Chen Jianghong

Chen Jianghong, painter, illustrator and author, was born in the Chinese port of Tianjin in 1963 and grew up during the Cultural Revolution. He studied art in Beijing and Paris and has been living in the French capital as a freelance artist since 1987. He began illustrating children's books in 1994 and made his debut as an author two years later with »La légende du cerf-volant« (t: The legend of the kite). In his picture books, he draws on myths and legends from his home country and draws attention to the diversity of cultures and the beauty of art. On the subject of his attachment to Chinese culture of previous centuries, Chen says: »It is important for me to bring the culture to which I am attached to life, to allow it to cross boundaries, and to allow others to be a part of it. I try to tell stories in such a way that they become universal.«

Chen’s award-winning work, which has been published in America, Spain, Denmark, Mexico and Korea, is an avowal to Asian art and culture and simultaneously mirrors his deep solidarity with world cultures. Thus, he has illustrated the »Contes de la Caraïbe« (1999; t: Stories of the Caribbean) by Praline Gay-Para and the »Contes de la mer Caspienne« (2003; t: Stories of the Caspian Sea) by Anne-Marie Passaret. Chen uses coloured Chinese ink on rice paper to create gripping, poetic illustrations and affectionate portraits of unknown worlds. The »Süddeutsche Zeitung« has celebrated Chen’s pictorial creations: »Rarely are children's books illustrated with such grandiose mastership.«  The picture book »Petit Aigle« (2001; t: »Young Eagle«) tells the story of a young boy who is taught the secrets of ‘Eagle Boxing’ by Master Yang, a famous wise man from ancient China. In dynamic pictures, Chen combines classical Chinese drawing with modern, western visual language.

One of his most well known works includes »Zhong Kui. La terreur des forces du mal« (2001; t: Zhong Kui. The horrors of evil) – an engaging picture book about the encounter of little Binbin with the Peking Opera. Chen succeeds in expertly transferring idiosyncratic acrobatics, music and dramaturgy to the silent, two-dimensional level, and allowing the pages of the book to become the stage for an allegory about justice and truth. In »Le cheval magique de Han Gan« (2004; t: Han Gan and the wonder horse) he tells the legend of the Chinese artist Han Gan, whose painted horses one day come alive. In colourful, double-paged compositions – both Han Gan, who lived in the 8th century, and Chen paint on silk – he unfolds a high-contrast parable about suffering, responsibility and the power of art. »Die Zeit« wrote about Chen’s artistic fairy tale: »This picture book, which makes art its subject, is an artwork in itself«. In August 2005, both the French original edition of »Le Prince tigre« (t: The tiger prince) and the German translation »Der Tigerprinz« were published. Using captivating pictures Chen tells a fascinating story of the Middle Kingdom: the unusual mother-son relationship between a little prince and a tigress.

Chen’s visual work has received great international acclaim: it was awarded the Prix Charles Oulmont (1992) and has been exhibited in galleries in Europe, Asia and America. »Hatchiko, chien du Tokyo« (2003; t: Hatchiko, a dog from Tokyo) was awarded the Prix Sorcières (2004). »Le cheval magique de Han Gan« was awarded the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2005 in the category Picture Book.

© international literature festival berlin

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

The Legend of the Kite
[with Boris Moissard]
Soundprints
Norwalk, Conn., 1999
[T: Jacqueline Miller]

Dragon de feu
L´École des Loisirs
Paris, 2001

Zhong Kui, la terreur des forces du mal
L’École des loisirs
Paris, 2001

Archimède. Recette pour être un génie
[Text: Susie Hoch Morgenstern]
L´École des Loisirs
Paris, 2002

Hatchiko, chien de Tokyo  
[Text: Claude Helft]
Desclee de Brouwer
Paris, 2003

The Magic Horse of Han Gan
Enchanted Lion
New York, 2006
[T: Claudia Zoe Bedrick]

Chinese Mythology
[Text: Claude Helft]
Enchanted Lion
New York, 2007

Little Eagle
Enchanted Lion
Brooklyn, NY, 2007

I Will Make Miracles
[Text: Susie Hoch Morgenstern]
Bloomsbury
New York, 2008

Mao and Me
Enchanted Lion
2008