth Century, S. Ani Mukherji places Sylvia Chen firmly in the realms of the “black cultural worker” in the USSR during the first half of the 1930s. Logically this appellation should also be applied to her brothers, Percy and Jack, but rarely, if ever, in their autobiographical writings do any of them make more than a passing reference to the full complexity of their ethnic backgrounds, seldom making any suggestion that their cultural origins were anything but “Chinese.”120

The Letters of Jack Chen

Information found in the unpublished letters sent by Jack Chen to his sister Sylvia and to the cartoonist David Low is a valuable addition to the available evidence about Chen at this time and throws light on his ideas as well as aspects of his personality that are not evident in his published writings. In a letter to David Low dated 22 December 1936, Chen informs him that he is “propagandising the necessity for a realistic art for China in place of the feudal art concepts that in this modern age are hampering the development of our art and China herself.”121 This sentence reflects well Chen’s preoccupations at the time. What David Low thought about the content of Chen’s letters is impossible to know as his letters of reply do not survive. Although at this time Low was employed as cartoonist for the conservative newspaper the Evening Standard, he most certainly had left-wing sympathies and was to be associated with two important left-wing groups in London with which Chen would also become increasingly involved: the Artists’ International Association (AIA) (for which Low served on the advisory council)122 and the China Campaign Committee (CCC). It is logical to assume that Low’s views expressed in the letters received by Chen would have been in accord with his own, on at least some of the points he put forward, otherwise Chen’s extant letters would show

120 S. Ani Mukherji, “ ‘Like Another Planet to the Darker Americans’: Black Cultural Workers in 1930s Moscow,” in Rosenhaft, Eve and Aitken, Robert (eds.), Africa in Europe: Studies in Transnational Practice in the Long Twentieth Century (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2013). 121 Letter: Gen MSS 96. Box 8 folder 405 Chen, I-wan (Jack) David Low Papers. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. 22 December 1936. 122 Robert Radford, Art for a Purpose—The Artists’ International Association 1933–1953 (Winchester: Winchester School of Art Press, 1987), p. 43. Jack Chen In China 193 evidence of disagreement. Chen continues, “. . . on the cartoon front with the rest of my friends we carry the attack against the deadly “isms.” ’ This clearly reflects Chen’s views on modern art, his almost pathological hatred of abstract art and movements such as Surrealism, and a distrust of anything that did not accord with the principles of Socialist Realism. As for Low, in his cartoons for the Evening Standard, he shows no particular antipathy towards modern art. Apart from a longstanding, good humoured poke at the statues of Jacob Epstein, and a few innocuous references to Surrealism (which was much in the news at the time following the International Surrealist exhibition held in London in June and July 1936), there is nothing to indicate that Chen had found a sympathetic confidante in Low on the subject of modern art.123 Chen mentions enclosing a recent drawing with his letter to Low, which he hoped to find a place for in the “London art reviews” (perhaps hinting that Low might be able to help him find a publisher) together with a “short account” about the Shanghai cartoonists. The latter is likely to have been a newspaper cutting of a not so short article which had appeared in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury at the time of the First National Cartoon Exhibition (see Chapter Six).124 Chen informs Low that he will be returning to Moscow in March 1937 for a scheduled exhibition of his work and will probably be drawing again for the Moscow News. However, by late March he was still in Shanghai as he had encountered problems obtaining a visa. In a letter to his sister, Chen seems to be impatient to show the world the fruits of his quest:

. . . I have a wood cut exhibition in my trunk waiting for three months, a whole trunkful [sic] of books for the Writers Union [in Moscow], Sun Fo’s OK for our modern art exhibition, and over two hundred drawings and paintings of my own for exhibition . . .125

Despite the delay Chen was keeping himself busy:

123 Cartoons in the British Cartoon Archive featuring Jacob Epstein: Archival Reference number: LSE1932 (27.4.1933); LSE5306A (13.4.35); LSE5312 (25.5.35); LSE5328 (12.10.35); LSE5375 (5.9.36); LSE0729 (26.6.37); LSE0731 (10.7.37); LSE0806 (27.5.39); LSE0808 (10.6.39); LSE 0815 (29.7.39). Cartoons concerning modern art: LSE5355 (2.5.36); LSE5375 (5.9.36); LSE0728 (19.6.37). http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/. 124 Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, (9 November 1936): p. 9. 125 Unpublished letter addressed to [Miss Frost] Sylvia Chen, dated 24 March 1937: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 194 CHAPTER 5

. . . [I] am not wasting time here. The[re] is piles to do. Beside drawing and painting, I am now (modestly speaking) the leading cartoonist of the United front movement, with all the magazines I work for being closed down one by one.126

Here Chen is perhaps suggesting that although many journals had recently been forced to cease publication, as a foreigner, he was now one of the few cartoonists in a position to work freely, unhindered by censorship. This may have been his impression of the situation but in fact it was by no means as clear-cut as this and many Chinese cartoonists continued to publish their work throughout this time. Several long-running magazines entirely devoted to cartoons were still being produced during this period, including Zhang Guangyu’s revamp of Shanghai manhua which published fourteen issues between May 1936 and June 1937. Jack Chen himself contributed a cartoon on the subject of censorship to this magazine with the English title Our Friend the Censor and the Chinese Women de jiancha laoye 我們的檢查老爺 (Our Censorship Boss).127 Other cartoon magazines that were still in circulation during this period include Zhongguo manhua 中國漫畫 (“China Sketch”) (August 1935 to June 1937) edited by Zhu Jinlou 朱金樓 (1913–1992), and the longest running of them all, Lu Shaofei’s Shidai manhua (January 1934 to June 1937).128 The following year several cartoons by Chen appeared in Shidai manhua, including one that demonstrates the widespread application of a censorship law forbidding the mention of Japan or the Japanese in a derogatory light. The cartoon entitled Wutiaoyue shidai de taipingyang 無條約時代的太平洋 (The Pacific Ocean in an Age Without Treaties) shows a heavily armed ship with the Chinese characters Junbei 軍備 (armaments) written on the stern. The ship’s Captain is leaning over the rail shouting to the Goddess of Peace who is being towed along in a dinghy, “I’m taking you there!” Here the captain of the ship, dressed in the full regalia of a high officer of the navy, is identified as X guo haijun siling X國海軍司令 (Commander of the Navy of Country X). “Country X”—Japan—is clearly the target of the joke.129 Despite the uncertainties of censorship with regard to Chinese publications there was always an outlet for Chen’s writings in the English-language newspapers, particularly in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury.

126 Ibid. 127 http://sdshgz.shunde.gov.cn/data/main.php?id=2197-7270064 Shanghai manhua no. 8 (1936). 128 Because of censorship by the Nationalist government Shidai manhua ceased publication in March 1936 and Manhuajie began publication in its place. In May, publication of Shidai manhua resumed. 129 Shidai manhua no. 39 (20 June 1937): [p. 6]. Jack Chen In China 195

I have excellent relations with the English Speaking papers however so that every now and then I get over a big article of the current situation (Besides my art diatribes—one of which I sent over to Jay [Leyda] in pamphlet) due to the censorship and prevalence still of kidnappings I am one of the few Chinese who can write as I do, the situation however is slated for improvement, then we can really get busy.130

It is perhaps due his father’s connections that Chen was in a position to draw and write as freely as he did. He was also of course a native English speaker and apart from outlets such as the English-language journal T’ien Hsia Monthly, to which a number of Anglophile Chinese contributed, there were only a limited number of English-language publications in which the drawings and writings of native Chinese could appear. This put Chen in a strong position. He continues:

I am drawing and writing as much as I ever did and printing with much more effect which gives one a kick. I doubt if I could then do much more work than I am at present, but we will then get bigger circulations.131

Chen was also writing for publications abroad, including the American magazine Asia, which was to feature several of his articles from 1937.132

I have sold two articles to Asia Magazine they sent me a very appreciative letter asking for more, so that I want to break into the American press seriously (did you see my drawing in New Masses for Feb. sometime?)133

130 Unpublished letter addressed to Miss Frost [Sylvia Chen], dated 24 March 1937 and sent from Rue Cardinal Mercier 415, Shanghai: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 131 Ibid. p. 1. 132 Asia, “The Actors in China’s Drama as Seen by the Cartoonist Chang Kwang-yu,” vol. 37 no. 2 (February 1937): p. 117; Jack Chen (attrib.) “Chinese Cartoons: Drawings by Chang Kwang-yu and Liao Ping-shun,” vol. 37 no. 12 (December 1937): p. 835; “China’s Militant Cartoons,” vol. 37 no. 5 (May 1938): pp. 308–312 and p. 661; Jack Chen [attrib.], “Chinese Children get Japanese Propaganda,” vol. 38 no. 11 (November 1938): p. 661. 133 Unpublished letter addressed to Miss Frost [Sylvia Chen], dated 24 March 1937 and sent from Rue Cardinal Mercier 415, Shanghai: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 196 CHAPTER 5

Chen was on good terms with the publishers New Masses, a group of artists and writers that were to be supportive of his tours in 1937 and 1938, and individually, as artists, were highly influential on his own work.134 At this time Chen was recognised in New Masses as “staff artist and art critic” for the Moscow News. The drawing mentioned by Chen in his letter to his sister appeared in New Masses on 9 February 1937 as an illustration to an article “A Talk with Pearl Buck” by Walt Carmon, where it appears under the title “Down with Imperialists!”. Originally drawn for the front cover of Shenghuo xingqikan, this drawing became perhaps the most widely used of Chen’s works in news features and articles (fig. 5.1).135 The publishers of New Masses, together with the American Friends of the Chinese People, publishers of China Today (to which Chen also later contributed),136 assisted in the arrangements for his touring exhibition when it visited the USA in 1938. Another widely used image, described as “the rising sun of Japan as a huge skull, coming up over the horizon of China”137 appears to have been particularly popular worldwide (fig. 5.2). It may have begun life in Moscow as early as 1934/35 and by 1938 was appearing prominently in American publications, notably in China Today.138 It also appeared in China as a composite illustration under the title Moluo de Riben 沒落的日本 (Degenerate Japan) in the Chongqing-published, Chinese-language digest of world news, Shi yu chao 時與潮 (“Time and Tide”) in 1939, and in the same year in the Hong Kong-published Da feng 大風 (Great Wind) under the Chinese title Mouguo guoqi tu 某國國旗圖 (The National Flag of a Certain Country) and the rather more explicit English title “A Chinese Impression of Japan’s Rising Sun.”139 This

134 Interview with Yuan-tsung Chen, “. . . he was very much influenced by the New Mass artists—the New Mass magazine [New Masses].” 135 Shenghuo xingqikan (11 October 1936) and New Masses vol. 22 no. 7 (9 February 1937): p. 13 and front page. The image would appear again in Jack Chen, “Young Chinese Artists Cartoon Their Country’s Conquest in Modern Manner,” in Life, no. 17 (January 1938): pp. 50–51. 136 Jack Chen, “The Boycott Movement Advances in England” and “Modern Chinese Art,” in China Today (February 1938): p. 12 and p. 16; “War Poster Art of China,” (August 1938): p. 6; and “The New Cultural Great Wall,” (January 1939). 137 New York Journal American (19 January 1938). Quoted in Yuan-tsung Chen: Return to the Middle Kingdom, p. 307. 138 Illustration to “Repercussions of Munich” by T.A. Bisson [pseudonym of Frederick Spencer], in China Today (November 1938): pp. 4–5 and the New York Journal American (19 January 1938), quoted in Yuan-tsung Chen, p. 307. 139 Shi yu chao 時與潮 [“Time and Tide”], vol. 3 no 6 (1 May 1939): p. 12. Mouguo guoqi tu 某國國旗圖 [The National Flag of a Certain Country], in Da feng 大風 [Great Wind], no. 27: p. 864. Jack Chen In China 197

Figure 5.1 Chen Yifan 陳依範 [Jack Chen], [“Down with Imperialists!”], from Shenghuo xingqikan 生活星期刊 (Life Weekly) (11 October 1936), front cover. This drawing also appeared in New Masses vol. 22 no. 7 (9 February 1937): p. 13 as an illustration to an article “A Talk with Pearl Buck” by Walt Carmon under the title “Down with Imperialists!” Reproduced with the permission of Mrs Yuan-tsung Chen. 198 CHAPTER 5

Figure 5.1a Chen Yifan 陳依範 [ Jack Chen], [“Down with Imperialists!”], original drawing. Reproduced with the permission of Mrs Yuan-tsung Chen. striking image even made its way to Burma as a propaganda leaflet issued by the Overseas Chinese War Service Corps, one of several such leaflets published in English and Burmese.140

140 Published by the Overseas Chinese War Service Corps and printed by K.W. Press M.D.Y. See Zhongguo renmin kangri zhanzheng jinianguan 中国人民抗日战争纪念馆 [Memorial Hall of the Chinese People for the War of Resistance against Japan] (Zhongguo heping chubanshe: Beijing, 1998), p. 40. The text on the leaflet reads: “Down with Japanese Jack Chen In China 199

Figure 5.2 Jack Chen, [untitled] BM 2009, 3022. 3. Courtesy of the British Museum with permission of Mrs Yuan-tsung Chen.

One of Chen’s contacts, who drew cartoons for both New Masses and China Today, was the American artist Fred Ellis141 who he had known in Moscow when Ellis was drawing cartoons for Pravda. At that time Chen was on “work experience” at the newspaper after his studies at VkHUTEMAS. Ellis worked in Moscow for six years, mounted five exhibitions and had worked for newspapers such as Trud, Izvestia and Pravda, before returning to the USA. Described by one critic in 1936 as, “probably the best-known revolutionary artist in the world,”142 Ellis and his work were clearly highly influential on Chen and a debt to both him and William Gropper can be seen in Chen’s own sketching styles.143 Indeed, Chen would later remark that it was Fred Ellis who gave him his “best lessons in art.”144 When Chen became art editor of the Moscow News, Fred Ellis was one of the cartoonists he invited to draw for the paper. Others included the most famous cartoonists in the Soviet Union at the time, Boris Yefimov, Viktor

Warlords—the Common Enemy of Mankind!” The original drawing is in the collection of the British Museum: Jack Chen, Untitled [Cartoon of Skull], BM 2009, 3022.3. 141 China Today (December 1936): p. 25. 142 Charles Ashleigh, “Fred Ellis in London—Famous Revolutionary Artist interviewed by Charles Ashleigh,” in Left Review vol. 2 no. 12 (September 1936): pp. 609–612. 143 For similarities of style see William Gropper, The Earthly Foundations of Divine Emperors, in China Today (October 1935): p. 20, and drawings by Fred Ellis such as one in China Today (December 1936): p. 25. 144 Jack Chen, Soviet Art and Artists, p. 29. 200 CHAPTER 5

Deni, Dmitri Moor and Konstantin Rotov.145 Jack and Sylvia Chen became close friends of the Ellis family and maintained contact with them long after they had all departed the Soviet Union.146 Chen continued to have visa problems. In a letter to Sylvia Chen and Jay Leyda, dated 3 May 1937, Chen once again relates his plans for the publication of a book about his alter ego “Little Chen.”

Dear Miss Frost and Better-half Plans: I am finishing the last few drawings of “Little Chen around the world” that is already coming out serially and will put it in the press for book form before I leave. The short story book will have to wait—(how many books is that? and so will the novel). But I hope to bring the short stories finished back with me. Lots of other creative schemes too. Little Chen had some 65 cartoons to it. I hope to take him round Russia and China later on.147

At least thirty-two of the sixty-five cartoons mentioned in this letter appeared in Shijie zhishi but it is not known in the end if they were included in Chen’s travelling exhibitions. Writing in mid-1937, Chen had high hopes for his return to China following his exhibitions abroad.

. . . we shall return here [Shanghai] either in September or in November at latest (after the celebrations) besides paying expenses as am certain that it will attract a lot of attention judging from my cartoons and writing now. In Nanking, Hangchow, Peiping, Canton, Shanghai. In two or even three different districts—the IAT, the Sun Gallery and in the Chinese city.148

145 Ibid., pp. 28–29. For Chen’s views on Soviet cartoonists see Jack Chen, “Soviet Cartooning,” in Moscow News (1 January 1934): p. 10. A rough draft of this article in Chen’s own hand exists in the Tamiment Library: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 30; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 146 Si-lan Chen Leyda, Footnote to History, p. 155. 147 Unpublished letter addressed to “Miss Frost and Better half” [Sylvia Chen and Jay Leyda] dated 3 May 1937, sent from Shanghai: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 148 Ibid. Jack Chen In China 201

In this passage Chen is suggesting that it might be financially rewarding to mount some exhibitions on his return to China. The venues mentioned here were already familiar with his work. He had exhibited at the IAT at the time of his widely publicised talk and at the same time in the First National Cartoon Exhibition on the fourth floor gallery of the Sun Company Building. In June, Chen’s visa problems were finally resolved. A letter dated 2 June 1937 records his plans.

Dear Miss Frost [Sylvia Chen] . . . [I] shall be leaving too somewhere around the end of the month. Unless an extremely interesting trip comes off that will take me places in the interior that many people are dying to see. Then I shall be here another six weeks despite the wailing and gnashing of teeth . . . This trip is as you can imagine difficult to arrange but if it comes off it will be a world-wide scoop! And How! As you Americans say.149

Chen was unable to arrange a visit to the battlefront before his departure. On his return in 1938 he joined the ranks of journalists and writers eager to visit the interior, although, by this time, a trip to the front could not provide quite the scoop that he had hoped for as it had become a frequent destination for foreign journalists. Chen had been in China, on and off, since February 1936 and was to leave with the outbreak of war in August 1937. He was among the throng of people hoping to escape Shanghai before the fighting in the city escalated out of control. He had a reservation to sail to Vladivostok on the Sever in mid-August but was severely delayed because of the ongoing battle that was raging on the outskirts of the city.150

149 Unpublished letter addressed to “Miss Frost” [Sylvia Chen], dated 2 June 1937: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/ Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 150 The ship Sever was scheduled to arrive at Shanghai on 18 August 1937 (the advertised date of arrival fluctuated between the 18 and 19 August) and to leave for Vladivostok on 20 August, see the China Press. This would have been the first available passage after 2 August. Neither the arrival nor departure of the Sever is reported in the China Press as, by this time, Shanghai was under attack from the Japanese. 202 CHAPTER 5

From China to Moscow and London: The Beginnings of Chen’s World Tour

In a letter to Sylvia Chen, following his return to the USSR, it can be seen that Chen was keen to get back to Shanghai at the earliest opportunity.

Well Sister, back again! However I feel it my duty to return. Or perhaps it is because I would have to “face” left [if] I stayed here? Anyway. China calls. So will have to leave the kids again,—damn—I thought I would have time to take them with me. Have written some articles here will speechify and leave pictures here for exhibit later on—Dec. May take them to England first. Denny will be a swell kid, I shall try to leave them set with dough for a year and a half to two years. The future is extremely vague. Regret no time to work up lots of literary and art material I bought with me . . . Any way I now feel that the only place to work is China—I was with a swell gang doing good work, and now there is more need of people than ever. I divide my time between art and “propaganda”, thank goodness the cartoons are better—I still can’t settle down definitely however to doing one thing or the other, divided between—writing political or theoretical art articles and cartoons and drawings. The trouble is that both are infernally necessary and certainly good. I also feel that my development as cartoonist and artist has been much helped by theoretical work.151

The reaction of Chen’s wife Lucy to the news that he was to return to China is written in pencil on the back of Chen’s letter to his sister. It would seem that he chose the adventure of China and his solitary travels over the security of family life.

Jack is already contemplating going back East, He’s very restless here, wants to get back to work. We can’t (Denny and I) go with him now as it’s pretty dangerous. So I’ll have to play the . . . widow again. You can well pity me—it’s very trying. What a life! Especially as this time god only knows when he’ll be back . . .152

151 Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to Sylvia Chen, dated 28 August 1937. Sent from Moscow: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 152 Unpublished letter: Lucy Chen to Sylvia Chen, addressed “Dearest Titta” dated 28 August 1937 and sent from Moscow: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 12; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Jack Chen In China 203

A letter to David Low dated 26 September 1937, sent from Moscow states, his aim to return to China via Europe.

Dear Mr. Low, After a year’s work in China, I have spent the last two [sic] months in Moscow writing chiefly about Chinese modern Culture of which Europe seems to know very little. The collection of wood cuts and cartoons that I have made has roused considerable interest here. I am however hurrying back to China, but I hope to stop for a short time in London where I think it would be useful to show the work of our young artists, So I hope soon (I am leaving here on the 5th October) to have the pleasure of making your acquaintance.153

Chen did return to China but not for several months. From Moscow he went to the UK and mounted his exhibition in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Swansea.154 Whilst in London, Chen may indeed have got the opportunity to meet David Low in person. An advertisement in the magazine Left Review shows that David Low was among the hands-on sup- porters on the committee that supported Chen’s London exhibition. Other committee members included Frederick Whyte (1883–1970), the collector of Chinese art George Eumorphopoulos (1863–1939), politician and poet Wang Lixi 王禮錫 (1901–1939) (in these circles known as Shelley Wang)155 and the author Freda Utley (1878–1978).156 Chen’s exhibition was opened by the Chinese Ambassador Guo Taiqi 郭泰祺 (1888–1952)157 (an old acquaintance

153 Unpublished letter: Jack Chen to David Low, dated 26 September1937. Gen Mss Gen MSS 96. Box 8 folder 405 Chen, I-wan (Jack) David Low Papers. Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University. 154 Hand written document in the possession of the Chen family. 155 Wang Lixi was a member of the CCC and had attended the organisation’s first meeting in 1937. See Arthur Clegg, Aid China 1937–1949 (Beijing: New World Press, 1989), p. 22. Wang had been in Europe since 1933 and had become “active in the solicitation of moral support from writers of various countries for the Chinese war effort.” See Kirk A. Denton and Michel Hockx, Literary Societies of Republican China (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008), p. 405. He published two collections of essays and a volume of poetry about his time abroad. See Xu Youchun 徐友春 et al. (eds.), Minguo renwu da cidian 民国人物大辞典 [Biographical Dictionary of the Republican Period] (Shijiazhuang: Hebei renmin chubanshe, 1991), p. 108. 156 Freda Utley had met Chen in Moscow and would interview his father twice in Hong Kong in 1938. In China she would meet Jack Chen again, in August of that year (see Chapter Seven pp. 291–293). 157 Left Review (November 1937): p. 576. Guo Taiqi had attended the Paris Peace Conference with Eugene Chen in 1919. 204 CHAPTER 5 of his Father) at Constable’s House, 76 Charlotte Street, in central London, on Thursday, 4 November 1937. It is possible that Chen had already shown some of the exhibits from this exhibition at other venues in London, as an advertisement for a talk organised by the CCC, in which he was listed as one of the speakers, shows that an exhibition of Chinese art had been mounted to coincide with it several weeks before.158 David Low would also become a member of the board of the AIA. In the organisation’s manifesto of 1940 he is listed as such, together with several other well-known artists such as Augustus John (1878–1961), Henry Moore (1898–1986), Eric Gill (1882–1940), Vanessa Bell (1879–1961) and Duncan Grant (1885–1978).159 As recalled by Yuan-tsung Chen, “[Jack Chen] was never active in any group. He was for some years a British [Communist] party member but was not active and he was a Young Communist member in the Soviet Union.”160 His own membership of the AIA was sporadic but he maintained contact with this organisation and other groups in the West throughout his time in China.161 Chen’s lack of commitment to any one organisation notwithstanding, his exhibition was jointly sponsored by the CCC and the AIA.

Anthony Blunt: A Champion of Chen’s Cause

On his arrival in England, Chen found many like-minded people in left-wing intellectual circles with whom he could exchange ideas. One of those who he may have met in person was Anthony Blunt (1907–83). Blunt wrote a lengthy review of Chen’s London exhibition in his regular column “Art” in The Spectator, entitled “East and West,” which appeared on 19 November 1937.162 Because of Blunt’s increasing importance in the art world at the time, which culminated in appointments as Surveyor of the King’s Pictures and Director of the Courtauld

158 Daily Worker (21 October 1937): p. 7. 159 AIA Manifesto TGA7043.17.3 Tate Gallery Archives. 160 Interview conducted by Paul Bevan with Yuan-tsung Chen on the morning of the 6 April 2011 in Hong Kong. 161 The AIA membership ledger states that Chen began paying his membership dues in March 1941. His last recorded payment was in March 1944. 162 Anthony Blunt, “East and West,” in the “Art” column of The Spectator (19 November 1937). This article is cited in Yuan-Tsung Chen, pp. 306–307. When mentioning this article in a letter dated 2 June 1939, Jack Chen incorrectly remembered it as having appeared in The New Statesman. Unpublished letter dated 2 June 1939, sent from Cranford, Middlesex: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 09; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Jack Chen In China 205

Institute of Art, and his later notoriety as a member of the “Cambridge Five” spy ring, it is worth examining his review in some detail, as it demonstrates a close accord between his own ideas, those of Chen, and the policies of groups such as the AIA and other organisations that were instrumental in the continued success of Chen’s travelling exhibitions. Blunt began writing his weekly review for The Spectator in 1932 and continued to contribute to the magazine until September 1938.163 Having previously been, in his own words, “an art for art’s sake type” on his arrival at Cambridge University in 1933, he had become involved with members of the Communist Party164 and by 1934, the same year that Socialist Realism gained currency in the USSR after the First Congress of Soviet Writers, his reviews and other writings on art had become increasingly inspired by Marxist ideology.165 It was also in 1934 that Blunt made his debut as a lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where later he would hold the post of director. By late 1935, Blunt’s articles had become particularly hard-line in tone, declaring that, of the modern schools, only realism was worthy of attention; a strikingly similar view to Chen’s. In April 1936, just months before Chen’s exhibition, Blunt gave his debut lecture for the AIA and in July wrote his first article for Left Review, a magazine to which Chen would also contribute several times during 1937 and 1938.166 In one of three short articles on Surrealism, which appeared in a supplement to Left Review, Anthony Blunt wrote: “If art is primarily an activity for the conveying of ideas, then Superealism [Surrealism] is a side track, and it is time that art came back to its true path. A new art is beginning to arise, the product of the proletariat which is again performing its true function, that of

163 Miranda Carter, Anthony Blunt—His Lives (London: Macmillan, 2001), p. 84 and p. 225. 164 Ibid. p. 102 and p. 106. 165 From the point of view of literature, the slogan “Socialist Realism” first appeared in print in the newspaper Literaturnaya gazeta [The Literary Gazette] in May [23] 1932. See Thomas Lahusen, Socialist Realism in M. Keith Booker, Encyclopedia of Literature and Politics: Censorship, Revolution, & Writing (Westwood Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005), p. 666. It was adopted as state orthodoxy at the First Writers Congress in Moscow in 1934 after a speech by Andrei Zhdanov (1896–1948) (see Lahusen, Socialist Realism, p. 665). Thereafter, ideas that were first put forward with specific regard to literature were adopted in the arts in general. 166 Anthony Blunt, “Rationalist and Anti-Rationalist Art,” in Left Review vol. 2 no. 10 (July 1936). Cited by Miranda Carter, Anthony Blunt—His Lives, pp. 148–149. Jack Chen would later contribute “Modern Chinese Pictorial Art” to Left Review (November 1937): p. 576 and other articles in December 1937 and January 1938. 206 CHAPTER 5 propaganda.”167 By 1937 many similarities between the writings of Blunt and Chen can be seen, in their mutual preoccupation with left-wing politics, realism in art, and their dislike for many of the modern schools of art. Jack Chen was constantly expressing his dislike of the “isms” of modern art and Blunt’s statement about Surrealism could easily have been made by Chen and is even written in a style not dissimilar to his. However, Chen’s dislike of Surrealism is far more extreme than Blunt’s who at least saw it as having performed, “a useful function in denying and to some extent destroying certain false standards which needed destroying.”168 Blunt was never as intolerant as Chen about modern art and indeed was a great supporter of Picasso’s work, for example in his review of the exhibition at the Zwemmer Art Gallery in London in which he saw a large-scale etching by Picasso, describing it as, “. . . a single exhibit which was enough to make the show important . . .” Here Blunt describes Picasso as having “at last appeared as a full-blown Superrealist,” showing that his own ideas concerning the pros and cons of surrealism were certainly nuanced and multi-faceted.169 In April 1937 Blunt was offered posts at the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Warburg Institute and began work as general editor of the latter’s publications in September of that year.170 Shortly before Chen’s exhibition in November, Blunt wrote an article about what he saw as a new school of realism with the painter William Coldstream (1908–1987) at its figurehead.171 This would have appealed greatly to Chen who was attempting to propagate similar ideas amongst artists in China. The brochure Five Thousand Years Young which Chen compiled to accompany the London exhibition was described by Blunt as “admirable” (fig. 5.3).172 Blunt was well aware of the ideologies which lay behind the work of the Chinese artists as they had much in common with the precepts of Socialist Realism of which he was an advocate. He saw it as a new form of Chinese art, displaying a reversal of the East-West borrowing of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which had culminated in the work of the French Impressionists. In fact, as briefly discussed in Chapter Four, the Impressionists were more directly

167 Anthony Blunt, “Rationalist and Anti-Rationalist Art,” in Left Review, pp. iv–vi. 168 Ibid., vi. 169 Anthony Blunt, “East and West,” in The Spectator (3 January 1936): p. 19. 170 Carter, Anthony Blunt—His Lives, p. 209. 171 Ibid., pp. 221–225. 172 Jack Chen, Five Thousand Years Young—Modern Chinese Drawings and Woodcuts (London: Lawrence and Wishart, [1937]). Chen is only credited as editor of this pamphlet although he is most certainly the author of the whole text. Jack Chen In China 207

Figure 5.3 Jack Chen, front cover of the brochure, Five Thousand Years Young-Modern Chinese Drawings and Woodcuts (London: Lawrence and Wishart, [1937]). Reprinted with permission of the publishers, Lawrence and Wishart. Collection of the author. 208 CHAPTER 5 influenced by the art of Japan than China. The borrowing from the West which Blunt recognised in the Chinese material displayed in Chen’s exhibition was the result of a period of assimilation that had taken place in China since the early years of the twentieth century. Blunt had read in Chen’s pamphlet that “in the earlier years of the revolutionary movement the artists who worked for it tried their hand at the various forms of Expressionism current in Europe.” This is of course a reflection of Chen’s own version of events and does not necessarily reflect the reality of the situation. It has been demonstrated in earlier chapters that these various forms of “expressionism,” by which Chen means forms of expression other than realism, including English Decadence, European Symbolism and Surrealism, had been widely utilized by the Chinese artists and continued to be used by many. Blunt recognised that the styles shown in the exhibition had evolved into a form of realism which included “elements of Oriental art” but was stylistically largely Western. Blunt was one of the few critics who recognized elements in the exhibits which marked them as being specifically “Eastern,” despite the similarity he found between them and the art of the Soviet Union, “. . . the revolutionary ideas which they are trying to express are the same as those which the Russians have tried to express in their art.” Furthermore, because the ideas of the revolutionary artist, as both Blunt and Chen understood them, must accord with those expounded by the Soviets it was “almost inevitable that they should seek the sort of artistic language used in Soviet art.” Blunt recognised the woodcuts as being close to Soviet models but described the drawings as being “much grander,” reserving his greatest praise for them. One drawing singled out for special praise by Blunt was Hu Kao’s Refugees which he likened to “stills from the best Russian films.” This drawing was considered by a number of other reviewers to be particularly outstanding (see Chapter Seven pp. 295–297). However, it was for Chen’s work that Blunt reserved his greatest praise, “. . . most impressive of all are certain heads by Jack Chen who seems to have arrived by his own route at the position of artists like Rivera and Orozco, and to be capable not only of realism but of heroic realism, a form of art to which revolutionary movements in Europe have hardly led yet.” As previously, mentioned Diego Rivera had already become well known in China, particularly among those Chinese artists who were looking for a new form of realism. In his critique Blunt praises Chen’s work in terms which Chen would have found most appealing. Blunt was a great supporter of the work of Diego Rivera and the other Mexican Muralists and in January 1935 had already produced the first of three pieces he would write on the Mexican artist.173 Later in 1938, he would give a lecture on Rivera’s work at the Conway

173 Carter, Anthony Blunt—His Lives, p. 129. Jack Chen In China 209

Hall in London. Blunt was also a supporter of a one-time associate and pupil of Rivera, Jack Hastings (1901–90),174 who he had declared in a review of 1936 could become the English Rivera, “not in the sense of the English follower, but the English equivalent.”175 Blunt continued to support Hastings’ work and in response to the mounting of a one man exhibition in 1937 declared, “Since the works of Diego Rivera are not to be seen in England, except in reproductions, those who deny the possibility of Socialist Realism in painting should visit the exhibition which Lord Hastings is holding at the Lefèvre Gallery . . .”176 Hastings would later be represented in Chen’s 1938 travelling exhibitions by a drawing entitled Spanish Girl that was described in a review as “a sketch in exquisite lines.”177 Chen’s “heads” so admired by Blunt featured widely in his travelling exhibitions. A notable example is the portrait of a “Woman Volunteer” which appeared in Five Thousand Years Young and was shown in the London Exhibition of November 1937 (Fig. 5.4).178

174 Francis John Clarence Westenra Plantagenet Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon. 175 Anthony Blunt, “A Socialist Decorator,” in The Spectator (18 December 1936): p. 16. 176 Anthony Blunt, “Lord Hastings at the Lèfevre Galleries,” in Left Review vol. 2 no. 16 (January 1937): p. 898. One of the few surviving murals (or “Frescoes”) by Hastings can be found in the Marx Memorial Library, London. In the 1980s, when Robert Radford wrote his book on the Artists’ International Association, it was hidden behind bookshelves (Radford p. 76). It has now been fully restored and takes pride of place in the library. 177 Yeh Ch’iu-yuan, “The International Exhibition in Hong Kong,” in the Far Eastern Mirror vol. 1 no. 7 (10 June 1938): pp. 3–4. 178 “Woman Volunteer” was reproduced on one of at least two undated Christmas cards produced by the CCC in the form of postcards. An appropriated message printed on the reverse of the card is from Chiang Kai-shek, “We must fight to the bitter end . . . The more numerous the obstacles we encounter, the richer will be the harvest of victory.” A print by the woodcut artist Li Hua 李樺 (1907–1994) appears on another card in the same series under the title “Shanghai Worker Volunteer.” This is attributed (apparently by Chen) to one “Chieh Tao” but on the original print (currently in the collection of the British Museum) two inscriptions appear, one on the mounting in pen, which gives the same information as that on the card (with the addition of the place name Guangzhou) and the other on the body of the print which shows in pencil the signature of Li Hua together with the Chinese title Yiyong jun 義勇軍 [Volunteer Army] BM 2009, 3022. 50. On the reverse of this card are printed the words “To Save China is to Save World Peace. You and we shall fight together for China’s freedom and equality and for universal peace and happiness. Mao Tse-Tung [Mao Zedong].” On both cards there is an appeal for funds to send money to the CCC. Although “Woman Volunteer” was widely used by Chen to publicize his exhibition in 1937 (suggesting a likely year for distribution for both cards), from an additional appeal on the Li Hua card to “Give to the International Peace Hospital,” it would seem that the printing and distribution date should be Christmas 1938. According to Arthur Clegg, the campaign to fund the International Peace Hospital (assisting the work in China 210 CHAPTER 5

Figure 5.4 Jack Chen, Woman Volunteer. Christmas card published by the China Campaign Committee. With permission of Mrs Yuan-tsung Chen. Collection of the author. Jack Chen In China 211

When the exhibition reached the USA a few weeks later, a “head” appeared with three other drawings by Chen, two by Hu Kao and two woodcuts, as illustrations to an article by Lin Yutang in the supplement of the New York Times. These drawings had been supplied to the publishers by the ACA galleries, the exhibition venue, and appeared alongside Lin Yutang’s article.179 Perhaps surprisingly, Lin’s text does not refer to them in any way and there is nothing to suggest that he was even aware of the artwork, or the existence of the New York exhibition before, or after, the writing of the article.180 A review of the same exhibition in Life magazine though, described the exhibits as “propaganda art. . . . far above most Western work in wartime” and one of the heads that had been singled out by Anthony Blunt appeared as an illustration with the caption, “Head with bul- let of an 18-year-old Peiping girl executed by the anti-Japanese agitation . . .”181 Elizabeth McCausland (1899–1965), who in February 1938 would write a review of the exhibition for the mainstream art journal Parnassus had already written an article for the left-wing magazine New Masses under her pen name Elizabeth Noble. In the latter she praises the ACA exhibition as “a pioneer exhibition, the first of its sort ever to be held in the United States,” seeing the varied exhibits as “aesthetically absorbing” and declaring them to have “the familiar visage of the old convention, but a face transformed by the new light of hope.”182 Chen wrote his own article about “Chinese Modern Art” for China Today, and another, by Jerome Klein, art critic and member of the left-wing American

of the Canadian doctor Norman Bethune) did not begin until April 1938 (Clegg, p. 66). To give further credence to 1938 as the year of distribution, we can see from the address printed on the postcards that by this time the CCC had moved from its shared offices in Victoria Street to an address in Orchard Street, a move which did not occur until early 1938 (Clegg pp. 55–56). 179 Lin Yutang, “A Chinese Views the Future-Lin Yutang Predicts that [sic] will Emerge from the War,” in New York Times Magazine, (30 January 1938): pp. 6–8 and p. 27 with 8 illustrations. My thanks to Professor Tom Wolf of Bard College for kindly supplying me with a copy of this article. 180 Several of the images in the New York Times had been reproduced elsewhere as representative works of the exhibition, including Hu Kao’s Farmer and his Refugees, both of which had appeared in the pamphlet Five Thousand Years Young. 181 Life (17 January 1938): pp. 50–51. Examples of Chen’s work were likened by the anonymous writer of the Life article to the cartoons of Daniel R. Fitzpatrick due to their “emotion pathos and dignity.” 182 Elizabeth McCausland, review in Parnassus vol. 10 no. 2 (February 1938): p. 28 and Elizabeth Noble (penname of Elizabeth McCausland), “Contemporary Chinese Graphic Art,” in New Masses vol. 26 no. 5 (25 January 1938): pp. 26–28. See also Helen Langa, Radical Art: Printmaking and the Left in 1930s New York (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), notes p. 238. 212 CHAPTER 5

Artists’ Congress, appeared alongside it. In his article Klein describes Chen as being “easily the most experienced and versatile” of the artists in the exhibition, although it should be remembered that amongst the exhibits was the work of Ye Qianyu, Zhang Guangyu and other well established Chinese artists.183 New Masses mentions the ACA Gallery exhibition on a number of occasions and reports that at its opening, on 9 January, Chen gave a talk on “Modern Chinese Culture.”184 At the end of the month it was Sylvia Chen’s turn. She gave what was to be her first dance recital in the USA, at the Windsor Theatre, New York, again with the sponsorship of the American Friends of the Chinese People.185 After New York, Jack Chen took his exhibition on tour around the USA, showing it in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Berkeley, California. In March he returned to New York and it was displayed at the Chinese Art Club at 175 Canal Street, in the heart of Chinatown.186 Anthony Blunt and Jack Chen clearly thought along the same lines when it came to a quest for a realist art for the age. The “heroic realism” lauded by Blunt in his critique of Chen’s work was more specifically the Soviet, Socialist Realism they both admired. This form of art which according to Blunt “revolutionary movements in Europe have hardly led yet” was in fact just that propounded by the AIA, co-organisers of Chen’s exhibition and a group with which both Chen and Blunt were closely associated.187 The use of realism to promote Marxist ideologies was the raison d’être of the AIA who described themselves as “conservative in art, radical in politics.”188 The AIA, and the

183 Jack Chen, “Modern Chinese Art,” and Jerome Klein, “Review of Modern Chinese Art,” both in China Today vol. 4 no. 5 (February 1938): pp. 16–17. 184 New Masses (11 January 1938): p. 2. A reproduction of Chen’s “Chinese Woman Volunteer” appeared in New Masses vol. 26 no. 3 (18 January 1938): p. 24. Two other guests also spoke at the exhibition: photographer and member of the American Artists’ Congress, Margaret Bourke-White (1904–1971) and the Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988). The ACA exhibition (which ran from 9–22 January) and Chen’s talk are also both advertised in China Today. The sponsors of the exhibition are listed here as: The American Artists’ Congress, American Friends of the Chinese People, American Bureau for Medical Aid to China, the China Institute and The American Artists Union. China Today vol. 4 no. 4 (January 1938): p. 243. 185 The performance was advertised as being “For Medical Aid to Stricken China.” China Today vol. 4 no. 4 (January 1938): back cover. 186 Tom Wolf, “The Tip of the Iceberg: Early Asian American Artists in New York,” in Gordon Chang (ed.), Asian American Art: A History 1850–1970 (Stanford University Press: Stanford, 2008), pp. 83–110. 187 Blunt had been giving lectures for the AIA since April 1936. Carter, Anthony Blunt—His Lives, pp. 148–149. 188 Florence Spalding, British Art Since 1900 (London: Thames and Hudson, 1987), p. 124. Jack Chen In China 213

New York based American Friends of the Chinese People, would be largely responsible for the travelling exhibition which Jack Chen was to take back to China and Hong Kong in 1938. Chen’s subsequent movements in the Far East will be examined in Chapter Seven but first, in Chapter Six, Shanghai becomes the focus of attention once again. One of the most significant events for the Shanghai art world during the 1930s, now largely forgotten, was the First National Cartoon Exhibition which took place in November 1936. In the following chapter, the available information concerning this important event will be examined, to demonstrate how at this time art was becoming gradually more politically focused, as part of a widespread swing to the left amongst artists working in Shanghai. It will show how this political engagement manifested itself in the exhibition and how it was viewed in the associated articles and reports which appeared in the press at the time. CHAPTER 6 The First National Cartoon Exhibition

The First National Cartoon Exhibition (FNCE) opened in Shanghai on 4 November 1936, an event that was widely reported in both local Chinese and English-language newspapers. Most of the three hundred plus exhibits are now lost but many were reproduced in magazines and newspapers, notably in a special issue of the magazine Manhuajie published to coincide with the exhibition.1 Approximately ninety cartoons associated with the exhibition are reproduced in this issue, together with several informative articles written by the cartoonists themselves. Most of the popular cartoon artists of the time were involved with the exhibition as both exhibitors and organisers and were almost exclusively Chinese nationals; the work of longstanding foreign cartoonists resident in Shanghai, such as Sapajou and Friedrich Schiff (1908– 68) were not represented. It has been shown in Part One that ten years prior to the exhibition, with the formation of the Cartoon Society, the cartoonists had begun to play an important role in a vital modern art scene in Shanghai. A decade later, less than a year after the 1936 exhibition had come to an end, the same artists would be engaged in anti-Japanese war propaganda with the formation of the National Salvation Cartoon Propaganda Corps (NSCPC). They would never look back at their work of the 1920s and early 1930s and indeed, some would become somewhat ashamed of what they had produced in the early part of their careers. In the 1920s the predominant call among many artists in Shanghai had been for “art for art’s sake” but by 1936 it had become for “art for life’s sake.” Engagement with “pure art” had given way to ideas loosely based on the principles of Socialist Realism following a major trend in the Soviet Union which had adopted it as a central tenet of Communist party ideology. The conflict between “art for art’s sake” and “art for life’s sake” had earlier been part of the literary discourse of the 1920s and a major topic of argument between members of the Chuangzaoshe 創造社 (The Creation Society) and their adver-

1 In Shenbao it is reported that “more than 300” exhibits were on display. See Shenbao (3 November 1936): p. 11. The following day it is stated in the same newspaper that of the original seven hundred, only two hundred were selected for display, Shenbao (4 November 1936): p. 12. Lent claims that 600 cartoons were chosen from a sample of 2,000. John A. Lent and Xu Ying, “Cartooning and Wartime China: Part One—1931–1945” in IJOCA (Spring 2008): p. 88.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ��6 | doi ��.��63/9789004307940_008 The First National Cartoon Exhibition 215 saries in the Wenxue yanjiuhui 文學研究會 (The Literary Association).2 “Art for life’s sake” became the call of the woodcut movement which took inspiration from Lu Xun, “Father of the Woodcut.” Just weeks prior to the FNCE, the Second National Travelling Woodcut Exhibition had opened at the Baxianqiao YMCA3 with the full support of Lu Xun, only days before his death that October. The two exhibition venues, both on Thibet Road (Xizanglu), were separated by a distance of just a few hundred yards. The approach of the two artistic factions, cartoon and woodcut, had always been quite different. From the outset, the work of the woodcut artists had been politically driven. In contrast, many cartoonists during the late 1920s, although socially aware, were not politically active to anything like the same extent. By 1936 the move towards a politicization of the cartoon was well underway. Largely as a response to the encroachment of war, artists such as Cai Ruohong, Lu Zhixiang, Ding Cong and Zhang E, were now themselves looking to left- wing realist-inspired art. Left-wing ideals manifested themselves in the publishing world in Shanghai at the time, with the magazines of Zou Taofen and Jin Zhonghua such as Shenghuo xingqikan, Yongsheng and Shijie zhishi, where cartoons of an increasingly political nature appeared frequently. In 1936 Jack Chen arrived in China. As discussed in Chapter Five, Chen’s views on art followed the ideologies of Socialist Realism. His ideas were in accord with the left-wing political ideologies advocated by these Shanghai magazines and with those propounded by the individuals behind their publication. As mentioned in the previous chapter, Jin Zhonghua, in particular, was to be highly supportive of Chen’s work while he was in China and Chen’s cartoons would appear regularly in the publications with which Jin was connected. It was at this time, when an increasing number of cartoonists were beginning to look to a lead from Soviet Russia, or at least to a heightened engagement with left-wing ideology, that the FNCE was mounted.

