Manhua - WikiHQ

() are Chinese-language comics produced in Greater China. Chinese comics and narrated illustrations have existed in China throughout its history.

They are usually graphic and can be written for a myriad of genres, including romance, fantasy, historical, thrillers, paranormal, and horror. The narratives are varied but often include tropes and plots common to Asian culture and settings.

The first major manhua magazine, Shanghai Sketch, first published in 1928. During the early 20th century, political manhua were printed as propaganda during times of political upheaval. At the start of the 21st century, Chinese cartoonists began to publish manhua through social media and microblogging websites.

Etymology

The word was originally an 18th-century term used in Chinese literati painting. It became popular in Japan as manga in the late 19th century. Feng Zikai reintroduced the word to Chinese, in the modern sense, with his 1925 series of political cartoons entitled Zikai Manhua in the Wenxue Zhoubao (Literature Weekly).

The introduction of lithographic printing methods derived from the West was a critical step in expanding the art in the early 20th century. Beginning in the 1870s, satirical drawings appeared in newspapers and periodicals. By the 1920s palm-sized picture books like Lianhuanhua were popular in Shanghai. They are considered the predecessor of modern-day .

One of the first magazines of satirical cartoons came from the United Kingdom entitled The China Punch.

thumb|140px|[[Old Master Q, one of the earliest popular manhua characters from Hong Kong.]]

The rise of Chinese immigration turned Hong Kong into the main -ready market, especially with the baby boom generation of children. The most influential magazine for adults was the 1956 Cartoons World, which fueled the best-selling Uncle Choi. The availability of Japanese and Taiwanese comics challenged the local industry, selling at a pirated bargain price of 10 cents. Several other have also won the Silver and Bronze Awards at the International Manga Award.

thumb|Volumes of Chang Ge Xing, or [[the Long Ballad, first published in popular Chinese comics magazine Comicsfan Culture (漫友文化).]]

In the second half of the 2000s and early 2010s, various Chinese cartoonists began using social media to spread satirical strips and cartoons online. Print publishing, being strictly controlled in China, is slowly being traded in for microblogging websites such as Sina Weibo and Douban, where can reach a wide audience while subject to less editorial control.

Despite China being a major consumer of comics for decades, the medium has never been taken as "serious works of art". R. Martin of The Comics Journal describes the Chinese outlook on comics as "pulpy imitations of films". Furthermore, China strictly controls the publishing of comics, and as a result, cartoonists faced difficulty reaching a large audience. Many cartoonists in the late 2000s began self-publishing their work on social media instead of attempting to issue paper editions. Websites such as Douban (2005) and Sina Weibo (2009) are popular venues for web manhua and webcomics. In the second half of the 2010s, South Korean webtoons and webtoon platforms have become increasingly popular in China.

In 2016, two have been adapted into anime television series: Yi Ren Zhi Xia and Soul Buster. Another series, Bloodivores, based on a web , will start airing on October 1, 2016. Another series, The Silver Guardian, premiered in the Spring 2017 season. Two years later, Ultramarine Magmell, another Chinese manhua, got an anime in 2019.

Taiwanese manhua

thumb|Various Taiwanese manhua at a comics event in [[Copenhagen, 2015.]]

thumb|Manhua artist [[Yeh Ming-Hsuan being interviewed at TAICCA Taiwan Comics event.]]

Taiwanese manhua has its origins during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945), when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. Prior to this, Taiwan produced publications combining text and images, such as illustrated novels. In the early 20th century, influenced by Japan, the first comic-style magazines appeared in Taiwan, including Taiwan Puck (1911), Tetsuwan Puck (1912), and Takasago Puck (1916), inspired by Japanese publications.

During the Japanese occupation, interest in comics grew, and publications began to include colored cartoons and satirical works. In 1921, the Taiwan Daily News began publishing a comic section, which became an important source of content for the local population.

After World War II, the influx of Chinese Lianhuanhua and American comics like Blondie and Dennis the Menace, along with the piracy of Japanese manga, helped solidify the popularity of comics in Taiwan. In the following decades, especially after the island’s democratization in the 1990s, manhua gained recognition as a legitimate form of artistic and cultural expression.

These are due to differences in the style prescribed by the governments of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Digital

Web

Digital , known as web , are a growing art form in China. Web are posted on social media and web portals, which serve as a lower bar of entry than the strictly controlled print publication outlets in the country. Though little money is currently made through online in China, the medium has become popular due to ease of uploading and publishing titles, color publication, and free reading access. Some popular web sites include QQ Comic and U17. In recent years, several Chinese web have been adapted into animated series, with some in co-production with the Japanese animation industry.

Webcomics

As microblogging and webcomics were gaining popularity in China, the form was increasingly used for political activism and satire. Despite China being a major consumer of comics for decades, the medium has never been taken as "serious works of art". R. Martin of The Comics Journal describes the Chinese outlook on comics as "pulpy imitations of films". Furthermore, China strictly controls the publishing of comics, and as a result, cartoonists faced difficulty reaching a large audience. Many cartoonists in the late 2000s began self-publishing their work on social media instead of attempting to issue paper editions. Websites such as Douban (2005) and Sina Weibo (2009) are popular venues for webcomics. Images censored from Sina Weibo include a portrait of Mao Zedong wearing a pollution mask, a photo compilation identifying the expensive watches on the wrists of supposedly low-waged local officials, and criticism on police action, censorship in education, and the one child policy.

Webtoons

Webtoons have grown in popularity in China as another form to consume and produce in the country thanks in part to the popularity of South Korean webtoons. Microblogging platforms Sina Weibo and Tencent have also offered webtoons on their digital sites alongside web-based , several of which have been translated into various languages. While webtoon portals in mainland China are mainly run by big internet companies, webtoon portals in Taiwan are offered and operated by big webtoon publishers outside the country like Comico, and Naver (under the Line brand).

Economics

Political cartoonist Liu "Big Corpse Brother" Jun had over 130,000 followers on Sina Weibo in December 2013, and Kuang Biao has his work appear both online and in various print journals. based on Under One Person by Dong Man Tang and Bloodivores, based on a web by Bai Xiao. A Chinese-Japanese animated series based on Chōyū Sekai is scheduled to air in 2017. Another series, The Silver Guardian, based on The Silver Guardian, premiered in 2017. Chang Ge Xing, a live-action adaptation of the of the same name by Xia Da, began filming in 2019.

The Taiwanese Manhua series Brave Series received an animated television series adaptation released in 2021. The first season received positive reviews, and won the Award of Best Animated Series on the 57th Golden Bell Awards. A second season was released in 2025.

Kakao, operating the Korean webtoon portal Daum Webtoon, has collaborated with the Chinese Huace Group in order to produce live-action, Chinese language films and television dramas based on South Korean webtoons.

References

Citations

Sources

; General references

Geremie R. Barmé. An Artistic Exile: A Life of Feng Zikai (1898-1975). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2002.
Wai-ming Ng (2003). "Japanese Elements in Hong Kong Comics: History, Art, and Industry". International Journal of Comic Art. 5 (2):184–193.

External links

When Manga meets Communism
Tales of Taiwan's Comic Artists: Persecution, Isolation and Endless Talent
John A. Crespi, "China's Modern Sketch: The Golden Era of Cartoon Art, 1934-1937"
Hong Kong Memory - Comics