PREFACE Juexing Vice President of the Chinese Buddhist Association, Abbot of the Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple Autumn of 2023
Chinese comics have a long history. As early as the Song Dynasty, there was a popular form of painting and calligraphy that resembled comics. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, comics started leading their prosperity. In the 1920s, comic artists like Mr Zikai Feng, known for their simplicity in brushwork, portrayed various aspects of the Chinese society with a heart deeply rooted in kindness and empathy, presenting earnest and refined depictions. They gradually evolved traditional Chinese painting into a modern style, making Shanghai the birthplace of modern Chinese comics.
For nearly 30 years, Mr Xinyao Zheng has gained recognition worldwide for his comic works. His column Snacks for Thought has been serialised for 31 years in the “Glass of Jade” Supplement of Xinmin Evening News, with over 1600 works. Each piece is a masterpiece, combining text and image with exquisite craftsmanship, tucking at the readers’ heartstrings, and reaching the deepest of their feelings.
Buddhism encourages kindness through countless preachings, through mottos of wisdom and experience that inspire deep reflection, and through allegories that convey profound truths in subtle and nuanced ways. Mr Xinyao Zheng observes the multifaceted shards of the world, and his emotions find expression in his art. At times, he sees through the complexities of humanity, and takes up the responsibility to use gentle satire to address contemporary issues. At other times, he delves into Zen philosophy, hiding insights and epiphanies behind wit, appealing to both the refined and the common. His work integrates the essence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, inheriting the excellence of traditional Chinese culture. In terms of art, he boldly draws inspiration from both Eastern and Western artistic styles while maintaining the ancient aesthetic charm of China. Compassion, grief, joy, and the peace of letting go gather themselves in his paintbrush to grow flowers, while the dreamy dew and lightening he captures in his art provoke thoughts and further reflections through laughter.
Mr Xinyao Zheng’s works from Snacks for Thought are now being published in a brand-new format as a lilliput edition, sewing emotions into mustard seeds, and weaving the passages of time into inches. It demonstrates how seemingly insignificant details can encapsulate great wisdom, and how laughter can create enlightenment. His artworks share the breaths of life in the miniature of a book, awaiting to nourish the readers.
With these words I extend my congratulations in the preface.
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