A Suitable Venue: The Sun Company Building

On Friday 10 January 1936 a new department store opened in Shanghai.4 This was the Shanghai daxin gongsi baihuo shangdian 上海大新公司百貨商店

2 See Michel Hockx, “The Creation Society (1921–1930),” in Kirk A. Denton and Michel Hockx (eds.), Literary Societies of Republican China (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008), pp. 110–111. 3 The exhibition opened on 2 October 1936, see Liangyou huabao (October 1936): pp. 46–47. 4 Shenbao (10 January 1936): front page. 216 CHAPTER 6

(Shanghai Sun Company Department Store),5 known in English simply as The Sun Company (fig. 6.1). The company’s building, a magnificent “Art Deco” edifice, was built on the intersection of Thibet Road and Nanking Road (Nanjing Donglu) and can still be seen there to this day, having been renamed Shanghai di-yi baihuo shangdian 上海第一百貨商店 (Shanghai Number One Department Store) in 1953.6 The building’s facade has changed little since the 1930s but the interior is now almost entirely devoid of its original architectural features, only traces of which can still be seen in the rather tired and worn public stairways, rarely used by customers today.7 The owner of the Sun Company, Choy Chong 蔡昌 (Cai Chang, 1877–1953), had opened his first shop in Hong Kong in 1912 and by the 1920s had established two subsidiary branches in Guangzhou.8 The “Show Window of China,” as the new Sun Company Building was labelled,9 was the most recent addition to a group of department stores in Shanghai which occupied an area of prime real estate at the top of Nanking Road. These stores had been built largely with a Chinese clientele in mind. Sincere 先施 (Xianshi), Wing On 永安 (Yong’an) and Sun Sun 新新 (Xinxin) (which began trading in 1917, 1918 and 1926 respectively), had all been built by overseas Chinese. The Sun Company aimed to compete with these on equal terms. However, architecturally it was quite different, having more in common with the new buildings of the department stores, Whiteaway, Laidlaw and Co. and Hall and Holtz.10 These Western-style department stores had originally catered mainly for the foreign community but by 1936 an increasing number of “well-to-do Chinese” were reported to be frequenting the new Hall and Holtz building at 190–208 Bubbling Well Road (Nanjing Xilu).11 Whiteaway’s fine Art Deco structure can still be seen today at the intersection of Nanking Road and Honan Road. This is close by to where

5 This is the name as it appears in an artist’s impression of the building in an advertisement found in the North-China Daily News (10 January 1936): p. 6. 6 Yang Jiayou 杨嘉祐, Shanghai lao fangzi de gushi 上海老房子的故事 [“The Story of Shanghai Classic Houses [sic]”], (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 2006), p. 170. 7 On visiting the building in 2011 it was not possible to see behind the scenes in the office and warehouse areas. It is of course possible that such areas still retain some of the original features of the 1930s building. 8 Ibid. pp. 168–170. 9 Advertisement in the North-China Daily News (10 January 1936): p. 6. 10 For an artist’s impression of the Whiteaway building see the North-China Daily News (29 October 1933): p. 9. An advertisement for Hall and Holtz can be seen in the North- China Daily News (30 June 1935): p. 5. 11 North-China Herald (27 May 1936): p. 379. See also the North-China Daily News (30 June 1935): p. 5. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 217

Figure 6.1 Daxin gongsi 大新公司 (“The Sun Company Building”), Shanghai. Photograph taken by the author in 2011 looking west up Nanjing Donglu. In the background looms the rebuilt Xin shijie 新世界 (New World), one of several “entertainment resorts” formerly found in Shanghai. Collection of the author. 218 CHAPTER 6 the old Victorian-style Hall and Holtz building had stood before moving to its own new Art Deco home. The fashionable appearance of these Western department stores notwithstanding, the Sun Company Building was described in Shenbao at the time as, “Shanghai’s only modern, outstanding department store.”12 The Sun Company Building was widely considered to be the acme of Shanghai department stores. In addition to having six lifts, it had two state- of-the-art escalators, linking the ground floor to the second and third floors, built and installed by the American company Otis, the first department store in China to provide these facilities for its customers.13 It was also the first fully air conditioned department store in Shanghai.14 So popular was the new store that even before its opening the owners had decided to charge admission:

To avoid over-crowding and to ensure the ease and comfort of those who will visit us on opening day, we request that you purchase at the entrance a ticket costing 40 cents.15

This was no doubt a move to deter curious but undesirable onlookers. Once purchased, the ticket could be exchanged for goods in the shop. As with other department stores in Asia, the Sun Company Building was more than just a place to buy goods and provisions. It offered its customers a wide variety of entertainments. There was a nightclub, the Paradise Club, which took up the entire the fifth floor,16 a cinema, restaurants, a roof garden and in common with the other three major Chinese department stores, hotel accommodation.17

12 Shenbao (9 January 1936): p. 20. 13 The escalator could accommodate twenty-four persons at a time, move at a speed of 400 feet a minute and serve 4,000 persons per hour. See Liangyou huabao (October 1936): pp. 46–47. 14 Yang Jiayou, Shanghai laofangzi de gushi, p. 169. See also advertisement in the China Critic vol. 14 no. 8 (August 20 1936): p. 81, “Shanghai’s newest department store is air conditioned for your comfort.” 15 North-China Daily News (10 January 1936): p. 6. 16 Andrew David Field, Shanghai’s Dancing World: Cabaret Culture and Urban Politics, 1919– 1954 (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2001), pp. 106–117. 17 See Yu Dafu 郁達夫, “Xin sheng riji 新生日記 [New Life Diary],” in Yu Dafu zuopin xin bian 郁達夫作品新編 [A New Anthology of Works by Yu Dafu], p. 417. The new Hall and Holtz building also had fashionable modern flats for rent above the shop area. See the North-China Herald (27 May 1936): p. 379. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 219

On the fourth floor was a gallery which became an important venue for art exhibitions.18 The new department store was built in the heart of Shanghai’s entertainment district. Opposite, towards the west, stood the amusement centre Xin shijie 新世界 (The New World), itself facing diagonally, at a distance of a few hundred yards, another icon of the entertainment world, Da shijie 大世界 (The Great World). Close by was the famous Peking Opera venue, Tianchan wutai 天蟾舞台 (Tian Chan Theatre) on Foochow Road (Fuzhou Lu). This was Shanghai’s liveliest shopping district and the centre of many popular cultural pursuits, for both Westerners and Chinese. On Bubbling Well Road, close to the racecourse, dancing could be enjoyed at nightclubs and hotels such as the Park Hotel, opened in 1934 and at Victor Sassoon’s newly built Ciro’s club.19 The Da guangming da xiyuan 大光明大戲院 (“The Grand Theatre”), formally the Carlton Dance Hall, was also on Bubbling Well Road; a fine example of Shanghai’s modern “Art Deco” style cinemas. The centre of Shanghai’s publishing world was also close by, in an area that had become known as Wenhuajie 文化街 (Culture Street) during the early years of the New Culture Movement.20 The Independence Press, publishers of the newly vamped Shanghai manhua, was at 380 Foochow Road, and Modern Publications, which published Manhuajie, had only recently moved from 300 Foochow Road to Avenue Joffre in the French Concession. The offices of Shenbao were also close by, just down the road to the east at 24 Hankow Road (Hankou Lu), housed in a five-storey reinforced concrete structure built in 1918.21

18 For examples of other art exhibitions in the Sun Co. Building see “Nühuajia Zhou Lihua gezhan 女畫家周麗華個展 [One man [sic] show by the woman artist Zhou Lihua],” in Shenbao (12 November 1936): p. 13; “Another Art Show at Sun Company,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (14 November 1936): p. 2; and “Painting Exhibition Starts Today at Sun Company,” the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (1 December 1936): p. 2. Mention of an “Exhibition of Paintings and Sketches” by former member of the Storm Society Zhang Xian 張弦 (1893–1936), who had died earlier that year, is mentioned in Wen Yuanning, “Editorial Commentary” in T’ien Hsia Monthly: pp. 5–6. Two of Zhang Xian’s sketches are illustrated in the article. Zhang Xian is also known as Zhang Xuan. See Michael Sullivan, Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1996), p. 175. 19 Ciro’s was erected between May and November 1936. See Andrew David Field, Shanghai’s Dancing World, p. 104. 20 Christopher A. Reed, Gutenberg in Shanghai: Chinese Print Capitalism 1976–1937 (Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 2004), p. 207. 21 Now 309 Hankou Lu. Today the Shenbao newspaper offices are, amongst other things, two large restaurants. 220 CHAPTER 6

The four Chinese department stores which dominated the western end of Nanking Road were just a stone’s throw from where the Cartoon Society had first been established at the home of Ding Song on 8 December 1926. A decade later, in November 1936, the fourth floor art gallery of the highly fashionable Sun Company Building was chosen by the Shanghai’s cartoonists as the venue for the First National Cartoon Exhibition.

The Exhibition

On the evening of 3 November 1936, a preview of the FNCE was held for journalists and VIPs. After plying their guests with cake and coffee, members of the organizing committee, Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhengyu, Huang Yao, Ding Cong, Lu Shaofei and Wang Dunqing divided the guests into groups and guided them personally around the exhibition.22 According to a report in the China Press the evening was a great success, “If the reaction of the newspaper reporters who saw the comic drawings at a preview on Tuesday, is any criterion, the display is likely to draw much hilari- ous laughter from visitors . . .”23 The writer of this report was taken round the exhibition by Lu Shaofei who apparently told him that he considered the progress of the cartoon in China to have been slow, the result of “too many real- ists, moralists and worried parents . . . running wild.” The report continues by relating Lu Shaofei’s account of the history of the cartoon in China. This is very much narrated from Lu’s own personal perspective, although he certainly gives the impression that his opinions are those of the cartoon world in general (at least this is how it is reported by the anonymous critic). From what the journalist wrote, Lu’s explanation seems to concern the recent history of the cartoon, although it is clear that he must be referring to the early years of the art form with regard to the events leading up to the publication of Shanghai manhua in 1928. What Lu Shaofei cites as three abortive attempts at popularizing cartoons were all in fact his own creations; some of the most popular serialized cartoon strips to have appeared in the newspaper Shenbao: “Maolang yanshi” 毛郎艷史 (“The Love Adventures of Mao Lang”), “Tao Ge’er” 陶哥兒 (Brother

22 A photograph of some of the exhibitors including, Lu Shaofei, Huang Yao, Huang Miaozi and Zhang Zhengyu, together with Pan Gongzhan 潘公展 (1894 or 95–1975) (publisher and government minister, identified here as head of the Education Bureau), appeared in the pictorial supplement of Shenbao, Shenbao tuhua tekan 申報圖畫特刊 [“Shenbao Pictorial Supplement”], no. 277 (12 November 1936): p. 2. 23 China Press (5 November 1936): p. 9 and p. 16. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 221

Tao) and “Gaizao boshi” 改造博士 (Doctor Reconstruction), the first of which, according to Lu, “had to be killed by the publishers on the protests of the out- raged moralists.” As a history of the cartoon Lu’s account (as relayed by the China Press journalist) is far from accurate. In it he states that it was only as a result of the failures of these cartoon strips that cartoonists were able to “fight for their art by starting their own humorous magazine.” It is likely that here Lu is referring to Shanghai manhua, published almost a decade earlier although he could also feasibly be referring to Shidai manhua, the magazine launched in 1934 for which he acted as main editor. To Lu Shaofei it was the future that was most important, a new beginning was about to take place in the history of the cartoon and the FNCE was going to “form the wedge for pushing forward the art of cartooning and caricaturing in China.”24 A commemorative issue of Manhuajie was published on 5 November 1936 to coincide with the opening of the FNCE which had taken place the previous day, the editors of the magazine being named as Cao Hanmei and Wang Dunqing. More than ninety reproductions of the exhibits are presented in this issue, including many of those that were singled out for praise by critics. Seventeen of those listed are reproduced in full-colour, nine in “three-colour copperplate printing” and seventy-one as black-and-white prints.25 In addition to the cartoons, which were in the majority, the exhibition also included “decorative painting” (Zhuangshihua 裝飾畫), paper-cuts, montage, sketches and book illustrations. A number of lengthy articles written by the artists themselves also appear in the magazine, each taking a different angle on the exhibition as their theme.

News in the Shanghai Press

In addition to the essays in Manhuajie, several independent reviews and articles concerning the exhibition appeared in newspapers and magazines. One artist whose name is missing from the list of organizers and who did not supply such an article is Hu Kao. An article on the exhibition by him did appear in Shanghai manhua though. In this he mentions that he had not been involved in the organization of the exhibition and due to an apparent lack of enthusi- asm on his part, only supplied some rather “inferior” and out of date works as exhibits. It would seem from his article that he did not feel that the exhibition

24 China Press (5 November 1936): p. 9 and p. 16. 25 This list had also appeared in recent issues of Manhuajie and Lunyu, see for example Lunyu no. 99 (1 November 1936): unnumbered page. 222 CHAPTER 6 was political enough in its focus and in this he was in agreement with other politically driven critics, such as Jin Zhonghua, Liu Shi and Jack Chen.26 The first of many articles on the exhibition to appear in Shenbao was the preview published on 3 November.27 In this it states that the exhibitors had come from as far afield as Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Hankou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Hong Kong, the three Eastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, and from the North West. The same information is given in other reports, even after the organisers had admitted that the catchment area for exhibits was by no means so widespread. A review which followed in the same newspaper relates how the organisers, including Ye Qianyu, Zhang Guangyu and Lu Shaofei, had admitted that because the exhibition had been so hastily prepared, although it was advertised as a “National” event it had not been possible to “round up the whole gang at one fell swoop.”28 Consequently the national exhibition was not so “National” after all. An article by Jin Zhonghua, writing under the pen name Meng Ru, also points to this as being the case. He quotes Ye Qianyu as having said that the exhibits had come from almost all provinces but the majority by far were from Shanghai, followed by those from Nanjing, Guangdong and Beijing, with very few from the “interior provinces.”29 In Shenbao, two writers, Xu Ji 徐疾 (dates unknown) and Liu Shi 劉獅 (1910– 1997), single out the work of specific artists as worthy of mention, notably that of Zhang Guangyu. One of Zhang’s designs, Manhuahui kaimu 漫畫會開幕 (The Opening of the Cartoon Exhibition), served as the front cover design for the special issue of Manhuajie (this will be discussed in detail below).30 On the inside page was Zhang Wenyuan’s 張文元 Da guanyuan 大觀圖 (Prospect Garden). This large full-colour work was given special mention by a number of critics and a reproduction of it also appeared in Liangyou.31 Other

26 Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 27 Shenbao (3 November 1936): p. 11. 28 Liu Shi 劉獅, “Quanguo manhua ping 全國漫畫評 [A Critique of the National Manhua Exhibition],” in Shenbao (10 November 1936): p. 18. 29 Meng Ru [Jin Zhonghua], “Kan Manhua ji 看漫畫記 [A Record of Viewing Cartoons],” in Shenghuo xingqikan vol. 1 no. 24 (15 November 1936): p. 324. 30 Xu Ji, “Di-yi jie quanguo manhua zhanlan guan hougan 第一屆全國漫畫展覽觀後感 [Feelings after Viewing the First National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shenbao (12 November 1936): Shanghai supplement, p. 2 and Liu Shi, “Quanguo manhua ping [A Critique of the National Manhua Exhibition],” in Shenbao (10 November 1936): p. 18. 31 Liangyou, no. 122 (November 1936): pp. 54–56. A full-page spread also appeared in the magazine Meishu shenghuo: “Quanguo manhua zhanlanhui chupin zhi yi bu 全國漫畫展覽會出品之一部 [Some of the Exhibits at the National Cartoon The First National Cartoon Exhibition 223

Figure 6.2 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Si da tianwang 四大天王 (The Four Great Heavenly Kings), in Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”) no. 1 (20 May 1934), unnumbered pages. notable cartoons in the Liangyou article were a portrait of Zhang Guangyu by Ye Qianyu; Lupo kongchengji 戮破空城計 (Destroying the Stratagem of the Empty City) by Huang Yao; Lu Xun xiansheng 魯迅先生 ([Our Teacher] Lu Xun) by Lu Shaofei and on the following page Zongjiao 宗教 (Religion) by Hu Kao. A striking caricature by Zhang Guangyu Si da tianwang 四大天王 (The Four Great Heavenly Kings) shows a group portrait of Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini and Roosevelt and demonstrates a clear debt to Miguel Covarrubias’s “Impossible Interviews” and other caricatures in Vanity Fair (fig. 6.2).32 Ye Qianyu also contributed a number of notable works to the exhibition, several of which were singled out for mention in an article by Jin Zhonghua.

Exhibition],” in Meishu shenghuo 美術生活 [“The Arts and Life”] no. 33 (December 1936): unnumbered pages. 32 This first appeared in Wanxiang no. 1 (20 May 1934): unnumbered pages. It was introduced to a Western audience (apparently by Jack Chen) in the pictorial spread “Chinese Cartoons,” in Asia vol. 37 no. 12 (December 1937): p. 835. Here Zhang Guangyu’s caricature appears together with one by Liao Bingxiong entitled “Imperialism.” This work also shows a marked debt to Covarrubias’s work in Vanity Fair. As with several other cartoons by Liao, the debt to Covarrubias can be seen in the facial features of the figures depicted, particularly in the drawing of the eyes. 224 CHAPTER 6

Special mention of Ye’s work is also made in the reviews by Xu Ji, Liu Shi, Chen Baoyi 陳抱一 (1893–1945) and Jack Chen. Two cartoons from the exhibition are reproduced as illustrations for Jin Zhonghua’s article, Lu Zhixiang’s Buneng shenghuo de shenghuo 不能生活的生活 (The Life that Cannot be Lived) and a cartoon by Jack Chen which would later appear in Jin’s magazine Shijie zhishi. Jack Chen was the only non-Chinese national to have his work exhibited at the FNCE.

Jack Chen: The Only Foreign Exhibitor

Although considered to be worthy of mention by a number of critics, neither Jack Chen nor his work is listed in the official publicity for the exhibition, nor do any of his caricatures appear in the special edition of Manhuajie. Be that as it may, at least four important figures in the Shanghai art and publishing world mention Chen’s contribution to the exhibition in glowing terms. These were Liu Shi, nephew of the famous painter Liu Haisu and a well-known painter in his own right; the painter, Chen Baoyi;33 Jack Chen’s constant champion, Jin Zhonghua; and Hu Kao, who had first made Chen’s acquaintance at the exhibition.34 Examples of the type of work that Chen would have shown at the exhibition appear in a number of magazines of the time, notably in Shenghuo xingqikan, for example the front cover illustration published for the mid-October issue.35 This black-and-white drawing, as mentioned in the previous chapter, would appear in several publications including New Masses and Life magazines in America. It is drawn in a style reminiscent of the American artists Fred Ellis and William Gropper, a style that by now had also been adopted by Cai Ruohong, Chen’s colleague on Shenghuo xingqikan. Liu Shi begins his article with a general statement to the effect that although the history of the cartoon in China had been short, what had been produced during the time of its existence should be seen as a major achievement.36

33 Chen Baoyi 陳包一, “Canguan manhua zhanlan de ganxiang 參觀漫畫展覽後的感想 [Impressions after Visiting the Cartoon Exhibition],” in Libao (“Lih Pao”) 立報 (9 November 1936): p. 2. 34 Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 35 Shenghuo xingqikan (11 October 1936): front page. It also appeared in “Young China Cartoons its Conquest,” in Life vol. 4 no. 3 (17 January 1938): p. 50 and New Masses vol. 22 no. 7 (9 February 1937). 36 Liu Shi, Shenbao, p. 18. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 225

He considered that the political situation at the time demanded a rethinking of both the form and content of the cartoon. Cartoons that were “. . . intoxicat- ing, brightly coloured, sensual and those that are inanely humorous, can no longer be tolerated.”37 According to Liu, cartoons should now serve a political purpose, an observation that was increasingly being made in Shanghai’s art world and a view that Jack Chen had propounded since his arrival in China earlier that year. In Liu Shi, Chen had found a champion. In fact, Liu’s article is somewhat reminiscent of Chen’s own writings, in both tone and style. According to Liu, all cartoons must express contemporary worldwide ideologi- cal trends and lay bare the dark side of modern society, they should “shoulder [the responsibilities] that must be shouldered,” grasp hold of and influence the way that society thinks, so as to improve social customs and establish a humorous and satirical cartooning style of powerful youthful determination.38 Liu Shi considered the cartoons of Jack Chen to be capable of doing this. Liu was already well-known to Jack Chen, who had mentioned him in an article written for T’ien Hsia Monthly in which he gives him a rather backhanded comple- ment: “Many artists have taken on the old Chinese tradition of copying first one and then another Western master so that it is impossible to say what their own style really is. And yet it is obvious that these painters are not lacking in talent.” Chen identifies Liu Shi as being one of these artists and singles him out as having “an uncommon sense of colour.”39 However, the sense of colour that Chen recognised in Liu’s painting had apparently by now become of little worth, even in Liu’s own view. With regard to Chen’s work Liu opines:

There are no beautiful colours used in these pictures but they are able to grasp the viewer’s attention, making one want to look at them again and again. It is certainly possible to view them one hundred times without fear of getting bored . . . To be sure there are those who say with regard to cartoons that provided there is political ideology there is no need for technique. Quite right, this writer would also agree. However, if as in the case of Mr. Chen, technique and ideology are both evident in equal measure is that not even better?40

37 Ibid. 38 Ibid. 39 Jack Chen, “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art,” p. 42. This is the article that was written in 1936 but not published until January 1937. It is also possible that Chen’s comments were written after the event. 40 Liu Shi, p. 18. 226 CHAPTER 6

A simplicity of approach in Chen’s work is noted by Jin Zhonghua, who mentions that in Chen’s studio there were only the bare essentials needed for drawing and sketching: a wax crayon, a pencil and an artist’s brush41 and indeed his oeuvre from this period is predominantly made up of monochrome drawings and sketches. This was also noted by Hu Kao, who had been particularly struck by Chen’s works in the exhibition, describing them as black-and-white drawings with a “tendency towards social satire.” Hu Kao first met Chen at the exhibition and was clearly taken with him, both as an individual, describing him as “very interesting” and as an enthusiastic artist who produced politically progressive work. He was surprised that, as a foreigner, Chen was able to reflect so well the situation in China and saw in his work a clear political standpoint, one that he felt could be adopted by Chinese artists. Hu Kao clearly considered the cartoon exhibition to be weak from a political perspective and expressed the hope that Chen would be able to act as guide, giving inspiration to the artists of the cartoon circle and introducing them to some “new theories.” Hu mentions that prior to writing his article for Shanghai manhua he had written another for Da wanbao 大晚報 (The China Evening News) in which he had called for the exhibits in the cartoon exhibition to emphasize a call for “National Salvation” at a time of impending war.42

Portraiture: A Genre for Political Persuasion?

In his article in Shenbao, Liu Shi argues that it is not possible to express political ideologies through portraiture.43 This is despite the fact that he had made positive comments about the cartoon portraiture of Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhengyu and Ye Qianyu.44 The production of caricature portraits, particularly of the head of a subject, had been popular in China from at least the time of the early issues of Shanghai manhua in 1928. Zhang Zhenyu had made this his

41 Meng Ru [Jin Zhonghua], “A Record of Viewing Cartoons,” p. 325. 42 Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 43 Liu Shi, p. 18. 44 Examples of this type in Manhuajie include: a caricature of Lu Zhixiang painted in full colour by Zhang Guangyu, Ye Qianyu depicted by Liang Baibo, and Sheng Gongmu 盛公木 (Te Wei) by Huang Miaozi. Manhuajie no. 7 (October 1936): unnumbered pages. Sheng Gongmu was the pen name of 盛松 Sheng Song, who, as a cartoonist would later be known as Te Wei 特偉 (see Chapter Seven). The First National Cartoon Exhibition 227 speciality, having been inspired by the models of the Italian, Paolo Garretto.45 Garretto had already made a name for himself prior to his adoption by the Condé Nast publishing company as one of the major contributors to Vanity Fair in April 193146 and his head portraits had appeared in several magazines, notably the English magazine The Graphic. Two examples of Garretto’s pre- Vanity Fair work make a surprise appearance in Shanghai manhua in 1928. One of these carries the caption, “This cubist [sic] portrait of Douglas Fairbanks by the Italian artist Garretto uses the simplest of pen strokes, and displays the characteristics of the artiste absolutely.” The other, of the Polish film star Pola Negri (1896–1987), appears in August of that year.47 These are two unique examples of cartoons in Shanghai manhua not produced by the regular contributing artists, all of whom were Chinese.48 Subsequent examples of this genre to appear in the magazine are mostly by Zhang Zhenyu but show a clear debt to the caricatures of Garretto. A head portrait by Zhang, again of Douglas Fairbanks, appears towards the end of the magazine’s run.49 This example, one of many portraits of Hollywood film stars in Shanghai manhua, shows a freer hand, somewhat different to Garretto’s characteristically precise, geometric style, but still showing a debt to the Italian’s work. Liu Shi’s view, that political ideologies cannot be expressed through portraiture, was not shared by all. Ma Guoliang, one of the main editors of Liangyou, recalled in his memoirs a group of published portraits that had been confiscated by the Nationalist government due to what they had deemed to be their politically charged content. He wrote:

Before liberation cartoon portraits could be seen everywhere and were as “common as hot dinners.” From the renowned cartoonist, the late Huang Wennong, to the many elder statesmen of cartoons still with us today, all have been experts in this medium. At the time [1934] the vast majority of cartoon portraiture was of famous military figures and politicians, film stars and sports personalities. I remember one year in Liangyou, four

45 An early example of this style of portraiture in Vanity Fair, inscribed “1928,” shows the head of Zhang Xueliang (Chang Hsueh-liang), in George E. Sokolsky, “Manchuria a Tragedy of Errors,” in Vanity Fair vol. 38 no. 2 (April 1932): p. 45 and p. 74. 46 See for example, Paolo Garretto President Hoover, in Vanity Fair vol. 36, no. 2 (April 1931): p. 40. 47 Portrait of Pola Negri in Shanghai manhua no. 17 (11 August 1928): p. 5. 48 Garretto, Portrait of Douglas Fairbanks, in Shanghai manhua no. 3 (5 May 1928): p. 8. 49 Zhang Zhenyu, Portrait of Douglas Fairbanks, in Shanghai manhua no. 95 (22 February 1929): p. 4. 228 CHAPTER 6

exquisite full-colour cartoon portraits were published (unless I’m very much mistaken drawn by Hu Kao) using the technique of the “personifi- cation of objects.”50

In fact, Ma Guoliang’s memory has failed him here. The portraits in question were not by Hu Kao at all but by Zhang Bailu 張白鷺 (dates unknown), an artist who had earlier contributed to the magazine Linglong and was now a regular contributor to Liangyou.51 Ma should be forgiven for his misattribu- tion, as Zhang’s work in Liangyou is most certainly derivative, taking its lead from the work of both Zhang Guangyu and Hu Kao. Although Ma Guoliang remembered these caricatures favourably after so many years, Zhang Bailu’s caricatures seem not to have been widely appreciated amongst the cartoonists themselves, Wang Zimei describing them as reaching only the required standard of technique and no more.52 Ma Guoliang can be further forgiven for his error in identification as two caricatures of very much the same type by Hu Kao had indeed appeared in an issue of Liangyou shortly before the publication of Zhang Bailu’s.53 These formed part of an eight caricature group “Dangshi zhi xiong” 當世之雄 (Heroes of Our Time).54 Although misattributed, Ma correctly identified the subjects of Zhang Bailu’s caricatures as Chiang Kai- shek in the form of a bomb, T.V. Soong (Song Ziwen 宋子文 (1894–1971)) as a silver ingot, Yu Youren 于右任 (1879–1964) as a gigantic writing brush, and the Panchen Lama as a carved wooden Buddha. Ma Guoliang continues on the subject of the banning of these images: “after they were published, some of the copies that had been sent out by mail were confiscated by the Nationalist Government and the two pages removed from the magazine . . .”55 Clearly these portraits had been seen to be sufficiently politically charged to have provoked such a strong response from the government. Zhang Zhenyu’s

50 Ma Guoliang 马国亮, “Qieshuo manhua renxiang 且说漫画人像 [On Manhua Portraits],” in Yiyuan fengqing 艺苑风情 [Feelings on the Realms of Art and Literature], pp. 89–91. 51 For cartoons by Zhang Hualu in Linglong 玲瓏 see “Chinese Women’s Magazines in the late Qing and Early Republican Period.” http://womag.uni-hd.de/public/browse/people_ detail.php?person_id=3729 52 Wang Zimei, “The Evolution and Future of Chinese Cartoons,” p. 267. 53 Liangyou huabao no. 89 (15 June 1934): unnumbered page between p. 18 and p. 19. 54 Zhang Guangyu (ed.), Wanxiang no. 3 (June 1935): unnumbered page. 55 Ma Guoliang, “On Manhua Portraits.” Despite the ban, the page in question does appear in the modern reprint. See Liangyou hedingben (1926–1945) [A Compilation of the Companion Pictorial (1926–1945)]. Liangyou no. 98 (15 November 1934): unnumbered page between pages 14 and 15. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 229 portraits of political figures inspired by Garretto also serve to refute Liu’s argument that portraits are not capable of expressing political ideologies. In this case though, it should be pointed out that, at the time, this type of cartoon was still very much in the vein of those found in American magazines such as Vanity Fair. He is certainly poking fun at political figures of the time, but not in the way that was increasingly to be adopted by artists as the threat of war approached. It is highly unlikely that Zhang Zhenyu would have been so keen on Garretto’s work if he had known that as a young man he had been a member of the Fascist party with personal connections to Mussolini.56 By the 1930s, Garretto was to play down his brief involvement with the Fascists and became a regular contributor to Vanity Fair, his works appearing alongside artists with distinct left-wing sympathies such as Miguel Covarrubias and William Gropper. Despite his close working relationship with these artists his dubious background was certainly known to the publishers of Vanity Fair, as a short article about him entitled “Fascist Artist,” appeared in the magazine in 1934.57 Portraits of political figures had been serving as manifestations of political beliefs for a number of years. Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin all made their portraits available for the adoration of their followers and indeed it is in China that hero worship of this type would reach its apogee with the adulation of Mao Zedong’s image later in the century. The portrait of Sun Yat-sen too, had been venerated in this way. The first images of Sun Yat-sen on postage stamps and coins had appeared in 1912 shortly after the founding of the Republic of China.58 In the early years of the Republic many figures in the competing military and political cliques had raised their personal profiles by having coins minted with their own heads prominently displayed on them.59 During the period of civil

56 Steven Heller, “Paolo Garretto: A Reconsideration,” in Print Magazine. http://www.heller books.com/pdfs/print_garretto.pdf 57 “Fascist Artist,” in Vanity Fair vol. 42 no. 6 (August 1934): p. 9. 58 Stanley Gibbons—Stamp Catalogue part 17, China (8th edition) (London and Ring‑ wood: Stanley Gibbons, 2011), p. 24. The first postage stamp with a portrait of Sun Yat-sen was issued on 14 December 1912. 59 Coins with the head of Li Yuanhong 黎元洪 (1864–1928), three times president of China, were minted by Wuchang mint in the first year of the Republic. Lu Rongting 陸榮廷 (1859–1928) Guangxi military governor and a member of the Old Guangxi Clique had a gold coin minted in 1916 when he assumed office. A commemorative coin, minted by Ni Sichong 倪嗣沖 (1868–1924) of the Anhui clique was produced at the Anqing mint in 1920. Duan Qirui 段祺瑞 (1865–1936), also of the Anhui clique, had a commemorative coin of the struck in Tianjin in 1924. A History of Chinese Currency (16th century BC—20th century AD) (Hong Kong: Xinhua (New China) Publishing House, NCN Ltd, M.A.O. Management Group Ltd., 1983), pp. 44–48. 230 CHAPTER 6 war (1946–49) images of Chiang Kai-shek appeared on postage stamps, as did those of Mao in the Communist-controlled areas.60 Perhaps Liu Shi is right to suggest that ideologies themselves cannot be expressed through portraiture but the principles behind the thought of political leaders would certainly be linked to their image in the eye of the viewer, negating the need for any overt declaration of concrete political dogma in textual form. Liu Shi, Hu Kao, Jack Chen and other contributors to the exhibition were among an increasing number of artists who believed that the main function of the cartoon should be to serve a political purpose. This view was to become prevalent in China during the war period and continued to be widespread after the founding of the PRC and into recent times. More recently, Xie Qizhang has clearly stated that he considers that the cartoon should be understood on two different levels, artistic and political, and of the two, the most important is its political function.61 Half a century earlier both Hu Kao and Liu Shi had seen a common fault with the exhibits shown at the FNCE, considering there to have been a lack of “progressive” works amongst them.62 Liu saw exhibits that were “devoid of meaning,” that utilized decorative elements in their design, as being in the majority. He expressed the hope that in the future these criticisms would be fully addressed with the mounting of a second National Cartoon Exhibition.

The Paintings of Hua Lu: Lacking a Political Message?

Jack Chen’s theories on art closely accord with those of Liu Shi. In his own review of the exhibition, Chen singles out the Cantonese artist Hua Lu 樺櫓 (dates unknown) as being influenced by “the latest isms” imported from Europe to Canton, describing him as a representative of the “formalistic left.” Chen is not alone in his criticism of this artist. Liu Shi and Jin Zhonghua, who both singled out Jack Chen as one of the most important contributors to the exhibition, also make a point of criticising Hua Lu. Jin Zhonghua visited

60 Stanley Gibbons—Stamp Catalogue part 17, China (8th edition). For postage stamps with the head of Sun Yat-sen see pp. 27–46. For stamps with the head of Chiang Kai-shek see p. 36. A stamp with the head of Mao Zedong first appeared in June 1948 issued by the West Henan Communication Administration, p. 53. 61 Xie Qizhang, Manhua manhua, p. 25. 62 Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages and Liu Shi, “Critique of the National Cartoon Exhibition,” p. 18. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 231 the exhibition in the company of Chen and wrote about his experiences in an article in Shenghuo xingqikan in which he relays Chen’s opinions:

Many of the exhibits make heavy use of colour, for example the paintings of Hua Lu. I have heard that there are many who praise this type of painting, but according to the opinion of Mr. Chen Yifan [Jack Chen] they are totally devoid of realism. Furthermore, they easily create illusions that deviate from reality which is most inappropriate.63

Liu Shi expressed a similar view, although he begins his own critique with a veiled praise for Lu’s work: “There are also several art cartoons by the renowned artist Hua Lu. The colour, line and composition used by him are extremely novel and show ‘a flavour of pure art’ and of ‘heaven-sent talent.’ ” By this, Liu is no doubt suggesting that Hua Lu’s work accords with the ideas of those who favour the approach of “art for art’s sake,” with a love of “pure art.” However, for Liu, Hua Lu’s work falls short when it comes to a political message: “. . . it is a pity that from the point of view of political ideology it is unsound.”64 Jack Chen believed Hua Lu to be in a minority among the cartoonists that exhibited at the exhibition, most of whom he considered to have shown a progressive approach in their work. Visually Hua Lu’s painting Roulin 蹂躪 (Ravage) is an example of all that Chen disliked in a work of art and clearly several artists and critics agreed with his view (fig. 6.3).65 However, the painter Chen Baoyi was not in agreement and ironically mentions favourably the works of Hua Lu and Jack Chen in the very same sentence.66 Chen Baoyi, who had trained in Japan and had made a name for himself painting in the Fauvist style, had been much admired by the Francophile literary group associated with Shao Xunmei: Fu Yanchang, Zhu Yingpeng and Zhang Ruogu and a review of Chen Baoyi’s exhibition from 1927 that appears in their Yishu san jia yan 藝術三家言 (Three Artists Speak on Art) had been praising of his abilities. It is noteworthy that the author of this review, while admiring Chen Baoyi’s oil paintings and those of Xu Dungu 許敦谷 (1892–1983), Guan Liang 關良 (1900 (or 1901)-86) and Song Zhiqin 宋志欽 (dates unknown), also praises the

63 Meng Ru [Jin Zhonghua], “A Record of Viewing Cartoons,” p. 324. 64 Liu Shi, “Critique of the National Cartoon Exhibition,” p. 18. 65 Hua Lu 樺櫓, Roulin 蹂躪 [Ravage], from Manhuajie 漫畫界 no. 7 (October 1936). Jack Chen, “Crisis Gives Impetus to Cartoons,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (9 November 1936): p. 1, section II. 66 Chen Baoyi, “Impressions after Visiting the Cartoon Exhibition,” in Libao (7 November 1936). 232 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.3 Hua Lu 樺櫓, Roulin 蹂躪 (Ravage), from Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no. 7 (October 1936). The First National Cartoon Exhibition 233

“sketches” of Lu Shaofei who now in 1936 was a central figure in the cartoon movement and an exhibitor and organiser of the FNCE.67 It has been mentioned that Chen Baoyi had even tried his hand at manhua himself and a full-colour design by him appeared on the back cover of Lu Shaofei’s Shidai manhua in April 1935 (fig. 6.4).68 The opinions of Jack Chen and his camp notwithstanding, from the point of view of subject matter, Hua Lu’s painting is certainly as politically focussed as Chen’s cartoons. At this time the term “Roulin,” the title of Hua’s painting, was commonly used to describe the ravages to which the country was being subjected by the Japanese and with this in mind, the image of two people in a forced embrace could be seen as representing the widespread Japanese atroci- ties already taking place in China. In the article written by Cao Hanmei for the commemorative issue of Manhuajie in which several of the exhibits from the FNCE are introduced, his view of Hua Lu’s work can be seen to be strikingly different to that of Jack Chen and his coterie, and clearly shows that the organisers of the exhibition were favourably impressed by his work: “Hua Liu [sic] is probably the artist who astonished us most; an artist unanimously admired and appreciated by everyone for his superlative technique.”69 Even bearing in mind the veiled praise Liu Shi had given to Hua’s work, this is certainly a rather different view to Chen’s. The word “everyone,” as used in the above passage, refers to all the organisers of the exhibition, i.e. Cao Hanmei and his brothers Zhang Guangyu and Zhang Zhengyu, as well as Ye Qianyu, Huang Miaozi, Wang Dunqing and almost all the major figures in the Shanghai cartoon world. Cao Hanmei continues his evaluation by expressing his approval, in no uncertain terms, for both the composition and execution of Hua’s paintings. He shows a clear admiration for Hua’s freedom of technique, exclaiming that it’s impossible to guess whether “the brush has led the mind or the mind has led the brush.” Although Jack Chen much admired the artwork of the organisers of the FNCE his own views on art clearly did not at all times accord with theirs.

67 Fu Yanchang 傅彥長, “Canguan Chen Baoyi jun huihua zhanlanhui 參觀陳抱一君繪畫展覽會 [On Visiting Mr. Chen Baoyi’s Painting Exhibition],” in Yishu san jia yan 藝術三家言 [Three Artists Speak on Art], pp. 178–180. 68 Chen Baoyi, Taohongse de xin youhuo 桃紅色的新誘惑 [The New Allure of Peach Colour], from Shidai manhua no.16 (20 April 1935): back cover. 69 Cao Hanmei 曹漢美, “Benjie ‘quanguo manhua zhanlanhui’ chupin wojian 本屆『全國漫畫展覽會』出品我見 [Exhibits Seen at the “National Cartoon Exhibition”], in Manhuajie no. 7 (5 November 1936): unnumbered page. 234 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.4 Chen Baoyi 陳抱一, Taohongse de xin youhuo 桃紅色的新誘惑 (The New Allure of Peach-red Colour), from Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 16 (20 April 1935), back cover. Modern Sketch (Shidai manhua); Colgate University Libraries Digital Collections, with permission. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 235

The period 1935 to 1936 can be seen as a turning point in the approach to art in Shanghai. Not all artists were taking steps towards a politicized art but the ideas advocated by Chen were soon to become widespread among the Chinese and would affect art in China for many decades to come. This was not necessarily due to anything Chen himself had done but was rather the result of the increasing adoption of aspects of the fledgling precepts of Socialist Realism, a characteristic Chinese version of which would later become Communist party doctrine following Mao Zedong’s Talks at the Yan’an Forum of Art and Literature in 1942.70 As late as 2006 Xie Qizhang, writing with regard to Cao Hanmei’s favourable critique and electing to speak on behalf of all twentieth-century viewers, proclaims: “Using the eye of the man of today, if one examines Roulin closely, it is not possible to reach the same conclusions as Cao Hanmei.”71 However, it is important that Hua’s painting should be judged not from an understanding of cartoon history in the light of received political dogma since the founding of the PRC, but rather from the standpoint of world art history as it stood in 1936. Hua Lu exhibited at least two paintings at the exhibition, Roulin and The Kiss (Chinese name unknown). Many months after the exhibition, in the Editorial Commentary to the January 1938 issue of T’ien Hsia, the Chief Editor of the magazine, Wen Yuanning 溫源寧 (1899–1984), is also admiring of Hua’s work. Wen saw his paintings as having shown particular merit amongst the exhibits at the exhibition:

Of the paintings, those of Hua-lo [Hua Lu], a young Cantonese artist, were easily the most outstanding. He is a serious artist who has a fine sense of colour. A Kiss proves this.72

Hua’s use of colour appears to be what critics found to be most striking about his paintings. It has been shown above that this was one of the main factors that the Chen coterie chose to criticise. Cao Hanmei on the other hand, shows his unabashed admiration for the “brazen use of colour” which he lightheart- edly suggests looks as if the artist has tipped pots of paint all over the canvas. Jack Chen and his admirers would have seen Hua’s use of colour as excessive. As mentioned, the vast majority, if not all, of Chen’s own cartoons from this

70 First published in 1943. Mao Tse-tung, Talks at the Yenan Forum of Art and Literature (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1956). 71 Xie Qizhang, Manhua manhua, p. 17. 72 Wen Yuanning, “Editorial Commentary,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly, vol. 6 no. 1 (January 1938), pp. 5–6. A reproduction of the painting accompanies the article. 236 CHAPTER 6 period are monochrome drawings, as too were many of the cartoons he and his friends most admired. It would appear that Hua Lu originally submitted more than two paintings for consideration to the FNCE and Cao Hanmei commented on these, “. . . painting after painting display an exceptional splendour, which amazes the viewer . . . [causing him to question] how he could ever have dreamed them up.” He relates how the selection committee had spent much time selecting Roulin from the many works the artist had submitted, all of which he describes poetically as “treasured things that are hard to put down.” It is not entirely clear from extant sources exactly how many works were submitted by Hua although it is certain from what both Liu Shi and Wen Yuanning say that two were selected for display.

Surrealism: Modern Art and the Manhua Artists

Jack Chen’s dislike of Hua Lu’s paintings is based on his intense hatred of what he calls the “isms” of European art, as expressed in several of his articles. If any of these “isms” can be used to describe Hua Lu’s Roulin then perhaps “surrealism” might be the most appropriate. Chen’s somewhat conservative views on art are based on his educational background in Moscow and the art theories with which he had engaged while in the Soviet Union. To him “Sur-realism” was nothing but “the art of the bourgeoisie” that had degenerated into “inchoate phantasmagorias.”73 As seen in Chapter Five, Chen was to write a letter to David Low in December 1936 in which he tells him: “On the cartoon front with the rest of my friends we carry out the attack against all the deadly ‘isms’.”74 The Storm Society and the Chinese Independent Art Association had both mounted exhibitions in 1935 and the exhibits displayed in these employed, amongst others, the “isms” of Fauvism, Post-Impressionism and Surrealism. These exhibitions may well have met with Chen’s disapproval. However, many of the Chinese cartoon artists who Chen so admired had much respect for the artists of the modern art world and indeed would have rightly considered themselves to be very much a part of it. Hua Lu’s Roulin would have been equally at home in an exhibition of modern art in Shanghai.

