Alfonso Wong Kar-Hei (; 27 May 1923 – 1 January 2017), also known by his pen name ''Wong Chak'', was a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

manhua () 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, fanta ...

artist who created one of the longest-running

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

s, ''

Old Master Q ''Old Master Q'' (; Wong's romanization: ''Lo Fu Gee'';"Q&A with Mr. Alfonso Wong" i"OMQ remembers Alfonso Wong" ''老夫子 - Old Master Q Comics'' also known as ''Mr. Funnybone'' from the movie of the same name) is a Hong Kong manhua creat ...

'', that became popular across Asia.

Biography

Wong was born in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. He studied Western art at

Fu Jen Catholic University Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private education, private Catholic university in Xinzhuang District, Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and ...

, then based in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and finished school by 1944. In 1956, he moved south to

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

. He was responsible for drawings in

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

s for a French

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

missionary in the colony and also became the art editor for Hong Kong Catholic magazine, ''Lok Fung Pao'' ().Wong, Wendy Siuyi.

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 OO2, the minor planet 7499 L'Aquila *1990 OO2, the asteroid 9175 Graun Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'' ...

(2001) '' Hong Kong Comics: A History of Manhua''.

Princeton Architectural Press Princeton Architectural Press (now PA Press) is a division of Chronicle Books. Founded by Kevin Lippert in 1981 in Princeton, NJ, PA Press has been a leading publisher of books on architecture, design, and visual culture for over forty years, ...

, New York. Wong became well known in 1961 when he made the manhua ''

''. The comic was one of the most influential pieces of work in Hong Kong under British rule before it was transferred back to China, and was popular across Asia. It voiced the opinions of the citizens in an exaggerated comical sense at a time when comics avoided controversial political issues. From integration with mainlanders to the education gap, there were few limitations being broached by the sensitive subjects which accompanied his stories. The comic became known for maintaining popularity for over 40 years against endless competition with other Hong Kong manhua and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

. Later adaptations into movies,

Chinese animation Chinese animation refers to animation made in China. In Chinese, donghua ( zh, s=动画, t=動畫, p=dònghuà) describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. However, outside of China and in English, ''donghua'' is colloquial for ...

and other works of fiction continued well after his retirement. He later emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and retired by the mid-1990s, leaving his son Joseph Wong in charge of the Old Master Q series since then. In an exhibition showcasing Wong, the

Hong Kong Arts Centre Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC; ) is a non-profit arts institution and art museum established in 1977. It promotes contemporary performing arts, visual arts, film and video arts. It also provides arts education. Its rival is the government-managed ...

called his work, "a collective memory of Chinese-speaking communities around the world." Original pieces of Wong's work have been exhibited by both

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

and

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auction houses.

Personal life and Death

Wong was

ambidextrous Ambidexterity is the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. When referring to objects, the term indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. When referring to humans, it indicates that ...

(i.e. capable of drawing with both hands) and particularly enjoyed drawing fish. He used his eldest son's name ''Wong Chak'' () as a pen-name and relinquished the comic to him in 1995. Wong died of

organ failure Organ dysfunction is a condition where an organ does not perform its expected function. Organ failure is organ dysfunction to such a degree that normal homeostasis cannot be maintained without external clinical intervention or life support. It i ...

on 1 January 2017, at the age of 93. He was also the son of the ethnic-

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

Chinese warlord Wang Chengbin.

References

External links

Official Old Master Q Website Background of Alfonso Wong

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Alfonso 1923 births 2017 deaths Yellow Bus Chinese comics artists Chinese comics writers Chinese comic strip cartoonists Chinese animators Chinese animated film directors Chinese animated film producers Fu Jen Catholic University alumni Hong Kong comics writers Artists from Tianjin Writers from Tianjin Hong Kong people of Manchu descent