73 Jack Chen, “Towards a Modern Conception of Art,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 7 no. 4 (November 1938): p. 346. 74 Unpublished letter to David Low dated 22 December 1936. Gen MSS 96. Box 8 folder 405. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 237

It is difficult to point to direct equivalents of Hua’s paintings in European art but certainly there are elements in his painting that are reminiscent of the work of Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró (1893–1983). Roulin shows some resemblance to paintings by Miró from as early as 1925, as well as his “Dutch Interiors” series of 1928, his paintings on wood from 1932, and even his tapestry cartoons of 1934.75 However, the manner in which Roulin is painted should not be seen as Hua’s only style. Two equally colourful but far less modernist paintings had appeared in Manhuajie in June 193676 and a particularly striking image appeared on the back cover of Shidai manhua in late November, the same month as the FNCE took place (fig. 6.5).77 Contrary to what is often reported in the standard text books on modern Chinese art, it was not just artists from groups such as the Storm Society and the Chinese Independent Art Association such as Yang Taiyang 陽太陽 (1909– 2009) and Zhao Shou 趙獸 (1912–2003) who took inspiration from Surrealist styles. Many other artists in Shanghai were producing work under the influence of Surrealism, using visual elements as decorative features in their own work, from well-known paintings by artists who were to some extent associated with the surrealists, for example, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí and Giorgio Di Chirico. It would appear however that the theoretical foundations on which the Surrealist movement was based, for example the theories of André Breton as expressed in the Surrealist manifesto of 1924, were not generally adopted by these artists, despite the fact that a Chinese translation of the manifesto had already been made by Ni Yide. Reproductions of the work of the above artists, together with that of Paul Klee and Max Ernst, appeared in the October issue of Yifeng 藝風 (Art Trends) which was also largely devoted to an exhibition of Fauvist and Surrealist works mounted by the Chinese Independent Artists Association.78 The adoption of the visual world of Surrealism by so many artists in the art world in China has not been widely recognised by art historians and consequently has not found a place in the standard art history books. Neither does the subject of “Surrealism in China” fall within the remit of Ni Yide’s study of the different schools of modern art in Europe which appeared

75 For example Dutch interior (III) (1928), MoMA, New York, 1996.403.8 and Hirondelle Amour (1933–34), MoMA, New York, 723.1976. 76 Manhuajie no. 3 (1 June 1936): unnumbered pages. 77 Hua Lu 樺櫓, Tiaoqing 調情 [Flirtation], from Shidai manhua no. 26 (20 November 1936): back cover. 78 Yifeng 藝風 [Art Trends] was edited by Sun Fuxi 孫福熙 (1892–1962). See Michael Sullivan, Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China, p. 60. Six exhibits from the Independent Art Society exhibition can be seen in Liangyou huabao no. 111 (November 1935): p. 20. 238 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.5 Hua Lu 樺櫓, Tiaoqing 調情 (Flirtation), from Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 26 (20 November 1936), back cover. Modern Sketch (Shidai manhua); Colgate University Libraries Digital Collections, with permission. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 239 serially in Qingnianjie 青年界 (World of Youth) in 1936.79 This series of essays focuses on the history of the modern art schools in the West but does not discuss their application in the context of the Chinese art scene at the time. During the transitional period that was 1935/36, many works inspired by Surrealism, produced by artists now more commonly thought of as cartoonists, appeared in Chinese pictorial magazines. An illustration by Zhang Zhengyu appeared in the inaugural issue of the magazine Tiandiren 天地人 (Heaven- Earth-Man) accompanying a Surrealist poem Yibai ge yisheng 一百個醫生 (One Hundred Doctors) that had been written by one of the editors of the magazine, Xu Xu 徐訏 (1908–80) (fig. 6.6).80 In the following issue Sun Haoran 孫浩然 (dates unknown), better known for the cartoons he drew in Lunyu under the name Gu Ba 古巴, provided a non-figural surrealist illustration to the poem Kao 考 (The Examination) by Ye Zhicao 葉之操 (dates unknown).81 This shows a nod towards the chiaroscuro effects found in the work of the Italian Metaphysical painter Giorgio Di Chirico. Seven illustrations by Liang Baibo, drawn as illustrations to “Fengniao xiaojie biezhuan” 風嫋小姐別傳 (The Unofficial History of Miss Fengniao), a short story by Chen Liaoping 陳了平 (dates unknown), which appeared serially in Shidai huabao, show similarities in style to Hua Lu’s Roulin, as do her illustrations in Wenyi huabao for Mu Shiying’s “Tianshe fengjing 田舍風景” (Pastoral Scene) (fig. 6.7).82 Liang also produced surrealist illustrations for Shidai huabao to accompany the short story “Hongcai moyan” 虹彩膜炎 (Iritis) by Lin Weiyin who, as briefly mentioned in Chapter Two, had at one time been a member of Shao Xunmei’s literary salon.83 Surrealist styles were also used by Zhou Duo in Wenyi huabao to illustrate the curious modernist story “Di-san rijice shang de jimo” 第三日記冊上的寂寞 (Loneliness in the Diary on the Third Day) by Xu Chi as well as in a highly impressive full-colour work on the front cover of the magazine apparently

79 Ni Yide 倪貽德, “Xinxing huapai qianshi (shang) 新型畫派淺釋 (上) [Simple Explanations of the Schools of the New Art (part one)],” in Qingnianjie 青年界 [World of Youth] vol. 10 no. 3 [1936]: pp. 51–56. Ni had also written on the subject of surrealism three years earlier. See Ni Yide, “Chaoxianshizhuyi de huihua 超現實主義的繪畫 [Surrealist painting],” in Yishu 藝術 (January 1933): pp. 1–5. 80 Zhang Zhenyu, illustrations to “Yibai ge yisheng 一百個醫生 [One Hundred Doctors],” in Tiandiren 天地人 [Heaven-Earth-Man] inaugural issue (1 March 1936): p. 34. 81 Tiandiren no. 2 (16 March 1936): p. 45. 82 Shidai huabao vol. 7 no. 10 (16 March 1935); vol. 7 no. 11 (1 April 1935); and vol. 7 no. 12 (16 April 1935): unnumbered pages and Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 3 (15 February 1935): pp. 31–40. 83 Shidai huabao vol. 8 no. 12 (December 1935): unnumbered page. See Chapter Two p. 68. 240 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.6 Zhang Zhenyu 張振宇, Yibai ge yisheng 一百個醫生 (One Hundred Doctors), in Tiandiren 天地人 (Heaven-Earth-Man) inaugural issue (1 March 1936), p. 34. inspired by Miró, Picasso and Fernand Léger (1881–1955) (fig. 6.8).84 An example of Surrealist work of this type by Huang Miaozi can be found in Tiandiren in 1936. This shows similarities to both Liang Baibo’s work and to Zhou Duo’s drawings in a Miró-esque style but is also somewhat reminiscent of the melting objects as seen in Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory of 1931 (fig. 6.9).85 In Huang Miaozi’s black-and-white illustration, the archetypal images of Chinese landscape painting, mountains and water, are depicted together with references to music and song by the inclusion of scattered elements of musical notation, reflecting the content and title of the poem, “Ge” 歌 (Song). From these few examples it can be seen that, during the time

84 Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 2 (15 December 1934): pp. 28–30. Zhou Duo’s drawings are signed “Weito” on the front cover and “V” for the illustrations to Xu Chi’s story. 85 Tiandiren no. 6 (16 May 1936): p. 56. Salvador Dalí, La persistencia de la memoria [The Persistence of Memory] (1931), Museum of Modern Art New York. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 241

Figure 6.7 Liang Baibo 梁白波, illustration to the short story “Tianshe fengjing” 田舍風景 (Pastoral Scene) by Mu Shiying 穆時英, in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial) vol. 1 no. 3, pp. 31–40. Signed “Bon” (Liang Baibo). 242 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.8 Zhou Duo 周多, [untitled], in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial) vol. 1 no. 2, front cover. Signed “Weito” (Zhou Duo). leading up to the FNCE, drawing in Surrealist styles was widespread among manhua artists and was perhaps the result of a wider interest in Surrealism among artists in both the commercial and “fine art” worlds of Shanghai, which was in itself part of a general worldwide trend during the 1930s.86

86 For example the International Surrealist Exhibition held in London in June and July 1936. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 243

Figure 6.9 Huang Miaozi 黃苗子, Ge 歌 (Song), in Tiandiren 天地人 (Heaven-Earth-Man) no. 6 (16 May 1936), p. 56. Signed using Huang Miaozi’s characteristic deconstructed signature—“Miaozi.”

Cai Ruohong Remembers

In Chapter Five it has been shown how Cai Ruohong and his drawings in the “Grosz-style” played an important role in the increasing politicisation of the work of the manhua artists during the mid-1930s. After the founding of the PRC, Cai Ruohong would become an exponent of guohua painting but during the 1930s he had close personal connections with the Storm Society and was an important member of the Shanghai cartoon circle. In an article written in 1981 in the form of an open letter to his friend Yang Taiyang, who he had not seen since the 1930s, Cai Ruohong recalls the time they had spent together as students and artists in Shanghai.87 In the first half of this lengthy two-part letter he refers to this early period in his life, and in the second argues in favour of

87 “Qingchun langji, baishou huanxiang 青春浪跡，白首還鄉 [The Wanderings of Youth and the Homecoming in Old Age],” in Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹, Cai Ruohong meishu lunji 244 CHAPTER 6 the type of art he and Yang had both been producing since 1949. In this letter Cai recalls their involvement in the modern art scene half a century earlier as, “. . . the traces of our spiritual tour into the domain of Western art . . .”88 He recalls that he and Yang had shared a studio in which they had spent their time drawing sketches in the academic style.89 A year later they had “feverishly” adopted what he describes as the many styles of western modern art, working their way through Impressionism and Post-impression to arrive at Fauvism in the case of Cai Ruohong and for Yang Taiyang, Surrealism.90 Cai remembered the first exhibition of the Storm Society and a work exhibited by Yang described by him as “The gourd-shaped body of a woman set in a blue sky with white clouds.”91 This may in fact have been a painting that was exhibited at the Second of the Society’s annual exhibitions92 which appeared the following month in black-and-white full-page spreads in both Liangyou and Shidai huabao.93 This painting, Jingwu 靜物 (Still Life), by Yang Taiyang (“T.Y. Yen”) bears some resemblance to Cai Ruohong’s description, showing though, not a “gourd- shaped” body of a woman but a disembodied woman’s head from a Greco- Roman marble statue (perhaps this is a lapse of memory on Cai’s part due to the passing of time). This head, seemingly alive, has its eyes closed against the facing sun and is placed on a stone platform or table together with a bunch of grapes, three pears, another pear-shaped object and a smoker’s pipe (all casting elongated shadows), the whole set in what appears to be a bright blue sky with distant scattered clouds. Rather than being a “Surrealist” painting, Yang Taiyang’s Still Life shows many similarities to the work of the founder of the Metaphysical School, Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978). Examples by the Italian which show such similarities include: La rêve transformé (The Dream Turns) which shows a head from a classical statue (here of a bearded man) with pineapples and bananas placed on a stone platform beside it. Another

蔡若虹美术论集 [Collected Essays on Art by Cai Ruohong] (Chengdu: Sichuan meishu chuabanshe, 1987), pp. 277–288. 88 Ibid., p. 277. 89 Situated in the former Caishi Lu 菜市路 [Vegetable market Road] in the Chinese City on the same road as the Shanghai Fine Art College. 90 Cai Ruohong, p. 277. 91 Ibid. 92 Group exhibitions were held every October in the years 1932–1935. See Ralph Croizier, “Post-Impressionists in Prewar Shanghai: the Juelanshe (Storm Society) and the Fate of Modernism in Republican China,” in John Clark (ed.), Modernity in Asian Art (Sydney: Wild Peony, 1993), pp. 144–148. 93 Liangyou huabao no. 82 (November 1933): p. 30 and Shidai huabao vol. 5 no. 1 (November 1933): unnumbered page. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 245 example with a prominent Greco-Roman head is Le chant d’amour (The Song of Love). Here the vast carved marble head appears affixed to wall next to a hanging rubber glove, both looming over a mysterious spherical object. L’Incertitude du poète (The Uncertainty of the Poet) again shows a stone platform and a large bunch of bananas this time together with a headless classical torso of a woman.94 All these are set off by De Chirico’s characteristic elongated shadows which are also a notable feature of Yang Taiyang’s Still Life. The overall purpose of Cai’s lengthy open letter is to demonstrate that their work from this early period, which took its inspiration from Western art, was somehow less worthwhile than the art works they were both producing independently during the 1980s which had then taken on what Cai saw as Chinese national characteristics. In common with several artists of the time, Cai appears to be somewhat ashamed of the material he produced prior to 1935, the year that he says he came under the influence of Lu Xun, when his work took a turn towards a style which he considered to be truly Chinese. Having been encour- aged by the work of the German artist Käthe Kollwitz, which he had seen in a publication edited by Lu Xun,95 he began to search for a way towards a Chinese national modern art.96 The year 1935 was seen by Cai as a turning point in his artistic output, a time when his work took a step towards an emphasis on content over form. Art now had to serve a purpose and its content must be geared towards social awareness and political reform. Cai does not mention any of his work by title but it is at this time that his drawings inspired by George Grosz had begun to appear. It would seem that he considered the work he produced prior to this time to be the product of youthful experiment. How much of this is based on the reality of the situation in the 1930s and how much was retro- spective thinking, as a result of his experiences during and after the 1940s, is open to debate. According to Li Xin 黎辛 (1920–), who was editor of Jiefang ribao 解放日報 (Liberation Daily) in Yan’an, in 1942, Mao had spoken personally to Cai Ruohong, Zhang E and Hua Junwu about their work. This took place

94 Giorgio de Chirico, La rêve transformé [The Dream Turns] (1913). Saint Louis Art Museum, Object Number: 313:1951; Giorgio de Chirico, Le chant d’amour [The Song of Love] (1914), oil on canvas. MoMA Number: 950.1979; and Giorgio de Chirico, L’Incertitude du poète [The Uncertainty of the Poet] (1913), oil on canvas. Tate Modern: Reference: T04109. 95 A limited edition volume of Kollwitz’s prints was published by Lu Xun with his own preface and another by Agnes Smedley translated into Chinese by Mao Dun. In Cai Ruohong’s article he says this was the only art album from the 1930s that was still in his collection at the time of writing this article. Cai Ruohong, p. 281. See Lu Xun, “Kaisui Kelehuizhi banhua xuanji xumu 凱綏•珂勒惠支版畫選集序目 [Preface to Selected Prints of Käthe Kollwitz],” in Lu Xun quanji, p. 468. 96 Cai Ruohong, p. 281. 246 CHAPTER 6 earlier in the same year that Mao was to give his seminal talks on art and literature at which Cai was also present.97 The adoption of Mao’s ideas on art and literature as the national ideology that continued up until the end of the Cultural Revolution and even after Mao’s death in 1976, increasingly informed Cai’s work and that of the other artists who had been involved in the field of manhua in the 1930s. The widespread adoration of both Mao Zedong and Lu Xun during the period that culminated in the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) may have influenced Cai’s ideas retroactively and if Maoist dogma had not taken hold in the overriding manner in which it did, perhaps Cai’s views of his earlier life as an experimenter with Western art forms would have sparked off different memories. After all, the guohua-style paintings which he and Yang were independently producing in the 1980s were not so very different from the traditional Chinese paintings that they and other left-wing artists of the 1930s had rejected in favour of art inspired by the precepts of Socialist Realism.

Foreigners on Manhua: Two Contrasting Views

A Review by Jack Chen In a lengthy article written for the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, Jack Chen confidently declared that the FNCE had “put China on the cartoon map of the world.”98 However, despite its great success in Shanghai, there is no evidence to suggest that the exhibition was known outside China beyond the distribution network of magazines such as Liangyou huabao in which it was reported. Furthermore, it is likely that the exhibition would have had little or no impact on anyone but those who had visited it or had been directly involved in its organisation. Chen states that he had asked the cartoonists at the time what it was that had done most to develop the cartoon in China. In reply they had apparently unanimously exclaimed “the famous Manchurian incident.” Elsewhere in his writings Chen had attributed the very same answer to this question, specifically to just one individual, Wang Dunqing.99 This could be shrugged off as artistic

97 Cai Ruohong, pp. 396–397. These artists had mounted a three-man manhua exhibition in Yan’an from 15–17 February 1942. See Li Xin 黎辛, “Manhuajia Zhang E de zhandou rensheng 漫畫家張諤的戰鬥人生 [The Cartoonist Zhang E and his Militant Life],” http:// www.yhcqw.com/html/why/2008/411/08411172939EB462840FI201ED0D3G163K.html 98 Jack Chen, “Crisis Gives Impetus to Cartoons,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (9 November 1936): p. 1, section II. 99 Jack Chen, “China’s Militant Cartoonists,” in Asia (May 1938): p. 308. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 247 license on Chen’s behalf but it is important that the statement should be addressed, as its central premise is somewhat flawed. It has been shown that the majority of the Shanghai manhua artists were not overtly political in their outlook until the middle years of the 1930s. For example, throughout the whole of 1932 and into 1933, far from being politically engaged, Ye Qianyu was writing for and illustrating a women’s fashion page for the magazine Linglong.100 As seen above, even Cai Ruohong admitted that a significant politicization of his work did not occur until 1935. If the cartoonists as a group did indeed express the opinion that the year of the Manchurian Incident (1931) was a great turning point in the history of manhua then it too may be a case of selective memory, reflecting only their increased politicization at the time when Chen posed the question to them in 1936. The manhua artists during the early part of the 1930s were certainly patriotic and nationalistic in their outlook and their artistic reaction to Japanese aggression in the northeast and to the subsequent January 28 incident of 1932 should be seen in those terms, as the response of socially aware artists and writers to a politically unstable situation. However, the majority of cartoonists during this early period were not politically active to the extent that they would become later in the decade. This is not to say that they were not socially minded but it should be understood that in 1931/32, the type of left-wing political dogma that was to characterise the content of their work immediately before and during the war in 1937 had most certainly not yet manifested itself. In Chen’s article he singles out several cartoonists in the FNCE as worthy of mention. One of these is Huang Yao “creator of the immortal Mr. Willie Buffoon [Niu Bizi], the little man with the snozzle and the rolling eyes who is always doing the wrong thing.”101 Chen informs his readers that “Mr. Wong [Huang Yao] in private life effects [sic] a childlike naivete [sic]. Walks around with a wooden toy clapper which he presents to new acquaintances with the cheering words—‘you need this.’ ”102 Other cartoonists given special mention are the ubiquitous Ye Qianyu, and Zhang Guangyu, who is referred to as “China’s outstanding political caricaturist.” To illustrate examples of Zhang’s political caricatures Chen cites his “Xinwutai” 新舞臺 (The New Theatrical

100 See for example Linglong no. 42 (1932) (New Year Issue): p. 1673; no. 74: p. 1124; and in 1933 no. 81: p. 20. This last design, for a Baihu duan dayi 白狐短大衣 [Short White Fox Fur Overcoat], appears to be Ye Qianyu’s final contribution to the magazine. 101 Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (9 November 1936): p. 9. 102 Ibid. 248 CHAPTER 6

Stage) series from Shidai huabao which features political figures of the day.103 Chen would have been particularly familiar with Zhang’s cartoons of this type (which take direct inspiration from Miguel Covarrubias’s caricatures in Vanity Fair) as a portrait of his father, Eugene Chen had appeared in Shidai huabao in a related series by Zhang, “Yishi xingtai” 意識形態 (Ideology).104 The original full-colour painting, showing Eugene Chen in the guise of a monkey carrying a walking cane, was acquired by Chen while he was in China and became part of his travelling exhibition. It is now in the collection of the British Museum in London (fig. 6.10).105 The depiction of Eugene Chen as a monkey was not apparently intended to be offensive, as in a caption to the portrait found in Shidai huabao he is likened to the legendary Sun Wukong 孫悟空 from the novel Xiyouji 西遊記 (Journey to the West). Both had been “. . . to the West to collect the sutras,” Sun Wukong in the company of the Tang monk, Xuanzang and fellow devotees, and Eugene Chen as a practicing lawyer in both Trinidad and London. The caption also states that they had both “learnt certain abilities,” Sun Wukong with his talent at shape-shifting and skills in magic and Eugene Chen with his abilities at negotiation, perhaps for example as one of the delegates at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. A group portrait by Zhang Guangyu, in much the same style, would appear on the cover of Shiritan under the title Fenghou tu 封侯圖 (Bestow the title of Marquis) many months later (fig. 6.11).106 This shows Eugene Chen in the company of several other political figures, all of

103 This also appeared in Asia. “The Actors in China’s Drama as Seen by the Cartoonist Chang Kwang-yu,” in Asia vol. 37 no. 2 (February 1937): p. 117. It is likely that this was one of the submissions to Asia that Chen mentions in a letter to David Low (see Chapter Five). This is not an article in the usual sense of the word as the brief text is in the form of captions to four of Zhang Guangyu’s cartoons which had previously appeared as part of his “Xin wutai” series in Shidai huabao. See for example Shidai huabao vol. 4 no. 8 (16 June 1933): [p. 8]. 104 Shidai huabao vol. 2 no. 10 (16 July 1932): unnumbered page. 105 Zhang Guangyu, [untitled portrait of Eugene Chen] collection of the British museum BM 2009, 3022.8. 106 This is a pun on the homophones “hou” 侯 [marquis] and “hou” 猴 [monkey]. The traditional rebus of a monkey “hou” representing a wish for promotion (the rank of Marquis “hou”) to be bestowed, “feng” on a subject, here implies a rather different meaning. The character “feng” 封 usually represented by the homophone “feng” 蜂 [bee], depicted by bees or a bees nest, here (in the absence of any bees) perhaps refers to another homophone altogether—“feng” 瘋 [mad] creating the pun “Fenghou tu” 瘋猴圖 [A Picture of Mad Monkeys]. A possible meaning for the group caricature is therefore—a group of mad monkeys have been let loose as the new anti-KMT, People’s Government in Fujian. Shiritan no.12 (13 November 1933): front cover. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 249

Figure 6.10 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, [untitled portrait of Eugene Chen]. Collection of the British museum BM 2009, 3022. 8. This appeared in Shidai huabao vol. 2 no. 10 (16 July 1932): un-numbered page; and in Jack Chen, “Crisis Gives Impetus to Cartoons,” in The Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (9 November 1936): p. 1, section II. Courtesy of the British Museum. 250 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.11 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Fenghou tu 封侯圖 (Bestow the title of Marquis/ Picture of Mad Monkeys), from Shiritan 十日談 (“The Decameron”) no. 12 (13 November 1933), front cover. Note the disgruntled figure of Eugene Chen in the bottom right hand corner. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 251 whom are depicted as monkeys. This is a portrayal of the members of the new Zhonghua gongheguo renmin geming zhengfu 中華共和國人民革命政府 (People’s Revolutionary Government of the Chinese Republic (1933–34)). In fact the government was so new when the caricature appeared in Shiritan, that its inauguration had not yet been officially proclaimed.107 This caricature shows Chiang Kai-shek, the largest monkey, with the members of the People’s Revolutionary Government dangling from his limbs and tail; Chairman Li Jishen 李濟深 (1885–1959), wielding the flag of the new government; head of the military committee Cai Tingkai 蔡廷鍇 (1892–1968), with sword upheld; finance minister Jiang Guangnai 蔣光鼐 (1888–1967), with his bag of money; and Eugene Chen the foreign minister, holding his walking cane and looking very disgruntled. The solo portrait of Eugene Chen is reproduced in Jack Chen’s newspaper article along with four other illustrations by various artists that are said by him to be “representative of the general trend.” Amongst these is another of Zhang’s caricatures (although not attributed to him by Chen) which is simply described as, “two shy little Chinese girls drawn by an artist of the school which admires Covarubias [Covarrubias].”108 In his article, Chen is rather disparaging of Lu Shaofei, who he claims is “a better editor than he is an artist.” He says this despite the fact that Lu had by this time been working as a cartoonist and illustrator for well over a decade. Chen sees Lu’s main achievements as being the spirit behind the magazine Shidai manhua adding that he “has a keen eye for the high spots of modern political and social life.” In Chen’s opinion Shidai manhua, and by extension Lu Shaofei as editor of the magazine, had “done more than any other magazine for the development of Chinese cartooning.” Several of Chen’s own cartoons appeared in Lu’s Shidai manhua, the earliest in February 1936, shortly after his arrival in Shanghai. The caption to this reads: “Women de ertong xingfu yu tianzai jiuji de xin guwen” 我們的兒童幸福與天災救濟的新顧問 (The New Consultant for The Happiness of Our Children and for the Relief of Natural Disasters).109 Another, which appeared several months after the FNCE had ended, is a tribute to Huang Yao’s “Niu Bizi” and is entitled: Diaochong xiaozhi 雕蟲小技 (Insignificant Trifles). This depicts an artist (possibly Huang

107 The government was proclaimed in Fuzhou on 20 November 1933. See William F. Dorrill, “The Fukien Rebellion and the CCP: A Case of Maoist Revisionism,” in the China Quarterly no. 37 (January–March 1969): pp. 31–53. 108 These girls originally appeared in one of Zhang Guangyu’s drawings for the Mingjian qingge series. See Zhang Guangyu, “Mingjian qingge,” in Duli manhua no. 2 (10 October 1935): unnumbered page. 109 Shidai manhua no. 35 (20 February 1936): [p. 14]. 252 CHAPTER 6

Yao himself) using a man as a model to paint his creation “Niu Bizi.”110 Chen maintained a relationship with Lu Shaofei’s magazine throughout his stay in Shanghai and two further cartoons by him appeared the following year, one in April and another in June.111 In his article Chen praises the manhua artists in general as being “first among Chinese artists.” Once again he briefly discusses the art of George Grosz in relation to the Chinese cartoonists:

. . . It is true that as a whole their art shows the darker side of life, but cartooning has always been mainly a weapon of criticism. And as a result they have been heavily influenced by one of the outstanding social critics of our time—George Grosz—who’s probably the best known western cartoonist in China.

It is interesting to note that he is also aware that Grosz’s popularity in China was to begin with largely the responsibility of Lu Xun:

He was introduced to China by the late Mr. Lu Hsun [Lu Xun] by articles and reproductions. The best of this Grosz school is probably Mr. Chao Shu-Hung [Cai Ruohong], young artist of the Life [Shenghuo xingqikan]. He shows a picture of a typical curb-stone “shop” with piles of old junk and ragged customers—“we buy what others throw away” is the caption.112

As we have seen, it was during this period that Cai Ruohong’s artwork was undergoing great changes and Chen is likely to have had first hand knowledge of this as both he and Cai worked for the same publication, Shenghuo xinqikan. Chen continues by mentioning two groups of Shanghai cartoonists that he found to be lacking, “. . . the many technically excellent but rather superficial cartoonists who try to live up to the fleet standards of Vogue” and the “. . . large numbers of politically acute artists whose effectiveness is impaired by inadequate technique.” It is not quite clear to whom he might be referring in the second part of the statement, but as far as the first group is concerned, it can be seen that Chen is aware of both the influence of Vogue magazine on

110 Shidai manhua no. 32 (20 November 1936): [p. 20], signed “Chen 36.” 111 Shidai manhua no. 37 (20 April 1937): [p. 12] and Shidai manhua no. 39 (20 June 1937): [p. 6]. 112 This is the above mentioned Buneng shenghuo de shenghuo [The Life that Cannot be Lived] which is actually by Lu Zhixiang. See p. 224. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 253

Figure 6.12 Lu Shaofei 魯少飛, Bushi wan’er! 不是玩兒! (It’s Not a Game!), from Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 30 (20 September 1936), front cover. Collection of Fudan University. 254 CHAPTER 6 some Chinese cartoonists and (from the caption he wrote for Zhang Guangyu’s drawing of the “two shy little girls” mentioned above) the impact of the work of Miguel Covarrubias on their work. Having said this, it is most doubtful that he recognised these as being one and the same thing; Vanity Fair magazine, for which Covarrubias had worked for more than a decade, had recently merged with Vogue (in March of that year) and the Mexican continued to make contributions to Vogue, including a continuation of his longstanding “Impossible Interviews” series.113

An Anonymous Critique Not all critiques on the subject of cartoons were as positive as Chen’s. In another issue of the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, the very same newspaper in which Chen’s article had appeared, a damning criticism of Chinese cartoons, and in particular of Shidai manhua appeared.114 This was published a week before Chen’s article and just two days before the opening of the FNCE and although of real importance to the subject in hand has previously escaped the notice of art historians. It is worth examining in some detail because of the glaring contrast it shows with other sometimes overly sycophantic articles of the time. It is not known who wrote this article or their reasons for doing so but what is clear is that someone was out to damage the reputation of the magazine and to do their best to jeopardize the forthcoming exhibition. The specific target of the article is the September 1936 issue of Shidai manhua. Neither the title of the magazine, nor its issue number is mentioned by the author, but it is clearly identifiable by the way in which it is described.115 The critique carries the headline: “Local Humorous Magazines Ape Risque French-Style Pamphlets—Caricature Publications Would Give Foreign Decency Legion a Jolt But Enjoy Good Sale Here; Cartoons Ignore Imagination.”116 The anonymous writer begins his scathing criticism by writing about the current boom in magazines in Shanghai with particular reference to the popularity of caricature magazines:

113 See Miguel Covarrubias, “Stalin versus Elsa Schiaparelli,” in Vogue (15 June 1936). See Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs On-line Catalogue: http://www.loc.gov/ pictures/item/acd1996002422/PP/ Retrieved 12 September 2014. 114 Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (2 November 1936): p. 9. 115 Shidai manhua no. 30 (20 September 1936). 116 Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury (2 November 1936): p. 9. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 255

There are now in the bookstalls scores of these so-called caricature magazines, at prices ranging from 10 to 20 cents. From these magazines the Chinese get their daily portions of jokes, laughs and puns, just as foreigners get theirs from Punch, Life, New Yorker, and a host of others.

It has been demonstrated in previous chapters that foreign magazines such as those mentioned in this quotation were widely read by the Chinese. A more astute Western reporter from the China Press who was to visit the FNCE recognised that the exhibits themselves were in fact very much along the lines of the cartoons in the New Yorker, Judge and Esquire117 and had far more in common with them than the Shanghai Evening Post reporter was able to recognise. The author of this article sees no relationship between the Chinese and Western magazines, considering the vast majority of Chinese caricature magazines as “lowbrow.” Having said this, he does recognise the existence of some “. . . so- called highbrow magazines that deal with more subtle humor.” As an example of one of these he points to Lunyu which he sees as being a cut above the rest, as it was edited by Lin Yutang, the “foremost Chinese humourist” who, he is keen to point out, has a “professorship at Princeton University.” In fact, by this time, it will be remembered that Lin Yutang had long relinquished the editorship of Lunyu, having washed his hands of the magazine as far back as 1933 during the time when Covarrubias and his wife were in China.118 Referring to Lunyu, the writer suggests that the readership “. . . is limited to those who are literate and well-educated,” the humour being “too subtle for the masses.” What is most ironic here is that both Lunyu and Shidai manhua, the magazine the writer is so vehemently criticizing, were just two of several publications produced by the same publishing company under the leadership of Shao Xunmei. In fact, in the November 1936 issue of Lunyu, which carries an advertisement for the FNCE in its pages, the editors are listed as Shao Xunmei and his friend, Yu Dafu, a major figure in the Chinese world of letters.119 The writer continues with regard to magazines such as the issue of Shidai manhua in question:

117 China Press (November 1936): p. 9 and p. 16. 118 Wang Jingfang, Shao Xunmei he tade chuban shiye, p. 139. 119 Lunyu banyuekan no. 99 (1 November 1936). This was printed and published by Shao Xunmei’s Modern Publications Ltd. 256 CHAPTER 6

Unlike Punch or other well-known foreign humorous magazines, the caricature and cartoon magazines here deal with all sorts of pictures, obscene and otherwise, political news, news-photographs of the world, jokes, caricatures, cartoons, gossip, and so on.

In fact, in common with Lunyu, Shidai manhua contains material dealing with political and social issues as did all other magazines published by Shao Xunmei’s Modern Publications. Earlier in 1933 another of Shao’s magazines, Shidai huabao, had been described as “the advanced guard in the popularization of art,” Lunyu as “China’s only humorous magazine” and Shiritan as “reading material of real interest for the masses.”120 None of these was a dedicated “cartoon magazine” although all contained cartoons within their pages. Shiritan and Shidai huabao were certainly no less intellectually stimulat- ing than Lunyu and contain many important essays and articles by the same authors who contributed to it. The publication of Shidai manhua followed soon after these magazines and also proved to be immensely popular with the public. It too contains articles both specialised and topical but concentrates far more on cartoons than its predecessors had and became a model for many cartoon magazines that followed. This writer clearly makes an error of judgement when he compares the jokes in Shidai manhua with the content of the French erotic magazine La Vie Parisienne, ruling the Chinese magazine’s humour to be “too bold and obscene for the average foreign [i.e. Western] man in the street.”

. . . one of the most popular caricature magazines on the market, the foreigner cannot help being shocked—or delighted—for it [Shidai manhua] contains page after page [of] very suggestive pictures and caricatures with equally spicy remarks in Chinese.

This is not an accurate description of this or any other issue of Shidai manhua and a further suggestion by the writer that it “would be an eye-opener to a Paris postcard salesman” is entirely without foundation. Little of the content of Shidai manhua is of a sexual nature. It does poke fun at the world of prostitution, film stars, dance hostesses and other examples of the sexualized Shanghai Modern Girl but is a far cry from the titillating style of the Parisian magazine to which this critic compares it. Examples of magazines which focus primarily on the erotic, of which La Vie Parisienne is just one of many, can be seen in many countries at the time, but none of those published in China can

120 Shiritan no. 10 (10 November 1933). The First National Cartoon Exhibition 257 match them.121 Most ironically, far from being an erotic magazine focussing on things sexual or in some way deviant, as suggested by the author, this particular issue of Shidai manhua is specifically advertised on its cover as being a special issue with a socially orientated theme, “Shehui fengci manhua zhuanhao” 社會諷刺漫畫專號 (Special Social Satire Issue). The full-colour caricature Bushi wan’er! 不是玩兒! (It’s not a game!), by Lu Shaofei, that appears on the front cover of the September issue, shows four political figures as gymnasts, balancing on the shoulders of a little boy, who himself balances on a table, which in turn is balancing on a chair, no doubt referring to the fragility of world peace at the time (fig. 6.12).122 The critic describes this as “a caricature of the leading dictators of the world, namely Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini” but fails to mention a fourth figure; that of a Japanese militarist. All four figures are depicted in leotards with the emblem of their political parties or gov- ernments emblazoned on their fronts. The figure who goes unmentioned is General Araki Sadao 荒木貞夫 (1877–1966), one of the principal right-wing Japanese figures of the time. Araki had resigned as “Supreme War Councillor” in March of that year123 as a result of the February 26 Incident in Tokyo but later in 1938 would be appointed director of the Education Ministry.124 As depictions of Araki in Chinese magazines had already caused protests from the Japanese Government, perhaps the writer of this critique, or indeed the newspaper’s editors, felt that the best solution would be simply to ignore that part of the illustration so as not to further antagonize the Japanese authorities. A report sent by Reuters from Tokyo on 20 October to the North-China Daily News states that, according to the Miyako Shimbun 都新聞, in Japan Tokyo police had seized copies of the July and August 1936 editions of “Caricature World” and “Current World” (almost certainly Manhuajie and Shidai manhua respectively) as it claimed that they “. . . contained disrespectful caricatures of the Emperor and Gens. Araki, Minister of War during the conquest of Manchuria, as well as ‘unspeakably insulting references to Japanese institutions’.”125 The Japanese newspaper report states that it understands that, “a firm protest and

121 La Vie Parisienne, Paris Sex Appeal, and a variety of other French magazines were available for purchase in Shanghai from the Librairie d’Extrême-Orient. See advertisement in the North-China Daily News (25 June 1935): p. 7. 122 Lu Shaofei 魯少飛, Bushi wan’er! 不是玩兒! [It’s Not a Game!], from Shidai manhua no. 30 (20 September 1936): front cover. 123 Tsunesaburo Kamesaka (ed.), Who’s Who in Japan (The Who’s Who in Japan Publishing Office: Tokyo, 1937), p. 23. 124 Robert J.C. Butov, Tojo and the Coming of the War (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1961), p. 115. 125 North-China Daily News (22 October 1936): p. 2. 258 CHAPTER 6 a demand for the control of such literature” was to be filed with the Chinese authorities. It should be noted that the dates of July and August as reported here by Reuters may well be incorrect and it is certainly possible that it was this issue of the Shidai manhua, the September issue containing a clear depiction of Araki, plus an unidentified issue of Manhuajie, which were banned. There are certainly some cartoons in Manhuajie that may have been considered offensive enough to merit confiscation by the Japanese.126 One scenario in a full-page cartoon spread by the American, Mitchell Siporin (1910–1976) may depict the Emperor dressed as a woman although this is by no means explicit and a cartoon by Ding Li 丁里 (dates unknown), showing a Chinese man on a train offering his seat to a woman dressed in kimono, as if China is offering up its country to the Japanese carries the caption: Yijiusanliu nian de guoji lieche ...... guniang, lai lai! Wo ba wo de zuowei ranggei ni! 一九三六年的國際列車 ...... 姑娘，來來！我把我的座位讓給你 (The International Train of 1936 . . . Young lady, come, come!—allow me to offer you my seat).127 The Japanese did not need much provocation to protest to the Chinese as there had been previous complaints concerning the front cover of the February issue of Shidai manhua which depicted Xu Shiying 許世英 (1873–1964), China’s ambassador to Japan, in an unflattering manner. At that time it was claimed by the Chinese authorities that the publication of this image would be harmful for relations between China and Japan and thereby “threaten the Republic of China.” A fine was imposed on the publishers and from March until May 1936 Shidai manhua ceased publication. It was then that Wang Dunqing, who was heavily involved with the magazine’s production, established the new magazine Manhuajie to take its place. Shidai manhua resumed publication later in May and the two magazines continued to be published side-by-side.128 The anonymous reviewer proceeds by examining a selection of images in the magazine, all of which he interprets in a naïve and ill-informed manner. The writer’s first jibe is aimed at what he sarcastically describes as “one of the masterpieces of the magazine, a caricature depictation [sic] of Shanghai in the next few years in which the artist prophesizes that before long Shanghai will go entirely nudist.” There is certainly more to this feature than the reviewer suggests. Zhang Wenyuan’s Weilai de Shanghai fengguang de kuangce 未來的上海風光的狂測 (A Wild Prophecy of Future Scenes in Shanghai) is

126 Manhuajie no. 4 (5 July 1936): unnumbered page. 127 There do not appear to be any depictions of Emperor Hirohito in Manhuajie no. 5 (5 August 1936). 128 Bi Keguan and Huang Yunlin, Zhongguo manhuashi, p. 123. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 259 for the most part concerned with the hypothetical situation were the city to be run by women. One of the scenes is described by the reviewer: “The ric- sha pullers will be scanty-clad girls and the males, who are wearing only short pants, will be prosecuted by the unclad females for being over-dressed.” This is indeed the apparent subject of one of the sixteen scenarios in this cartoon strip but the writer fails to grasp its underlying message. Peng Hsiao-yen, who has done much research into the work of Zhang Jingsheng 張競生 (1888–1970) claims that this particular cartoon strip is an “obvious . . . ridicule of the gyne- cocracy envisioned” in Zhang’s works of 1925.129 Supportive of this theory is tableau number seven in the strip, in which a crowd of naked women are shown congregating outside the “Fengliu shudian” 風流書店 (Romantic Bookshop), one holding aloft a copy of Xingshi 性史 (Sex Histories), Zhang Jingsheng’s most famous publication. The crowd of women seen in the image no doubt refers to the feverish buying frenzy that first surrounded the first publication of Xingshi, when queues outside bookshops apparently got so out of control that they had to be dispersed by the police.130 Images where men appear to be entirely under the control of the dominant “Modern Girl,” can be seen in pictorial magazines as far back as the late 1920s in, for example, Shanghai manhua and Beiyang huabao. The writer of this article thus shows himself to be entirely ignorant of an important trope that had been evident in the discourse of art and literature in Shanghai for some considerable time. Next to be targeted are two examples of photomontage; one showing a photograph of the Bund in Shanghai, superimposed onto a background of Mount Fuji; the other, a view of the Mongol plain with a figure of a massive slavering soldier looming over the scene. These powerful photographic images reflect very real dangers to the people of China at the time: the imminent threat to Shanghai of Japanese invasion and increasing Japanese hostility in North East China and Mongolia. To treat these images as flippantly as the reviewer does shows a lack of understanding or, at the very least, a lack of sympathy for the threat to the Chinese people at the time. What follows the montage is described by the reviewer as “short prose dealing with the lives of the poor.” This is not actually the subject of these pages but the reviewer passes over them entirely without comment, further displaying his lack of sympathy and understanding for the stated socio-political message of this issue of the magazine. He continues, “. . . the monotony of such

129 Peng, Dandyism and Transcultural Modernity, pp. 18–20. 130 Peng Hsiao-yen, “Sex Histories: Zhang Jingsheng’s Sexual Revolution,” in Chen Peng- Hsiang and Whitney Crothers Dilley (eds.), Feminism/Femininity in Chinese Literature (New York and Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2002), p. 159. 260 CHAPTER 6 interpretations is broken by a multicoloured four-page section of caricatures. One page deals with famine, flood, and drought on inland farms.” These cartoons, dealing directly with social issues and even recognised as such by the writer, are passed over by him without discussion. The writer’s assertion that “some of the jokes lose their meaning when translated into English, and none of them are very amusing, even to a Chinese” would clearly mean, if it were true, that there would have been no readership for the magazine at all. Rather tellingly, the writer singles out for discussion a particular cartoon that is small in scale, rather nondescript and almost entirely devoid of socio-political comment. This is one of thirteen small cartoons which appear on a two-page spread and is drawn by Lu Yinsheng 陸寅生 (dates unknown). The reviewer opines, “. . . the best among the lot is a primary school class room.” His interpretation of this cartoon is somewhat shallow and, although he singles it out as being a good joke, he apparently fails to understand its more subtle aspects. A direct translation of the Chinese text as seen in the magazine is as follows:

A woman teacher asks a student “What is the meaning of ‘an amphibian’?” A boy answers, “My father is an amphibian because sometimes he lives at home and sometimes he lives at auntie’s house.”

In fact Lu Yinsheng himself fails to show the full subtlety of the gag and has recounted this well-known joke omitting perhaps its most amusing part. In the version found in Xiaoquan 笑泉 (Fountain of Laughter) the joke is entitled, “Baba shi liangqi” 爸爸是兩栖, two different meanings of which could be “Daddy is an Amphibian” or, rather more loosely, “Daddy Has Two Dwellings” (i.e. “home” and “auntie’s house” as hinted in the above translation).131 However, the real pun here is on the word qi 栖 (dwell) (as in the term liangqilei 兩栖類 (amphibian)), and the word for wife qi 妻 the pronunciation of the two being identical. A further, and more subtle, meaning can therefore be understood as, “Daddy has Two Wives.” This is clearly shown in the Xiaoquan version of the joke but does not register in Lu Yinsheng’s cartoon. A funny joke has lost much of its humour in the hands of the cartoonist but is considered by the writer of this review, in his ignorance, to be “the best among the lot.” The reviewer continues:

131 Hou Xin 侯鑫 (ed.), Hou Baolin xiansheng jiucang zhenben minguo xiaohua xuan 侯宝林旧藏珍本民国笑话选 [Selected Jokes of the Republican from the Collection of Rare Books of Hou Baolin] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2008), p. 365. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 261

The vast mass of working class folk, and those who crave cheap excite- ment are the patrons of the cheap magazines . . . just as cheap tabloids are the favourite reading matter of the low classes in foreign countries, tabloids in which monstrosities and all kind of scandals are given due publicity.

Despite Shao Xunmei’s worthy goal to popularize his magazines as educational tools as discussed in Chapter Two, it was not in fact the “working classes” who were the main readership of his publications. As has been demonstrated, Shao’s potential readership was indeed “the masses” but these were not “the masses” as seen by left-wing groups in China, they were a body of ordinary people that Shao hoped to target at various levels by introducing to them his own brand of “intellectual” magazine. If the statistics as reported by the hosts of the FNCE are to be believed, and assuming that the audience for the exhibition was the same as the readership of cartoon magazines, then the main readers of Shidai manhua would have been students and blue-collar workers. However, this is not reflected in the list of named visitors to the FNCE or by those who commented on it. As shown above, the politically astute publisher and writer Jin Zhonghua, academically trained painters such as Liu Shi and Chen Baoyi, and Wen Yuanning, the Anglophile literary figure and publisher on the T’ien Hsia Monthly team, all attended the exhibition and wrote articles about it. It was also famously visited by the Chairman of the Nationalist Government, Lin Sen 林森 (1868–1943); government minister and publisher, Pan Gongzhan; Wu Tiecheng 吳鉄城 (1888–1953), Mayor of Shanghai from 1932 to 1937, and other dignitaries.132 When the exhibition closed at the Sun Company Building, before moving to Nanjing and Suzhou, fifty exhibits were chosen to be displayed at the IAT where, with printed explanations in English, they were to be seen by the great and the good of expatriate society. It is not known if the exhibition at the IAT actually took place but the intention of the organisers was to give the “foreigners of Shanghai an opportunity to see the exhibition.” Of course, there was nothing stopping foreigners viewing the exhibits when they were on display at the Sun Company Building and several foreign journalists did just that. It is highly likely that Jack Chen had a hand in persuading the IAT to take on the exhibition as he had already exhibited there himself and was on good terms with Bernadine Fritz and the society’s other organisers.

132 Pang Gongzhan’s visit is reported in Shenbao (4 November 1936): p. 12 and Lin Sen’s in Shenbao (6 November 1936): p. 10. 262 CHAPTER 6

The artists involved in the organisation of the FNCE were all contributors to Shidai manhua, a magazine that clearly provoked widely differing views, not just about the cartoon as an art form but also about its effectiveness as a tool for social change. This goes entirely unrecognised by the reviewer of the magazine who perhaps had a specific agenda in mind with the publication of his article. Whether he was a conservative member of Shanghai’s expatriate community, a sympathiser with the Japanese government, or a Chinese writer with his own personal grudge against the magazine is not known. At every point in his criticism the writer has either deliberately or unwittingly misun- derstood the (sometimes not especially abstruse) content of the magazine and it could therefore logically be assumed that this article, which appeared just two days before the opening of the FNCE, was written in a deliberate attempt to disrupt it. The reviewer’s jaded view is diametrically opposed to that of the artists themselves who had high hopes for the future of the cartoon as a modern art form.

Zhang Guangyu’s Cover Design for Manhuajie

In Jack Chen’s critique of the FNCE, he singles out Zhang Guangyu’s work as being particularly worthy of praise.133 However, Zhang too was a perpetrator of the “deadly isms” to which Chen was so opposed. As previously mentioned, Chen describes Zhang as “China’s outstanding political caricaturist.” However, if Chen had been aware of Zhang’s work in modernist styles, perhaps he would have revised his opinion. Two of Zhang’s cover designs in particular are noteworthy for their modernist treatment. One of these appeared a month before the FNCE on the front cover of Shanghai manhua (fig. 6.13).134 Designed in four equal sections, all showing images of war (a theme found throughout this special National Day issue) this untitled design shows: top left, a stylized robotic figure holding out to the side a European sword of the type used during the Middle Ages; top right, an invisible figure holding up a European knight’s shield against arrows falling from the sky; bottom left, a back view of a figure in a suit and bowler hat (somewhat reminiscent of those painted by René Magritte (1898–1967)) looking up towards a fleet of bombers, and

133 Hu Kao, on the other hand, mentions Zhang Guangyu and Zhang Zhengyu contributions to the exhibition as being “rather superficial.” See Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 134 Shanghai manhua (10 October 1936): front cover. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 263

Figure 6.13 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, [untitled], from Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”) no. 6 (10 October 1936), front cover. 264 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.14 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Manhuahui kaimu 漫畫會開幕 (The Opening of the Cartoon Exhibition), from Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no. 7 (October 1936), front cover. This collage is made entirely out of images which had previously appeared on the front covers of the magazines Duli manhua, Manhuajie and Shidai manhua. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 265 the beams from search lights as they pan across the sky from below; bottom right, what appears to be a flight of steps leading up to a mausoleum or war memorial. The overall message could perhaps be read as: throughout history the results of war have always been the same. The second striking design by Zhang Guangyu is found on the front cover of the special issue of Manhuajie and is his collage Manhuahui kaimu (The Opening of the Cartoon Exhibition) (fig. 6.14).135 From a political point of view, the main criteria by which the Chen coterie judged art, Hua Lu’s Roulin, which appeared on the back cover of the same issue, could be seen as being just as “political” as Zhang’s front cover, despite Chen’s views on the relative political importance of Zhang’s work. The composition of Zhang Guangyu’s collage is as follows: in the lower portion, upside down and in the centre is a seated female nude; in the left-hand corner a winged angel peeks round the side of the page. On the opposite side of the page is a multi-coloured globe with a sparking fuse, a representation of a bomb. At the bottom of the composition, centrally placed, is the disembodied head of a black man looking up to the sky. In the upper portion, in the centre, is a row of buildings with a large human arm jutting out from its side in fascist salute. Above this, in the top left-hand corner, an explosive shell falls as if dropped from an aeroplane. Two overlapping disembodied heads facing to the right, one robot-like and the other of a sickly yellow hue are to the right of the picture. In the centre is a small aeroplane, from which a woman in a flowing white dress (floating in a green bubble) appears to have parachuted. All of these are falling out of a bright blue sky. According to Cao Hanmei (as will be remembered, Zhang Guangyu’s brother), the original version of this image had a silk curtain on the right-hand side drawn aside to represent the opening of the cartoon exhibition. On the advice of Zhang Zhengyu, this was removed and the final version was as seen on the front cover, in Cao’s opinion to the detriment of the composition. Each one of the images in this curious composition had appeared on the covers of previous issues of Duli manhua or Shidai manhua, some drawn by Zhang Guangyu and others by his colleagues. The angel and the bomb can be seen on the front cover of the first issue of Duli manhua.136 The original, also by Zhang, entitled Hepingshen wuli zudi 和平神無立足地 (The Angel of Peace has Nowhere to Go) (fig. 6.15), shows the same alarmed-looking angel, here in full figure, about to jump off the globe/bomb to avoid imminent destruction

135 Manhuajie no. 7 (October 1936): front cover. Here the term “Manhuahui” refers to the FNCE rather than to the Cartoon Society established in 1926. 136 Duli manhua no. 1 (25 September 1935): front cover. 266 CHAPTER 6 and is described as representing the unstable situation of impending war in Abyssinia. The head of the black man and the shell falling to earth come from another front cover of Duli manhua (fig. 6.16).137 This cartoon, by Ye Qianyu, Wenmingren de liwu 文明人的禮物 (A Gift from Civilised People), shows people of different races (including one who looks strikingly like Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)) looking up towards a shell that has been dropped from an aeroplane. This no doubt holds a similar message to Zhang’s own cartoon but here the threat has become one of world conflict. The yellow disembodied head in the right of the collage was originally the head of a child in an untitled Mandiao 漫彫 (cartoon carving) by Wan Laiming designed for the 1935 Christmas issue of the same magazine (fig. 6.17).138 The original shows Father Christmas, flying across a snowy sky, his bag full of winter fuel, laughing cruelly at a poor child below. The child’s arm also appears in Zhang’s collage jutting out from the side of the building. The seated nude is taken from the front cover of an issue of Shidai manhua. The original painting by Liang Baibo shows two women sitting opposite each other, one with bound feet and the other with feet of a normal size (fig. 6.18).139 Each one of these images was redrawn by Zhang Guangyu, based on the originals, and included in this collage; a panorama of the recent political events that had appeared in the news. These covers are representative of the high level of art work that had been attained by the cartoonists at the time. However, the most significant borrowing in the collage should be seen as being of central importance to the history of modern art in China. This is a re-appearance in the collage (again redrawn by Zhang) of two details from Pang Xunqin’s well-known oil painting, now known as Goutu 構圖 (Composition) (fig. 6.19), which had been first exhibited at the exhibition of the Storm Society the previous year. The images of the parachuting woman and the robot-like, disembodied head, half obscured behind the head of the yellow child are both directly taken from Pang Xunqin’s original in which an identical parachuting female figure, dressed in a white ball gown, descends to join a group of dancing women all dressed in the same manner. As shown in Chapter One, Pang’s work was clearly much admired by the cartoonists. Goutu had previously appeared in a pictorial feature in Shidai huabao and perhaps most significantly, the entire painting had been reproduced on the

137 Duli manhua no. 3 (25 October 1935): front cover. 138 Wan Laiming, [untitled Mandiao 漫彫 (Cartoon Carving)], in Duli manhua no. 7 (25 December 1935): front cover. 139 Shidai manhua no. 23 (20 November 1935): front cover. The text reads: Dui xiao jiao de shuo: xianzai nin de zhiyi bi wo duole 對小腳的說：現在您的知已比我多了! [Said to the Woman with Small Feet: Now you have so many more close friends than I!]. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 267

Figure 6.15 Zhang Guangyu 張光宇, Hepingshen wuli zudi 和平神無立足地 (The Angel of Peace has Nowhere to Go), from Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”) no. 1 (25 September 1935), front cover. Collection of Fudan University. 268 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.16 Ye Qianyu 葉淺予, Wenmingren de liwu 文明人的禮物 (A Gift from Civilised People), from Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”) no. 3 (25 October 1935), front cover. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 269

Figure 6.17 Wan Laiming 萬籟鳴, [untitled Mandiao 漫彫 (Manhua Carving)], from Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”) no. 7 (25 December 1935), front cover. 270 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.18 Liang Baibo 梁白波, Dui xiao jiao de shuo: xianzai nin de zhiyi bi wo duole 對小腳的說：現在您的知已比我多了! (Said to the Woman with Small Feet: Now you have so many more close friends than I!), from Shidai manhua) 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 23 (20 November 1935), front cover. Modern Sketch (Shidai manhua); Colgate University Libraries Digital Collections, with permission. The First National Cartoon Exhibition 271

Figure 6.19 Pang Xunqin 龐薰琹, Jixieren de ganhua 機械人的感化 (The Reformative Influence of the Robots), from Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”) no. 4 (10 November 1935), front cover. 272 CHAPTER 6 front cover of Duli manhua almost exactly a year before.140 What is of great significance is that this iconic image, one of Pang’s most famous, today usually known simply by the title Goutu (“Composition” or “Design”),141 is given a specific and concrete title in the editorial column of the magazine, Dubai 獨白 (Monologue): Jixieren de ganhua 機械人的感化 (The Reformative Influence of the Robots). In addition to this, a one-line interpretation as to the meaning of the painting is given as, “The mechanical world [i.e. the world of the robots] weakens the favour of separation bestowed on mankind by nature.”142 This rather unusual sentence can be explained more clearly as meaning: the existence of robots diminishes the differences that exist between the world of science and man’s superior status as given to him by nature. Zhang Guangyu, the painter of this collage, who pays homage to Pang Xunqin by the inclusion of his art-work in his own, was one-time editor of both Shidai manhua and Duli manhua.

Manhua: An Art for China’s Future

After an extended run in Shanghai, the FNCE moved to Suzhou and Nanjing.143 Later it went to Guangzhou. It was at this time that the Second National Fine Art Exhibition was mounted by the Ministry of Education, running from 1 to 23 April 1937.144 The approach of the organisers of the Fine Art Exhibition went entirely against everything that the manhua artists had been striving to achieve since the establishment of the Cartoon Society ten years before. The essays published in the commemorative issue of Manhuajie, written by members of the organisational team of the FNCE, aimed to show that manhua

140 Shidai huabao vol. 8 no. 10 (October 1935): unnumbered page and Duli manhua (10 November 1935): front cover. 141 The English name for this painting, as given in several modern sources, is “Composition.” See for example, Julia F. Andrews and Kuiyi Shen: A Century in Crisis—Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-Century China. (New York: Guggenheim Museum, 1998), p. 176. It appears under the English title “Design” in Liangyou huabao (November 1925): p. 21. 142 Duli manhua no. 4 (11 April 1935): unnumbered page. 143 “Quanguo manhua zhanlan yueban zai Jing kaimu 全國漫畫展覽月半在京開幕 [National Cartoon Exhibition Opens in the Capital [Nanjing] on the Fifteenth of this Month],” in Shenbao (8 December 1936): p. 13. 144 Sullivan, Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China, p. 60. See also A Special Collection of the Second National Exhibition of Chinese Art Under the Auspices of the Ministry of Education (Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1937). The First National Cartoon Exhibition 273 was an important part of the modern art scene in China and on the back of the exhibition moves were now underway to establish a national cartoonists association.145 Despite the opinions of painters such as Liu Shi and Chen Baoyi, who were clearly in support of the cartoonists and their work, the art establishment in general were not so broadminded. The following humorous declaration appeared in Shidai manhua on 20 April and was written in response to a real or imaginary submission to the Fine Art Exhibition.

It would seem that the organisers of the Second National Fine Art [美術] Exhibition consider that cartoons are not “fine” [美]; nor are they “revolutionary” and even less so are they “elegant and refined”—they even go as far as to suggest that they are not “paintings!” The result of this is that not one manhua has being chosen for inclusion in the exhibition. In response, the nation’s manhua artists have decided to select an auspi- cious day, gather together in Shanghai, each make their Last Will and Testament and proceed together down to the Bund to commit mass suicide by jumping into the Huangpu River, in order to call on the bureau- cratic artists to take notice that manhua is also . . . a type of fine art.146

An editorial in the commemorative issue of Manhuajie clearly shows the importance that the cartoonists attached to their own work at this time. This is as disparaging of the type of art exhibited at the Fine Art Exhibition as it seems the organisers of that exhibition were of the cartoonists’ output. It clearly demonstrates that the cartoon artists were conscious of the recent politicization in their work and that their future would be in propagandising for the cause of National Salvation.

Everything in China is backward. The art of cartooning alone has the capacity to make real progress, with its ability to inspire the people to the full, to criticize society and to control political [situations]. In the past several years, a self-awakening amongst cartoonists has come to the fore. All cartoonists without exception have diligently trained themselves in an attempt to reach a higher level as a means to accom- plish their professional mission. At the same time they have devoted

145 See Shenbao (15 November 1936): p. 13. This would come to fruition in Shanghai in the spring of 1937 with the establishment of the Zhonghua quanguo manhua zuojia xiehui 中華全國漫畫作家協會 [Chinese National Cartoon Artists’ Association]. See Bi and Huang, Zhongguo manhuashi, pp. 143–145. 146 “Qianzouqu 前奏曲 [Overture],” in Shidai manhua no. 37 (20 April 1937): p. 2. 274 CHAPTER 6

themselves to the introduction and building of a theory of cartooning, resulting in a natural elimination of imperfect elements in the field and a rise in the number of new fresh combat-worthy troops. In addition, apart from a few old and degenerate publications, newspapers and magazines are at last living up to the enthusiastic demands of their readers to open up and establish a colony of manhua art. It could be said that this is now the golden age of manhua . . .147

In the final chapter of this book, the story of Jack Chen’s worldwide journey and his mission to propagandise on behalf of the Chinese people will continue. After his tour of the USA, introduced in Chapter Five, Chen returned to China to mount a series of exhibitions in venues across China and Hong Kong. By this time a move towards a fully politicised art for use in the fight against fascism had become widespread amongst artists and organisations across the globe.

147 Cao Hanmei and Wang Dunqing (eds.), Manhuajie no. 7 (5 November 1936): unnumbered page. CHAPTER 7 Chinese Art and its Part in the Worldwide Fight against Fascism

It looks as if the years 1935 and 1936 will be remembered by artists as a period of awakening—a period during which they began to turn from their wranglings about aesthetics to face a common danger.1

This highly perceptive comment, applicable to artists of many nations, most certainly applies to the revolutionary artists of China. It was just at the time of its writing that many Chinese artists were recognising the necessity to become more politically forthright in their work. However, this statement does not refer to the Chinese at all. It was written for an English magazine, the Left Review, about the newly formed American organisation, The American Artists’ Congress (AAC). The passage refers to a worldwide trend amongst left- wing artists to use their artwork as a tool in the fight against fascism and to the widespread adoption of a new form of realist art which took the Socialist Realism of the Soviet Union as its model. In the words of the American cartoonist and revolutionary artist Fred Ellis, when interviewed in London for Left Review, “The struggle is international and the artist who depicts and inspires the struggle must not be insular.” He declared it to be of vital importance that contact should be established and maintained between left-wing artists from all countries.2 This was the view of many left-wing artists, including Jack Chen, who put words into action with the exhibitions of revolutionary art he took round the world. Looking back at this time from the year 1941, Chen’s colleague Hu Kao made the following observation:

It has been said that Intellectuals have a most acute sense of smell. This is absolutely true. Of course we painters are also intellectuals and therefore must also have an acute sense of smell. Since the beginning of the Second World War (I mean by this, since the start of the Spanish Civil War

1 Toros, “The American Artists’ Congress,” in Left Review vol. 2 no. 8 (May 1936): pp. 381–385. 2 Charles Ashleigh, “Fred Ellis in London—Famous Revolutionary Artist interviewed by Charles Ashleigh,” in Left Review vol. 2 no. 12 (September 1936): pp. 609–612. This interview was given during a short stopover in London on Ellis’s return to the USA after six years abroad in Berlin and Moscow.

[1936–39]) there has been a trait among leading intellectuals; many of them have smelt the stench of blood.3

With the outbreak of war in Shanghai in August 1937, the task of the cartoon artist had transformed and the swing to the left amongst Chinese intellectuals, that had evinced itself in China throughout the 1930s, came to maturity. This heightened political awareness could already be seen in the spring of that year with the formation of the Chinese National Cartoonists Association in Shanghai.4 By the time of the outbreak of war the widespread aim was to use art as a propaganda tool in support of the Chinese people in the War of Resistance against Japan. Many artists and writers fled Shanghai to escape Japanese aggression but continued to assist in the war effort through the production of cartoons for propaganda purposes. In the words of Jack Chen, the demand was “for posters, woodcuts, cartoons and art that throbs with the struggle for freedom.”5 In this chapter, Jack Chen’s travels through mainland China and Hong Kong, which took place following his tours of Europe and the USA, will be introduced. This part of the story begins in Hong Kong, moves on to Hankou, where the important left-wing newspaper Xinhua ribao 新華日報 (“Sin Xua Rhbao”) was published, and continues with a brief look at the Communist base in Yan’an 延安, visited by Chen in the company of Hu Kao. The work of Hu Kao will be used as an example to illustrate the wide variety of cartoon styles which had appeared throughout the 1930s and to show how they developed into the politicised art forms which were to become so prevalent after 1937. Following his sojourn at Yan’an, Jack Chen returned to Hong Kong, his last port of call before finally sailing for Europe. One of the eight resolutions passed by the Chinese National Cartoonists Association in 1937 had been to mount travelling cartoon exhibitions and this was subsequently taken up by cartoon artists nationwide.6 Much has been written about the National Salvation Cartoon Propaganda Corps (NSCPC) who travelled to parts of war-torn China displaying their artwork to gather

3 Hu Kao, “Faxisi he huajia 法西斯和畫家 [Fascism and the Painter],” in the Xin meishu 新美術 [New Art] column of Huashangbao 華商報 (3 September 1941): unnumbered page. 4 Bi and Huang, pp. 143–145. 5 Jack Chen, “The Gentle Art of Self-Defence,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (24 September 1938): p. 8. 6 Bi and Huang, pp. 143–144. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 277 support for national defence and the anti-Japanese cause.7 Much too has been said about individuals such as onetime member of the 1926 Cartoon Society Shen Yiqian and his contribution to the war effort through exhibitions of his battlefield sketches. In 1942, Mao Dun wrote a piece for a publication to coincide with an exhibition of Shen’s sketches. Mao Dun praises Shen’s work in the battle zones, specifically singling him out as having “travelled the greatest distance and to have been to the most places of any artist working in the field of art and literature.”8 This claim fails to take into account the efforts of artists such as Zhang Shanzi 張善孖 (1882–1940) and his brother Zhang Daqian who took exhibitions of their paintings as far afield as France and the USA. It also ignores the efforts of Jack Chen, whose travels around China at the time have been all but forgotten in the received historiography. It has been demonstrated in Chapters Five and Six that Chen played a significant role in the field of cartoon production in China during his stay in Shanghai in 1936/37. Having then toured Europe and the United States, on his return to China via Hong Kong in May 1938, Chen continued to spread an awareness of what he called “Modern Chinese Graphic Art,” taking with him the work of many of the artists he had met in China, including Zhang Guangyu, Ye Qianyu and Hu Kao. Without meaning to belittle in any way the achievements of the NSCPC, Shen Yiqian, or any other artist involved in the spread of anti-Japanese prop aganda art, it should be remembered in response to Mao Dun’s comment above, that Jack Chen had by this time covered thousands of miles on his quest to disseminate the work of the Chinese artists in an effort to raise funds for aid to China. On his return to China from the West, he brought with him a selection of works by British and American artists and exhibited them alongside those of Chinese artists and his own work in Hankou, Guangzhou, Yan’an and Hong Kong. A selection of the Chinese exhibits survive today in two separate collections, one recently acquired by the British Museum and another still in the possession of the Chen family which includes examples of Chen’s own work from the 1930s through to the 1970s, including sketches drawn in the UK during the war, and examples of his oil paintings. The British Museum collection also contains important material by several Chinese artists that

7 See Chang-tai Hung, War and Popular Culture, pp. 93–150; and Huang Ke et al. (eds.), Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, pp. 224–304. See also Huang Miaozi 黄苗子, “Kangzhan san nian lai de manhua gongzuo 抗战三年来的漫画工作 [Cartoon Work in the Three Years of the War of Resistance],” in Ji Shusheng 季树声 (ed.): Nuhou de huanghe 怒吼的黃河 (The Roar of the Yellow River), pp. 1–6. 8 Quoted in Huang Ke et al. Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, p. 272. 278 CHAPTER 7

Chen assembled at his last port of call, Hong Kong, before finally returning to Europe in October 1938. As far as the organisation of the 1938 trip to China is concerned, Chen was not acting alone. It was undertaken with the support of organizations in both England and the USA and towards the end of that year he was commissioned again, this time by the Chinese artists themselves, to take yet another exhibition back to the West. Reports in Xinhua ribao and Da gongbao clearly show that following an exhibition in Hankou to mark the anniversary of the Songhu huizhan 淞滬會戰 (Battle of Shanghai), Jack Chen and two other individuals were selected by the “Chinese National Art-world Resistance Association” to carry out the task of disseminating Chinese art to different parts of the world.9 This chapter is concerned with Jack Chen’s contribution to the spread of art as propaganda for the purposes of China’s “National Salvation” and will demonstrate the contribution that was made by Chinese artists to the fight against fascism that was being undertaken by left-wing artists worldwide. It will show how artists from Europe, the USA and China used their art as propagandising material during the years immediately prior to the “official” outbreak of World War II in 1939, their targets being Japanese aggression in China, Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia, Franco’s part in the Spanish Civil War, and the ever- increasing threat to peace in Europe from Nazi Germany. It will include important evidence gleaned from a number of reports in the newspapers Xinhua ribao, published in Hankou, and Xingdao ribao 星島日報 of Hong Kong, plus material from English-language newspapers such as the Hong Kong Daily Press and the Hong Kong Telegraph. With the exception of Chen’s brief visit to Yan’an, it is the major urban centres of the Eastern region, which became the successors to Shanghai’s lively art hub, that will be covered in this chapter, including Guangzhou and Hong Kong, as well as Hankou, temporary Eastern stronghold of the Chinese Nationalist government after December 1938. What happened in the fields of art and literature in Chongqing, final destination of the Nationalist government during wartime, will not be examined here. During the time he was in China in the years 1936 to 1938, Jack Chen drew many cartoons on the subject of the threat of war from Japan. Later, in London during the 1940s, he worked as a cartoonist for the Daily Worker, News Chronicle and Picture Post and as guest editor for The Studio and other magazines.10

9 Xinhua ribao (16 July 1938): unnumbered page, and Da gongbao 大公報 (16 July 1938): unnumbered page. 10 Jack Chen, Inside the Cultural Revolution (London: Sheldon Press, 1976), p. 44. See Jack Chen, “The Graphic Arts in the USSR” and “Soviet Painting,” in The Studio vol. 127 no. 611 Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 279

Chen’s cartoons during this time continued to be distinctly left-wing and he was a major contributor to the Communist Party of Great Britain sponsored newspaper the Daily Worker before it was shut down by the British Government in January 1941.11 Thereafter, Chen and the cartoonists of Left Review, James Boswell (1906–1971) (“Buchan” in the Daily Worker) and James Fitton (1899– 1982), plus Clifford Rowe (1904–1988) of the Artists’ International Association, “Giles” (Carl Giles, 1916–1995) and the Surrealist painter John Banting (1902–72) contributed cartoons to the leftist monthly Our Time which published its first issue in February that year.12 In contrast to Chen’s anti-establishment work of the 1940s, his cartoons of the 1950s, after he had returned to China to live and work, are in much the same vein as the material he had produced twenty years earlier in the Soviet Union for the Moscow News; namely, officially sanctioned propaganda in support of the ideologies of the ruling government. His vehemently anti-Ameri- can cartoons of the 1950s, drawn for the Beijing-published, English-Language magazine People’s China and its successor Peking Review were in complete support of the policies of the new PRC government, for example, with regard to

(February 1944): pp. 32–42 and pp. 53–64 and Jack Chen, “Modern Chinese Paintings,” in The Studio (August 1944): pp. 50–54. 1944 was also the year that Chen’s book Soviet Art and Artists was published in London by the Pilot Press. 11 See for example, Their Gallant Allies (20 January 1941): p. 4 and three cartoon illustrations for an article by Helen Bright, Our Factory is Like a Prison, both in the Daily Worker (21 January 1941): p. 3. Chen had contributed to the Daily Worker as far back as October 1937 with a lengthy article to promote his London exhibition, “China’s New Culture Fights Barbarism,” in the Daily Worker (28 October 1937): p. 4. Following the closure of the newspaper, Chen, together with other cartoonists of the Daily Worker, Gabriel (James Friell (1912–1997)), Patrick (Pat Carpenter) and “Hob-Nob,” put on an exhibition, “The Front Line” at the galleries of the Royal Society of British Artists. See Robert Radford, Art for a Purpose (Winchester: Winchester School of Art Press, 1987), p. 171. An existing programme shows that this exhibition, advertised as “The Art that Morrison Banned,” ran from 19 March to 9 April. It also shows that on 3 April Jack Chen gave an associated talk entitled “Chinese War Art.” See also a Letter addressed to “Dear Titta” sent from 28 Elgin Crescent [London] W11, dated 20 April 1941: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University (quoted in this chapter on pp. 316–317). 12 Mark Bryant, “The Other Giles,” in History Today vol. 56 (September 2006): p. 58. For information on Banting see Alan Windsor, Handbook of Modern British Painting and Printmaking 1900–1990 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998), p. 20. Randall Swingler, former editor of Left Review and literary editor of the Daily Worker, and Banting were amongst the editors of Our Time. See Andy Croft, Comrade Heart: A Life of Randall Swingler (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003), p. 123. 280 CHAPTER 7

Tibet, and the role the Chinese military played in the Korean War (1950–53).13 Amongst the many Chinese artists contributing cartoons and sketches to these magazines was Ye Qianyu, who by this time had still not completely shaken off his past as a cartoonist, despite his efforts to establish himself as a “serious” painter.14 With his cartoons for both the Moscow News and People’s China, Jack Chen was producing work towards the same ends as Soviet cartoonists such as Boris Yefimov, who, during his long career tirelessly supported the Communist regime in the Soviet Union with his cartoons for officially sanctioned newspapers and satirical journals. This was an entirely different situation to the one Chen had found in China during the 1930s. The Chinese cartoonists at that time were often working in an atmosphere of fear and repression in Shanghai. Censorship was rife and not until 1937, when the NSCPC was formed, under the command of Zhou Enlai 周恩來 (1895–1976) and Guo Moruo, did the cartoonists experience any form of official government sanction.

13 “One Target” accompanies an article “All Asia Supports Korea’s Fight,” in People’s China vol. 2 no. 2. (16 July 1950): pp. 3–4; “Keeping the Rail-link to the Front Open in Korea,” People’s China no. 2 (16 January 1952), “Truman’s Latest Recruit (Biological Warfare),” in People’s China no. 6 (March 1952): p. 6, and on the Tibetan question “The Amendment,” in Peking Review vol. 2 no. 43 (27 October 1959): p. 25. As well as cartoons Chen wrote articles for People’s China: see “New Peking,” in People’s China vol. 4 no. 3 (1 August 1951): pp. 21–23 and “People’s War in Korea,” in People’s China vol. 2 no. 6 (16 September 1950): pp. 11–14. This article is accompanied by three sketches by Chen and one cartoon by Ye Qianyu (see note 14 below). It was written by Chen after a visit to North Korea as a member of the Chinese People’s Delegation. See also Yao Hua [Jack Chen], “New China’s Films,” in People’s China (16 April 1951). A large number of articles, on the broad subject of “Chinese Culture,” appeared in the “Cultural Front” column of People’s China, most, if not all apparently written by Chen. Several of these from 1950–1953 were published together in book form in 1954 in a volume entitled Folk Arts of New China (Peking: The Foreign Languages Press, 1954). Again, although the articles are not directly attributed to Chen, his name appears as the writer of the preface. That Chen did indeed write the articles for the “Cultural Front” column has been confirmed by Yuan-tsung Chen. At least two of the chapters in the book were written by other writers, “New Year Pictures” by Yu Feng and “Shadow Theatre” written by one Yang Chen. The incidental drawings for the volume were provided by Zhang Guangyu and Gu Yuan 古元 (1919–1996). 14 See an untitled cartoon by Ye Qianyu showing Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) in Taiwan leaning over towards Korea with blood dripping from his hands, in People’s China vol. 2 no. 6 (16 September 1950): p. 14. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 281

Hong Kong: First Port of Call

After his tour of the USA in early 1938, Chen returned to China via Hong Kong. Chen’s journey to Hong Kong can be mapped through his existing letters. On 12 April he had written to his sister on board the S.S. President Coolidge whilst docked at Honolulu. By the 27th of that month the boat had arrived at Manila and on 4 May he was finally in Hong Kong.15 Soon after his arrival he mounted an exhibition which ran from 16 to 25 May. One of the many newspaper reports on the exhibition reads:

The artist organisers declare that this is the first venture in their plan of international art collaboration between the big national art groups. They call on all lovers of art, to support their initiative, which is designed to unite artists all over the world “for peace, democracy and cultural progress”.16

“For peace, democracy and cultural progress” was the slogan of the Artists’ International Association (AIA) as it appeared in the organisation’s manifesto.17 The AIA had been formed in London in 1933 to promote links between art and left-wing politics.18 Although Jack Chen’s membership of the organisation was intermittent, the ideas he strove to promote throughout his time in China, were in accord with theirs.19 In common with all publicity for his “Exhibition of Modern English-American and Chinese Graphic Art,” an existing programme of the exhibition carries the AIA’s slogan.20 The programme

15 Letter addressed to “Dear Kids,” [Sylvia Chen and Jay Leyda] sent from on board the S.S. President Coolidge, dated 12 April 1938; letter addressed to “Dear Kids,” sent from on board S.S. President Coolidge, dated 27 April 1938; and Letter addressed to “Dear Tits,” [Sylvia Chen] dated 4 May 1938: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 16 “Outstanding Artistic Event in the Colony,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (16 May 1938): p. 7. 17 Manifesto of the Artists’ International Association, Tate Gallery Archives, TGA 7043.17.3. 18 Robert Radford, Art for a Purpose, p. 6. 19 It can be seen from the AIA members’ register [1937–49] held in the Tate Gallery Archives, TGA 7043/11/1, that Chen paid his membership dues only sporadically. His name is not found in the register until March 1941 but continues to appear up until March 1943. It will be remembered that the AIA had been partly responsible for Chen’s 1937 London exhibition (see Chapter Five). 20 Programme in the possession of the Chen family. 282 CHAPTER 7 further shows that the exhibits were donated by two groups; the AIA and its equivalent in the USA, the American Artists’ Congress, which had close ties to two other organisations, the American Communist Party and the American Friends of the Chinese People. This typewritten programme lists the names of the British and American artists involved in the exhibition along with sixty- five of their works.21 In addition, works listed by Chinese artists include cartoons by Hu Kao, Zhang Guangyu, Ye Qianyu and Lu Shaofei, and woodcuts by Huang Xinbo. These were no doubt some of the exhibits by Chinese artists that had remained unsold after Chen’s tours of the USA and UK.22 Whilst in Hong Kong, Chen strove to replenish his stock of Chinese art with a view to eventually continuing his tour in Europe. The British artists represented in the exhibitions were all members of the AIA. They included James Boswell and James Holland, cartoonists of Left Review (a magazine to which Chen contributed during his 1937 stay in London); Lord [Jack] Hastings (a favourite of Anthony Blunt); Chen’s close friend Pearl Binder (1904–90); Stephen Bone (1904–58), John Nash (1893–1977), Felicia Browne (1904–36), Betty Rea (1904–65), and the woodcut artists Gertrude Hermes (1901–83) and Eric Ravilious (1903–42). Amongst the American artists listed, several were contributors to the magazines New Masses and China Today, publications to which Chen also contributed. These included Fred Ellis, Rockwell Kent, Elizabeth Olds (1896–1991), Louis Lozowick (1882–1973), Anton Refregier (1905–79), and Wanda Gág (1893–1946). Reproductions of works by the art editor of New Masses, Hugo Gellert (1892–1985) and another important contributor to that magazine, William Gropper, are also listed. In an article by Chen published in Asia in May 1938, he tells of a “recent interest” amongst Chinese cartoonists in the work of several Western artists: Fred Ellis, David Low and Daniel R. Fitzpatrick.23 Elements of Fred Ellis’s style, which was certainly a great influence on Chen’s own work, can be seen in the cartoons of Cai Ruohong during the years 1937/38, following the period when he had been drawing in the “Grosz-style.” Cartoons representative of this

21 The same list appears in full in the Hong Kong Daily Press (16 May 1938): p. 7. 22 According to a report in the magazine Meihua, following the publication of the pamphlet 5,000 Years Young, the works of art that had appeared within its pages were all sold off. This does give an indication of the brochure’s popularity but is not altogether accurate, as many of these prints and drawings went on to be displayed in subsequent venues and some even exist today in the collection of the British Museum. See “Wanli changzheng huilai de Chen 萬里長征回來的陳 [Chen—Back from a 10,000 Mile Long March],” in Meihua 美華 [Beautiful China], vol. 1 no. 8 (1938): p. 184. 23 Jack Chen, “China’s Militant Cartoonists,” in Asia vol. 38 no. 5 (May 1938): pp. 308–312. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 283 change in style can be seen in Kangzhan sanrikan 抗戰三日刊 (War of Resistance Tridiem),24 one good example being, Jiao qinlüezhe quxi 叫侵略者屈膝 (Make the Invaders Get Down on Their Knees).25 Cai Ruohong also recognised the influence of David Low on his own work and even saw Low’s style as having aspects in common with Eastern art.26 Jack Chen, in his Asia article identifies yet another inspiration for the work of Cai’s colleague Lu Zhixiang, claiming that Lu had “lately passed from under the influence of George Grosz to that of Diego Rivera.”27 As previously mentioned, the work of Diego Rivera was well known in Chinese art circles and reproductions of his murals had appeared in Chinese magazines.28 It has been shown that Chen’s own work had also been compared to that of Rivera and Orozco in Anthony Blunt’s review of his London exhibition in 1937. Chen further asserts that following the widespread interest in the art of George Grosz, another major foreign influence in China had been that of Boris Yefimov and indeed Yefimov’s work is widely seen in Chinese newspapers and magazines at this time.29 Ironically, unbeknown to the Chinese, just at the time of his popularity in China, Yefimov’s own life was in turmoil. In an interview given shortly before his death in 2008, Yefimov recalled that in 1938 his elder brother, Mikhail Kolstov (1898–1942), editor of the popular Soviet satirical magazine Krokadil, had been arrested by the authorities. In response to this, Yefimov packed his own belongings; as Kolstov’s sibling fully expecting to be detained himself, but to his great surprise was left untouched. His career though was put on hold. Yefimov recalled:

For roughly a year and a half I was unemployed. They sacked me from the newspapers and magazines where I worked, because I was the brother of an enemy of the people. But at the same time as my brother’s case ended, and he was executed [this actually happened in 1942], I was asked to go back to work. It was a gruesome kind of reckoning. I could have refused . . .

24 Kangzhan sanrikan 抗戰三日刊 [War of Resistance Tridiem] was first published in Shanghai on the 19 August 1937. 25 Cai Ruohong, Jiao qinlüezhe quxi 叫侵略者屈膝 [Make the Invaders Get Down on Their Knees], in Kangzhan sanri kan (2 September 1937): p. 9. 26 Cai Ruohong, Cai Ruohong meishu lunji, p. 281. 27 Jack Chen, “China’s Militant Cartoonists,” p. 312. 28 Wanxiang no. 1 (20 May 1934): unnumbered page; “Xiandai yishu 現代藝術 [Modern Art],” in Xiao shijie: banyuekan 小世界: 半月刊 [A Small World: Fortnightly] vol. 24 (1933): p. 17 and “Lifeila bihua de gushi 李費拉壁畫的故事 [The Story of the Murals of Diego Rivera],” in Wenyi huabao inaugural issue (10 October 1934): p. 45. 29 Jack Chen, “China’s Militant Cartoonists,” p. 312. 284 CHAPTER 7

I had a wife; I had a young son. If I had done that, they would all have died. So I went back to work.30

It was at this time, when the Soviet regime was being lauded by the left-wing Chinese oblivious of Yefimov’s plight, that his cartoons were appearing regularly in their publications.31 Many of the foreign artists whose work appeared in Jack Chen’s exhibitions were already familiar to the Chinese. William Gropper had been known in China for some time, initially for his work in Vanity Fair, and then for his highly politicized cartoons in New Masses and China Today. His profile in China was no doubt significantly raised following a ban on the August 1935 issue of Vanity Fair in which a caricature by him of the Emperor Hirohito had appeared. This caricature provoked an international incident which led to the banning of the offending issue of the magazine in both Japan and China.32 China Today, to which Gropper also contributed, reported on the incident and was in no way deterred by Japanese diplomatic threats. China Today was in turn banned in Japan as it too regularly printed depictions of the emperor which no doubt proved as offensive to the Japanese as the Vanity Fair cartoon had done.33 Another American artist well known to the Chinese, whose work appeared in Chen’s exhibition was Rockwell Kent. He was widely known in China, again perhaps partly due to the regular appearance of his work in Vanity Fair, where it appeared in articles and features, as well as in a long-running advertising campaign.34 Four of Kent’s illustrations to A Norse Tale were included in Chen’s exhibition. In the same year his woodcuts Starlight (1930) and Flame (1928)

30 Ben Lewis, Hammer and Tickle—A History of Communism Through Communist Jokes (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008), p. 85. 31 See for example Xinhua ribao (1 March 1938) and (3 March 1938): both on the front cover. 32 See “Local Ban on ‘Vanity Fair’,” in the North-China Herald (14 August 1935): p. 264 and Louis Lozowick, William Gropper, pp. 34–35. The incident concerning Gropper’s cartoon is also discussed in Huang Mao’s Talks on the Art of Cartoons, pp. 11–12. 33 See China Today (September 1935): front cover. A pictorial spread of caricatures of the Japanese emperor by William Gropper, drawn in the intervening years, plus the offending example from Vanity Fair appeared in New Masses in December 1941. This feature, entitled “To the Finish” with a caption written by Gropper, appeared as a response to America recently joining the war after the events of 7/8 December. In the caption Gropper declares: “Now we’ll let them have it. I’m in it to the finish, as all of us on the magazine are.” On a second page is another pictorial showing cartoons of the Japanese emperor by several other artists, including Jack Chen and Fred Ellis. New Masses vol. 41 no. 11 (December 16 1941): p. 15. 34 A series of advertisements for Marcus & Company Jewellers in Vanity Fair (1927–28). Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 285 had appeared as logos for Xingzuo 星座 (Constellation), the art and literature page of the newspaper Xingdao ribao,35 and in 1941 his artwork would once again be used as the logo for the Xin meishu 新美術 (The New Art) column in another Hong Kong newspaper Huashangbao. A lasting debt to Rockwell Kent’s work can be seen in the woodcuts of Huang Xinbo during and after the 1940s36 although the examples by him that appeared in Chen’s exhibition are from an earlier period, at this stage showing no debt to the American’s work. The work of the wood engravers Gertrude Hermes and Eric Ravilious which was included in the exhibition was not as well known in China as that of their German and Soviet counterparts. Hermes’s contributions were two prints entitled, Adam and Eve and The Five Senses and Ravilious was represented by a design for a book cover. Although not widely known in China, both these artists were well known to Shao Xunmei who had expressed a preference for their work and that of other English and American artists over that of their Soviet counterparts, even though he had been involved in the organization of the Shanghai exhibition of Soviet woodcuts that had run for a week from 20 February 1936. In an article by Shao, written in advance of this exhibition, he singles out Hermes for the delicacy and refinement of her composition.37 The woodcuts of another English artist, Eric Gill, would have been known to readers of Wenyi huabao as two examples had appeared in that magazine in 1934.38 Many years earlier Shao had used one of Gill’s woodcuts as an illustration for his first book (written whilst studying in the UK), a play based on the poems of Sappho, which in the end turned out to be Shao’s least successful publishing venture. He later recalled that having been introduced to the Cambridge bookshop Heffers by his landlord and teacher, Sinologist, Reverend A.C. Moule, the book was put on sale in the shop but failed to sell even a single copy.39

35 Flame also appeared as one of a series showing woodcuts from around the world in Xingzuo 星座 column of Xingdao ribao (19 August 1938): p. 14. Xingzuo, the arts page of Xingdao ribao, is now largely available online. http://hklitpub.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/newspapers/ A similar image by Kent was also used as the logo for the Chinese magazine Tiandiren. See Tiandiren, inaugural issue (1 March 1936): p. 34. 36 See Chensi 沉思 [Lost in Thought] (1943) and Nianqingren 年輕人 [Youngster] (1961) in Huang Xinbo 黃新波, Huang Xinbo zuopin xuanji 黄新波作品选集 [Selected Works of Huang Xinbo], (Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1963), unnumbered pages. 37 Shao Xunmei, “Muban hua 木版畫 [Woodcuts],” in Shidai huabao vol. 9 no. 5 (20 April 1936): unnumbered page. 38 Wenyi huabao vol. 1 no. 2 (15 December 1934): unnumbered page. 39 Shao Xunmei, “Xila wenxue zhuanjia 希臘文學專家 [A Specialist in Greek Literature],” in Rulin xinshi [New History of the Scholars], p. 99. 286 CHAPTER 7

Guangzhou: Caught in the Air Raids

Jack Chen’s exhibition almost came to an abrupt end when it reached Guang zhou. In his autobiographical account, The People’s War, Israel Epstein recalls how the exhibition came close to being destroyed by Japanese bombing:

On June 6, the artist, Jack Chen, gave an exhibition of American graphic art and posters from Republican Spain [sic] in a building at the doors of which many people were killed on the same day. Japanese planes were over the city at the hour when the Mayor was scheduled to open the exhibition. The mayor came. Hundreds attended the showing.40

Jack Chen wrote his own description of the air raids in Guangzhou which he submitted as an open letter to the Hong Kong Daily Press. This appeared in the newspaper under the title “Massacres at Canton” and was written on 6 June; the same day, according to Epstein’s account, that Chen’s exhibition was threatened with complete destruction. Written in an uncharacteristically reflective style, it tells of the carnage he witnessed in Guangzhou.41 Another writer to have witnessed the air raids first hand was the dramatist Xia Yan 夏衍 (1900–95) whose accounts appeared in both Chinese and English-language publications at the time. Xia Yan was the editor of Jiuwang ribao (National Salvation Daily) and its sister magazine Shiri wencui 十日文萃 (Ten Day

40 Israel Epstein, The People’s War (London: Victor Gollancz, 1939), p. 309. This information has been cited by Buchanan, pp. 78–79. Jack Chen makes no mention of posters from Spain in his own writings and there is no evidence to suggest that Epstein was correct in his assertion that any were shown at the exhibition. A small number of exhibits did take the Spanish Civil War as their theme but these were not posters, for example, James Holland, “The War Zone (Spain)” and Felicia Browne, “Spanish Loyalist.” 41 Jack Chen, “Massacres at Canton,” in Hong Kong Daily Press (8 June 1938): p. 7 and Xia Yan, “Guangzhou zai hongzha zhong 廣州在轟炸中 [Guangzhou in the Bombing],” in Xia Yan zawen suibiji 夏衍雜文隨筆記 [Collected Essays and Jottings of Xia Yan] (Beijing: Sanlian shudian, 1980), pp. 16–20, and in the English language: Hsia Yen [Xia Yan], “Murder from the Skies,” in China Today (October 1938): p. 7. The previous year Ba Jin 巴金 (1904–2005) had described an air raid in Guangzhou. Ba Jin, “Suowei Riben kongjun de weili 所謂日本空軍的威力 [The So-called Might of the Japanese Airforce],” in Fenghuo 烽火 [Beacon] inaugural issue (5 September 1937): p. 5. Cai Ruohong drew an accompanying picture to this showing a dead mother and her child after the raid Xie de buyang 血的哺養 [Feeding on Blood] (signed RhoXung [Ruohong]): p. 6. This is cited in Chang-tai Hung, War and Popular Culture, p. 17. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 287

Digest) both of which were published in Guangzhou at this time. An article by Jack Chen appeared in Shiri wencui and is based on a talk he gave to a group of artists involved in an exhibition held to commemorate the Mukden Incident of 1931.42 Chen’s article appeared in the third issue of the magazine which was published in Guangzhou before the city fell and the newspaper offices were forced to move to Guilin.43 At this time Yu Feng was also working for Jiuwang ribao and a sketch by her, Kuai song hanyi! 快送寒衣 (Hurry, Send Winter Clothing!) appears as an illustration to Chen’s article. It is not known whether or not Yu Feng was one of the exhibitors at the exhibition but Chen certainly had some sort of connection with Jiuwang ribao and possibly also with her.44 On the following page of the same issue of Shiri wencui Ye Lingfeng wrote a review of the exhibition, “Guanyu Jiu-yi-ba zhanlan” 關於九一八展覽 (Concerning the Nine-one-eight Exhibition).45 In this article, at the same time as expressing his liking for the woodcut as an art form, Ye Lingfeng criticises the artistic level of the exhibition, bemoaning the fact that artists of a higher calibre, such as Huang Xinbo, had not contributed to it. On display was the work of artists who had been involved in the dissemination of anti-Japanese propaganda, none of whose names were given; the work of each artist appearing with only an identification number, thereby remaining anonymous to all but the organizers of the exhibition. At the end of the article Ye Lingfeng states that due to the limitations of space he was only able to sum up his thoughts on the exhibition and “regretfully” was not able to express an opinion on the art works that Jack Chen had brought with him to Guangzhou.46

42 Chen Yifan, “Yishujia yao you jianqiang de zuzhi 藝術家要有堅強的組織 [Artists Must Have Strong Organization],” in Shiri wencui 十日文萃 [Ten Day Digest], no. 3 (1938): p. 13. 43 “Guangzhou zuihou zhi ri 廣州最後之日 [The Last Days of Guangzhou],” and “Chang tu 長途 [Long Road],” in Xia Yan 夏衍, Xia Yan zawen suibiji 夏衍杂文随笔集 [Collected Essays and Jottings of Xia Yan], pp. 23–28 and pp. 135–174. 44 On the reverse of a surviving original cartoon by Te Wei, Ju’e qinlüe zhanfei 鉅額侵略戰費 [The Huge Cost of the War], BM2009, 3022.5), formerly in the possession of Jack Chen, can be found the following words written in pencil: Tongxunchu Guangzhou Changshou donglu Jiuwang ribao Yu Feng zhuan 通訊處廣州長壽東路救亡日報郁風轉 [Communications Department: Forward to Yu Feng, National Salvation Daily, Changshou Road East, Guangzhou]. Te Wei’s cartoon may have appeared in an issue of Jiuwang ribao but was certainly published in Xingdao ribao on 24 August 1938. 45 Ye Lingfeng, “Guanyu Jiu-yi-ba zhanlan 關於九一八展覽 [Concerning the Nine-one- eight Exhibition],” in Shiri wencui no. 3 (1938): p. 14. 46 Ibid. 288 CHAPTER 7

It was whilst Chen was there that another exhibition of Chinese revolutionary art was shown in Moscow. This was organised by the Quanguo manhua zuojia xiehui 全國漫畫作家協會 (National Cartoon Artists’ Committee) and arranged by Zhengzhibu san ting guoji xuanchuanchu 政治部三厛國際宣傳處 (Third Section of the Military Affairs Commission of the International Propaganda Department). As early as March 1938, reproductions of the exhibits for this exhibition had appeared as daily illustrations in the masthead of Xinhua ribao.47 These included works by Liang Baibo, Lu Zhixiang, Liao Bingxiong and Hu Kao. The following month, a feature entitled “Chinese War Pictures Exhibition in the URSS” appeared in Liangyou huabao.48 The English caption to this double-page spread which illustrates six of the forty-five large-scale pictures reads: “A group of contemporary Chinese artists have succeeded in securing the cooperation of the URSS by exhibition [sic] in that country some of the best war pictures in the Sino-Japanese conflict. We give here a few of these pictures that will be taken to the URSS for exhibition.” This display of work by members of the NSCPC is another rare example of the spread of the Chinese artists’ work outside the borders of China. This, together with the exhibition held in Paris in 1934 Peintures et Gravures de la Chine Revolutionaire,49 are the only two exhibitions that can be considered comparable to Jack Chen’s. Lu Xun had played a part in gathering material for the Paris exhibition, his aim being to present a cross section of Chinese “revolutionary art” to the organisers. In the end, forty paintings, fifty-eight woodcuts and six sketches were shown. This exhibition is well documented and has been widely cited in studies about the New Woodcut Movement.50 The differences between both these exhibitions and Chen’s own efforts lie in their scope and content. Chen’s exhibitions predominantly focussed on cartoons, although there were also a significant number of woodcuts included amongst his exhibits. Most importantly, his 1937 and 1938 exhibitions included examples of wartime cartoons which had not been available to the organisers of the 1934 exhibition. The exhibition that he was now showing at Guangzhou contained amongst its exhibits work by Ye Qianyu, Hu Kao and other cartoonists, together with that of British and American artists. As has been shown in previous chapters, the main emphasis in Shanghai cartoon circles during the first half of the decade had been on works inspired by popular culture and Western artistic models. The revolutionary theme of the Paris exhibition, on the other hand, had inevi-

47 These appeared in Xinhua ribao between 19 and 27 March. 48 Liangyou no. 136 (15 April 1938): unnumbered page. 49 Shown at the Gallerie Billiet—Pierre Vorms on 14 March 1934. 50 See for example Lu Di 陆地, Zhongguo xiandai banhuashi 中国现代版画史 [The History of the Chinese Modern Woodcut] (Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1987), pp. 71–75. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 289 tably concentrated on the products of the New Woodcut Movement and their politically focussed artwork. The exhibits in the much later Moscow exhibition were indeed cartoons, each one of them having been enlarged and transferred onto large sheets of cloth for display. Although this made them easier to transport, they were still by no means as portable as the exhibits Chen was single-handedly taking round the world. With just his personal luggage, Chen was able to take his exhibition not just to Moscow exhibition halls but to assorted venues, both large and small, throughout the UK, the USA and Europe.

Chen is Sent to Europe and America

After Guangzhou, Chen’s next stop was Hankou, where he arrived in late June 1938. From the 24 June through to 16 July articles referring to him appear regularly in the newspapers Xinhua ribao and Da gongbao.51 The cartoons by Chinese artists that can be found in Xinhua ribao illustrate well the marked difference between the politically motivated propaganda cartoons which were now appearing and those that had been published in the years leading up to the war; an indicator of the recent adoption of a left-wing approach to art which, although present in the work of some cartoonists prior to this period, had by now become prevalent in the output of the majority. Foreign models were now from the Soviet Union, not from the New York of Vanity Fair or from Hollywood films. Two good examples of this politicised approach by Hu Kao are Sidalin huifa shixian 斯達林惠法實現 (Stalin’s Constitution is Realized) and another on a theme much emphasized by the newspaper, the worldwide call for the boycott of Japanese goods, Quanshijie gongren juzhuang Rihuo 全世界工人拒裝日貨 (Workers of the World Refuse to Unload Japanese Goods); the latter shows evidence of the mature blend of modernist styles that was being used by both Hu Kao and his colleague Liang Baibo at this time (fig. 7.1).52 This refers to the wide support now being offered by organisations from the USA and UK for the boycott of Japanese imports.53 At this time Jack Chen may well have acted as a contact between foreign aid organisations and

51 News of the exhibitions had spread to other countries in support of the Chinese struggle. On 13 July the travelling exhibition was reported in the Singapore press. See “Artists Unite for China: Federation for Hankow,” in the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (13 June 1938): p. 4. 52 Xinhua ribao (16 January 1938): p. 1 and Xinhua ribao (30 January 1938): p. 1. 53 See for example “Jieshao Yingguo yuanhua yundong zonghui 介紹英國援華運動總會 [Introducing the General Meeting of Britain’s Aid China Campaign],” in Xinhua ribao (7 September 1938): unnumbered page. 290 CHAPTER 7

FigURE 7.1 Hu Kao 胡考, Quanshijie gongren juzhuang Rihuo 全世界工人拒裝日貨 (Workers of the World Refuse to Unload Japanese Goods), from Xinhua ribao 新華日報 (“Sin Xua Rhbao”) (30 January 1938), front cover.

the publishers of Xinhua ribao as he would become heavily involved with this sort of campaigning upon his return to England.54 In Hankou, Chen gave a talk to the Zhonghua quanguo mukejie kangri xiehui 中華全國木刻界抗日協會 (The Resist the Enemy Committee of the All China Woodcut Circle (RECACWC)) in which he informed its members of a recognition in Europe of trends in Chinese modern art that had taken steps “from abstraction to Realism” and from “the elite to the masses.” He reported how Western artists were now able to appreciate how the Chinese had “melded together the best parts of both Chinese and Western art to create a fresh new

54 Arthur Clegg mentions such contact between the CCC and the newspaper. Arthur Clegg, Aid China 1937–1949, p. 83 and p. 116 and pp. 127–128. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 291 style.”55 It will be remembered that it was just this blend of East and West that Anthony Blunt had recognized in the work of Hu Kao and Jack Chen. In both Xinhua ribao and Da gongbao, information appears that shows that important resolutions were passed by RECACWC with regard to the future spread of propaganda through the mounting of art exhibitions.56 First, it shows that the organization was striving to raise funds for a national exhibition of art of resistance, and was inviting contributions from artists nationwide. Secondly, and most importantly, it can be seen that the committee recognised a need to publicize the war of resistance to the international art world with the aim of showing the “defiant mood of the Chinese people” to the world at large. In order to put this into practice they sought to engage Jack Chen to mount exhibitions in “all major cities of Europe and America”; to send Zhang Shanzi to the west of China to mount exhibitions of his own art, so as to encourage the people in the interior to join the war of resistance; and to send Zhang Derong 張德榮 (dates unknown) to represent the organization in Singapore, Java and Vietnam. This is likely to be the same Zhang Derong who had been involved in the magazine Meishu shenghuo 美術生活 as both editor and contributor. Other one-time editors of the magazine include Shao Xunmei’s great friends, Jiang Xiaojian and Lang Jingshan, and contributors of artworks or articles to the magazine include, Cai Ruohong, Ye Qianyu, Wan Laiming, Lu Shaofei, Huang Miaozi, Pang Xunqin, Xu Beihong, Zhang Shanzi and Zhang Daqian. Having been given the go ahead by the committee in July, it was several months before Chen left the country. In August, quite by chance, Freda Utley met him on the road near Yangxin, Hubei Province, where they had both come to report on the war.

As we sat by the roadside there hove into view a group of foreigners coming back from the front. We recognized the Comte de Rochefoucault, correspondent of a group of French Catholic newspapers, the slight figure of Jack Chen, the half-negro artist son of Eugene Chen, Francis Yao, star war correspondent of the Chinese Central News [Agency], and Tillman Durdin of the New York Times . . . Jack Chen, with his cheerful laugh, his torn shirt, and his Oxford accent seemed here on this remote road in China just the same as I had known him in Moscow years before.

55 Da gongbao (24 June 1938): unnumbered page and Xinhua ribao (24 June 1938): unnumbered page. 56 Xinhua ribao (16 July 1938) and Da gongbao (16 July 1938). 292 CHAPTER 7

FigURE 7.2 Hu Kao 胡考, Lixiang de youxian shenghuo! 理想的有閒生活 (An Ideal Life of Leisure!), in Shidai manhua) 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) vol. 4 (20 April 1934) [p. 20]. The stance of each of the dancing couples forms the shape of one of the four seasons. Each caption carries a short poetic line punctuated by rhythmic onomatopoeic sounds imitating the weather as an accompaniment to the dance. Top right: The spring breeze is warm. It’s not a day for reading. Bottom right: The summer sun is scorching. It’s not a day for exams. Top left: The autumn air is soughing [through the trees]. It’s not a day for research. Bottom left: The winter night is freezing. It’s not a day for studying hard. Modern Sketch (Shidai manhua); Colgate University Libraries Digital Collections, with permission. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 293

We were to find his drawings scattered about all over the front, on walls, in notebooks of officers, even in a cave within range of the Japanese guns.57

From the front, Chen went on to visit the Communist base in Yan’an in the company of Hu Kao. Hu Kao was a major figure in the Chinese cartoon world of the 1930s and by this time was playing an important role in the dissemination of propaganda art. By focusing on the work of Hu Kao below, it will be further demonstrated how the form and content of Chinese cartoons had changed during the period leading up to the war, and how from being part of the wider discourse of modern art in Shanghai, cartoons had undergone a series of transitional stylistic changes, to arrive at an art form which could be used as an effective tool for the propagation of political ideologies.

Hu Kao: A Shanghai Cartoonist

In an article written for the January 1939 edition of Asia, Jack Chen described Hu Kao as “one of the finest of the younger generation of the younger modern artists.”58 Chen’s approbation of Hu’s work was repeated time and again in the articles he wrote to promote his own travelling exhibitions.59 Hu’s early work had appeared in cartoon magazines such as Shidai manhua and Duli manhua where his humorous cartoons and sketches depicted well-known film stars, sports personalities and politicians. His geometric style displayed the height of modern Shanghai fashion with distinctive elements of “Art Deco” design (fig. 7.2).60 Much of Hu Kao’s early work shows a resemblance to Zhang Guangyu’s “Minjian qingge” series and should therefore be recognized as owing a debt to the caricatures of Miguel Covarrubias. This is certainly the case with his work found in Duli manhua, notably in the series “Wushi nian qian 五十年前 (Fifty Years Ago)”61 and with some of his cartoons published in Shidai huabao.62 In 1935, Hu’s black-and-white line drawings for the classical

57 Freda Utley, China at War (London: Faber and Faber, 1939), pp. 171–172. 58 Jack Chen, “Why They go to Yenan,” in Asia, vol. 39 no. 1 (January 1939): p. 26. 59 Ibid., and Jack Chen, Five Thousand Years Young—Modern Chinese Drawings and Woodcuts 60 Hu Kao, Lixiang de youxian shenghuo! 理想的有閒生活! [An Ideal Life of Leisure!], in Shidai manhua vol. 4 (20 April 1934), unnumbered page. 61 Hu Kao, Wushi nian qian 五十年前 [Fifty Years Ago], in Duli manhua, appearing serially from no. 1 (25 September 1935) to no. 8 (15 January 1936). 62 Shidai huabao vol. 7 no. 12 (16 April 1935) and vol. 8 no. 2 ([1] June 1935): unnumbered pages. 294 CHAPTER 7

Chinese drama Xixiangji 西廂記 (The Romance of the Western Chamber), which can be recognized as owing much to Covarrubias’s drawings in Marc Chandourne’s China, were criticised by Lu Xun, who as “Father of the Woodcut” freely offered his opinions on woodcuts and other forms of art.63 In a letter sent to Cao Juren (at that time editor of Mangzhong banyuekan 芒種半月刊 (Grain in Ear Fortnightly)), Lu Xun criticised Hu Kao for his use of draughtsman’s tools in the drawing of his caricatures.

Apart from his Romance of the Western Chamber, I have seen two types of artwork by Mr. Hu Kao, namely, his You sanjie [from the Dream of the Red Chamber] and Mangzhong. They are lively in spirit and refined of line. However, because he uses [draughtsman’s] tools, [his work] sometimes seems constrained and unnatural. That is to say, sometimes the line takes on a life of its own. The Romance of the Western Chamber is very well executed and should be published as both this and You sanjie suit the manner of his drawing. However, I think that if he used this manner of drawing to “attack establishment idols” it would make his work more “caricature-esque” and therefore more meaningful . . .64

Hu’s drawings referred to in this passage are all examples of his Lianhuan lishi tuhua 連環歷史圖畫 (Historical Picture Serial Stories), another example of which are his illustrations to Sanguozhi 三國志 (Records of the Three Kingdoms), which appeared in Mangzhong together with text by Cao Juren himself.65 Lu Xun’s comments are perhaps simply a reflection of his own taste in art, as one of the leading advocates of the New Woodcut Movement, and a main figurehead behind the use of art and literature as a tool for the spread of political ideologies. However, it could be argued that Hu’s cartoons in this

63 An edition of Xixiangji 西廂記 [The Romance of the Western Chamber] was published by Shanghai qianqiu chubanshe in May 1935 and Lu Xun’s critique appeared in its preface. The critique was republished in the October 1988 issue of 中国连环画 Zhongguo lianhuanhua [Chinese Comic Strips]. Jiang Weipu 姜維朴 tells how Hu Kao discussed Lu Xun’s theories of art with him “during later life . . . but rarely talked about Lu Xun’s assess- ment of Hu’s own work,” in “Memory of Artists,” pp. 61–63. 64 See Lu Xun’s letter to Cao Juren (29 March 1935) in Lu Xun xuanji, shuxinjuan 鲁迅选集•书信卷 [Collected Works of Lu Xun, Correspondence] (Shandong: Shandong wenyi chubanshe, 1991), pp. 381–382. Cao Juren was editor of Mangzhong with Xu Maoyong 徐懋庸 (1911–1977). Cao had tried his hand at the publication of a manhua journal earlier that year with Qunzhong manhua 群衆漫畫 [Cartoons for the Masses] which was first published in Shanghai in February 1935. See Bi and Huang, Zhongguo manhuashi, p. 94. 65 Mangzhong banyuekan 芒種半月刊 [Grain in Ear Fortnightly] (20 March 1935). Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 295 style should be seen as one of his most significant artistic contributions to Shanghai’s art scene during the first half of the decade. In 1938, Jack Chen made the astute observation that cartoonists “change their styles as often and with as much facility as the chameleon changes the colour of its skin . . . so much so indeed that the critic has often to refer to the ‘present’ style of an artist.”66 Such chameleon-like change is certainly a trait of Hu Kao’s work, which prior to the founding of the PRC can be seen to have drawn on countless different styles, ranging from Socialist Realist to Surrealist.67 By 1937 Hu had already developed a number of contrasting styles, no less than three of which can be seen in the small selection of works found in Jack Chen’s pamphlet Five Thousand Years Young.68 It has been shown that Anthony Blunt was favorably disposed towards Hu Kao’s drawings that had appeared in Chen’s London exhibition and in his critique described Refugees as “. . . like stills from the best Russian films.”69 Another reviewer, Chun Kum-wen 陳錦雲 (Chen Jinyun) (dates unknown) also admired this image: “A Drawing of large size by Ho Ko [Hu Kao], entitled ‘Refugees,’ was perhaps one of the best shown in the exhibition . . . its well- balanced composition and beautiful lines reveal the sorrows and suffering of millions of good-natured common people caused by the Japanese invasion.”70 This striking drawing appeared as the centre-page spread of the final issue

66 Jack Chen, “China’s Militant Cartoons,” p. 312. 67 For an example of Hu Kao’s work in the “Surrealist” style see the crayon drawing Hongzha 轟炸 [Bombing], in the Xin meishu column of Huashangbao (19 November 1941): unnumbered page. For examples of Hu Kao’s sketches in a realist style see Xingdao ribao. 68 Jack Chen, Five Thousand Years Young, unnumbered pages. 69 The Chinese title is Dahan wang yunni tu 大旱望雲霓圖 [Hoping for Rainclouds at a Time of Drought], meaning “Hoping for Relief at a Time of Distress.” This also carried the subtitle Sichuan zaikuang 四川災況 [The Famine Situation in Sichuan]. 70 Chun Kum-wen, T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 7 no. 2 (September 1938): p. 209. This critique is repeated almost word-for-word in a review of the exhibition when it was shown in Hong Kong: “Among those works which first caught the onlooker’s attention was a drawing of large size by Hu Ko [Hu Kao], a young Chinese artist, entitled: ‘Refugees.’ It depicted on one side black clouds hanging over the sky, on the other, common peasant folks with what little belongings they could gather from their devastated holes, wandering on to escape the yoke of Japanese might. Its well-balanced composition and beautiful lines revealed the sorrows and sufferings of millions of good-natured common people brought about by the Japanese invasion in China.” See Yeh Ch’iu-yuan [Ye Qiuyuan] (1907–48), “The International Exhibition in Hong Kong,” in the Far Eastern Mirror vol. 1 no. 7 (10 June, 1938): pp. 3–4. 296 CHAPTER 7

Figure 7.3 Photograph of Jack Chen showing Hu Kao’s Dahan wang yunni tu 大旱望雲霓圖 (Hoping for Rainclouds at a Time of Drought) to visitors at his London exhibition, in The Daily Worker (8 November 1937), p. 5. Permission of Mrs Yuan-tsung Chen.

of Shidai manhua and was to feature heavily in Chen’s travelling exhibition.71 Chen’s exhibitions did include pages removed from magazines but it would appear from a photograph that appeared in the Daily Worker in 1937 (showing a youthful Chen escorting guests around the London exhibition in Charlotte Street) that Chen had Hu’s original painting in his possession, as the size of the drawing as it appears in the photograph is considerably larger than the double-page spread found in Shidai manhua (fig. 7.3).72 Chen had other important original works in his possession at this time, such as the portrait of his father by Zhang Guangyu, and would pick up many more as his travels progressed. Chun Kum-wen’s description of Hu Kao’s drawing and Blunt’s suggestion that

71 Hu Kao’s Refugees also appears accompanied by two poems by Gerald Chan Seig (1910– 2005) in Asia vol. 38 no. 2 (February 1938): p. 144 (back cover). This drawing was still being used by Chen as an example of the best work by the Chinese cartoonists as late as 1944 in his article “Modern Chinese Paintings,” in The Studio (August 1944): pp. 50–54. 72 Shidai manhua no. 39 (20 June 1937): [p. 34] and the Daily Worker (8 November 1937): p. 5. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 297 it was reminiscent of the work of Soviet film-makers, certainly do not point to examples of Hu’s earlier geometric work and Refugees stands in stark contrast to those cartoons drawn in his former flamboyant “modernist” style.73 Refugees and other works of this period are signed “Wu Ko.” Hu Kao began to sign his name in this way in the second half of the 1930s, having previously used the fashionable meishuzi 美術字 (Art Characters) in the Chinese “Art Deco” manner for his contributions to magazines such as Yi zhou jian 一周間 (In One Week) and Wenyi huabao.74 This spelling of his name and the variants “Woo Ko” and “Wo Ko” are romanizations of the pronunciation of “Hu Kao” in the local language of Shanghai.75 In common with several other Shanghai artists, Hu Kao sometimes wrote whole captions to his cartoons in Shanghainese. His novel Shanghai tan, written many years later and published in 1982, is also notable for the scattered use of Shanghainese in its dialogue.76 The captions to a set of cartoons in Shidai manhua, Xian shehui de dianxing renwu 現社會的典型人物 (Typical Characters of Modern Society) are notable for their use of the local language.77 This group of cartoons shows typical examples of members of the city’s gangland culture, as they would have appeared for example in novels such as Bao Tianxiao’s Shanghai chunqiu and Hu Kao’s own Shanghai tan and each of the drawings of these characters has an accompanying poetic caption written in the local language of Shanghai.78

73 Here Blunt will be referring to the films of Sergei Eisenstein or to the Socialist Realist classic Chapayev. The latter had won first place at the First Moscow Film Festival in 1935 and by this time had become popular with the left-wing communities in both China and the West. 74 Ye Lingfeng and Mu Shiying (eds.), Wenyi huabao inaugural issue (10 October 1934). Hu Kao drew a series of designs for the covers of Yizhou jian in 1934 published by the Xiandai publishing company. 75 Hu Kao’s name appeared in Jack Chen’s writings as “Wu Ko” and as “Ho Ko” in Chun Kum- wen’s article in T’ien Hsia Monthly. The latter version has resulted in yet another variant “Hu Ke,” perhaps a misreading of the romanization “Ko” as “Ke” (more correctly K’e) as found in the Wade-Giles system. 76 Hu Kao, Shanghai tan 上海滩 [Shanghai’s Bund] (Guangdong: Huacheng chubanshe, 1982). 77 “Xian shehui de dianxing renwu” 現社會的典型人物 [Typical Characters of Modern Society], in Shidai manhua no. 4 [p. 28]. 78 These are Baksiangnin soso (Baixiangren saosao) 白相人嫂嫂 [The Good-for-nothing Woman]; Baksiangnin (Baixiangren) 白相人 [The Ruffian]; Sior biaorze (Xiao biaozi) 小婊子 [The Little Whore]; Chiksinior (Qishiniao) 七十鳥 [The Madam] (an alternative writing of Lorbor (Lao bao) 老鴇). These are approximations of the words as pronounced in the local language of Shanghai. 298 CHAPTER 7

In 1934 Hu Kao also tried his hand at publishing. In November of that year he had begun publication of what was planned as a monthly magazine, Pangguanzhe 旁觀者 (The Bystander). This proved to be decidedly short- lived as only one issue was ever published. However, by this time Hu Kao had already made a name for himself, just five years after his graduation from the Shanghai xinhua yizhuan 上海新華藝專 (Shanghai New China Art College) in 1929.79 Jack Chen had this to say about Hu’s own view of his art education:

Wu Ko went to an art school in Shanghai, but he rightly considers himself to be self-taught. As a glance at his work shows, he has sought out a path for himself. How excellently he has adapted the classical Chinese perspective in the illustration reproduced here!80

The illustration alluded to in this passage is an example of another of Hu Kao’s artistic styles which appears in T’ien Hsia Monthly under the title Illustration to a Shanghai Tragedy. It is with drawings such as this and Refugees that a turn away from modernist styles towards a politically inspired art can be clearly seen. In T’ien Hsia Monthly this image is described as an “Indian ink drawing” and was originally one of a five-part series entitled Shiye 失業 (Unemployed) that had previously been published in Shidai manhua (fig. 7.4).81

79 Jiang Weipu, “Daonian Hu Kao 悼念胡考 [Remembering Hu Kao],” in Meishu 美术 no. 1 (1995): p. 60. 80 Chen I-Wan [Jack Chen], T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 5 no. 2 (September 1937): p. 150 81 See Shidai manhua no. 38 (20 May 1937). In Shidai manhua they are identified (almost certainly incorrectly) as woodcut prints. The fine lines that appear in the images, characteristic of pen and ink drawing, are not typically seen in the woodcut medium in China at this time. Three of the drawings in the series were published in issue no. 38 and the remaining two in issue no. 39 (the final issue of the magazine). Numbers one, three and four in the series exist today in 1930s photographic reproductions in the collection of the British Museum. One of these is inscribed on the reverse with two short inscriptions, the first of which reads: “Illustration to a Shanghai Tragedy. By Wu Ko (Indian Ink).” and the second: “Illustrations by Wu Ko. Lu Hsun Art Institute. Yenan, Shensi” (BM 2009, 3022. 53). These, and other related photographs, were probably the source for the reproductions as they appeared in T’ien Hsia Monthly and were perhaps given to Chen as a gift by the publishers for inclusion in his exhibition. They are amongst several photographic reproductions of images from that magazine which are now in the collection of the British Museum, another example being a photograph of a poster: Ye Qianyu, Huan women de xin zhuang! 換我們的新裝！(Let’s Change into our New Uniform!). In the lower left hand corner of this photograph can be seen the inscription: “Zhengzhi bu manhua xuan[chuan dui] 政治部漫畫宣[傳隊] [The Cartoon Propaganda (Team) of the Political Department],” (BM 2009, 3022. 71). This appeared as ‘“Let’s Change into Military Uniform.” A War Poster Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 299

Figure 7.4 Hu Kao 胡考, Shiye 失業 (Unemployed). Original photograph in the Collection of the British Museum. BM 2009, 3022. 53. This image can be found in the periodicals Shidai manhua and T’ien Hsia Monthly. Courtesy of the British Museum. 300 CHAPTER 7

As mentioned above, three of Hu Kao’s disparate styles are represented in Five Thousand Years Young. Refugees occupies one whole page; there is also a fine-line pen-and-ink drawing in the style of the Unemployed series, entitled The Farmer, and a drawing in the “Art Deco” style, showing a woman driving a motor boat, simply called Decoration, which is similar in appearance to Hu’s early Shidai manhua cartoons. Chen informed the readership of T’ien Hsia Monthly:

[Hu Kao] is a regular contributor to the cartoon magazines as a caricaturist, but undoubtedly his development will lead him to a wider field of representational art. He is also a teacher, and evidently an excellent one, for he was the mentor of the talented Paddy O’Shea whose recent death at the age of twenty [sic] robbed us of one of Shanghai’s most typical artists.82

Hu Kao’s pupil, Shanghai-born Paddy O’Shea, who was half Chinese, came to the attention of Jack Chen during his 1936 visit to China. When O’Shea was just seventeen years old, an article devoted to his cartoons, accompanied by a caricature of him by Sapajou, appeared in the North-China Daily News. Here he was described as “a genuine creative artist” who had developed “a style all of his own.”83 In her autobiographical writings, Emily Hahn (herself a journalist with the NCDN) mentions that O’Shea had worked as an artist in the studio of Shao Xunmei’s Modern Publications Company. Here he will certainly have known Zhang Guangyu and Zhang Zhengyu, who are referred to by Hahn as the “Chang boys” as well as his teacher Hu Kao. According to Hahn, O’Shea would have “lived very much as did the other artists in Sinmay’s big studio” and was one of the “young men who wanted to specialize in this branch of art, who . . . drifted into Sinmay’s printing factory and adopted desks where they could work among friends.”84 O’Shea’s sketches in NCDN are said in the article to be “both original and amusing” and to have “outstanding merit.”85 Hahn,

by Yeh Chien-yu,’ in Jack Chen, “Towards a Modern Conception of Art,” T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 7 no. 4 (November 1938): unnumbered page; and two months before was published in Shao Xunmei and Emily Hahn’s Ziyoutan vol. 1 no. 1 (1 September 1938): unnumbered page. It appears under the title: “Let’s Change into New Uniform,” in Chang-Tai Hung, War and Popular Culture, p. 119. 82 Jack Chen, T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 5 no. 2 (September 1937): p. 150. 83 “Talent Shown by Young Artist,” in the North-China Daily News (15 March 1936): p. 14. 84 Emily Hahn, China to Me, p. 28. 85 North-China Daily News (15 March 1936): p. 14. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 301 clearly impressed by his work, had commissioned him to produce a cover design for Ziyoutan, a short-lived magazine she produced in collaboration with Shao Xunmei, and had declared it to be, “by far the best that [she] ever published.”86 Paddy O’Shea died of illness at the age of seventeen (not twenty as stated by Chen) not long after his one-man exhibition of 1936. This promising artist had gained the admiration of influential foreign journalists, Jack Chen and Emily Hahn, as well as that of one of the most important members of the 1930s Shanghai publishing world, Shao Xunmei. It is hard to imagine that Jack Chen never met Shao Xunmei or Emily Hahn whilst he was in China. His brother Percy certainly mixed in the same circles as Hahn and her friends. In 1935 Percy Chen had introduced his sister Sylvia to Bernadine Fritz. Fritz was to invite Sylvia Chen to lunch at which the guests were Lin Yutang and a “group of Chinese Gentlemen” and it is more than likely that Shao Xunmei would have been amongst them.87 Jack Chen knew Fritz from the time he gave the lecture at the IAT in late 1936. It is rather surprising therefore that Chen is not mentioned in China To Me, the largely autobiographical account by Fritz’s great friend Hahn, which covers the period of time when all three were resident in Shanghai and were certainly moving in the same circles.88 Likewise, nowhere in Jack Chen’s writings are the names of Emily Hahn or Shao Xunmei mentioned. Even when Shao Xunmei is clearly the subject of an illustration by Paddy O’Shea to an article written by Jack Chen himself, the drawing is simply entitled, Shanghai Sketch—Bohemian and no mention of Shao’s name is actually given in the title (fig. 7.5).89 Perhaps this was due to a clash of personalities, the somewhat apolitical Hahn and the neutral Shao not wanting to concern themselves unduly with Chen’s involvement in politics. A mutual lack of recognition in public notwithstanding, it is apparently the case that Jack Chen did indeed know and even like Emily Hahn. Yuan-tsung Chen recalled in interview that in later years her husband had mentioned Hahn to be “always friendly and the sort of person who likes to help.”90

86 Emily Hahn, China to Me, p. 28. 87 Si-lan Chen Leyda, Footnote to History, p. 217 and p. 219 and Percy Chen, China Called Me, p. 275. 88 Hahn refers to her book as a “semi-autobiography.” 89 Jack Chen, “The Younger Group of Shanghai Artists,” p. 150. 90 Interview conducted by Paul Bevan with Yuan-tsung Chen on the morning of the 6 April 2011. According to Jack Chen’s brother Percy (although his argument is perhaps not that convincing), at this time in Shanghai, he was working undercover for the Nationalist Government and only mixed with Hahn, Fritz and their circle, “. . . to preserve the impression” that he was a “carefree son of a well-known Chinese statesman enjoying life in bourgeois China.” This statement must be taken with a pinch of salt. Percy Chen’s apparent 302 CHAPTER 7

Figure 7.5 Paddy O’Shea, Shanghai Sketch-Bohemian [portrait of Shao Xunmei] in Jack Chen, “The Younger Group of Shanghai Artists,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 5 no. 2 (September 1937), p. 150. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 303

Hu Kao and Jack Chen go to Yan’an

Jack Chen and Hu Kao first met in the exhibition hall of the Sun Company Building at the 1936 National Cartoon Exhibition.91 Two years later, in 1938, Chen accompanied Hu Kao to the Communist base in Yan’an where Hu was to take up a teaching post at the newly established Luyi 魯藝 (Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature).92 In the January 1939 edition of Asia magazine, Chen recounts the journey that had brought Hu Kao there:

Wu Ko, one of the finest of the younger generation of the younger modern artists, had left Hankow [Hankou] for Yenan [Yan’an] four months before. Arriving in Chengchow [Zhengzhou] at the height of the Lunghai [Longhai] fighting, he made a side trip to Hsuchow [Xuzhou], was trapped in that city, broke through the Japanese lines disguised as a peasant, lost his companions in a machine-gun attack, was twice saved by a local guerrilla leader and finally made his way on foot to Shanghai. From there, through Hong Kong, he was again on his way forward to Yenan.93

Hu Kao and Chen made the final part of this journey together but Hu had not been alone on previous legs of his journey, as elsewhere in his writings Chen uses an almost identical story to describe the movements of the “theatrical and art group of the Central Publicity Board of Hankow” led by the author Ding Ling 丁玲 (1904–86).94 Clearly Hu Kao had been travelling together with Ding Ling and her troupe of actors and indeed a striking sketch of her by Hu Kao would later appear in Xingdao ribao (fig. 7.6).95

aim in writing his book China Called Me was to show himself in as good a light as possible. With comments such as this, he gives the impression that he is trying in some way to cover his tracks so as not to lay himself open to criticism from any one political faction. His book is written in a rather supercilious and self-aggrandizing tone, very different to the writings of either of his siblings. The information he provides in his autobiography is of real importance to the movements of this circle of people but should be treated with caution. Percy Chen, China Called Me, pp. 274–275. 91 Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 92 Lu Xun yishu xueyuan 魯迅藝術學院 [The Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature] had opened in the former Catholic church in Yan’an on 10 April 1938. 93 Asia (January 1939): p. 26. 94 Jack Chen, “The Gentle Art of Self-Defence,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (24 September 1938): p. 8. 95 Hu Kao, Ding nüshi 丁女士 [Madam Ding] from the series Zhandi suxie 戰地速寫 [Battlefield Sketches], in Xingdao ribao (8 October 1938). 304 CHAPTER 7

Figure 7.6 Hu Kao 胡考, Ding nüshi 丁女士 (Madam Ding) “Zhandi suxie” 戰地速寫 (Battlefield Sketches), in Xingdao ribao 星島日報 (“Sing Tao Jih Pao”) (8 October 1938). Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 305

According to the cartoonist Hua Junwu, very few cartoonists went to Yan’an during the years 1938 and 1939 and it was Hu Kao who had been the first to arrive. In 2005, Hua apparently told his interviewers that he had been the second to arrive, in December 1938, but rather mysteriously this omits Jack Chen from the equation.96 Chen arrived in Yan’an together with Hu Kao sometime in early September.97 A photograph taken around this time which appears in a book by Zhong Jingzhi 钟敬之 (1910–1998), himself once a teacher at the academy, shows Zhong together with Chen and Hu Kao and other instructors from the academy, including the woodcut artist Jiang Feng 江丰 (1910–1982) and the cartoonist Ding Li 丁里 (1916–1994), the latter apparently another cartoon artist passed over by Hua Junwu.98 Shortly after Chen’s arrival he mounted his exhibition and it is unclear why this was not recognized by Hua. Chen had of course long since left Yan’an by the time Hua arrived so it is possible that he was simply unaware that he had ever been there. Or perhaps it was that he considered Chen, as a foreigner, to have been just a temporary visitor.99 Subsequently, other important figures in the cartoon world would arrive at the Communist base, including, Cai Ruohong, Zhang E and Zhang Ding 張仃 (1917–2010). Hu’s artistic oeuvre shows clearly the development of his earlier styles into those of the later 1930s and is, to some extent, indicative of a general trend amongst the work of the cartoonists. Similar changes, displaying a comparable development in political stance, can also be seen in Hu Kao’s poetry. The gangland-inspired poetic captions in the local language of Shanghai which accompanied his earlier cartoons are entirely unlike, for example, a 1938 lyrical

96 Lent and Xu “Cartooning and Wartime China: Part One—1931–1945,” in IJOCA, p. 107. Hua Junwu stayed in Yan’an until August 1945. 97 Chen was in Yangxin, Hubei province in August (during the time of the Battle of Wuhan (June-October 1938)). By mid-September he had arrived in Hong Kong. 98 Zhong Jingzhi 钟敬之, Yan’an Luyi—wo dang chuangban de yi suo yishu xueyuan 延安鲁艺—我党创办的一所艺术学院 [The Lu Xun Academy, Yan’an—an Art and Literature Academy Founded by the Communist Party of China] (Beijing: Wenwu chuabanshe, 1981). 99 By 1949 Chen was not only a lecturer at the Lu Xun Academy but was also one of its directors. Letter addressed to “Titta and Jay” sent from 3 Brampton Court, Brampton Grove, London NW4, dated 29 August [1949]: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 09; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Chen visited Yan’an again in 1946 when he was apparently able to interview Mao Zedong. It may have been at this time that he became more heavily involved with the academy. See Jack Chen, Inside the Cultural Revolution, p. 47. 306 CHAPTER 7

Figure 7.7 Hu Kao 胡考, Hongzha 轟炸 (Bombing) signed “Wuko” and dated 1939, in Huashangbao 華商報 (“Hwa Shiang Pao”) (19 November 1941). The central inscription states that the size of the original wax crayon drawing was 17 ½ × 23 cun (inches). Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 307 poem in praise of Yan’an, the final lines of which read: “Bugle’s call unceasing; uniformed troops a sea of grey. In front, the leadership; the brigade sets out for the East.”100 A move away from earlier decorative styles, to highly politicized forms towards the end of the decade, does not mean that all of Hu Kao’s later caricatures are inspired by Socialist Realism in the same way as Jack Chen’s are. Despite his obvious debt to Chen on the political front, as indicated in his 1936 article for Shanghai manhua, Hu Kao’s output continued to be eclectic.101 His drawings seen in Xingdao ribao show a bold and skillful sketching style, far removed from his early geometric designs. Hu Kao did not restrict his output to works in this style and seems to have kept rather an open mind, clearly not overly affected by Jack Chen’s extreme aversion to modern art. A drawing entitled Hongzha 轟炸 (Bombing) executed in wax crayon, signed “Wuko” and dated 1939, appeared in the newspaper Huashangbao in 1941. This is drawn in a style somewhat reminiscent of the paintings of Salvador Dalí but also appears to make direct reference to the paintings of Giorgio De Chirico with the elongated shadows and the typical Greco-Roman sculpted head, here having suffered the devastation of an air raid.102 As with earlier examples drawn by Hu’s colleagues Liang Baibo and Huang Miaozi, discussed in Chapter Six, the adoption of “surrealist” imagery appears to have been purely on a practical level, the theoretical aspects of the movement being secondary to the adoption of its visual lexicon. Hu Kao was even to admit an uncertainty as to the meaning of the art of Salvador Dalí.103

In the world of painting, Picasso, the leading exponent of Cubism, has produced several paintings in aid of the Spanish government. Dalí, a leading exponent of surrealism, has painted the famous painting “Civil War”104—although, the main theme of this painting is very unclear.

100 Yan’an san shou 延安三首 [Three Stanzas on Yan’an], from Hu Kao shici xuan 胡考詩詞選 [A Selection of Poems by Hu Kao] http://www.xzbu.com/5/view-1776048.htm. Retrieved 21 May 2014. 101 Hu Kao, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui [Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition],” in Shanghai manhua vol. 1 no. 8 (15 December 1936): unnumbered pages. 102 See Chapter Six pp. 244–245 for Yang Taiyang’s earlier contribution to the Metaphysical/ proto-surrealist style. 103 Hu Kao, “Faxisi he huajia 法西斯和畫家 [Fascism and the Painter],” in Huashangbao (3 September 1941): unnumbered page. 104 Construcción blanda con judías hervidas: premonición de la guerra civil [Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of Civil War)] (1936), now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, accession number: 1950–134–41. 308 CHAPTER 7

Leaving aside his apparent limited understanding of Dalí’s painting, in this crayon drawing, Hu Kao effectively adopts visual elements of the art of both Dalí and De Chirico to depict a bombed-out landscape in war-torn China (fig. 7.7).105

Hong Kong: Last Port of Call

In September 1938 Chen was back in Hong Kong where both his father and brother were living.106 Reports in local newspapers state that he would be leaving for Europe after a short run of his latest exhibition, the preview of which was to be held at the offices of the China Information Service. The exhibits now included woodcuts, cartoons and drawings, posters, water colour paintings and Chinese paintings. The latter, contributed by the Hong Kong Working Artists Guild, included works by “leading Hong Kong art teachers” Mr. Pao Su-yao and Mr Chu Shui-hong (both unidentified), as well as pupils of Madame Martin at the prestigious Bellios Public School for Girls.107 This type of work, not seen in Jack Chen’s exhibitions prior to this, was clearly not the revolutionary art he had hoped to be taking with him back to Europe. However, he still had in his possession many of the Chinese exhibits he had shown elsewhere and in addition was able to amass a large number of original works, apparently supplied to him by the newspaper Xingdao ribao.108 Between 19 and 27 September, Chen’s cartoons and articles were appearing on a daily basis in the English-language Hong Kong Daily Press and several of his cartoons, plus an occasional article translated into Chinese, also appeared in Xingdao ribao between 25 and 29 September. Thereafter, Chen’s presence can still be seen in both newspapers until his departure in late October. Although articles about his exhibition do appear in other Hong Kong newspapers, it is these two papers that report Chen’s movements most comprehensively. There are reasons for this. Jack Chen’s brother had close connections with the Hong Kong Daily Press. According to Percy Chen’s memoirs, he had been engaged in his capacity as lawyer by Wu Tiecheng, former Mayor of Shanghai and then director of KMT

105 Hu Kao, Hongzha 轟炸 [Bombing] (signed “Wuko” and dated 1939), in Huashangbao (19 November 1941): unnumbered page. 106 Percy Chen, China Called Me, p. 302. 107 Hong Kong Daily Press (27 October 1938): p. 9 and the Hong Kong Telegraph (27 October 1938): p. 4. 108 A number of these are now in the collection of the British Museum. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 309 affairs in Hong Kong and Macao, to “purchase” the paper on his behalf and subsequently was appointed to be a “representative on the management of the newspaper.”109 During their time in Hong Kong the Chen family clearly took advantage of these connections to publish articles in the newspaper.110 Jack Chen also had personal connections with Xingdao ribao. It has been shown in Chapters Five and Six that throughout his stay in China, the writer and journalist Jin Zhonghua had been highly supportive of Chen’s work. It therefore comes as no surprise that Jin Zhonghua’s name appears as a member of the editorial team of Xingdao ribao during this time. Many of the writers who in wartime were now contributing to this newspaper have appeared in previous chapters of this book as central figures in the fields of pre-war art and literature in Shanghai. Amongst the many writers whose work appeared in “Xingzuo,” the literature and arts page of Xingdao ribao, between the time of the newspaper’s first publication on 1 August 1938 and Chen’s final departure from Hong Kong on 27 October were Dai Wangshu (onetime editor of the column),111 Mu Shiying (Dai’s brother-in-law), Xu Chi, Du Heng, Ye Lingfeng (who succeeded Dai Wangshu as editor), Yu Dafu, Mao Dun, Xu Xu, Ma Guoliang, Cao Juren, Shi Zhecun and Shen Congwen. The list of visual artists

109 Percy Chen, China Called Me, pp. 301–303. 110 Other articles by the Chen family in the newspaper include: Eugene Chen, “Diplomacy is More than a Business Deal,” (19 September 1938) and Percy Chen, “The Double Tenth-1938 and Victory for China,” (10 October 1938): p. 8. Several of Jack Chen’s articles from the Hong Kong Daily Press were collected together and published in a booklet: Jack Chen, When Will China Win? Hong Kong: China Defence League, [1938]. The articles are as follows: When Will China Win? [Introduction to booklet]: unnumbered page; “Democratic Unity Beats Totalitarianism,” originally published in the Hong Kong Daily Press (19 September 1938): p. 3 [When Will China Win? pp. 1–3]; “Under Fire on the Yangtse Front,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (20 September 1938: p. 8 [When Will China Win? pp. 4–7 ]; “Canton En Fete on September 18 and Sian Again!” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (21 September 1938): p. 8 [When Will China Win? pp. 8–11]; “Very Special Region in Northwest Province,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (22 September 1938): p. 8 [When Will China Win? pp. 12–15]; “China’s Special Region-II,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (23 September 1938): p. 8 [When Will China Win? pp. 16–19]; “The Gentle Art of Self-Defence,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (24 September 1938): p. 8 [When Will China Win? pp. 20–23]; “On Day of Reckoning— Japan and the Powers,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (26 September 1938): p. 8 [When Will China Win? This appears in the booklet under the title, “Day of Reckoning: Japan and the Powers” pp. 24–27]; “Is Hankow China’s Madrid?” in the Hong Kong Daily Press (27 September 1938): p. 8 [When Will China Win? pp. 28–31]. The booklet was published by the China Defence League and printed by the Hong Kong Daily Press. 111 Leo Ou-fan Lee, Shanghai Modern, p. 329. See also Gregory Lee, Dai Wangshu: The Life and Poetry of a Chinese Modernist (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1989), pp. 70–73. 310 CHAPTER 7

Figure 7.8 Ye Qianyu 葉淺予, Ta xuyao jiaoyu ta de ernü 他需要教育他的兒女 (He Must Bring up His Children), in Xingdao ribao 星島日報 (“Sing Tao Jih Pao”) (1 August 1938), p. 1. BM 2009, 3022. 17. Signed “Qianyu.” The title is written in pencil. Other markings are editorial, no doubt made at the time of its publication in Xingdao ribao. Courtesy of the British Museum. who contributed to the newspaper during this short period, is equally noteworthy and includes, Chen Baoyi, Ni Yide, Yang Taiyang, Pang Xunqin112 and the cartoonists Ye Qianyu, Lu Shaofei, Te Wei, Huang Ding, Huang Miaozi, Ding Cong, Hu Kao and Zhang Guangyu.113 Whilst in Hong Kong many of these artists were to become members of the Zhongguo meishuhui (Chinese Fine Art Association), including, from the above list, Ni Yide, Chen Baoyi, Lu Shaofei and Zhang Guangyu.114 This was just one of many associations for literature and the arts that were set up in Hong Kong during the first years of the war.115 The vast majority of individuals listed above have featured prominently in this study and they had all been, in some way or other, instrumental in the development of the cartoon in China, either hands-on, as in the case

112 Xingdao ribao (27 August 1938): p. 12. 113 Zhang Guangyu was also one-time art editor of the newspaper. See timeline in Zhang Yamin 张亚民 et al. (eds.), “Zhongguo manhua de dianjizhe—Zhang Guangyu 中国漫画的奠基者—张光宇 [The Founder of the Chinese Cartoon—Zhang Guangyu],” in Zhongguo manhua shuxi: Zhang Guangyu juan 中国漫画书系：张光宇卷 (Chinese Cartoon Series: Zhang Guangyu Volume) (Hebei: Hebei jiaoyu chubanshe, Hebei 1994), unnumbered pages. 114 Cai Tao, The Anti-Japanese Propaganda Mural in Huanghelou (1938) and the Turning Point of Modern Chinese Art, p. 69. 115 See Gregory Lee, Dai Wangshu, pp. 73–74. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 311 of the cartoonists themselves; by lending their support, in the case of Ma Guoliang and Chen Baoyi, or indeed by actually collaborating with the cartoon artists themselves, as in the case of the writers Mu Shiying and Ye Lingfeng. Many of the cartoons and woodcuts that Chen hoped to show in his future exhibitions in Europe had appeared in Xingdao ribao. These include works by several of the artists he had met or admired whilst in Shanghai, plus works by local Hong Kong cartoonists. Many of the original art works that were drawn for the newspaper and subsequently came into Chen’s possession are now in the collection of the British Museum. Two cartoons by Ye Qianyu come from a group which appeared in the inaugural issue of Xingdao ribao (fig. 7.8).116 Two ink-and-brush paintings by Ding Cong, Wo ti ni fuchou 我替你復仇 (I Will Take Revenge for You) (fig. 7.9)117 and Fenghuo 烽火 (Beacon) are good examples of his work from this period.118 Topical cartoons by Te Wei, “The Chinese David Low,” whose cartoons appeared regularly in the newspaper, are also represented by one example that carries the caption: “Xitele: ‘Qing ni rennai yixia, wo haiyao xiang dong qu de’ ” 希特拉：請你忍耐一下，我還要向東去的 (“Hitler: ‘Please Have Some Patience, I Still Want to go East’).119 Cartoons by local Hong Kong artists now in the British Museum collection include one by “SOA,” Yu Suoya 余所亞 (1912–91).120 Chen particularly admired Yu Suoya, seeing him as one of a promising younger generation of Chinese artists, and wrote the preface to a collection of his cartoons. In this preface he declares Yu to be a follower of the American school of cartooning, inspired by Daniel R. Fitzpatrick and Fred Ellis and indeed it will be remembered that Chen himself had also been recognized as owing a debt to these cartoonists.121 Huang Mao

116 Xingdao ribao (1 August 1938): p. 1. Ta xuyao jiaoyang ta de ernü 他需要教養他的兒女 [He Must Bring up His Children] (BM 2009, 3022.17) and Ta juan le yi tiao tui 他捐了一條腿 (He Contributed a Leg) (BM 2009, 3022.18). 117 Xingdao ribao (28 September 1938): p. 10 (BM 2009, 3022.21). 118 Xingdao ribao. (9 October 1938): p. 10 (BM 2009, 3022.20). 119 See Xitele: ‘Qing ni rennai yixia, wo haiyao xiang dong qu de’ 希特拉： ‘請你忍耐一下，我還要向東去的 ’ [Hitler: ‘Please Have Some Patience, I Still Want to go East’], in Xingdao ribao (27 September 1938): p. 3 (BM 2009, 3022.6) and Ju’e qinlüe zhanfei 巨額侵略戰費 [The Huge Cost of the War], in Xingdao ribao (24 August 1938) (BM 2009, 3022. 5). 120 Yu Suoya 余所亞, Si qiang kaihui de jipin 四強開會的祭品 [The Sacrificial Offering of the Meeting of the Four-power Pact], in Xingdao ribao (1 October 1938): p. 3 (BM 2009, 3022.7). 121 Jack Chen, “Xie zai ‘touqiang’ zhi qian [Written Before ‘The Spear’—Preface to the Collected Cartoons of Suoya],” in the Wenyi column (no. 484) of the Hong Kong edition of Da gongbao (29 December 1938): p. 8. Two of Suoya’s cartoons illustrate this article. 312 CHAPTER 7

Figure 7.9 Ding Cong 丁聰, Wo ti ni fuchou 我替你復仇 (I Will Take Revenge for You), in Xingdao ribao 星島日報 (“Sing Tao Jih Pao”) (28 September 1938), p. 10. BM 2009, 3022. 21. Signed “Xiao Ding” (Little Ding). Courtesy of the British Museum.

concurs with Chen’s views on this and even cites Chen’s preface in his own influential book.122 Between 19 and 27 September, a series of eight lengthy articles by Jack Chen were published in the Hong Kong Daily News, most of which record his recent experiences in Yan’an. They are predominantly politically focused and do not discuss art and literature at any length, although they are all illustrated with

122 Huang Mao, Talks on the Art of Cartoons, p. 49. Cartoons by Suoya appeared regularly in Xingdao ribao. In the British Museum collection he is represented by this single example. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 313

Chen’s own cartoons. His cartoons appeared regularly on the front page of the newspaper. Chen’s artwork could also be seen on a regular basis in Xingdao ribao and there, in addition to his cartoons, examples of his sketches can be found. A short series of these appeared on a daily basis in late September, entitled, “Zhandi suxie” 戰地速寫 (Sketches of the Battleground) and had perhaps been drawn at the front whilst he was at Yangxin in August. These sketches show a different approach altogether to his cartoons and are much freer and more spontaneous in their execution. In addition to Chen’s sketches, a lengthy article on the Lu Xun Academy, written by him and translated into Chinese by an anonymous translator, was published in Xingdao ribao.123 The material presented in this article is much the same as that which had appeared in the Hong Kong Daily Press and other English-language articles on the subject and above all shows that the Communist base had made a deep impression on him. The following week, another of Chen’s articles appeared in that newspaper, telling of his plans to leave for England the following day. This article is unique in Chen’s output as it carries an illustration that may well prove to be his only known self-portrait (fig. 7.10).124 On 26 October a final showing of his exhibition was held, and on October 27 it was reported that he would be leaving the colony that very day, bound for Marseilles aboard the French “mail liner” Athos II.125

Epilogue

This is where the relevance of Jack Chen’s travelling exhibitions to the subject of this book ends. However, it is not the end of Chen’s relationship with China or of his dedication to the propagation of left-wing ideology through art and literature. His movements, as well as those of a selection of other figures who have been central to the subject of this book, will now be examined, up to and including the time of the first decades of the PRC, before taking one final look,

123 “Lu Xun yishu xueyuan 魯迅藝術學院 [The Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature],” in Xingdao ribao (15 October 1938). 124 Chen Yifan (Jack Chen), Chen Yifan zai qianxian shi zihua xiang 陳依範在前綫時自畫像 [Self-Portrait by Chen Yifan Painted whilst at the Battlefront], in Xingdao ribao (27 October 1938): p. 7. 125 “Painting the War,” in the Hong Kong Telegraph (27 October 1938): p. 4 and “Chen Yifan ding jinri fu Ying—Zuo juxing meishu yuzhanhui 陳依範定今日赴英—昨舉行美術預展會 [Chen Yifan Leaves for England Today—Yesterday Art Exhibition Preview Held],” in Xingdao ribao (27 October 1938): p. 7. 314 CHAPTER 7

Figure 7.10 Chen Yifan 陳依範 [Jack Chen], Chen Yifan zai qianxian shi zihua xiang 陳依範在前綫時自畫像 (Self-portrait Painted at the Battlefront by Chen Yifan), in Xingdao ribao 星島日報 (“Sing Tao Jih Pao”) (27 October 1938), p. 7. With permission of Mrs Yuan-tsung Chen.

by way of conclusion, at the significance of the work of the Chinese manhua artists and those with whom they worked during the years 1926–1938. Having abandoned plans for a trip to India, Chen was due to arrive in London on 23 November 1938.126 On the way he had made a stopover in Paris to meet with Madame Etienne Constante of the organisation Amis du peuple chinois in order to make arrangements to show his exhibition in the French capital.127 At the same time he met with “Wellington Coo-coo,” i.e. Wellington Koo (Gu Weijun 顧維鈞 1887–1985), Chinese ambassador to France from 1936–40,

126 Letter addressed to “Dear Kids” [October 1938], “Hong Kong Leaving.” Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 127 Letter addressed to “Dear People” sent from Goldsmith Building, Temple, London EC4, dated 7 January 1939: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 315

(no doubt an old acquaintance) who agreed to grant the French organisation 5,000 Francs to mount Chen’s exhibition at the Maison de Culture.128 The following year Chen would return to Paris from the UK to oversee the opening of the exhibition in mid-June. It was shown there for a period of one month and afterwards transferred to Nice for a further four weeks.129 In December 1938 Chen gave a talk to the Cooperative Society in London.130 On his return to England, Chen had been invited to draw cartoons for the News Chronicle and also acted as what he called “sleeping correspondent” for the Chinese newspaper Da gongbao.131 Chen had ambitions to take the exhibition to the Netherlands, “. . . the Dutch have asked me to bring my show to Holland to show in five cities for a week at least each, all expenses paid.”132 This proved to be impossible due to the outbreak of war. The exhibits themselves made it to Holland but the exhibition could not go on:

My collection of pictures was trapped in Amsterdam and I am still trying to contact it . . . luckily I managed to get it sent into the Chinese Consulate a couple of days before Hitler marched in, so that at least it’s safe for the time being.133

Chen never managed to get his collection back from Amsterdam. Following his travels around the globe, Jack Chen settled in the UK for the duration of the war in Europe and during much of the remainder of the 1940s. Towards the end of 1946 he returned to China for a short while as representative of

128 Letter addressed to “Dearest People” sent from Goldsmith Building, Temple, London EC4, dated 2 December 1938: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 129 Letter sent from Cranford, Middlesex, dated 2 June 1939: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 130 Clegg, p. 83. 131 Earlier, in 1935 when Percy Chen was making plans to visit Europe, he had been asked to act as “special European correspondent” for the same newspaper. See Percy Chen, China Called Me, p. 270 and the North-China Daily News (7 August 1935). 132 Letter sent from Cranford Middlesex, dated 2 June 1939: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 09; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 133 Letter addressed to “Dear Tits and Jay” sent from The Bridge Studio, 2 Port Street, Evesham, Worcestershire, dated 25 August 1940: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 316 CHAPTER 7 the Telepress News Agency, Reynolds News and “unofficially” the Daily Worker, during which time he sought interviews with Mao Zedong and Song Qingling in Yan’an.134 Chen was not able to settle down in China until after the founding of the PRC in 1949.135 He wrote to his sister on a regular basis during this period and his letters show well how he spent his time prior to his final return to China in 1950.

. . . I feel that I am really ready to do some good things now. My drawing is firm, heads particularly, figures less so . . . and composition good. I have well mastered black and white, and I have by no means wasted my time here . . . I have done a lot of work in colour and am really get[ting] it under complete control. I have got the technique of water-colour, guache [sic], and oil-tempura which I like better than plain oil, with very little practice I think I could manage fresco well . . . 136

A year later, having been happily working as staff cartoonist for the Daily Worker, he wrote to his sister:

. . . as you have heard the paper [the Daily Worker] was quietly closed down. Then I and the other artists on it held an exhibition of our work down the West End with quite good results until a bomb blew the whole thing up. So I have lost the best of my Chinese pictures in Holland, and

134 A letter from Yan’an sent by Zhou Enlai to Song Qingling, dated 17 December 1946, was reprinted in the People’s Daily on 2 March 1983. See: http://rmrb.egreenapple.com/index2 .html Retrieved 23 November 2014. An excerpt reads as follows: “. . . Jack Chen has come from Beiping, and has made us aware of much of the current situation in Europe and especially in England . . . I am now introducing Jack Chen to meet with you, I hope you will be able to put time aside to discuss with him how to get in contact with progressive elements and people’s organisations in Britain, Europe and other countries so as to assist in the launch- ing of emergency relief work . . .” 135 Letter addressed to “Titta, Jay and Brian” sent from 1505 Broadway Mansions, Shanghai, dated 19 October 1946: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Three months after the founding of the PRC Chen received an invitation to return to China. See Jack Chen, Inside the Cultural Revolution, p. 47. 136 Letter addressed to “Dear Tits and Jay” sent from Christchurch Hill, Hampstead NW3, 17 April 1940: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 317

now the best things I have done here for this three years have gone up . . . all this has been a bit of a blow. But luckily I am now on another [paper] and there is still quite a vogue for my drawings in democratic circles.137

By 1945 Chen was telling his sister that he had “lost interest in newspaper cartooning as a medium . . . painting is far too much more interesting.” He was friendly with the painter Feliks Topolski (1907–89) who Chen reports, “has great faith in my work and urges me to concentrate on it . . .”138 These apparent changes in artistic approach were short-lived; as has been shown, Chen was to become a prolific cartoonist in China in the 1950s and 1960s, contributing hundreds of cartoons to English-language magazines such as People’s China and Peking Review. In a much later letter, sent from his home in Hendon, North London, just a few weeks before the founding of the PRC, Chen once again expresses his interest in settling in China, writing that he hoped to return to the Lu Xun Academy, where by this time he had apparently become both a “director and lecturer.”

. . . this is a grand prospect that I look forward to. After [China] I want to get to Mexico and visit Orozco and Rivera. That[’s] all for now! Jack.139

137 Letter addressed to “Dear Titta” sent from 28 Elgin Crescent [London] W11, dated 20 April 1941: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 138 Letter addressed to “Tits and Jay” sent from 71 Finchley Lane [London] NW4, dated 12 October 1945: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Chen had known Topolski for some time. Two photographs taken in January 1941 appeared amongst several in a feature about The People’s Convention in the magazine Picture Post with the following captions: “Artist Topolski Draws Chen: Feliks Topolski, the Polish artist, is here. He does some drawings. One of them is of another artist, Jack Chen, who sits near,” and “Cartoonist Chen Draws Topolski: Jack Chen is cartoonist of the Communist paper, Daily Worker. Behind sits the paper’s columnist, Walter Holmes.” See Erland Echlin, “They Called it The People’s Convention,” in Picture Post vol. 10 no. 5 (1 February 1941): pp. 30–31 and p. 34. 139 Letter addressed to “Titta and Jay” sent from 3 Brampton Court, Brampton Grove, London NW4, dated 29 August [1949]: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 318 CHAPTER 7

In the early years of the 1940s many Chinese artists and writers had been compelled to adopt an increasingly itinerant lifestyle as the war continued to spread. During the war with Japan the cartoonists had taken their work in propaganda troupes to towns and villages. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945 the target of the left-wing cartoonists became Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT.140 By the time the war in Europe had begun, many of the individuals who have been the focus of this study had already passed through Hankou, Guangzhou and Hong Kong and had then scattered to Chongqing, Yan’an and abroad. Ye Qianyu remained active as an artist throughout the 1940s. In Hong Kong he met and married the dancer Dai Ailian, and was responsible for the publication of the multi-language China Today.141 After Hong Kong fell to the Japanese in 1941 he travelled widely in both China and abroad. His pictures of the Miao people in Guizhou of 1942 continue to show a long-term fascination with the depiction of beautiful women and their clothing, an interest that should rightly be seen as an extension of his involvement in fashion design in the 1920s and his work for the Yunshang fashion company. Ye continued to paint female subjects, along much the same lines, as well as focusing on Guohua paintings of local scenes, when he and Dai Ailian visited India in 1943. The following year, in Chongqing, he mounted an exhibition of the paintings he had made in India. His colourful depictions of Indian dancers caught the attention of Xu Beihong who in 1946 invited Ye Qianyu to teach at what was to become the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Ye was to remain at the academy for no less than 36 years.142 In 1945, for a period of six months, Ye had studied painting technique with Zhang Daqian and several cartoons com- memorating his time with him survive. These, in common with many other of

140 See Chang-tai Hung, War and Popular Culture, pp. 93–150; Huang Ke, et al. (eds.), Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi, pp. 224–304; Bi and Huang, Zhonguo manhuashi, pp. 158–280; Louise Edwards, “Drawing Sexual Violence in Wartime China: Anti-Japanese Propaganda Cartoons,” in The Journal of Asian Studies vol. 72 no. 3 (August 2013): pp. 563–586; Monica Bohm-Duchen, “Bitter Victory: China’s War of Resistance against Japan, 1937–45,” (Farnham Surrey: Lund Humphries, 2013), pp. 213–225. For a study of cartoons under the Japanese occupation see Jeremy Taylor, “Cartoons and Collaboration in Wartime China: The Mobilization of Chinese Cartoonists Under Japanese Occupation,” in Modern China (10 June 2014). http://mcx.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/06/09/009770 0414538386. 141 See Jinri Zhongguo 今日中國 [“China Today”] (December 1940). This magazine was published with captions in Chinese, English, French and Russian. 142 Bao Limin, Ye Qianyu, pp. 32–35. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 319 his drawings from the time, take on aspects of both the cartooning and sketching styles he had developed during the 1930s.143 Dai Ailian, Ye Qianyu’s second wife, was the Trinidadian cousin of Jack Chen. Considering the close relationship that is supposed to have existed between Chen and the Shanghai cartoonists, it is more than a little surprising that at no point in his published writings, or existing letters, does he mentioned that his cousin was married to Ye Qianyu, who was after all one of the preeminent artists in China throughout the period Chen was in that country. An article by Chen which emphasizes Dai Ailian’s importance in the Beijing dance world, praises her as a star of the future144 and an earlier letter to his family, which expresses hope for a new China and Dai’s part in it, was sent from his London address in 1948.

. . . victory is in sight and the new day when we can all be artists! Little cousin Eileen or Ailien as she now is has done very well in China. She is now in Peiping [Beijing]. The new day will give her a big chance. She is very popular among intellectuals.145

By this time Dai Ailian had been married to Ye Qianyu for eight years. In 1948, the same year this letter was written, Ye Qianyu and Dai Ailian returned to Beijing from an extended trip to the USA. There he had produced his series of comic sketches Tiantangji 天堂記 (A Record of Paradise) which reflect his experiences during the year he spent there, depicting America as nothing like the “Heaven-on-earth” of the popular Chinese imagination.146 The trip had been undertaken at the invitation of the United States State Department and Ye had been in good company. Two other figures on the same scheme were the dramatist Cao Yu 曹禺 (1910–1996) and the distinguished novelist Lao She.

143 See Huzi hua huzi 鬍子畫鬍子 [Using a Beard to Paint a Beard] and Tang meiren 唐美人 [Tang Dynasty Beauty], in Bao Limin, Ye Qianyu, pp. 27–28. These are both portraits of Zhang Daqian. 144 “A Ballet for Peace,” in People’s China vol. 2 no. 7 (October 1950): p. 30. 145 Letter addressed to “Dear People” June 19th [1948] sent from [71 Finchley Lane] London NW4: Jay and Si-Lan Chen Leyda Papers and Photographs; TAM 083; box 28; folder 12; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. 146 Xie Chunyan 谢春彦 and Ji Chongjian 季崇建 (eds.), Ye Qianyu huiben: Tiantangji 叶浅予绘本：天堂记 [Ye Qianyu’s Sketchbook: A Record of Paradise] (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, 2005). 320 CHAPTER 7

In the 1950s, cartoons and line drawings by Ye Qianyu appeared in many publications together with those of others artists who had made their names as cartoonists in the 1930s, including Zhang Guangyu, Ding Cong, Zhang Leping and Yu Feng.147 Illustrations by these and other artists display a style of sketching commonly seen in propaganda publications of the time which owes much to styles developed by Ye Qianyu and Zhang Guangyu, following their meeting with Miguel Covarrubias in Shanghai as far back as 1933. By the 1950s Miguel Covarrubias was also taken with the prospect of a new socialist China. Following his trips to Bali in the early 1930s he was never to return to China, or indeed to any part of Asia, but had become increasingly interested in Chinese culture and politics and is even said to have learnt to speak Chinese.148 Evidence of his interest in what was happening in the PRC can be seen in the selection of papers now kept in the Archivo Miguel Covarrubias, Universidad de las Américas Puebla which show an eclectic mix of photographs and ephemera from 1950s China.149 During the 1950s he was heavily involved with local organisations that promoted friendship between China and Mexico, and is said to have received large quantities of propaganda material, magazines, and books from China through the mail.150 This was at a time when interest in Covarrubias’s cartoons in China had long since given way to a more politically centered approach to art and Covarrubias himself had been focusing more on his ethnographic work. Interestingly this was also a time that saw a rise in the interest of the art of the Mural in China, and Diego Rivera and the other Mexican Muralists were widely admired. Both Covarrubias and Rivera died just months apart, in Mexico City in 1957, at a time when the mural was becoming an increasingly popular art form in China.151

147 Ye Qianyu, “The Chastity Arch,” in China Reconstructs no. 3 (May-June 1953): pp. 24–25; Zhang Leping, “The Drama Club in Little River Village,” in China Reconstructs no. 2 (March–April 1953): p. 47; Yu Feng, “Han Chi-Hsiang, Blind Bard of North Shensi,” in China Reconstructs no. 4 (July–August 1953): p. 50; Zhang Guangyu, [untitled] in China Reconstructs vol. 3 no. 5 (September–October 1954): pp. 20–21; Ding Cong, [untitled] in China Reconstructs vol. 3 no. 6 (November–December 1954): pp. 46–48. 148 Williams, Covarrubias, p. 215. 149 Archivo Miguel Covarrubias, Sala de Archivos y Colecciones Especiales. Centro Interactivo de Recursos de Información y Aprendizaje. Universidad de las Américas Puebla. http:// catarina.udlap.mx:8080/xmLibris/projects/covarrubias/browse/project.jsp?path=/db/ xmlibris/Sala de Archivos y Colecciones Especiales/Fondo Moderno/Archivo Miguel Covarrubias/China: Danza Popular I—Fotografías, notas y recortes/ Retrieved on 15.5.2014. 150 Williams, Covarrubias, pp. 214–215 and p. 221. 151 See Ye Qianyu, “Painting on a Village Wall,” in Peking Review vol. 3 no. 5 (February 1960): p. 21 and a photograph of Gu Yuan with the caption “The Artist Ku Yuan Paints a Cottage Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 321

Despite the fact that several artists felt it necessary to reject their past as cartoonists and caricaturists, a number of major Chinese figures would proudly continue to work in that medium (when political circumstances allowed) for the remainder of their careers, perhaps the most prominent examples being Ding Cong and Hua Junwu. Several artists, including Te Wei and Zhang Guangyu, were to branch out into the area of animated cartoons. In 1965, the year of his death, the fruits of Zhang Guangyu’s involvement with the artwork for Danao tiangong 打鬧天宮 (Havoc in Heaven) could be seen, when this animated feature, one of the great successes of Chinese animation, was first released. This was based on an excerpt from the book Xiyouji 西遊記 (Journey to the West), as had been the first-ever Chinese full-length cartoon feature, the Wan Brothers’ 1941 Tieshan gongzhu 鉄扇公主 (Princess Iron Fan), which had been directly inspired by Walt Disney’s Snow White of 1937.152 It had been this Ming Dynasty novel that in Chongqing two decades before had been the basis for one of Zhang Guangyu’s most popular cartoon successes Xiyou manji 西遊漫記 (A Cartoon Record of a Journey to the West), a colourful series of satirical cartoons which took the KMT as their target. The 1965 film Danao tiangong was to be directed by Wan Laiming, a colleague of Zhang Guangyu’s who had worked closely with him in the 1920s and 1930s. During this early period, Wan Laiming and his brother Wan Guchan were drawing in a style inspired by Aubrey Beardsley and had worked for magazines such as Liangyou huabao and Shanghai manhua but at the same time they were also working in the field of animation together with their siblings Wan Chaochen 萬超塵 (1906–1992) and Wan Dihuan 萬滌寰 (dates unknown). In 1926, the year of the founding of the Cartoon Society in Shanghai, which had included both Wan Laiming and Zhang Guangyu amongst its members, the Wan brothers had produced the first Chinese animated short film, Danao huashi 打鬧畫室 (Havoc in the Artist’s Studio). As the world of English Decadence and the fin-de-siècle arts that had been so popular at this time became well and truly unfashionable in a China that now, in wartime, focused its attentions on the task of National

Wall” from “Art and Artists in 1958,” in Peking Review vol. 2 no. 1 (6 January 1959): p. 25. See also Melissa Chui and Zheng Shengtian, Art and China’s Revolution (New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2008), p. 27. Zheng Shengtian recently led a team (which included Yao Zhonghua, painter and the head of Yunnan Painting Institute) to uncover the influence of Mexican art on the development of contemporary Chinese art in the twentieth century. See: http://haudenschildgarage.com/532/supported-program-mexicochina-exchange-in-the-1950s.htm 152 Marie-Claire Quiquemelle, “The Wan Brothers and Sixty Years of Animated Film in China,” in Chris Berry (ed.), Perspectives on Chinese Cinema (New York: Cornell East Asia Papers, China-Japan Programme, 1985), pp. 47–65. 322 CHAPTER 7

Salvation, Shao Xunmei, once a major supporter of these artists, was no longer as influential. In the later 1930s he had made attempts to publish some magazines together with Emily Hahn and these were indeed worthy, if not altogether successful, ventures.153 With the outbreak of war in China in 1937 Shao Xunmei remained in Shanghai but Emily Hahn did not. Having moved to Hong Kong, Hahn became romantically attached to a British army officer, Charles Boxer (1904–2000). Her adopted Chinese nationality would save her from internment after the island fell to the Japanese in 1941154 but Boxer was not to be so fortunate and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner in Hong Kong. Shao and Hahn continued to exchange letters during this period. In 1946 Shao travelled to America and whilst there met several people he had previously known in China. This trip was undertaken at the behest of the Nationalist Government to look into the film business in America and to obtain film equipment for use in China. In Los Angeles, Shao met with Louis B. Mayer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to discuss matters pertaining to the Hollywood film industry and also met with Charlie Chaplin to talk about the possibility of taking the film The Great Dictator to China. All negotiations proved unsuccessful.155 Next, Shao went to New York, where he hoped to visit his old friend Lin Yutang and also Christopher Isherwood, who he had met, together with W.H. Auden, during their visit to China in 1938.156 Both Lin and Isherwood were out of town but he did apparently manage to catch up with his former colleague Ye Qianyu who at the time was there on his US government-sponsored trip.157 Emily Hahn was also there. Just months before, Shao had written to Hahn to ask her to make enquiries as to whether the owner of Time and Life magazines, Henry Luce (whose wife was on friendly terms with Hahn) would consider publishing a Chinese-language equivalent of his magazines in China. Hahn had replied that she thought such a venture would be most unlikely, and rather unsurprisingly this magazine, which if it had taken off might have reinvigo-

153 Two magazines were jointly published by Hahn and Shao: Ziyoutan [“Candid Comment”] and Shengse huabao [“Vox”]. See Hahn, China to Me, pp. 23–24. 154 Hahn, China To Me, p. 323 and p. 388. In Hong Kong, Hahn was able to pass herself of as a Chinese national due to her former relationship to Shao Xunmei. 155 Lin Qi, Haishang caizi, pp. 213–218. 156 W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, Journey to a War (London: Faber and Faber 1939). Zinmay Zau [Shao Xunmei] is thanked by the authors for supplying them with Chinese poems (p. 14). He is also credited with being the translator of a Chinese poem that appears on pp. 204–205. It is likely that this poem was actually composed by Shao himself. A poem by Auden translated into Chinese by Shao Xunmei appeared in Xingdao ribao (24 May 1939). 157 The meeting with Ye Qianyu is mentioned by Lin Qi, Haishang caizi, pp. 213–218. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 323 rated Shao’s own involvement with the publishing industry, was never to tran- spire.158 Shao did meet with Henry Luce in New York though, as his farewell party, which took place at the Algonquin Hotel, is said to have been hosted by the publishing magnate. Shao’s US trip had lasted six months.159 During the 1940s, he also occupied himself in the rather mundane world of stamp collecting, publishing articles in specialist philatelic magazines.160 As would be the case with so many from the literary world who had come from “bourgeois” family backgrounds such as Shao’s, he was to meet his end during the period of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). Another literary figure who, like Shao Xunmei, had not seen fit to follow the lead of the left-wing intelligentsia in the years before the war was Mu Shiying. Earlier in the decade in Shanghai Mu Shiying had collaborated with the cartoonists, for example with his stories that appeared in Wanxiang and Wenyi huabao, illustrated by Ye Qianyu and Laing Baibo respectively. In 1939, after a brief spell in Hong Kong where he had contributed to Xingdao ribao, Mu returned to Shanghai and began to work for the Wang Jingwei 汪精衛 (1883–1944) collaborationist regime as editor of the newspaper Guomin xinwen 國民新聞 (National Daily). He also made two visits to Japan where he met with the Japanese New-sensationists who by that time had taken a distinct swing to the right in their political views. Perhaps as a result of what was clearly seen as collaboration with the enemy, on 28 June 1940 Mu Shiying was shot dead on his way to work. The events of Mu’s untimely death would be closely re-enacted just months later when on 3 September, his former mentor, onetime leader of the New-sensationists and current editor of Guomin xinwen,

158 Letter from Emily Hahn to Shao Xunmei, addressed to “Dearest Sinmay [Xunmei]” sent from 132 East 95th Street, New York, dated 26 January 1946. In a later letter Shao informs Hahn that the printing press she “saved from the Japanese” was running again and was making “just enough money to keep the staff from starving” so that he had to “dig his gold somewhere else.” Letter Addressed to “Dear Micky” [Emily Hahn] sent from 1802 Lin Sen Road, Shanghai on 11 October 1948. Hahn Mss. Manuscripts Department, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. 159 Lin Qi, Haishang caizi, pp. 213–218. Lunches at the Algonquin with Emily Hahn are mentioned by Shao. Letter addressed to “Dear Micky” [Emily Hahn] sent from 1802 Lin Sen Road, Shanghai on 28 October 1948. Hahn Mss. Manuscripts Department, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. 160 Shao Xunmei, “Haiguan dalongpiao zhongyao shiliao 海關大龍票重要史料 [Important Historical Material Concerning the Maritime Custom’s Large Dragon Stamps],” in Guocui youkan 國粹郵票 [National Quintessence Postage Stamps] vol. 3 no. 2 (31 December 1943) and “Ruhe jiyou 如何集郵 [How to Collect Postage Stamps],” in Xinguang youpiao zazhi 新光郵票雜誌 [New Light Postage Stamp Magazine] vol. 2 no. 15 (1948): pp. 17–18. 324 CHAPTER 7

Liu Na’ou, was assassinated under much the same circumstances.161 The figure that had inspired both the Chinese and Japanese New-sensationists, Paul Morand, had also consciously taken a step to the right, a move that would have repercussions for him for the remainder of his life. During the war he worked as a diplomat for the Vichy Regime and as a result passed into obscurity after the war, becoming an object of derision for many in the French literary world and beyond.162 In 1979, when the eyes of the British media turned to the part Anthony Blunt had played in former years as one of the Cambridge Five, he was widely seen as a traitor. His early years as an art critic promoting the theories of Socialist Realism, as champion of the murals of Diego Rivera and Jack Hastings, the paintings of William Coldstream (1908–1987) and the cartoons and sketches of Jack Chen and Hu Kao, had by this time been eclipsed by his achievements as a world authority on the art of the European Renaissance and Baroque. This in turn would be thoroughly obscured when he was publicly exposed as having been a traitor. He had certainly been dedicated to the socialist cause during the 1930s, though seemingly, no more or no less so, than many of those in organ izations such as the AIA and the CCC and their equivalents in the USA, who had seen Socialism as the only means by which the spread of Fascism could be halted. Blunt’s unpublished memoirs reveal that by the time of this death in 1984 he had recognized his involvement in espionage to have been “the biggest mistake” of his life.163 Returning to China; another literary figure of the 1920s and 1930s, Yu Dafu, also came to a tragic end, but under very different circumstances to the leading figures of the New-sensationists. Yu Dafu had been a friend of Shao Xunmei in the 1920s and was a regular visitor at his literary salon.164 During the 1920s, as a member of the Creation Society, he was one of the most celebrated of Chinese authors. In the 1930s after falling out with members of the League of Left-wing

161 Peng Hsiao-yen has shown that the received history of these events-that Liu Na’ou was killed in 1939 before Mu Shiying-is incorrect. According to reports between 29 June and late September 1940 in the Guomin xinwen 國民新聞 [National Daily], Liu was assassinated in September and Mu Shiying in June 1940. See Peng Hsiao-yen Dandyism and Cultural Modernity, pp. 24–25 and notes p. 206. 162 See Renee Winegarten, “Who was Paul Morand? A Review of Fancy Goods and Open all Night,” in the New Criterion (November 1987), http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/ Who-was-Paul-Morand--7173. Retrieved 17 May 2014. 163 The Guardian, (23 July 2009). http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/23/blunt- soviet-spy-memoir Retrieved 21 May 2014. 164 See excerpt in Chapter Two pp. 67–68. Chinese Art And Its Part In The Worldwide Fight Against Fascism 325

Writers and with his books banned by the KMT he moved to Hangzhou and thereafter, with the outbreak of war in 1937, he fled to Singapore where he became editor of the Huaqiao zhoubao 華僑周報 (Overseas Chinese Weekly), a newspaper published by British Intelligence. During 1938, he was a contributor to Xingdao ribao, as were so many who had formerly been part of the artistic circles of Shanghai. Before Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942 he fled to Sumatra. When Sumatra also fell, he was forced to become a translator for the Japanese but at the same time was working for the underground resistance. On 29 August 1945, having been betrayed to the Japanese, Yu was arrested and sen- tenced to death by hanging. This was despite the fact that the day he was first detained had been fourteen days after the Japanese surrender to the Allies.165 During the war, Yu Feng, Yu Dafu’s niece, had remained in China where she had worked for newspapers such as the Jiuwang ribao (National Salvation Daily) in Guangzhou in the late 1930s and was responsible for publishing many cartoons by those who have been the central focus of this study. At that time Yu Feng was an active member of the cartoon brigade and travelled the coun- tryside as one of only two major female figures in the cartoon world, the other being Liang Baibo, onetime member of the Storm Society and a prolific artist who had entered the mainstream of the cartoon world in the mid-1930s with her contributions to many of Shao Xunmei’s publications. After “Liberation” in 1949, with an emphasis on folk culture, Yu Feng continued to work as a writer, artist and clothes designer.166 A focus on folk culture in Shanghai art circles had been evident as far back as the 1930s, notably with Zhang Guangyu’s cartoon series Mingjian qingge and Ye Qianyu’s interest in blue-and-white-patterned textiles as part of his interest in women’s fashion. An emphasis on folk arts as a source of modern fashion amongst artists and designers would continue into the 1950s and can be seen, for example, in a report concerning three cartoonists, Ye Qianyu, Ding Cong and Hua Junwu and their involvement with designs for printed cotton textiles.167 Cai Ruohong, once known as the “Chinese George Grosz,” would gradually leave cartooning behind but was to remain in the world of art as an exponent

165 Ann Huss, “Yu Dafu,” in Thomas Moran, Dictionary of Literary Biography vol. 328, Chinese Fiction Writers, 1900–1949, pp. 282–289. 166 Antonia Finnane, Changing Clothes in China, pp. 211–215. 167 Ye Qianyu: “Lanqing baihuabu tu’an yu shidai zhuangshi 藍青百花布圖案與時代裝飾 [Blue-and-white Cloth Patterns and Modern Clothes Design],” in Wanxiang no. 1 (20 May 1934): unnumbered page. See also “ ‘Deputy Kung’ and the Flowered Cotton Prints,” in China Reconstructs (November 1956): pp. 13–15. 326 CHAPTER 7 of Guohua. Although still known as a cartoonist in the 1950s he would gradually lose interest in the medium of cartoons, a trend that can be seen to have occurred with several artists, including Ye Qianyu and Hu Kao. This was also the case with George Grosz himself, who attempted to leave his past as a caricaturist behind when he moved to New York in 1933. He remained there for two decades, painting and drawing in a variety of different styles but was never to see the same success in America that he had done in Germany. In 1958 Grosz was elected Extraordinary Member of the Academy of Art, West Berlin. In mid- June 1959 he finally returned to Germany but died of a heart attack after an evening’s drinking with friends just weeks after his return; twenty-six years after fleeing Nazi Germany in fear of his life.168 The purpose of this book, as outlined in the introduction, has been to examine how art and literature developed in the hands of a small group of artists and writers during the period 1926–1938 as war encroached on the lives of the Chinese people. In this final chapter, the above survey, outlining what happened to a handful of these individuals following the main period of enquiry, has been necessarily cursory. Any further exploration into what happened in the art world during the 1940s and subsequently in the 1950s and 1960s during the period of the People’s Republic of China is beyond the scope of this book. Needless to say, 1949, the year of the founding of the PRC, was a year of great optimism for many of those who had adopted a left-wing stance during the 1930s. Hope for the Socialist utopia being offered by the Communist government in 1949 seemed at the time to be a tangible prospect for many artists and writers.

168 Schneede, George Grosz—Life and Work, p. 134 and Jentsch, George Grosz, pp. 238–239. Conclusion

This book has focussed on the contribution made by a small group of individuals to diverse areas of art and literature production in Shanghai, with a particular emphasis on their involvement in the art of the cartoon as part of the modern art scene in that city. It has shown how those involved were also closely associated with other areas of the Chinese cultural discourse, such as design, fashion and the theatre, and how the pictorial magazine acted as a means for the dissemination of ideas associated with these disciplines. The timescale of this exploration has been deliberately limited to a period of just over one decade, from the time of the formation of a dedicated society for the promotion of the cartoon in 1926, until 1938, one year after the outbreak of war with Japan. The research has concentrated on a number of different areas. It has examined what motivated the artists involved in the development of the cartoon, the various stimuli on their work from artists and writers, both foreign and Chinese, and the effects of the changing political environment on their work. It has looked at how the results of their efforts were received by the world of art and literature in Shanghai, through the presentation of their work in pictorial magazines and art exhibitions, and traced the overall development of the cartoon during this period, looking at the larger picture of how it evolved from an art largely inspired by foreign models into a distinctly Chinese art form reflecting the artistic and patriotic views of the artists in question. On the basis of this, the book has observed how, during the second half of the 1930s, the cartoon developed, according to the demands of the time, into a vehicle for the spread of patriotic opinion and political propaganda. It has been demonstrated that the group of artists and writers in question gained inspiration from various Western art movements and popular cultural sources and that the results of this appeared in a variety of pictorial magazines during the late 1920s and 1930s. Despite the marginalisation of their art in the existing historiography, it has been shown that the artists involved played a major role in the formation of a Chinese “Modern Art.” Members of groups such as the Storm Society and the New-sensationists are among those individuals usually credited with the creation of modern art and literature in China but it has been shown here that they were not alone in this and the artists who are the focus of this study not only played an equally important role as they, but were also closely associated with both them and their work. To think of these artists simply as “cartoonists” is to ignore their major contribution to the art world in general as well as to the worlds of fashion design, commercial art and design, and other areas of art production.

Without the publications of Shao Xunmei, these artists would have been deprived of a major outlet for their artwork and without this outlet, it would have been impossible for the Chinese cartoon to have developed in the way it did. The inclusion of Shao Xunmei as a major figure in this study has been important in the contextualization of the working lives of the cartoonists and has helped in demonstrating their close involvement with the major literary and artistic movements of Shanghai. Shao Xunmei had close connections with expatriate figures in Shanghai. His friendship with Bernadine Fritz led to an acquaintance with several important figures in the arts, most notably with Miguel Covarrubias who should rightly be seen as the single most important and influential Western artist to visit China before the founding of the PRC. Covarrubias’s 1933 visit to China is frequently mentioned in passing in the memoirs of the artists themselves and this has led to a widespread mythology concerning the relative importance of the Mexican’s work with regard to their own, particularly that of Zhang Guangyu. However, much of the information included in these accounts is contradictory or otherwise inaccurate and it is only in the present study that the full extent of Covarrubias’s influence on the art and artists of Shanghai has been demonstrated. Not only was Covarrubias’s work highly influential on the art of China but he adopted Chinese painting techniques in his own work, and during the 1940s and 1950s he was to become increasingly interested in many aspects of Chinese culture, demonstrating evidence of a significant, intercultural exchange between Mexico, the USA and China.1 As early as 1931, Covarrubias had developed an interest in Chinese writing. Examples of his attempts at writing his name, using Chinese characters in rudimentary forms of both standard script and seal script, can be seen in a small selection of both his published and unpublished sketches.2 The impact of the artwork of George Grosz on the artists of Shanghai and the adoption of the so-called “Grosz-style” by a number of artists is also the subject of some confusion in the received historiography. In the cases of both Covarrubias and Grosz the bare facts of these important transcultural exchanges have been clouded by personal, professional and political agendas and the inevitable inaccuracies found in oral histories and memoirs. It has been the aim in the chapters dedicated to these artists to re-examine the available evidence in order to piece together a truer course of events so as to demonstrate why these individuals were so important to the history of Chinese art.

1 See for example the material relating to China in Archivo Miguel Covarrubias, Sala de Archivos y Colecciones Especiales. http://catarina.udlap.mx:8080/xmLibris/projects/covarrubias/. 2 Ibid. and Williams and Carpenter, Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali—Shanghai, pp. 108–109. Conclusion 329

Shao Xunmei’s central position in this study shows him to have been a crucial link between the worlds of publishing, literature and art. He did not share the same political views as many left-wing writers and artists in China and although he had an interest in the promotion of literature as a didactic tool, he did not see it as a vehicle for bringing about a reversal of the political status quo. Shao viewed the popularization of reading magazines as a means of spreading art and literature among the masses (dazhong). This was the “masses” as defined by his circle of Francophile literary friends and does not refer to the proletariat as defined by Socialist orthodoxy. The way in which Shao uses this term can be seen in the title of a popular Shanghai magazine of that name, Dazhong, which took “The Cosmopolitan” as its English title. The work of Shao and his colleagues was above all “cosmopolitan” with inspiration from diverse Western sources including Greco-Roman and Neo-classical models. Shao’s immediate aim was to promote literacy through images, relying on the innate curiosity he believed to exist in all people. His method can be seen to be in direct contrast to the work of the League of Left-wing Writers and the call for the popularization of literature by theorists such as Qu Qiubai 瞿秋白 (1899–1935).3 Arguments about how literature should best be popularized centred to some extent around the question of the type of language that was most suitable for the masses, Qu Qiubai suggesting the adoption of a common language that could be understood by all and Mao Dun electing for an approach with education as its focus.4 Shao Xunmei’s article “The Status of Pictorials in the Cultural World” should be seen as his contribution to this debate.5 In the early history of the modern Chinese cartoon, as defined in the first chapters of this book, the preoccupation was with styles of art predominantly from nineteenth-century England and mainland Europe together with elements of the latest popular culture brought over from Paris and New York, all major interests of Shao Xunmei. The work of the cartoon artists was inextri- cably linked to Shao’s ideas on art and literature. As far back as the time of the publication of Shanghai manhua, Shao, as a close friend of many of the individuals involved, can be seen to have been highly influential on this group of artists. Although he was not directly involved in the production of that magazine, Shao’s presence can be strongly felt behind the scenes, for example in

3 See Qu Qiubai 瞿秋白, “Puluo dazhong wenyi de xianshi wenti 普羅大衆文藝的現實問題 [Practical Questions of Proletarian Mass Literature and Art],” in Wenxue 文學 [Literature] (25 April 1932) as cited in Wong Wang-chi in Politics and Literature in Shanghai: The Chinese League of Left-wing Writers, 1930–1936, p. 137. 4 Wong, Politics and Literature in Shanghai, p. 138. 5 Shidai huabao vol. 6 no. 12 (10 October 1934). 330 Conclusion the editorial team’s choice of images, many of which were inspired by English Decadence, European Symbolism and Neo-classicism. The raison d’être of the publishers of Shanghai manhua was not overtly political. One often cited exception to this being the political cartoons of Huang Wennong. The political credentials of Huang notwithstanding, the artists involved in the publication were certainly not devoid of social conscience and inevitably some political content did appear in their magazine, although this would not be its primary focus. This was also the case with the magazines published immediately after Shanghai manhua, many of which were the product of Shao’s Modern Publications. The more the decade progressed, the more the material based on political and social themes can be seen to increase, notably in Shidai manhua during its comparatively long publishing run (1934–37). The styles of art which appeared in this magazine and others of a similar type in the first half of the decade would be inspired by popular models from the West and would, to some extent, still conform to the ideals of art for art’s sake which had dominated the work of this group and Chinese literary organisations in the 1920s. This was in stark contrast to the work of the woodcut artists who, under the guidance of Lu Xun, took politics as the central theme in their work. One of the younger cartoon artists whose career was set in motion immediately following the period in which Shanghai manhua was produced, was Huang Miaozi. The earliest cartoon by him to appear in print was in this magazine, sent by him as a seventeen-year-old boy from his hometown Guangzhou.6 Huang was a witness to the early achievements of the artists of Shanghai manhua as well as to the publication of magazines that followed, many of which would become major vehicles for his own artistic output. In an article published in 1995, Mary Anne Farquhar cites research carried out by Paul Sadler (then a student at Griffith University, Australia), who conducted interviews with Huang Miaozi when Huang was a visiting professor at the university.7 In interview, Huang Miaozi expressed his view that the cartoonists who worked for Shao Xunmei’s publishing company belonged to what Du Heng had defined as Di-san zhong ren 第三種人 (The Third Category of Person), thereby identifying them as somewhat politically neutral and artistically independent.8

6 See Shanghai manhua no. 67 (3 August 1929): p. 7. 7 Mary Ann Farquhar, “Sanmao: Cartoons and Chinese Pop Culture,” in John A. Lent (ed.), Asian Popular Culture (Boulder, San Francisco, Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), p. 146. 8 Su Wen 蘇汶 [Du Heng], “Wenren zai Shanghai 文人在上海 [Writers in Shanghai],” in Shanghai: Jiyi yu xiangxiang 上海：记忆与想象 [Shanghai: Memory and Imagination] (Shanghai: Wenhui chubanshe, 1996), pp. 8–10. First published in Xiandai vol. 4 no. 2 (December 1933). Conclusion 331

Huang, who must be seen as having belonged to this category himself, is quoted as having said:

Essentially, you could say the [the cartoonists] were all The Third Type. But the most important thing was that all these artists had freedom. Sometimes they would oppose Hitler, sometimes they would oppose Stalin or Chiang Kaishek. My cartoons were against Hitler and Stalin. . . At the time nobody knew the Communists or that they were all that great.9

It has been demonstrated that a lack of engagement in politics and an eclectic approach to art were indeed traits of the cartoonists during the first half of the 1930s and this is certainly apparent when examining the magazines to which they contributed. To assign to these individuals a place in the same category as Du Heng, Shao Xunmei and their colleagues, must certainly be correct. As astutely observed by Farquhar, “cartoons of the 1930s targeted Chinese politics and society in a Western, liberal way and not from a specifically Marxist perspective.”10 However, what Huang Miaozi claims in the above passage, that some Chinese cartoons were in opposition to Stalin and that his own cartoons in particular “were against Hitler and Stalin,” must be seen to be somewhat disingenuous. Certainly, in common with cartoons which appeared in foreign publications such as Vanity Fair, there were those found in Chinese publications that opposed Hitler and Mussolini. However, Chinese cartoons that opposed Stalin, drawn by the group of artists in question, were rarely, if ever, seen.11 On the contrary, as war approached, cartoons in favour of the Soviet leader became increasingly widespread.12 Huang Miaozi’s historically revisionist view shows clearly the problems encountered when using material gleaned from memoirs and interviews. In the writing of this book material of this nature has been approached with caution. As someone who might be seen as a typical example of a writer of “The Third Category,” who had been additionally labelled as a “Haipai” writer (a term of disdain used by a faction in the Beijing literary world at the time), Shao Xunmei

9 Mary Ann Farquhar, “Sanmao,” p. 146, based on interviews with Huang Miaozi carried out by Paul Sadler. 10 Mary Ann Farquhar, “Sanmao,” p. 146. 11 A search of the large corpus of Chinese magazines covered in this study has failed to uncover even a single example. 12 Hu Kao, Sidalin huifa shixian [Stalin’s Constitution is Realized], in Xinhua ribao (16 January 1938): front page. 332 Conclusion was viewed as persona non grata by many left-wing figures.13 Although writers such as Qu Qiubai, Zhou Yang 周揚 (1908–89) and Lu Xun were not always in agreement amongst themselves, they concurred that writers who did not take revolutionary literature dedicated to the liberation of the proletariat as their aim were not worthy of consideration and should even be seen as enemies of the people. As noted by Farquhar, the cartoonists approached their art from a Western liberal perspective and as conscious or unconscious followers of “The Third Category” they were inspired by the work of Shao Xunmei and his circle of literary friends. The artists in question have been widely recognised in China and abroad as some of the major exponents of the Chinese cartoon during the 1930s and 1940s and continued to be thought of in the same terms well into the second half of the twentieth century. The received view is that all through this period they had been part of the left-wing political discourse in China. It has been one of the central aims of this book to show that this was not in fact the case. In the early 1990s, Huang Miaozi’s wife, Yu Feng, wrote an inspired article on the legacy of these artists, many of whom she had known personally in the 1930s and with whom she continued to be acquainted during the second half of the twentieth century. Yu Feng gives credit to Zhang Guangyu for being one of the major figures in the history of modern art in China.14 She sees him as an important artist who was instrumental in the development of a style that could be considered consciously “Chinese.” On the basis of what she proposes, if taken to its logical conclusion and in light of the findings in Chapter Three of this book, then the work of Miguel Covarrubias should not only be seen as having been a great inspiration for Zhang Guangyu and his immediate circle but must also be recognised as being one of the major catalysts for the formation of what was to become a distinctly “Chinese” Modern Art in the twentieth century. Yu Feng’s line of argument is largely accurate but it concentrates only on the achievements of artists after 1949 and fails to emphasize fully the importance of the same artists in the years leading up to the founding of the PRC. It is the major contention of this book that during the middle years of the period in question (1926–1938) a new form of Chinese art had already begun to develop, first as part of the wider discourse of modernity in Shanghai and later as a propaganda tool in the fight against Japanese militarism. This period was certainly

13 For several 1930s essays concerning the Haipai debate see Ma Fengyang 马逢洋, Jiyi yu xiangxiang 记忆与想象 [Memory and Imagination] (Shanghai: Wenhui chubanshe, 1996). 14 Yu Feng, “Shanghai’s Cartoon Era,” in Selected Essays of Yu Feng, pp. 180–181. Conclusion 333 as significant in the history of Chinese modern art as was the post-1949 period focused on by Yu Feng in her essay. Another view again lays great emphasis on one particular large-scale wartime mural as being representative of a turning point in Chinese art history.15 Several reproductions of photographs of this mural survive. One of these, which was used as an illustration to an article by Jack Chen in T’ien Hsia Monthly, was taken by Chen in Wuhan, shortly before the mural was destroyed by the Japanese army when they entered the city in 1938.16 Several important artists worked on this mural including Li Keran 李可染 (1907–89) who was involved on the peripheries of cartoon production at this time and had drawn a striking series of cartoons about the Nanjing Massacre and the war in Shanghai in 1937 for Wenyi zhendi (Art and Literature Battleground).17 He was later to become recognized as one of the most important painters of the twentieth century. Two former members of the Storm Society were also heavily involved with the mural: Zhou Duo, who, as seen in the early chapters of this study had produced drawings in various modern styles for magazines such as Wenyi huabao, was responsible for the overall design of the mural and Zhou’s former colleague in the Storm Society, writer and artist Ni Yide, wrote an important article about the mural for Xingdao ribao.18 There is no doubt that this mural is of major significance in the history of Chinese modern art but it must be emphasized again that the pivotal period for Chinese modern art (a turning point in the form and function of art) had taken place during the middle years of the 1930s as the

15 Cai Tao, “The Anti-Japanese Propaganda Mural in Huanghelou (1938) and the Turning Point of Modern Chinese Art.” 16 “A Huge Wall Painting Entitled ‘Defence of Wuhan,’ ” in T’ien Hsia Monthly vol. 7 no. 4 (November 1938): unnumbered page. For other photographs of this mural and for further information concerning it, see Cai Tao, “The Anti-Japanese Propaganda Mural in Huanghelou (1938) and the Turning Point of Modern Chinese Art.” 17 Four cartoons by Li Keran appeared in Wenyi zhendi [Art and Literature Battle Ground]: Cansha wo fushang zhanshi 殘殺我負傷戰士 [Massacre of our Wounded Soldiers], in Wenyi zhendi vol. 2 no. 3 (16 November 1938): unnumbered page. An inscription describes the events of 16 September 1937 and the retreat of the Japanese soldiers after the Battle of Luodian near Shanghai; Jianyin 姦婬 [Rape], in Wenyi zhendi vol. 2 no. 4 (1 December 1938): unnumbered page; Sharen bisai 殺人比賽 [Killing Competition], in Wenyi zhendi vol. 2 no. 6 (1 January 1939): unnumbered page. This has an extended quotation translated from the Japanese Nichi nichi shimbun newspaper report detailing the whole event; Hongzha 轟炸 [Bombing], in Wenyi zhendi vol. 2 no. 7 (16 January 1939): unnumbered page. All these drawings are described as “cartoons,” except “Bomb” which is said to be a “pen drawing.” 18 Ni Yide, “Huanghelou de da bihua 黃鶴樓的大壁畫 [The Large-scale Wall Painting at the Huanghelou],” in Xingdao ribao no. 90 (29 October 1938). 334 Conclusion result of a developmental process that had been underway since the later 1920s and did not come about as the result of the creation of any one work of art, the impact of any one artist, or the influence of any one particular individual. It was two years before the painting of this mural that Jack Chen visited China. Chen was in Shanghai initially to collect cartoons for an exhibition in Moscow but what began as a short visit to Shanghai turned into a world tour to which he would dedicate more than two years of his life, fostering an interest in China that would remain with him for decades to come. Chen was to spend the greater part of his life in China after the founding of the PRC, only returning to the West in 1971.19 By tracing Chen’s movements during the late 1930s, the process by which the Chinese artists he championed were to become fully engaged in the worldwide fight against fascism has been demonstrated. It cannot be said that Chen was influential on the Chinese artists in the same way as either Covarrubias or Grosz, or even to the extent that David Low or a number of other contemporary artists were. Chen’s main role in the story of the Chinese cartoon was as a disseminator of the artwork of others and the political message that their art increasingly carried happened to be in accordance with his own and that of his colleagues in left-wing organisations in Britain and the USA. It was through Chen that the revolutionary art of China found its place alongside the work of artists from the USA and the UK, countries in which artists were also striving to use art as a tool in the fight against fascism. How successful his efforts were in disseminating the Chinese message is another matter entirely. Chen’s exhibitions were widely reported in the press in each of the places he exhibited. However, it would appear from the existing evidence that no sooner had his travelling exhibition moved on from one venue, than the exhibits were all but forgotten. Indeed, in some places such as New York in 1938, the art he displayed met with a mixed reception and was even seen by some as being derivative. Other critics saw the positive side of this Modern Chinese Graphic Art, including a major figure in the British art world, Anthony Blunt, whose review in The Spectator in 1937 praised the exhibition and in particular the work of Jack Chen and Hu Kao.20 Through Chen’s exhibitions, the work of the Chinese cartoonists found its way to many different parts of the globe. By 1937, those artists who had begun their careers as designers and followers of the ideals of art for art’s sake, were now themselves spreading the cause of National Salvation around China. An innovative Chinese art, inspired by widespread tendencies towards new forms of realism in other parts of the world, was now being used as a major force in the battle against

19 Yuan-tsung Chen, Return to The Middle Kingdom, p. XXI. 20 Anthony Blunt, “East and West,” in The Spectator (19 November 1937). Conclusion 335

Japanese aggression. At the same time as the cartoon troupes travelled around China, exhibiting their work in towns and villages, it was being disseminated by Jack Chen throughout the USA and Europe. In China, art of the fin-de-siècle and early twentieth century had now been forgotten, but the fact remains that it was with the imitation of styles from this early period that many Chinese artists gained the experience and skills to equip them in both the commercial and fine art worlds of Shanghai. The formation of what could be termed a “Chinese Cartoon” (in the view of the Chinese artists a major form of modern art) was achieved during the decade of the 1930s. To expand on Yu Feng’s theory, that it was these artists who paved the way for a new Chinese modern art following the founding of the PRC, it could equally well be argued, and indeed it is the central tenet of this book that a national style had already been formed prior to the war with Japan, following years of creative experimentation undertaken by Zhang Guangyu, Zhang Zhenyu, Ye Qianyu and their colleagues. The focus during the second half of the 1930s changed from an emphasis on form to one on content and following talks at the Yan’an Forum on Art and Literature given by Mao Zedong in May 1942, political content remained the major criterion by which art was judged in the PRC until recent years.21 Subsequently, many Chinese artists either viewed their previous work as inferior, the product of youthful experiment, or would retroactively assign political credentials to their work, so as to appear to be worthy citizens of a new socialist China. In fact, in the early years of the 1930s, the world of the artists under discussion was far from one dedicated to political revolution. Theirs was a quest for artistic revolution, rejecting traditional Chinese approaches to art in favour of those that would place them on an equal footing with artists worldwide. For younger artists such as Hu Kao and Ding Cong, their agenda had initially been much the same as that of the older generation, until in the years immediately leading up to war in 1937 when they became instrumental in promoting the cry to use the “pen as sword.” It was at this time that a revolutionary art dedicated to the popularization of the message of National Salvation became widespread among the cartoonists of China. In what may have been the last article he wrote before leaving China in 1938, Jack Chen rejected once more the “negative satire” of George Grosz and spurned the work of the “decorative” artist Miguel Covarrubias. For Chen, and for the majority of Chinese cartoonists by this time, the work of these artists had ceased to be valid. Chen now made the claim that the spirit of the

21 Continued references to Mao Zedong’s Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art are prevalent throughout the period of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). 336 Conclusion people had been aroused, and in response, the Chinese cartoonists had transformed their style in order to seize “the ultimate victory in the national war of liberation.” He declared that the new generation of cartoonists had learned from those who could “best express the bravery of the masses and the cruelty of the invader.” These individuals, both Chinese and Western, many of whom have been the main protagonists of this book, had been promoted by Chen in his many travelling exhibitions. For Chen, the artwork of these “cartoonists” showed that Chinese artists had been able to unite on an equal footing with their counterparts in international revolutionary art organisations. Echoing closely the slogan of the British, Artists’ International Association, a group of artists that he had tirelessly championed on his world tour, Chen declared that the Chinese cartoon world was now able to continue struggling bravely forward, for the sake of “democracy, unity and peace.”22

22 Jack Chen, “Xie zai ‘touqiang’ zhi qian [Written Before ‘The Spear’—Preface to the Collected Cartoons of Suoya],” in Da gongbao (29 December 1938): p. 8. “For Peace, Democracy and Cultural Progress” was the slogan of the Artists’ International Association. Chen’s article was originally written in English and the above is a back-translation from the existing Chinese version. Bibliography

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Lai, Him Mark: Chinese American Transnational Politics. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2010. Laing, Ellen Johnston: Selling Happiness: Calendar Posters and Visual Culture in Twentieth-century Shanghai. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2004. Langa, Helen: Radical Art: Printmaking and the Left in 1930s New York. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Lee, Gregory: Dai Wangshu: The Life and Poetry of a Chinese Modernist. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1989. Lee, Leo Ou-fan: Lu Xun and his Legacy. Berkeley, London: University of California Press, 1985. ———, Shanghai Modern: The Flowering of a New Urban Culture in China 1930–1945. Cambridge, Massachusetts, London: Harvard University Press, 1999. Leslie, Esther: Hollywood Flatlands: Animation, Critical Theory and the Avant-Garde. New York: Verso, 2004. Lewis, Ben: Hammer and Tickle—A History of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008. Leyda, Jay: Dianying: An Account of Films and the Film Audience in China. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1972. ——— (ed.): Eisenstein on Disney. Calcutta: Seagull Books, 1986. Lin Yutang: A History of the Press and Public Opinion in China. London: OUP, 1937. Locke, Adrian: Mexico: A Revolution in Art 1910–1940. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2013. Low, David: Low’s Biography. London: Michael Joseph, 1956. Lozowick, Louis: William Gropper. Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1983. Lucie-Smith, Edward: Latin American Art in the 20th Century. London: Thames and Hudson, (1993) 2004. MacWilliams, Mark W. (ed.): Japanese Visual Culture—Exploration in the World of Manga and Anime. New York, London: M.E. Sharpe Armonk, 2008. Mao Tse-tung: Talks at the Yenan Forum of Art and Literature. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1956. Massereel, Franz: Passionate Journey (Mein Stundenbuch): A Novel in 64 Woodcuts. London: The Redstone Press, 1987 [Munich 1919]. Matsukawa Yuko, Josephine D. Lee and Imogene L. Lim: Re/collecting Early Asian America: Essays in Cultural History (Asian American History and Culture). Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002. McCully, Marilyn (ed.): A Picasso Anthology—Documents, Criticism, Reminiscences. London: Thames and Hudson, 1981. Miguel Covarrubias. Cuatro Miradas—Four Visions. Mexico: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2005. 342 Bibliography

Miller, Michael B.: Shanghai on the Métro—Spies Intrigue and the French between the Wars. Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford: University of California Press, 1995. Minick, Scott and Jiao Ping: Chinese Graphic Art in the Twentieth Century. London: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Morand, Paul: A Frenchman’s London. London: Cassell, 1934. ———, East India and Company. New York: Albert Charles Boni, 1927. ———, East India and Company. Paris: Arléa, 1987. ———, L’Art de Mourir suivi de Le Suicide en Littérature. Paris: Éditions des Cahiers Libres, 1932. ———, New York. London: Heinemann, 1931. ———, Nothing but the Earth. Norwood Massachusetts: The Plimpton Press, 1927. ———, Open All Night. London: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929 [1923]. O’Connor, Peter: The English-Language Press Networks of East Asia, 1918–1945. Kent: Global Oriental, 2010. Oja, Carol J.: Colin McPhee: Composer in Two Worlds. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1990. Pan, Lynn: Shanghai Style—Art and Design Between the Wars. San Francisco: Long River Press, 2008. Peng Hsiao-yen: Dandyism and Transcultural Modernity—The Dandy, the Flâneur, and the Translator in 1930s Shanghai, Tokyo, and Paris. London and New York: Routledge and Academia Sinica, 2010. Porter, Edgar A.: The People’s Doctor: George Hatem and China’s Revolution. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997. Pronko, Leonard C.: Theater East and West: Perspectives Toward a Total Theater. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974. Radford, Robert: Art for a Purpose—The Artists’ International Association 1933–1953. Winchester: Winchester School of Art Press, 1987. Reed, Christopher A.: Gutenberg in Shanghai: Chinese Print Capitalism 1976–1937. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2004. Ristaino, Marcia R.: China’s Intrepid Muse—The Cartoons and Art of Ding Cong. Warren CT: Floating World Editions, 2009. Roberts, Claire: Photography and China. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2013. Robinson, Harlow: Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood’s Russians: Biography of an Image. Lebanon NH: University Press of New England, 2007. Rosenhaft, Eve and Robert Aitken (eds.): Africa in Europe: Studies in Transnational Practice in the Long Twentieth Century. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2013. Schneede, Uwe M.: George Grosz—Life and Work. New York: Universe Books, 1979. Schodt, Frederik L.: Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. New York: Kodansha America, 1983. Scott, A.C.: Literature and the Arts in Twentieth Century China. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1965. Bibliography 343

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Widmer, Ellen and David Der-Wei Wang (eds.): May Fourth to June Fourth—Fiction and Film in Twentieth-century China. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press, 1993. Willams, Adriana: Covarrubias. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994. Williams, Adriana and Yu-Chee Chong: Covarrubias in Bali. Singapore, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Bali: Editions Didier Millet, 2005. Willams, Adriana and Bruce W. Carpenter: Miguel Covarrubias Sketches: Bali— Shanghai. [Indonesia]: Red and White Publishing with Island Arts, 2012. Windsor, Alan: Handbook of Modern British Painting and Printmaking 1900–1990. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998. Wong Wang-chi: Politics and Literature in Shanghai—The Chinese League of Left-wing Writers, 1930–1936. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991. Woodhead, H.G.W.: The China Yearbook 1934. Shanghai: The North-China Daily News and Herald Ltd., 1934. Wright, Patrick: Passport to Peking: A Very British Mission to Mao’s China. Oxford: OUP, 2010. Xiao, Zhiwei: Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. London: Routledge, 2002. Ye Shengtao (ed.): Woodcuts of War-time China 1937–1945. Shanghai: Chinese Woodcutters Association, Kaiming Book Company, 1946. Yeh, Diana: The Happy Hsiungs: Performing China and the Struggle for Modernity. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2014. Yeh, Wen-Hsin: Shanghai Splendor—Economic Sentiments and the Making of Modern China, 1943–1949. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2007 Yung, Judy, Gordon H. Chang and Lai Him Mark (eds.): Chinese American Voices: from the Gold Rush to the Present. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2006. Zur Mühlen, Hermynia: Was Peterchens Fruende erzählen, Märchen von Hermynia zur Mühlen mit Zeichnungen von George Grosz [What Peterkin’s Friends Say, Fairy Tales by Hermynia zur Mühlen with Drawings by George Grosz], Berlin: Der Malik verlag, 1921.

Articles in English in Books, Periodicals, Journals and Newspapers

Anonymous Articles “Another Art Show at Sun Company,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, 14.11.36, p. 2. “Art Vital To Progress of Soviet Union,” in the China Press, 4.11.36, p. 9. Bibliography 345

“At Mrs Chester Fritz’s,” in the North-China Daily News, 7.10.33, p. 14. “At the I.A.T.,” in the North-China Herald, 25.3.36, p. 555. “Caricaturist Covarrubias’ First Impression of Change in China is the Split Skirt,” in the China Press, 3.10.33, Front page of Second Section p. 9 continued on p. 11. “Cast of I.A.T.’s Next Studio Production,” in the North-China Daily News (Magazine Supplement vol. 7 no. 18) 3.5.36, p. 3. China Critic, vol. 4 no. 27, 2.7.31, p. 665. “Chinese Artists Cartoon Their Country’s Conquest in Modern Manner,” in Life, 17.1.38, pp. 50–55. “Chinese Exhibition of Cartoons,” in the North-China Daily News, 6.11.36, p. 10. “Chinese Humour in Wartime: Cartoons by Yeh Chien-yu” and “Escape from Hong Kong: Wartime Works of a Famous Cartoonist,” in China at War, vol. 11 no. 5 (November 1943), pp. 48–52. “Chinese Periodicals Supressed,” in the North-China Daily News, 13.12.36, p. 14. “Circus King in Orient,” in the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, 4.4.34, p. 3. “Circus Manager Fined for Cruelty to Animals,” in the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, 1.5.34, p. 3. “Claudette Colbert, Noted Paramount Movietone Star is here for Short Stay,” in the China Press, 16.6.30, p. 2. “Contemporary Chinese Art—Exhibition Preview Yesterday,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 27.10.38, p. 9. “Covarrubias Here,” in the North-China Daily News, 30.9.33, p. 19. “ ‘Deputy Kung’ and the Flowered Cotton Prints,” in China Reconstructs (November 1956), pp. 13–15. “The Editor’s Uneasy Chair,” in Vanity Fair, vol. 34 no. 6 (August 1930), p. 19. “Fascist Artist,” in Vanity Fair, vol. 42 no. 6 (August 1934), p. 9. “Graphic Art Exhibition—Proceeds for Medical Aid to China” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 21.5.38, p. 7. “Graphic Art Exhibition in Hong Kong—Governor to Attend Opening this Week,” in: the Hong Kong Telegraph, 16.5.38, p. 5. “I.A.T. Activities,” in the North-China Daily News, 1.11.36, p. 3. “The International Arts Theatre Group—Re-organization of Unique Cultural Interest,” in the North-China Herald, 30.1.35, p. 176. “Isako Circus now in Shanghai—Unloading Process Thrills a Huge Crowd,” in the North-China Herald, 24.4.35, p. 141. “Japanese Seize Chinese Journals,” in the North-China Daily News, 22.10.36, p. 2. “Lady Precious Stream—Shanghai’s Presentation at the Carlton Theatre,” in the North- China Herald, 3.6.35, p. 19. 346 Bibliography

“Local Ban on Vanity Fair,” in the North-China Herald, 14.8.35, p. 264. “Mexican Artist Visitor—Mr. M. Covarrubias on Trip to East—Bound Eventually for Magic Bali,” in the North-China Daily News, 2.10.33, p. 18. “Miguel Covarrubias,” in Vanity Fair, vol. 43 no. 5 (January 1935), p. 9. “Modern Art in China-Interesting Talk by Mr. Jack Chen,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 9.6.38, p. 11. “New French Book on China—Author Now Travelling for Material,” in the Straits Times, 6.6.30, p. 22. “New French Book on China—Well-known Author Preparing Material for Treatise,” in the North-China Herald, 13.5.30, p. 267. “New York Offer to Local Lady—Mrs Tsufa Lee Asked to Play Lady Precious Stream,” in the North-China Herald, 18.12.35, p. 482. “Outstanding Artistic Event in the Colony,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 16.5.38, p. 7. “Painting Exhibition Starts Today at Sun Company,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, 1.12.36, p. 2. “Painting the War,” in the Hong Kong Telegraph, 27.10.38, p. 4. “Photographic Studies by Chin San Long,” in the North-China Herald, 21.8.35, p. 292. “Piracy,” in: Vanity Fair, vol. 43 no. 6 (February 1935). “Private Faces in Public Places—International Exhibition,” in the Hong Kong Sunday Herald, 22.5.38, p. 8. “Prominent Guests Seen at Cunningham Dinner,” in the China Press, 7.10.33, p. 4. “Red, White and Blue Peril,” in Vanity Fair (March 1931). “Sapajou,” in the North-China Herald, 3.7.35, p. 1. “Shanghai Entertainment in the Early Summer Sunshine,” in the North-China Herald, 19.6.35, pp. 478–479. “Sir Stafford Reassures,” in ‘Europe-Asia Illustrated News’ [Ouya huabao 歐亞畫報], vol. 3 no. 11, 10.6.42, p. 6. “Soviet Dancers and Musicians to Tour China: Concert Group of 20 Will Return Visit of Mei Lan-fang,” in the China Press, 6.11.36, p. 14. “A Soviet Utopia for Women—Mr. Eugene Chen’s Daughter Paints Bright Picture,” in the North-China Herald, 15.1.36, p. 96. “Students ‘Welcome’ Shaw,” in the North-China Herald, 22.2.33, p. 294. “Sylvia Chen Sails, To Dance Here Later,” in the China Press, 26.1.36, p. 9. “Talent Shown by Young Artist,” in the North-China Daily News, 15.3.36, p. 14. “Tien Hsia,” in the North-China Herald, 22.9.37, p. 437. “War in Black and White,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, [16.7.1937]. “World Traveller,” in Vanity Fair, vol. 34 no. 6 (August 1930), p. 19. “Young China Cartoons its Conquest,” in Life, vol. 4 no. 3, 17.1.38, pp. 50–51. Bibliography 347

Articles by Named Authors Ashleigh, Charles: “Fred Ellis in London—Famous Revolutionary Artist interviewed by Charles Ashleigh,” in Left Review, vol. 2 no. 12 (September 1936), pp. 609–612. Atkinson, Brooks: “ ‘Lady Precious Stream,’ by Dr. S.I. Hsiung, or the Poor Gardner who Made Good.” Review of Lady Precious Stream, Booth Theatre, in the New York Times, 28.1.36. Bichler, Lorenz: “Coming to Terms with a Term: Notes on the History of the Use of Socialist Realism in China,” in In the Party Sprit. Amsterdam, Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1996, p. 31. Blunt, Anthony: “Art,” in The Spectator, 3.1.36. ———, “East and West,” in The Spectator, 19.11.37. ———, “Rationalist and Anti-Rationalist Art” from “Surrealism” (supplement, facing p. 508), in Left Review, vol. 2 no. 10 (July 1936). ———, “Dalou & his Workers’ Monument,” in Left Review, vol. 2 no. 13 (October 1936). ———, “Lord Hastings at the Lèfevre Galleries,” in Left Review, vol. 2 no. 16, (January 1937), p. 898. ———, “The ‘Realism’ Quarrel,” in Left Review, vol. 3 no. 3 (April 1937). ———, “A Socialist Decorator,” in The Spectator, 18.12.36. Bryant, Mark: “The Other Giles,” in History Today, vol. 56 (September 2006). C.B.F.: Review of New York, in Geography, vol. 17 no. 1 (March 1932), p. 61. Carroll, Alison: “East and West? A Different Story: The Impact of Mexico on 20th Century Asian art,” in Art Monthly Australia no. 213 (September 2008), pp. 11–16. Casillas, Mercurio López: “Mexico First and Last,” in Miguel Covarrubias 4 Miradas 4 Visions, p. 36. Chen, Eugene: “Diplomacy is More than a Business Deal,” in: Hong Kong Daily Press. 19.9.38, p. 9. Chen, Jack: “The Actors in China’s Drama as Seen by the Cartoonist Chang Kwang-yu,” in: Asia, vol. 37 no. 2 (February 1937), p. 117. ———, “The Boycott Movement Advances in England,” in China Today (February 1938), p. 12. ———, “Canton En Fete on September 18 and Sian Again!” in the Hong Kong Daily Press. 21.9.38, p. 8. ———, “The Challenge of Asia’s Youth-1—Young China’s United Front,” in Asia, vol. 37 no. 7 (July 1938), pp. 414–416. ———, “Characters at the Front,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 19.9.38, p. 3. Chen, Jack (attrib.): “Chinese Cartoons of the Day,” in Asia, vol. 37 no. 8 (August 1936), p. 507. ———, “China’s Militant Cartoonists,” in Asia, vol. 37 no. 5 (May 1938), pp. 308–312. ———, “China’s Special Region—II,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 23.9.38, p. 8. 348 Bibliography

———, “Chinese Ballet opens at ‘Met’—I.A.T. Production Wins Praise from Chen,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, 16.12.36, p. 15. ———, “Chinese Cartoons, Drawings by Chang Kwang-yu and Liao Ping-shun,” in Asia, vol. 37 no. 12 (December 1937), p. 835. ———, “Chinese Children get Japanese Propaganda,” in Asia, vol. 38 no. 11 (November 1938), p. 611. ———, “Crisis Gives Impetus to Cartoons—Manchurian Incident brought Art to the Fore among Caricaturists,” in the Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury, 9.11.36, p. 1 section II. ———, “Democratic Unity Beats Totalitarianism,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 19.9.38, p. 3. ———, “The Gentle Art of Self-Defence,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 24.9.38, p. 8. ———, “The Graphic Arts in the USSR,” in The Studio, vol. 127 no. 611 (February 1944): pp. 32–42. ———, “Is Hankow China’s Madrid?” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 27.9.38, p. 8. ———, “Massacres at Canton,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 8.6.38, p. 7. ———, “On Day of Reckoning—Japan and the Powers,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 26.9.38, p. 8. Chen I-Wan [Jack Chen]: “Mei Lan-fang and the Soviet Theater,” in the Moscow News, no. 16, 18.4.35, pp. 2 and 11. J.C. [Jack Chen]: “Mei Lan-fang, Noted Chinese Actor, Wins Warm Applause,” in the Moscow News, no. 13, 28.3.35, p. 7. ———, “Modern Chinese Art,” in China Today (February 1938), p. 16. Jack Chen (ed.): “Modern China,” in Left Review, vol. 8 (January 1938), pp. 717–744. ———, “Modern Chinese Paintings,” in The Studio, vol. 128 no. 617 (August, 1944), pp. 50–54. ———, “Modern Chinese Pictorial Art,” in Left Review (November 1937), p. 576. “Realism for Artists,” in the Voice of China [1936–37], pp. 15–16. ———, “People’s War in Korea,” in People’s China, vol. 2 no. 6, 16.9.50, pp. 11–14. ———, “Soviet Painting,” in The Studio, vol. 127 no. 611 (February 1944), pp. 53–64. Chen I-fan [Jack Chen]: “Every Red Army Unit is School for Art,” in the Moscow News, no. 9, 26.2.36, p. 10. ———, “Exhibition of the Work of Ilya Repin at the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow,” in the Moscow News, no. 22, 27.5.36, p. 4. ———, “For a Revolutionary Brushwork,” in the Voice of China [1937], pp. 15–16. ———, “The Modern Trend in Contemporary Chinese Art,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly, vol. 4 no. 1 (January 1937), pp. 35–48. ———, “The New Cultural Great Wall,” in China Today, (January 1939). ———, “Soviet Cartooning,” in the Moscow News, 1.1.34, p. 10. ———, “Towards a Modern Conception of Art,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly, vol. 7 no. 4 (November 1938), pp. 342–349. Bibliography 349

———, “Under Fire on the Yangste Front,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 20.9.38, p. 8. ———, “War Poster Art of China,” in China Today (August 1938), p. 6. ———, “Why They go to Yenan,” in Asia, vol. 34 no. 1 (January 1939), p. 26. ———, “Very Special Region in Northwest Province,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 22.9.38, p. 8. ———, “The Younger Group of Shanghai Artists,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly, vol. 5 no. 2 (September 1937), pp. 147–151. Chen, Percy: “The Double Tenth—1938 and Victory for China,” in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 10.10.38, p. 8. Chun Kum-wen [陳錦雲 Chen Jinyun]: “Art Chronicle,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly, vol. 7 no. 2 (September 1938), pp. 207–210. ———, “Art Chronicle”, in T’ien Hsia Monthly, vol. 9 no. 1 (August 1939), pp. 82–85. Croizier, Ralph: “Post-Impressionists in Prewar Shanghai: the Juelanshe (Storm Society) and the Fate of Modernism in Republican China,” in John Clark (ed.): Modernity in Asian Art. Sydney: Wild Peony, 1993, pp. 135–154. Dorrill, William: “The Fukien Rebellion and the CCP: A Case of Maoist Revisionism,” in the China Quarterly, no. 37 (January-March 1969), pp. 31–53. Echlin, Erland: “They Called it The People’s Convention,” in Picture Post, vol. 10 no. 5 (1 February 1941), pp. 30–31 and 34. Edwards, Louise: “Drawing Sexual Violence in Wartime China: Anti-Japanese Propa ganda Cartoons,” in the Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 72 no. 3 (August 2013), pp. 563–586. Evans, David: “Photomontage,” in The Grove Dictionary of Art, vol. 24. London: Macmillan, 1996, pp. 685–686. Farquhar, Mary Ann: “Sanmao: Cartoons and Chinese Pop Culture,” in John A. Lent (ed.): Asian Popular Culture. Boulder, San Francisco, Oxford: Westview Press, 1995, pp. 139–158. Fruehauf, Heinrich: “Urban Exotism in Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature,” in Ellen Widmer and David Der-wei Wang (eds.): From May Fourth to June Fourth— Fiction and Film in Twentieth-century China. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press, 1993. Gould, Randall: “The Foreign Press in China,” in the China Critic, vol. 10 no. 9, 29.8.35, pp. 202–204. Hahn, Emily: “An Open Letter to my Chinese Friends,” in the China Critic, vol. 13 no. 13, 25.6.36, pp. 301–302. Harbeck, James: “The Quaintness—and Usefulness—of the Old Chinese Traditions: The Yellow Jacket and Lady Precious Stream,” in the Asian Theatre Journal, vol. 13 no. 2 (Autumn 1996), pp. 238–247. Hockx, Michel: “The Creation Society (1921–1930),” in Kirk A. Denton and Michel Hockx (eds.): Literary Societies of Republican China. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008, pp. 110–111. 350 Bibliography

Hung, Chang-tai: “The Fuming Image: Cartoons and Public Opinion in Late Republican China, 1945–1949,” in Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 36 no. 1 (January 1994), pp. 122–145. ———, “Two Images of Socialism: Woodcuts in Chinese Communist Politics,” in Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 39 no. 1 (January 1997), pp. 34–60. ———, “War and Peace in Feng Zikai’s Wartime Cartoons,” in Modern China, vol. 16 no. 1 (January 1990), pp. 39–83. ———, “Paper Bullets: Fan Changjiang and New Journalism in Wartime China,” in Modern China, vol. 17 no. 4 (October 1991), pp. 427–468. Huss, Ann: “Yu Dafu,” in Thomas Moran: Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 328, Chinese Fiction Writers, 1900–1949. Detroit, New York: Thomson, Gale, 2007, pp. 178–182. Hutt, Jonathan: “The Sumptuous World of Shao Xunmei,” in East Asian History, no. 21 (June 2001), pp. 111–142. Jubb, Julian: “Evelyn Waugh and the Art of Fiction,” in the Paris Review, no. 30 (1963). King, Alexander: “The Case of the Humorous Magazines,” in Vanity Fair, (December 1933), p. 26. Klein, Jerome: “Review of Modern Chinese Art,” in China Today, vol. 4 no. 5 (February 1938), p. 17. Lahusen, Thomas: “Socialist Realism,” in M. Keith Booker: Encyclopedia of Literature and Politics: Censorship, Revolution, & Writing. Westwood Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005, pp. 665–674. Laughlin, Charles A.: “The Analects Group and the Genre of Xiaopin,” in Kirk A. Denton and Michel Hockx (eds.): Literary Societies of Republican China. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008, pp. 207–240. Lent, John A. and Xu Ying: “Cartooning and Wartime China: Part One—1931–1945,” in IJOCA (Spring 2008), pp. 76–139. Lin Yutang: “A Chinese Views the Future—Lin Yutang Predicts What will Emerge from the War,” in the New York Times Magazine, 30.1.38, pp. 6. 8. and 27. Link, Perry: Review in the Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 54 no. 2 (May, 1995), p. 539. Mukherji, S. Ani: “ ‘Like Another Planet to the Darker Americans’: Black Cultural Workers in 1930s Moscow,” in Eve Rosenhaft and Robert Aitken (eds.): Africa in Europe: Studies in Transnational Practice in the Long Twentieth Century. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2013. Noble, Elizabeth [Elizabeth McCausland]: “Contemporary Chinese Graphic Art,” in New Masses, 25.1.38, pp. 26–28. Peng Hsiao-yen: “Sex Histories: Zhang Jingsheng’s Sexual Revolution,” in Chen Peng- Hsiang and Whitney Crothers Dilley (eds.): Feminism/Femininity in Chinese Literature. New York and Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2002. Pollard, David E.: “Lu Xun’s Zawen,” in Leo Ou-fan Lee: Lu Xun and his Legacy. Berkeley, London: University of California Press, 1985. Bibliography 351

Quiquemelle, Marie-Claire: “The Wan Brothers and Sixty Years of Animated Film in China,” in Chris Berry (ed.): Perspectives on Chinese Cinema. New York: Cornell East Asia Papers, China-Japan Programme, 1985. Rue Menkan: “Exhibit Shows Art of China,” in the Moscow News, no. 22, 26.5.34, p. 2. Shen Kuiyi “The Lure of the West: Modern Chinese Oil Painting,” in A Century in Crisis, pp. 172–180. Sokolsky, George E.: “Manchuria a Tragedy of Errors,” in Vanity Fair, vol. 38 no. 2 (April 1932), p. 45 and p. 74. Taylor, Jeremy: “Cartoons and Collaboration in Wartime China: The Mobilization of Chinese Cartoonists Under Japanese Occupation,” in Modern China, 10.6.14. Toros: “The American Artists’ Congress,” in Left Review, vol. 2 no.8 (May 1936), pp. 381–385. Trego, Charles T.: “The Red White and Blue Peril,” in Vanity Fair, vol. 36 no. 1 (March 1931), pp. 52–53 and p. 84. Wen Yuanning: “Editorial Commentary,” in T’ien Hsia Monthly, vol. 6 no. 1 (January 1938), pp. 5–6. Wilenski, R.H: “The Tree of Modern Art,” in Vanity Fair, vol. 40 no. 3 (May 1933), pp. 36–37 and p. 61. Wolf, Tom: “The Tip of the Iceberg: Early Asian American Artists in New York,” in Gordon Chang (ed.): Asian American Art: A History 1850–1970. Stanford University Press: Stanford, 2008, pp. 83–110. Yeh Ch’iu-yuan: “The International Exhibition in Hong Kong,” in the Far Eastern Mirror, vol. 1 no. 7 (June 10, 1938), pp. 3–4. Zhang Yingjin: “Artwork, Commodity, Event; Representation of the Female Body in Modern Chinese Pictorial,” in Jason C. Kuo (ed.): Visual Culture in Shanghai 1850s-1930s. Washington DC: New Academia Publishing, 2007, pp. 121–162. ———, “Mu Shiying,” in Thomas Moran: Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 328, Chinese Fiction Writers, 1900–1949. Detroit, New York: Thomson, Gale, 2007, pp. 178–182.

Books in Chinese

Bao Limin 包立民: Yishu dashi zhi lu congshu—Ye Qianyu 艺术大师之路丛书•叶浅予 (The Path of the Great Artists Series—Ye Qianyu). Hubei meishu chubanshe: Wuhan, 2002. Bi Keguan 毕克官: Zhongguo manhua shihua 中国漫画史话 (Talks on the History of Chinese Cartoons). Jinan: Shandong renmin chubanshe, 1982. Bi Keguan 毕克官 and Huang Yunlin 黄远林: Zhongguo manhuashi 中国漫画史 (The History of Chinese Cartoons). Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe, 1986. 352 Bibliography

———, Zhongguo manhuashi 中国漫画史 (The History of Chinese Cartoons). Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe, 2006. Bi Keguan 毕克官 (ed.): Ye Qianyu manhua xuan 叶浅予漫画选 (Selected Cartoons of Ye Qianyu). Chengdu: Sichuan meishu chuabanshe, 1986. Bi Wanying 毕苑婴: Shiguang daoliu—sansishi niandai Zhongguo youxiu manhua shangxi 时光倒流—三四十年代中国优秀漫画赏析 (Back in Time—an Appreciation and Analysis of Outstanding Cartoons of the 1930s and 1940s). Hong Kong: Huoying chuban shiye youxiangongsi, 1998. Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹 and He Chenglin 何昌林 (ed.): Cai Ruohong meishu lunji 蔡若虹美术论集 (Collected Essays on Art by Cai Ruohong). Chengdu: Sichuan meishu chuabanshe, 1987. Cai Tao 蔡涛: Huanghelou da bihua yu kangzhan chuqi Zhongguo xiandai meishu de zhuanxing 黄鹤楼大壁画与抗战初期中国现代美术的转型 (“The Anti-Japanese Propaganda Mural in Huanghelou (1938) and the Turning Point of Modern Chinese Art,” unpublished doctoral thesis. Zhongguo meishu xueyuan, 2013. Cao Juren 曹聚仁: Shanghai chunqiu 上海春秋 (Shanghai Annals). Beijing: Xinhua shudian, 2007. Chen Xiaoqing 陈晓卿, Li Jifeng 李继锋 and Zhu Lexian 朱乐贤 (eds.): Kangzhan shiwu nian—yi ge shidai de ceying: Zhongguo 1931–1945 抗战十五年—一个时代的侧影：中国 1931–1945 (Fifteen Years of the War of Resistance against Japan—a Profile of an Era: China 1931–1945). Guilin: Guangxi shifan daxue chubanshe, 2008. Chen Yushu 陈渝漱 and 李文儒 Li Wenru (eds.): Guo Moruo riji 郭沫若日记 (The Diaries of Guo Moruo). Shanxi: Shanxi Jiaoyu chubanshe, 1998. Chen Yutang 陈玉堂 (ed.): Zhongguo jinxiandai renwu minghao da cidian 中国近现代人物名号大辞典 (Chinese Modern and Contemporary Dictionary of People’s Names). Hangzhou: Zhejiang guji chubanshe, 2005. Feng Bing 冯并: Zhongguo wenyi fukan shi 中国文艺副刊史 (The History of the Chinese Literary Supplements). Beijing: Huawen chuabanshe, 2001. Fu Yanchang 傅彥長, Zhang Ruogu 張若谷 and Zhu Yingpeng 朱應鵬: Yishu san jia yan 藝術三家言 (Three Artists Speak on Art). Shanghai: Liangyou, 1928. Gan Xianfeng 甘险峰: Zhongguo manhuashi 中国漫画史 (The History of Chinese Cartoons). Ji’nan: Shandong huabao chubanshe, 2007. Guo Jianying 郭建英 and Chen Zishan 陈子善 (ed.): 30 niandai de yangchang bai- jing—modeng Shanghai, 30 年代的洋场百景—摩登上海 (One Hundred Scenes of the Foreign Concession in the 1930s—Modern Shanghai). Guilin: Guangxi shifan daxue chubanshe, 2001. Hao Zhihui 郝之辉 and Sun Yun 孙筠 (eds.): Ye Qianyu renwuhua jiangyi 叶浅予人物画讲义 (Studies on the Figural Painting of Ye Qianyu). Tianjin: Tianjin shuji chubanshe, 2010. Bibliography 353

Hou Xin 侯鑫 (ed.): Hou Baolin xiansheng jiucang zhenben minguo xiaohua xuan 侯宝林先生旧藏珍本民国笑话选 (Selected Jokes of the Republican from the Collection of Rare Books of Mr. Hou Baolin). Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2008. Hu Die 胡蝶, Liu Huiqin 刘慧琴 (ed.): Hu Die huiyilu 胡蝶回忆录 (Hu Die Remembers). Beijing: Wenhua yishu chuabanshe, 1988. Hu Kao 胡考: Shanghai tan 上海滩 (The Bund). Guangdong: Huacheng chubanshe, 1982. Huang Duwei 黄笃维 (ed.): Xinbo muke xuanji 新波木刻选集 (Collected Woodcuts of Huang Xinbo). Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1958. Huang Ke 黃可, Gan Zhenhu 甘振虎 and Chen Lei 陈蕾 (eds.): Lao Shanghai manhua tuzhi 老上海漫画图志 (An Illustrated Record of Old Shanghai Cartoons). Shanghai: Shanghai kexuejishu wenxian chubanshe, 2010. Huang Mao 黃茅: Manhua yishu jianghua 漫畫藝術講話 (Talks on the Art of Cartoons) [1943 Chongqing]. Shanghai: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1947. Huang Miaozi 黃苗子 et al. (eds.): Ye Qianyu 叶浅予. Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1997. Ji Shusheng 季树声 (ed.): Nuhou de huanghe 怒吼的黄河 (The Roar of the Yellow River). Jiangxi: Jiangxi meishu chubanshe, 2005. Lee Hak Keung 李克強: Manhua huiyue: “Shanghai manhua” shiqi Ye Qianyu de zuopin ji qi shouzhong, 1928–1930 漫畫繪閱: 《上海漫畫》時期葉淺予的作品及其受衆, 1928–1930 (“Ye Qianyu’s Readers and his Cartoons in Shanghai Sketch, 1928– 1930”). Unpublished PhD Thesis. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2008. Li Jin 李今: Haipai xiaoshuo lun 海派小说论 (On Shanghai Style Novels). Taiwan: Xiuweizixun keji, 2004. Li Xuejun 李学军 (ed.): Yongyuan Xiao Ding 永远小丁 (The Eternal Xiao Ding). Beijing: Shenghuo dushu xinhe Sanian shudian, 2010. Li Yongjun 李勇军: Tushuo minguo qikan 图说民国期刊 (Illustrated Talks on Republican Periodicals). Shanghai: Yuandong chubanshe, 2010. ———, Zaijian, lao zazhi 再见，老杂志 (Farewell, Old Magazines). Beijing: Beijing gongye daxue chubanshe, 2010. Liangyou hedingben (1926–1945) 良友合订本 (1926–1945) (Compilation of the Young Companion Pictorial (1926–1945)). Shanghai: Liangyou tushu youxian gongsi, 2007. Lin Qi 林淇: Haishang caizi—Shao Xunmei zhuan 海上才子—邵洵美传 (A Talent from Shanghai—the Biography of Shao Xunmei). Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 2002. Lu Di 陆地: Zhongguo xiandai banhuashi 中国现代版画史 (The History of the Chinese Modern Woodcut). Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1987. Lu Xun 魯迅: A Q Zhengzhuan 阿Q 正傳 (The True Story of Ah Q). Hong Kong: Xingzhou shijie shuju, [n.d]. 354 Bibliography

———, Lu Xun xuanji, shuxinjuan 鲁迅选集•书信卷 (Collected Works of Lu Xun: Correspondence). Shandong: Shandong wenyi chubanshe, 1991. ———, Lu Xun quanji 鲁迅全集 (Complete Works of Lu Xun) (20 vols.). Renmin wenxue chubanshe: Beijing, 1973. Lu Zongfeng 陆宗锋 (ed.): Zhonguo xinxing banhua wushi nian xuanji 中国新兴版画五十年选集 (Collection of Prints Celebrating Fifty Years of the Chinese New Woodcut Movement) (2 vols.). Shanghai: Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, 1981. Ma Fengyang 马逢洋: Jiyi yu xiangxiang 记忆与想象 (Memory and Imagination). Shanghai: Wenhui chubanshe, 1996. Ma Guoliang 马国亮: Yiyuan fengqing 艺苑风情 (Feelings on the Realms of Art and Literature). Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chubanshe. Ma Tiji 马蹄疾 and Li Yunjing 李允经 (eds.): Lu Xun yu xinxing muke yundong 鲁迅与新兴木刻运动 (Lu Xun and the New Woodcut Movement). Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1985. Ma Zhanglin 马长林 (ed.): Lao Shanghai hangming cidian 1880–1941 老上海行名辞典 1880–1941 (“Hong List of Old Shanghai 1880–1941”). Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2005. Mao Dun 茅盾: Ziye 子夜 (Midnight). Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2008. Mao Zedong 毛泽东: Mao Zedong zai Yan’an wenyi zuotanhui shang de jianghua 毛泽东在延安文艺座谈会上的讲话 (Mao Zedong’s Talks at the Yan’an Forum of Art and Literature). Beijing: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1972. Mu Shiying 穆时英: Shanghai de hubuwu 上海狐步舞 (Shanghai Foxtrot). Changsha: Xinshiji chubanshe, 1998. Qiu Peihuang 邱沛篁 (ed.): Guo Moruo yu baokan xuanchuan gongzuo 郭沫若与报刊宣传工作 (Guo Moruo and Periodical Propaganda Work). Chengdu: Sichuan daxue chubanshe, 1988. Ruan Rongchun 阮荣春 and Hu Guanghua 胡光华: Zhonghua minguo meishushi 1911–1949 中华民国美术史 1911–1949 (History of the Art of the Republican Period 1911–1949). Chengdu: Sichuan Meishu chubanshe, 1992. Shanghai lishi renwen ditu 上海历史人文地图 (Literary and Biographical Historical Map of Shanghai). Shanghai: Renmin chubanshe, 2010. Shao Xunmei 邵洵美: Buneng shuohuang de zhiye 不能说谎的职业 (The Career that Cannot Lie). Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008. ———, Rulin xinshi 儒林新史 (New History of the Scholars). Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008. ———, Yi ge ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 (One Man’s Conversation). Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008. ———, My Triangle of Grandfathers. Unpublished manuscript in: Hahn Mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University. Bibliography 355

Shen Jianzhong 沈建中: Kangzhan manhua 抗战漫画 (War of Resistance Cartoons). Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan, 2005. Shi Ying 时影 (ed.): Minguo yishu 民国艺术 (Republican Art). Beijing: Tuanjie chubanshe, 2004. Shi Zhecun 施蛰存: Shi Zhecun zuopin xin bian 施蛰存作品新编 (A New Anthology of Works by Shi Zhecun). Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2009. Wang Jingfang 王京芳: Shao Xunmei he tade chuban shiye 邵洵美和他的出版事业 (Shao Xunmei and his Publishing Career) Doctoral Thesis. Huadong Normal University, 2007. Wang Xiaodong 王曉東 (eds.): Manhua shenghuo—Lao Shanghai qikan jingdian 漫畫生活—老上海期刊經典 (Cartoon Life—Classic Periodicals of Old Shanghai). Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan chubanshe, 2004. Wang Zimei 汪子美: Zhongguo manhua zhi yanjin ji zhanwang 中國漫畫之演進及展望 (The Evolution and Future of Chinese Cartoons), originally published in Huang Shiying 黃士英 and Huang Ding 黃鼎 (eds.) Manhua shenghuo 漫畫生活 (Cartoon Life). Shanghai: Shanghai meishu shenghuo zazhi she, 1934–35. Xia Yan 夏衍: Xia Yan zawen suibiji 夏衍杂文随笔集 (Collected Essays and Jottings of Xia Yan). Beijing: Sanlian shudian, 1980. Xie Bingying 谢冰莹: Congjun riji 从军日记 (Army Diary). Nanjing: Jiangsu wenyi chubanshe, 2003. Xie Chunyan 谢春彦 and Ji Chongjian 季崇建 (eds.): Ye Qianyu huiben: Tiantangji 叶浅予绘本：天堂记 (Ye Qianyu’s Sketchbook: A Record of Paradise). Shanghai: Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, 2005. Xie Qizhang 谢其章: Manhua manhua 漫画漫话 (Leisurely Talks on Cartoons). Beijing: Xinxing chubanshe, 2006. Xu Youchun 徐友春 et al. (eds.): Minguo renwu da cidian 民国人物大辞典 (Biographical Dictionary of the Republican Period). Shijiazhuang: Hebei renmin chubanshe, 1991. Xue Yuan 薛原 (ed.): Tanwen shuohua 谈文说画 (Chats on Literature, Talks on Painting). Jinan: Shandong huabao chubanshe, 2010. Yan Jiayan 严家炎: Xinganjuepai xiaoshuo xuan 新感觉派小说选 (Selected Novels of the New-sensationists). Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1985. Yang Jiayou 杨嘉祐: Shanghai lao fangzi de gushi 上海老房子的故事 (“The Story of Shanghai Classic Houses [sic]”). Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 2006. Yang Kelin 杨克林 (ed.): Zhongguo kangri zhanzheng shiqi 1937–1945 中国抗日战争时期 1937–1945 (The Period of the Chinese War of Resistance against Japan 1937– 1945). Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 1995. Ye Lingfeng 叶灵凤: Wei wancheng de chanhui lu 未完成的忏悔录 (Unfinished Confessions)). Beijing: Huaxia chubanshe, 2008. 356 Bibliography

Yen Chuan-Ying [Yan Juanying] 顏娟英 (ed.): Shanghai meishu fengyun 1872–1949 Shenbao yishu ziliao tiaomu suoyin 上海美術風雲 1872–1949 申報藝術資料條目索引 (“Art in Shanghai, 1872–1949: an index of articles, reviews, advertisements, and news items published in Shenbao newspaper.”) Taipei: Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, 2006. Yu Dafu 郁达夫: Yu Dafu xiaoshuo 郁达夫小说 (The Novels of Yu Dafu). Hangzhou: Zhejiang wenyi chubanshe, 1999. ———, Yu Dafu zuopin xin bian 郁达夫作品新编 (A New Anthology of Works by Yu Dafu). Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2010. Yu Feng 郁风: Yu Feng sanwen jingxuan 郁风散文精选 (Selected Essays of Yu Feng). Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2010. Zhang Kebiao 章克标: Jiushi zishu 九十自述 (Ninety Narratives in My Own Words). Beijing: Zhongguo wenlian chubanshe, 2000. Zhang Shaoxia 张少侠 and Li Xiaoshan 李小山: Zhongguo xiandai huihuashi 中国现代绘画史 (The History of Modern Chinese Painting). Jiangsu: Jiangsu meishu chubanshe, 1986. Zhang Tianman 张天漫: Ye Qianyu: Zhongguo ming huajia quanji, 叶浅予：中国名画家全集 (Ye Qianyu: Complete Collection of Famous Chinese Artists). Shijiazhuang: Hebei jiaoyu chubanshe, 2002. Zhang Leping Jinianguan 张乐平纪念馆 (The Zhang Leping Memorial Hall) (eds.): Bainian Leping 百年乐平 (One Hundred Years of Leping). Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan chuabanshe, 2010. Zhongguo renmin kangri zhanzheng jinianguan 中国人民抗日战争纪念馆 (Memorial Hall of the Chinese People for the War of Resistance against Japan). Beijing: Zhongguo heping chubanshe, 1998. Zhou Jiarong 周佳榮: Jindai Riren zai hua baoye huodong 近代日人在華報業活動 (Modern Japanese Publishing Business Activities in China). Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd., 2007. Zhou Lanping 周兰平: Dongman de lishi (“The History of Cartoon” [sic]) 动慢的历史 (A History of Animation). Chongqing: Chongqing chubanshe, 2007. Zhou Limin 周立民 and Wang Xiaodong 王晓东 (eds.): Manhua shenghuo—Lao Shanghai qikan jingdian 漫画生活—老上海期刊经典 (Cartoon Life—Classic Periodicals of Old Shanghai). Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan chubanshe, 2004. Zhou Shixun 周世勳 (ed.): Shanghai shi daguan 上海市大觀 (“The Greater Shanghai in Pictures”). Shanghai, Wen Hwa Fine Arts Press, 1933. Zhong Jingzhi 鈡敬之: Yan’an Luyi—wo dang chuangban de yi suo yishu xueyuan 延安鲁艺—我党创办的一所艺术学院 (The Lu Xun Academy, Yan’an—an Art and Literature Academy Founded by the Communist Party of China). Beijing: Wenwu chuabanshe, 1981. Bibliography 357

Zhongguo meishujia xiehui 中国美术家协会 (Chinese Artists’ Association) (eds.): Huang Xinbo zuopin xuanji 黄新波作品选集 (Selected Works of Huang Xinbo). Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 1963. Zhou Weiyun 周为筠: Zazhi minguo—kanwu li de shidai fengyun 杂志民国–刊物里的时代风云 (Magazine Republic—the Spirit of an Age in Periodicals). Beijing: Jincheng chubanshe, 2009.

Articles in Chinese in Books, Journals and Magazines

Anonymous Articles “Bianyinzhe yan” 編印者言 (A Word from the Editors), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no.7 (October 1936). “Bianzhe suibi” 編者隨筆 (Random Jottings of the Editors), in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Litearture Pictorial), vol. 1 no. 3, 15.2.35. “Chen Yifan ding jinri fu Ying—Zuo juxing meishu yuzhanhui” 陳依範定今日赴英— 昨舉行美術預展會 (Chen Yifan Leaves for England Today—Yesterday Art Exhi‑ bition Preview Held), in Xingdao ribao 星島日報 (“Sing Tao Jih Pao”), 27.10.38, p. 7. “Geluosi de sumiao” 格羅斯的素描 (The Sketches of George Grosz), in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial), inaugural issue, 10.10.34. “Heibaishe” 黑白社 (The Black and White Society),” in Wanxiang no. 3 (June 1935), unnumbered pages. “Hunli zhi” 婚禮誌 (Record of a Wedding), in Shenbao 申報, 19.1.27, p. 18. “Jieshao Yingguo yuanhua yundong zonghui” 介紹英國援華運動總會 (Introducing the General Meeting of Britain’s Aid China Campaign), in Xinhua ribao 新華日報 (“Sin Xua Rhbao”), 7.9.38. “Jindai yishu yu jiating” 近代藝術與家庭 (Modern Art and the Home), in Wenhua 文華 (“The Culture Arts Review”), no. 29 (July 1932), p. 23. “Kanle zhu zuojia de manhua yihou” 看了諸作家的漫畫以後 (After Viewing the Manhua of Various Artists), in Shenbao, 29.1.26, p. 3. “Mouguo guoqi tu” 某國國旗圖 (The National Flag of a Certain Country), in Da Feng 大風 (Great Wind), no. 27, p. 864. “Niuyue fengjingxian” 紐約風景綫 (Panorama of New York), in Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”), vol. 5 no. 5, 1.1.34 [p. 146]. “Nuli maijin de manhuajia” 努力邁進的漫畫家 (A Cartoonist Diligently Striding Forward), in Ziyoutan 自由談 (“Candid Comment”), vol. 1 no. 1, 1.9.38. “Qianzouqu” 前奏曲 (Overture), in Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”), no. 37, 20.4.37, [p. 2]. “Quanguo manhua zhanlanhui chupin zhi yi bu” 全國漫畫展覽會出品之一部 (Some of the Exhibits at the National Cartoon Exhibition), in Meishu shenghuo 美術生活 (“The Arts and Life”), no. 33 (December 1936). 358 Bibliography

“Quanguo manhua zhanlan yueban zai Jing kaimu” 全國漫畫展覽月半在京開幕 (National Cartoon Exhibition Opens in the Capital on the Fifteenth of this Month), in Shenbao 申報, 8.12.36, p. 13. “Sabaqiao” 萨巴乔 (Sapajou), in Xinmin wanbao 新民晚報, 24.6.97. “Shanghai manhua an shangsu kaipan” 上海漫畫案上訴開審 (The Shanghai Sketch Case Appeal Trial Begins), in Shenbao 申報, 16.11.28, p. 16. “Shanghai manhua wuzui” 上海漫畫無罪 (Shanghai Sketch Not Guilty), in Shenbao 申報, 22.11.28, p. 15. Shenbao tuhua tekan 申報圖畫特刊 (“Shenbao Pictorial Supplement”), no. 277, 12.11.36, p. 2. “Tang Ying Li Zufa lihun” 唐瑛李祖法離婚 (Tang Yin and Li Zufa Divorce), in Yule zhoubao 娛樂周報 (“Variety Weekly”) vol. 2 no. 6 (1936), p. 112. “Tang Ying nüshi yu Sheng ba xiaojie” 唐瑛女士與盛八小姐 (Miss Tang Ying and the eighth Miss Sheng),” with the additional title, “Haishang er mingyuan 海上二名媛 (Shanghai’s Two Famous Young Ladies), in Shanghai huabao, 21.6.26. “Xiandai jiating de buzhi” 現代家庭的佈置 (Layout of the Modern House), in Wenhua 文華 (“The Culture Arts Review”), no. 21, 25.6.31, p. 37. “Xiandai yishu” 現代藝術 (Modern Art), in Xiao shijie: banyuekan 小世界: 半月刊 (A Small World: Fortnightly), vol. 24 (1933), p. 17. “Xiatian de wuhou” 夏天的午後 (Summer Afternoon), from Haulot Péreret Fils by Guy de Maupassant, in Liangyou huabao 良友畫報 (“The Young Companion”), vol. 14, 30.4.27, p. 14. “Xiwang yu manhuajie” 希望於漫畫界 (Hopes for the Cartoon Circle), in Qianqiu 千秋 (One Thousand Years), no. 15, 1.1.34, pp. 7–8. “Yunshang menqian zhi Tang Ying Lu Xiaoman nüshi” 雲裳門前之唐瑛陸小曼女士 (Miss Tang Ying and Miss Lu Xiaoman in front of Yunshang), in Tianpeng huabao, 天鵬畫報 (Tianpeng Pictorial), no. 13 (1927), p. 13. “Zhongju xiyan, Wang Baochuan” 中劇西演，王寳釧 (Chinese Play Western Performance, Wang Baochuan), in Zhonghua 中華 (China), no. 36 (1935), p. 19.

Articles by Named Authors Ai Na 艾納 [Feng Binfu 馮賓符]: “Cong zuijin de zhengbian tandao Riben de xinwen jiancha” 從最近的政變談到日本的新聞檢查 (Concerning Japan’s News Censorship with Regard to the Recent Coup d’etat), in Yongsheng 永生, 7.3.36, pp. 9–10. Bao Luoduo: See Fu Yanchang. Ba Jin 巴金: “Suowei Riben kongjun de weili” 所謂日本空軍的威力 (The So-called Might of the Japanese Airforce), in Fenghuo 烽火 (Beacon), inaugural issue, 5.9.37, p. 5. Bao Limin 包立民: “Caimo mudan” 彩墨牡丹 (Coloured Ink Peony), in Sichuan wenxue 四川文学 (Sichuan Literature Monthly), (2004), Issue 6. Bibliography 359

Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹: “Qingchun langji, baishou huanxiang” 青春浪跡，白首還鄉 (The Wanderings of Youth and the Homecoming in Old Age), in Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹, Cai Ruohong meishu lunji 蔡若虹美术论集 (Collected Essays on Art by Cai Ruohong). Chengdu: Sichuan meishu chuabanshe, 1987, pp. 277–288. Cao Hanmei 曹涵美: “Benjie ‘quanguo manhua zhanlanhui’ chupin wojian” 本屆『全國漫畫展覽會』出品我見 (Exhibits Seen at the “National Cartoon Exhibition”), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”), no. 7, 5.11.36, unnumbered page. Chen Baoyi 陳包一: “Canguan manhua zhanlan hou de ganxiang” 參觀漫畫展覽後的感想 (Impressions after Visiting the Cartoon Exhibition), in Libao 立報 (“Lih Pao”), 9.11.36, p. 2. Chen Yifan 陳伊範 (Jack Chen): “Beixing yinxiang” 北行印象 (Impressions of a Trip to the North), in Shenghuo xingqikan 生活星期刊 (Life Weekly), 11.11.36. ———, “Lu Xun yishu xueyuan” 魯迅藝術學院 (The Lu Xun Academy), in Xingdao ribao 星島日報 (“Sing Tao Jih Pao”), 15.10.38. ———, “Wanli changzheng huilai de Chen” 萬里長征回來的陳 (Chen—back from a Long March of 10,000 miles), in Meihua 美華 (Beautiful China), vol. 1 no. 8 (1938). ———, “Xie zai “Touqiang” zhi qian” 寫在『投槍』之前—所亞漫畫集序 (Written Before ‘The Spear’—Preface to the Collected Cartoons of Suoya), from: Wenyi, in Da gongbao 大公報 (“Ta Kung Pao” also known as “L’Impartial”), no. 484, 29.12.38. ———, “Yishujia de weida liliang he weida zeren” 藝術家的偉大力量和偉大責任 (The Great Power and Great Responsibility of the Artist), in Guomin gonglun 國民公論 (Public Opinion), vol. 1 no. 2 [Hankow] (1938), p. 17. ———, “Yishujia yao you jianqiang de zuzhi” 藝術家要有堅強的組織 (Artists Must Have Strong Organization), in Shiri wencui 十日文萃 no. 3 (1938), p. 13. ———, “Yishujia zai Sulian” 藝術家在蘇聯 (Artists in The Soviet Union), in Shenghuo xinqikan 生活星期刊 (Life Weekly), 22.11.36, p. 358. Chen Yifan, Xia Ne 夏訥 (tr.): “Jinri zhi Sulian” 今日之蘇聯 (The Soviet Union Today), in Nanda 南大, no. 1 (1936), pp. 14–17. Fu Yanchang 傅彥長 [Bao Luoduo 包羅多]: “Jieshao Deguo huajia Situke” 介紹德國畫家斯多克 (Introducing the German Artist Stück), in Shenbao 申報, p. 3, 29.8.27. ———, “Yishujie de jianglai” 藝術界的將來 (The Future of the Art World), in: Shenbao 申報 (“Shun Pao”), 28.8.27. ———, “Canguan Chen Baoyi jun huihua zhanlanhui” 參觀陳抱一君繪畫展覽會 (On Visiting Mr. Chen Baoyi’s Painting Exhibition), in Yishu san jia yan 藝術三家言 (Three Artists Speak on Art) pp. 178–180 1927. Ge Baoquan 戈寳權: “Mei Lanfang Hu Die fu E xuanchuan xiju” 梅蘭芳胡蝶赴俄宣傳戲劇 (Mei Lanfang and Hu Die visit Russia to Promote Chinese Drama), in Wanxiang no. 3 (June 1935), unnumbered pages. Guo Ming 郭明: See Shao Xunmei. Hong Weifa 洪為法: “Zhen de yishujia” 真的藝術家 (The Real Artist), in Hongshui 洪水 (Flood) vol. 1 no. 2 (1 October 1925), p. 33. 360 Bibliography

Hu Kao 胡考: “Faxisi he huajia” 法西斯和畫家 (Fascism and the Painter), in Huashangbao 華商報 (September 1941), in: Xin meishu 新美術 (New Art) column (no. 20). ———, “Guanyu quanguo manhua zhanlanhui” 關於全國漫畫展覽會 (Concerning the National Cartoon Exhibition), in Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”), vol. 1 no. 8 (15.12.36), unnumbered pages. Huang Ding 黃鼎: “Qiaozhi Geluosi ji qi manhua zai Zhongguo de yingxiang” 乔治• 格羅斯及其漫画在中国的影响 (George Grosz and the Influence of his Caricatures in China), in Bi and Huang (2006), pp. 139–140. Huang Miaozi 黃苗子: “Kangzhan san nian lai de manhua gongzuo” 抗战三年来的漫画工作 (Cartoon Work in the Three Years of the War of Resistance), in Ji Shusheng 季树声 (ed.): Nuhou de huanghe 怒吼的黃河 (The Roar of the Yellow River), pp. 1–6. ———, “Lun manhua” 論漫畫 (On Cartoons), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no. 7 (October 1936). Huang Tianpeng 黃天鵬: “Wushi nian lai zhi huabao” 五十年來之畫報 (Fifty Years of Pictorials), in Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”), vol. 6 no. 12, 10.10.34. Huang Yao 黃堯: “BUFFOON Manhuajia” BUFFOON 漫畫家 (BUFFOON Cartoonist), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”) no. 7 (October 1936). ———, “Cong chun yishu tuibian chulai de qianghan—wushi nian lai de manhua zatan” 從純藝術蛻變出來的強漢—五十年來的漫畫雜談 (A Sturdy Fellow Transformed Out of Pure Art—Miscellaneous Talks on Fifty Years of Cartoons), in Guanghua ribao 光華日報 (“Kwong Wah Yit Poh”) [Penang (Jubliee edition)] (1960). Jiang Jianxia 江兼霞: “Youliqishi de kaijin” 優力栖士的開禁 (Ban lifted on Ulysses), in: Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial), vol. 1 no. 2, 15.12.34, pp. 26–27. Jin Zhonghua 金仲華: “Kan manhua ji” 看漫畫記 (A Record of Viewing Cartoons), in Shenghuo xingqikan 生活星期刊 (Life Weekly), vol. 1 no. 24, 15.11.36, p. 324. Lin Yutang 林語堂: “Shuo manhua” 說漫畫 (On Cartoons), in Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Moderrn Sketch”) no. 2 [p. 3]. Liu Na’ou 劉呐鷗: “Sharen weisui” 殺人未遂 (Attempted Murder), in Wenyi huabao, vol. 1 no. 2, 15.12.34, pp. 13–17. Liu Shi 劉獅: “Quanguo manhua ping” 全國漫畫評 (A Critique of the National Cartoon Exhibition), in Shenbao 申報, 10.11.36, p. 18. Liu Yuan 柳園: “Liulai Zhengmeng [Yanase Masumu] de manhua yishu” 柳瀨正夢的漫畫藝術 (The Cartoon Art of Yanase Masumu), in Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”) no. 31, 20.10.36, [pp. 39–41]. Bibliography 361

Lu Shaofei 魯少飛: “Manhua zhanlanhui de yiyi” 漫畫展覽會的意義 (The Significance of the Cartoon Exhibition), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”), no. 7 (October 1936). Lu Xun: “Kaisui Kelehuizhi banhua xuanji xumu” 凱綏•珂勒惠支版畫選集序目 (Preface to Selected Prints of Käthe Kollwitz), in Lu Xun quanji 魯迅全集 (Complete Works of Lu Xun). Renmin wenxue chubanshe: Beijing, 1973, vol. 6, pp. 468–480. ———, “Qiejiating zawen er ji” 且介亭雜文二集 (A Second Collection of Miscella- neous Writings from the Qiejie Pavilion), in Lu Xun quanji 魯迅全集 (Complete Works of Lu Xun). Renmin wenxue chubanshe: Beijing, 1973, vol. 6, pp. 239–240. ———, “Xiaopinwen de weiji” 小品文的危機 (The Crisis of the Literary Essay), in Lu Xun quanji 魯迅全集 (Complete Works of Lu Xun). Renmin wenxue chubanshe: Beijing, 1973, vol. 5, pp. 169–173. Luo Hansu 羅漢素: “ ‘Yishu jie yuekan’ jieshao” “藝術節月刊”介紹 (Introducing “The Art World Monthly”), in Shenbao 申報 (“Shun Pao”), 2.11.26. Ma Guoliang 马国亮: “Qieshuo manha renxiang” 且说漫画人像 (On Manhua Portraits), in Yiyuan fengqing 艺苑风情 (Feelings on the Realms of Art and Literature). Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chubanshe, 1984, pp. 89–91. Meng Ru: See Jin Zhonghua. Mo Zhu 墨竹: “Ding Cong he ta de na fu ‘sunshaorou’ manhua” 丁聪和他的那幅《笋烧肉》漫画 (Ding Cong and his “Bamboo shoots and Roast Pork” Cartoons), in Wenhua jiaoliao 文化交流 (Cultural Dialogue), 2009. Morand, Paul and Zhang Ruogu 張若谷 (tr.): “Huisheng, qing ni daying” 迴聲，請你答應 (Echo, Please Respond) [Écho, Répondez!], in Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”), no. 3 (June 1935). Mu Shiying 穆時英: “Tianshe fengjing” 田舍風景 (Pastoral Scene), in Wenyi huabao, vol. 1 no. 3, 15.2.35, pp. 31–40. Ni Yide 倪貽德: “Chaoxianshizhuyi de huihua” 超現實主義的繪畫 (Surrealist Painting), in Yishu 藝術 (January 1933), pp. 1–5. ———, “Xinxing huapai qianshi” 新型畫派淺釋 (Simple Explanations of the Schools of the New Art), in Qingnianjie 青年界 (Youth World), vol. 10 no. 3 (1936), pp. 51–56. Ping 萍: “Jiaojihua Tang Ying shang yinmu” 交際花唐瑛上銀幕 (Socialite Tang Ying to ascend the silver screen), in Qingqing dianying 青青電影 (“Chin-chin Movie Magazine”), no. 549 (1935), p. 3. Ping Fan 平凡: “Deyizhi minzu and Xiduke de yishu” 德意志民族與喜篤克的藝術 (German Nationalism and the Art of Stück), in Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”), no. 14, 20.7.28, p. 3 continued in no. 15, 28.7.28, p. 3. Qu Qiubai 瞿秋白: “Puluo dazhong wenyi de xianshi wenti” 普羅大衆文藝的現實問題 (Practical Questions of Proletarian Mass Literature and Art), in Wenxue 文學 (Literature), 25.4.32. 362 Bibliography

Shao Xunmei 邵洵美: “Cong buzhang dao xiaojie” 從部長到小姐 (From Department Head to Young Lady), in Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”), vol. 2 no. 10. Reprinted in Buneng shuohuang de zhiye 不能说谎的职业 (A Profession That Cannot Lie), Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008, pp. 54–55. ———, “Ji zhong du yu jige ren” 幾種賭與幾個人 (A Few Types of Gambling and a Few People), in Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”), no. 2, 20.2.34. ———, “Kefoluopisi” 珂佛羅皮斯 (Covarrubias), in Shiritan 十日談 (“The Deca meron”), no. 8, 20.10.33, p. 7. ———, “Kefoluopisi ji qi furen” 可佛羅皮斯及其夫人 (Covarrubias and His Wife), in Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”), vol. 5 no. 4, 16.12.33. ———, Shao Xunmei, “Haiguan dalong piao zhongyao shiliao” 海關大龍票重要史料 (Important Historical Material Concerning the Maritime Customs Large Dragon Stamps), in Guocui youkan 國粹郵票 (National Quintessence Postage Stamps), vol. 3 no. 2, 31.12.43. ———, “Huating furen—jieshao Fulici furen” 花廳夫人—介紹弗麗茨夫人 (Madame de Salon—Introducing Mrs Fritz), in Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”), vol. 4 no. 9 (July 1933), in Yige ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 (One Man’s Conversation), Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008, pp. 69–72. ———, “Huabao zai wenhujie de diwei” 画报在文化界的地位 (The Status of Pictorials in the Cultural World), in Yi ge ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 (One Man’s Conversation), Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008, pp. 75–76. ———, Shao Xunmei Muban hua 木版畫 (Woodcuts), in Shidai 時代畫報, vol. 9 no. 5, 20.4.36. ———, “Ouran xiangdao de yiwangle de shiqing” 偶然想到的遺忘了的事情 (Chance Recollections of Forgotten Events), in Jinwu yuekan 金屋月刊, vol. 1 no. 11. Reprinted in: Rulin xinshi 儒林新史 (New History of the Scholars), Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008, pp. 16, 19. ———, “Ruhe jiyou 如何集郵” [How to Collect Postage Stamps], in Xinguang youpiao zazhi 新光郵票雜誌 (New Light Postage Stamp Magazine), vol. 2 no. 15 (1948), pp. 17–18. ———, “Xila wenxue zhuanjia” 希臘文學專家 (A Specialist in Greek Literature), in Rulin xinshi 儒林新史 (New History of the Scholars), Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008, p. 99. ———, “Yi ge yishujia de quangao” 一個藝術家的勸告 (A Piece of Advice from an Artist), in Renyan zhoukan, vol. 2 no. 42 (1936). Reprinted in Yi ge ren de tanhua 一个人的谈话 (One Man’s Conversation). Shanghai: Shanghai shudian chubanshe, 2008, pp. 103–105. Shen Qiyu 沈起予: “Zhongguo manhuajia you Sulian hui de liwu” 中國漫畫家由蘇聯回的禮物 (A Gift from a Cartoonist Returned from the Soviet Union), in Guangming 光明 (Light), vol. 1 no. 9, 10.10.36, pp. 570–572. Bibliography 363

Sheng Peiyu 盛佩玉: “Wo he Shao Xunmei” 我和邵洵美 (Shao Xunmei and Me), in Huzhou shizhuan xuebao no. 2 (1985). Shi Zhecun 施蟄存: “Xiaopin-zawen-manhua” 小品文• 雜文• 漫畫 (Vignettes— Essays-Cartoons), in Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”), no. 1, 25.9.35. ———, “Telü guniang” 特呂姑娘, in Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”), vol. 9 no. 10 (1936) [p. 227]. Wang Dunqing 王敦慶: “Meiguo youmo zazhi de jiantao” 美國幽默雜誌的檢討 (An Examination of American Humorous Magazines), in Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Moderrn Sketch”), no. 20 (August 1935), pp. [36–38]. ———: “Quanguo manhua zhanlanhui de dansheng” 全國漫畫展覽會的誕生 (The Birth of the National Cartoon Exhibition), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”), no. 7 (October 1936). Wang Zimei 汪子美: “Zhongguo manhua zhi yanjin ji zhanwang” 中國漫畫之演進及展望 (The Evolution and Future of Chinese Cartoons), in Zhou Limin 周立民 and Wang Xiaodong 王晓东 (eds.): Manhua shenghuo—Lao Shanghai qikan jingdian 漫画生活—老上海期刊经典 (Cartoon Life—Classic Periodicals of Old Shanghai). Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan chubanshe, 2004. Xia Yan 夏衍: “Guangzhou zai hongzha zhong” 广州在轰炸中 (Guangzhou in the Bombing), in Xia Yan zawen suibiji 夏衍杂文随笔集 (Collected Essays and Jottings of Xia Yan). Beijing: Sanlian shudian, 1980, pp. 16–20. Xu Ji 徐疾: “Di-yi jie quanguo manhua zhanlan guan hougan” 第一屆全國漫畫展覽觀後感 (Feelings after Viewing the First National Cartoon Exhibition), in Shenbao 申報 (“Shun Pao”) (12 November 1936), Shanghai supplement, p. 2. Xu Yuanchong 许渊冲: “Mulan shi” 木兰诗 (Song of Mulan), in Han Wei Liuchao shi yibai wushi shou 汉魏六朝诗一百五十首 “Golden Treasury of Chinese Poetry from Han to Sui (206 BC–AD 618).” Beijing: Peking University Press, 1996, pp. 368–375. Ye Lingfeng 葉靈鳳: “Chunü de meng” 處女的夢 (The Virgin’s Dream), in Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”), (September–October 1928). ———, “Guanyu ‘Jiu-yi-ba zhanlan’ ” 關於“九一八展覽” (Concering the “Nine-one- eight Exhibition”), in Shiri wencui 十日文萃 (Ten Day Digest), no. 3 (1938), p. 14. Ye Qianyu 葉淺予: “Lanqing baihuabu tu’an yu shidai zhuangshi” 藍青百花布圖案與時代裝飾 (Blue-and-white Cloth Patterns and Modern Clothes Design), in Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”), no. 1, 20.5.34. ———, “Shiyong de zhuangshu mei” 使用的裝束美 (The Beauty of Practical Clothing), in Liangyou huabao 良友畫報 (“The Young Companion”), no. 13, 30.3.27 p. 34. ———, “Wo hua ‘Wang Xiansheng’ ” 我画 ‘王先生’ (I Drew ‘Mr. Wang’), in Xue Yuan 薛原 (ed.), “Tanwen shuohua” 谈文说画 (Chats on Literature, Talks on Painting), p. 211. Yu Dafu 郁达夫: “Xin sheng riji” 新生日记 (New Life Diary), in Yu Dafu zuopin xin bian 郁达夫作品新编 (A New Anthology of Works by Yu Dafu), p. 417. 364 Bibliography

———, “Ji Zeng Mengpu xiansheng” 记曾孟朴先生 (Remembering Master Zeng Mengpu), in Li Jin 李今 (ed.): Yu Dafu zuopin xin bian 郁达夫作品新编 (A New Anthology of Works by Yu Dafu). Renmin wenxue chubanshe: Beijing, 2010, pp. 237–240. Yu Feng 郁风: “Shanghai de manhua shidai” 上海的漫画时代 (Shanghai’s Cartoon Era), in Yu Feng sanwen jingxuan 郁风散文精选 (Selected Essays of Yu Feng). Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2010, p. 180. Zhang Chongwen 張崇文: “Deguo fengci huajia Qiaozhi Geluosi” 德國諷刺畫家喬治•格羅斯 (The German Satirical Artist George Grosz), in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial), vol. 1 no. 3, 15.2.35, p. 21. Zhang Guangyu: “Cong di-yi jie quanguo manhua zhanlanhui qi shuodao manhua- manhuajie-manhuajia” 從第一屆全國漫畫展覽會起說到漫畫•漫畫界•漫畫家 (Talking about Cartoons—The Cartoon World—and Cartoonists from the Point of View of the First National Cartoon Exhibition), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”), no. 7 (October 1936). ———, “Deng xia 燈下 (Under the Lamp),” in Qiangwei 薔薇 (Rose), no. 1 (1928), p. 8. Zhang Ruogu 張若谷: “Yi ge Zhongguoren duiyu Andelie Ma’erlu de ganxiang” 一個中國人對於安德烈馬爾路的感想 (The Impressions of a Chinese Man with Regard to André Malraux), in Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial), vol. 1 no. 3, 15.2.35, pp. 12–15. ———, “Xin shidai de Zhongguo” 新時代的中國 (China in the New Age), p. [17], in Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”), vol. 3 no. 3, 1.10.32. Zhang Ruogu 張若谷, Fu Yanchang 傅彥長 and Zhu Yingpeng 朱應鵬: “Xila sixiang zai Xiyang wenhuashi shang zhi diwei” 希臘思想在西洋文化史上之地位 (The Status of Greek Thought in Western Culture), in Yishu san jia yan 藝術三家言 (Three Artists Speak on Art). Zhang Yamin 张亚民 et al. (eds.): “Zhongguo manhua de dianjizhe—Zhang Guangyu” 中国漫画的奠基者—张光宇 (The Founder of the Chinese Cartoon—Zhang Guangyu), in Zhongguo manhua shuxi: Zhang Guangyu juan 中国漫画书系: 张光宇卷 (Chinese Cartoon Series: Zhang Guangyu Volume). Hebei: Hebei jiaoyu chubanshe, Hebei 1994. Zhou Shoujuan 周瘦鵑: Ziluolan huabao 紫羅蘭畫報 (Violet Pictorial), vol. 2 no. 16, 27.8.27 and vol. 2 no. 18, 26.9.27 and vol. 2 no. 19, 10.10.27. Zhu Taoshan 諸濤山: “Xianren xianhua” 閒人閒話 (Leisurely Talks of a Man of Leisure), in Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”), no. 7 (October 1936). Zhu Yingpeng 朱應鵬: “Xiduoke de ouge—Deguo huajia” 希多克的謳歌—德國畫家 (In Praise of Stück—German Artist), in Shenbao 申報, 13.9.27, p. 5. H•至尔•妙伦 (Hermynia zur Mühlen), Lu Xun 鲁迅 (tr.): Xiao Bide 小皮得 (Little Peter), in Lu Xun quanji 鲁迅全集 (Complete Works of Lu Xun). Renmin wenxue chubanshe: Beijing, 1973, vol. 14, pp. 235–229. Bibliography 365

Books in Japanese

Heruminiya tsūru Miyūren ヘルミニヤ・ツール・ミユーレン (Hermynia zur Mühlen), Hayashi Fusao 林房雄 (tr.): Chīsai Pētā 小さいペーター (Little Peter). Tokyo: Gyoseikaku, 1927. Yanase Masamu 柳瀬正夢 (1900–1945) (ed.): Musan Kaikyū no Gaka Georuge Gurossu 無産階級の画家ゲオルゲ・グロッス (The Proletarian Artist George Grosz). Tokyo: Tettō Shoin, 1929.

Periodical, Journals and Newspapers in English

China at War. Chongqing: The China Information Publishing Company, 1939–1945. China Critic. Shanghai: China Critic Publishing Company, 1928–1938. China Reconstructs. Beijing: China Welfare Institute, 1952–1989. China Today (Reprint). [New York: American Friends of the Chinese People] Greenwood Reprint Corporation, 1968. Crowninshield, Frank (ed.): Vanity Fair. New York: Condé Nast Publications, 1913–1936 Daily Worker. London, 1930 -1966 [suspended between 21 January 1941 and 7 September 1942]. Far Eastern Mirror. Hankow, Hong Kong: 1938. Gould, Randall (ed. [1935–1941]): Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury. Shanghai: 1929–1941. Granich, Grace and Max Garnich (eds.): Voice of China. Shanghai: Eastern Publishing Co., 1936–1937. Gray, S. (ed. [1937–1941]): Hong Kong Telegraph. Hong Kong: 1888–1941. Harris, Henry Wilson (ed. [1932–1953]): The Spectator. London: 1828–present. Haward, Edwin et al. (ed. [1930–1938]): North-China Daily News. Shanghai: 1921–1941. History Today. London: 1951–present. Hong Kong Daily Press: Hong Kong: 1864–1941. Hong Kong Sunday Herald. Hong Kong: 1929–1941. Left Review. London: 1934–1938. Lent, John A. (ed.): International Journal of Comic Art (IJOCA). 1999–present. Luce, Henry R. (ed.): Life, New York: 1936–1972. North-China Daily News. Shanghai: Office of the North-China Daily News and Herald, 1840–1940. North-China Herald. Shanghai: Office of the North-China Daily News and Herald, 1840–1940. Settle, Alison (ed. [1926–1934]): [British] Vogue. London: Condé Nast Publications, 1916–present. 366 Bibliography

Shanghai Times. Shanghai: 1901–1945. Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Singapore: 1934–1938. Strong, Anna Louise et al. (ed.): Moscow News. Moscow: 1930–1949. The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art. London: 1893–2000 [2000– present (e-journal). Walsh, Richard J. (ed.): Asia. Orange, CT: Asia Magazine, 1917–1942. Wu, John C.H. et al. (eds.): T’ien Hsia Monthly. Shanghai: Sun Yat-sen Institute for the Advancement of Culture and Education, 1935–1940. Young, Kuangson (ed. [1935–1938]): The China Press. Shanghai: 1911–1941.

Periodical, Journals and Newspapers in Chinese

Ba Jin 巴金 and Jin Yi 靳以 (eds.): Wenji yuekan 文季月刊 (Literary Season Monthly). Shanghai: Liangyou tushu gongsi, 1936. Beiyang huabao 北洋畫報 (“The Pei-Yang Pictorial News”). Tianjin, 1926–1933. Cao Hanmei 曹漢美 and Wang Dunqing and 王敦慶 (eds.): Manhuajie 漫畫界 (“Modern Puck”)). Shanghai: Shidai tushu gongsi, 1936. Da gongbao 大公報 (“Ta Kung Pao” also known as “L’Impartial”). Tianjin 1902–1949. Dongfang zazhi 東方雜誌 (“Eastern Miscellany”). Shanghai: Donfang zazhi she, 1904–1948. Guangming 光明 (Light). Shanghai: Shanghai guangming banyuekan she, 1936–1937. Guomin gonglun 國民公論 (Public Opinion). Hankow: 1938. Hongshui 洪水 (Flood). Shanghai: 1924–1927. Huang Shiying 黃士英 and Huang Ding 黃鼎 (eds.): Manhua shenghuo 漫畫生活 (Cartoon Life). Shanghai: Shanghai meishu shenghuo zazhi she, 1934–1935. Huashangbao 華商報 (“Hwa Shiang Pao”). Hong Kong: 1941. Jin Zhonghua 金仲華 (ed.): Shijie zhishi 世界知識 (World Knowledge). Shanghai: Shijie zhishi chuabanshe, 1934–1946. Kangzhan sanrikan 抗戰三日刊 (War of Resistance Tridiem): 1937. Liang Desuo 梁得所 (ed.): Dazhong 大衆 (“The Cosmopolitan”). Shanghai, 1934. Libao 立報 (“Lih Pao”). Shanghai, 1935–1937. Li Liewen 黎烈文: Zhongliu banyuekan 中流半月刊 (Mid-stream Fortnightly). Shanghai: Zhongliu she, 1936–1937. Liu Na’ou 劉呐鷗 et al. (eds.): Wugui lieche 無軌列車 (Trackless Train). Shanghai: Di-yixian shudian, 1928. Lu Shaofei 魯少飛 (ed.): Shidai manhua 時代漫畫 (“Modern Sketch”). Shanghai: Shidai tushu gongsi, 1934–1937. Mao Dun 茅盾 (ed.): Wenyi zhendi 文藝陣地 (Art and Literature Battleground). Chongqing: Shenghuo shudian, 1938–1942. Bibliography 367

Meihua 美華 (Beautiful China). Shanghai, 1938. Mingxing 明星 (Film Star). Shanghai: Mingxing banyuekan she, 1935–1937. Ouya huabao 歐亞畫報 (“Europe-Asia Illustrated News”). Shanghai: Shanghai biheng gongsi, 1942. Shao Xunmei 邵洵美 et al. (eds.): Shidai huabao 時代畫報 (“Modern Miscellany”). Shanghai: Shidai tushu gongsi, 1929–1937. Shenbao 申報 (“Shun Pao”). Shanghai: Shenbao she, 1923–1949. Shenghuo xingqi kan 生活星期刊 (Life Weekly). Shanghai: Shenghuo shudian, 1936. Shi yu chao 時與潮 (“Time and Tide”). Chongqing. Song Youmei 宋友梅 et al. (eds.): 歌星畫報 (Singing Star Pictorial). Shanghai: Gexing huabao she, 1935. Sun Hanbing 孫寒冰 et al. (eds.): Wenzhai zazhi 文摘雜誌 (Digest Magazine). Shanghai: Fudan daxue wenzhai she, 1937–1948. Tao Kangde 陶亢德 et al. (eds.): Lunyu banyuekan 論語半月刊 (“Analects Fortnightly”). Shanghai: Lunyu banyuekan she, 1932–37 and 1946–49. Tianpeng huabao 天鵬畫報 (Tianpeng Pictorial). Shanghai: 1927. Wang Junbo 王俊伯 and Chen Junliang 陳君良 et al. (eds.): Wenyi xinchao 文藝新潮 (New Wave in Art and Literature). Shanghai: Zhongguo tushu zazhi gongsi, 1938–1940. Wenhua 文華 (“The Culture Arts Review”). Shanghai: Wen Hwa Fine Arts Press Ltd. 1930–1935. Wenyi xinwen 文藝新聞 (Art and Literature News). Shanghai: Wenyi xinwenshe, 1939–1940. Xia Yan 夏衍 et al (ed.) Jiuwang ribao 救亡日報 (National Salvation Daily). Canton, Shanghai, Guilin: Shanghai shi wenhuajie jiuwang xiehui, 1938–1939. Xingdao ribao 星島日報 (“Sing Tao Jih Pao”). Hong Kong: 1938–present. Xinhua ribao 新華日報 (“Sin Xua Rhbao”). Hankou: 1938. Yang Tiannan 楊天南 and Xie Wende 謝文德 (eds.): Shiritan 十日談 (“The Decameron”). Shanghai: Di-yi chubanshe, 1933–1934. Ye Lingfeng 葉靈鳳 and Mu Shiying 穆時英 (eds.): Wenyi huabao 文藝畫報 (Art and Literature Pictorial). Shanghai: Shanghai zazhi gongsi, 1934–1935. Yibao Zhoukan 譯報周刊 (“Ibao Weekly Edition”). Shanghai: Yibao zhoukan and University Press, 1938–1939. Yizhou jian 一周間 (In the Week). Shanghai: Xiandai shuju, 1934. Yule zhoubao 娛樂周報 (“Variety Weekly”). Shanghai, 1936. Zhang E 張諤 (ed.): Manhua zhanxian 漫畫戰缐 (Cartoon Battle-line). Guangzhou: Quanguo manhua zuojia xiehui, 1938. Zhang Guangyu 張光宇 (ed.): Duli manhua 獨立漫畫 (“Oriental Puck”). Shanghai: Shanghai duli chubanshe, 1935–1936. 368 Bibliography

———, Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”). Shanghai: Duli chubanshe, 1936–1937. Zhang Guangyu et al. (eds.): Shanghai manhua 上海漫畫 (“Shanghai Sketch”). Shanghai, 1928–1930. Zhang Guangyu 張光宇 and Ye Lingfeng 葉靈鳳 (eds.): Wanxiang 萬象 (“Van Jan”). Shanghai: Shidai tushu gongsi, 1934–1935. Zhongguo manhua 中國漫畫 (Chinese Cartoons). Shanghai: Zhongguo manhua she, 1942. Zhou Shouming 周瘦鳴 (ed.): Ziluolan 紫羅蘭 (“Violet”). Shanghai: Dadong Shuju, 1925–1933. Zhu Jinlou 朱錦樓 (ed.): Zhongguo manhua 中國漫畫 (“China Sketch”). Shanghai: Zhongguo manhuashe, 1936–1937. Zhu Jinlou 朱錦樓 et al. (eds.): Dianying manhua 電影漫畫. Kaiwen meishu zhiban gongsi, 1935.

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