Chinese animation refers to
animation
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
made in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. In China and 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 Chinese animation and refers specifically to animation produced in China.
History
The history of animated moving pictures in China began in 1918 when an animation piece from the United States titled ''
Out of the Inkwell'' landed in Shanghai. Cartoon clips were first used in advertisements for domestic products. Though the animation industry did not begin until the arrival of the
Wan brothers
The Wan Brothers () were born in the early 20th century in Nanjing, China. They became the founders and pioneers of the Chinese animation industry and made the first Asian animation feature-length film, ''Princess Iron Fan'' in 1941.
Background
...
in 1926. The Wan brothers produced the first Chinese animated film with sound, ''
The Camel's Dance
''The Camel's Dance'' (Chinese: 骆驼献舞) is a black and white Chinese animation made in 1935 by three of the Wan brothers. It is considered the first animation with sound in China.
History
The segment is believed to be a technological sho ...
'', in 1935. The first animated film of notable length was ''
Princess Iron Fan'' in 1941. ''Princess Iron Fan'' was the first animated feature film in Asia and it had great impact on wartime Japanese
Momotarō animated feature films and later on
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
. China was relatively on pace with the rest of the world up to the mid-1960s, with the Wan's brothers ''
Havoc in Heaven'' earning numerous international awards.
China's golden age of animation would come to an end following the onset of the
Cultural Revolution in 1966. Many animators were forced to quit. If not for harsh economic conditions, the mistreatment of the
Red Guards would threaten their work. The surviving animations would lean closer to propaganda. By the 1980s, Japan would emerge as the animation powerhouse of Eastern Asia, leaving China's industry far behind in reputation and productivity. Though two major changes would occur in the 1990s, igniting some of the biggest changes since the exploration periods. The first is a political change. The implementation of a
socialist market economy would push out traditional
planned economy systems. No longer would a single entity limit the industry's output and income. The second is a technological change with the arrival of the Internet. New opportunities would emerge from
flash animations and the contents became more open. Today China is drastically reinventing itself in the animation industry with greater influences from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Terminology
Chinese animations today can best be described in two categories. The first type are "conventional animations" produced by corporations of well-financed entities. These content falls along the lines of traditional 2D cartoons or modern
3D CG animated films distributed via cinemas, DVD or broadcast on TV. This format can be summarized as a reviving industry coming together with advanced computer technology and low cost labor.
The second type are "webtoons" produced by corporations or sometimes just individuals. These contents are generally flash animations ranging anywhere from amateurish to high quality, hosted publicly on various websites. While the global community has always gauged industry success by box office sales. This format cannot be denied when measured in
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
among a population of 1.3 billion in just mainland China alone. Most importantly it provides greater freedom of expression on top of potential advertising.
Characteristics
In the 1920s, the pioneering
Wan brothers
The Wan Brothers () were born in the early 20th century in Nanjing, China. They became the founders and pioneers of the Chinese animation industry and made the first Asian animation feature-length film, ''Princess Iron Fan'' in 1941.
Background
...
believed that animations should emphasize on a development style that was uniquely Chinese. This rigid philosophy stayed with the industry for decades. Animations were essentially an extension of other facets of
Chinese arts and culture, drawing more contents from
ancient folklores and
manhua. There is a close relationship between Chinese literature works and classic Chinese animation. A significant number of classical Chinese animation films were inspired and prototyped by ancient Chinese literature. An example of a traditional Chinese animation character would be
Monkey King, a character transitioned from the classic literature ''
Journey to the West'' to the 1964 animation ''
Havoc in Heaven''. Also drawing on tradition was the
ink-wash animation developed by animators
Te Wei and
Qian Jiajun in the 1960s. Based on Chinese
ink-wash painting, several films were produced in this style, starting with ''
Where is Mama'' (1960). However, the technique was time-consuming and was gradually abandoned by animation studios.
The concept of Chinese animations have begun loosening up in recent years without locking into any particular one style. One of the first revolutionary change was in the 1995
manhua animation adaptation ''
Cyber Weapon Z''. The style consist of characters that are practically indistinguishable from any typical
anime, yet it is categorized as Chinese animation. It can be said that productions are not necessarily limited to any one technique; that water ink, puppetry, computer CG are all demonstrated in the art.
Newer waves of animations since the 1990s, especially flash animations, are trying to break away from the tradition. In 2001 ''
Time Asia'' would rate the Taiwanese webtoon character ''
A-kuei'' as one of the top 100 new figures in Asia. The appearance of ''A-kuei'' with the large head, would probably lean much closer to children's material like
Doraemon. So changes like this signify a welcoming transition, since folklore-like characters have always had a hard time gaining international appeal
''GoGo Top''magazine, the first weekly Chinese animation magazine, conducted a survey and proved that only 1 out of 20 favorite characters among children was actually created domestically in China.
[China Today.]
" "Chinese Animation Market: Monkey King vs Mickey Mouse." Retrieved 20 December 2006.
In 1998, directed the full-length animated feature .
Conventional animation market
The demographics of the Chinese consumer market show an audience where 11% are under the age of 13, 59% between 14 and 17, and 30% over 18 years of age. Potentially 500 million people could be identified as cartoon consumers. China has 370 million children, one of the world's largest animation audiences.
[People's Daily Online.]
" "China Opens Cartoon Industry to Private Investors." Retrieved 20 December 2006.
From the financial perspective, ''Quatech Market Research'' surveyed ages between 14 and 30 in Beijing, Shanghai and
Guangzhou and found that over 1.3 billion
RMB (about US$163 million) was spent on cartoons every year, but more than 80% of the revenue flows straight out of the country. Further studies show that 60% still prefer Japanese anime, 29% prefer Americans, and just 11 percent favor those made by Chinese mainland, Taiwan or Hong Kong animators.
From 2006 to present, the Chinese government has considered animation as a key sector for the birth of a new national identity and for the cultural development in China. The government has started to promote the development of cinema and TV series with the aim of reaching 1% of GDP in the next five years against an investment of around RMB250-350 million (€29-41 million). It supported the birth of about 6000 animation studios and 1300 universities which provide animation studies. In 2010, 220,000 minutes of animations were produced, making China the world's biggest producer of cartoons on TV.
In 1999
Shanghai Animation Film Studio spent 21 million
RMB (about US$2.6 million) producing the animation ''
Lotus Lantern
''Lotus Lantern'' () is a Chinese animated feature film based on the Chinese fairy tale, The Magic Lotus Lantern, produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio.
Plot
The story is based on the traditional Chinese folklore about a boy named Chenxi ...
''. The film earned a box office income of more than RMB 20 million (about US$2.5 million), but failed to capitalize on any related products. The same company shot a cartoon series ''
Music Up
Music Up (Chinese: 我为歌狂), also known as ''Crazy for the Song'', is the first Chinese animation (alternatively known as a Donghua) idol TV series in China. It was distributed by Shanghai Animation Film Studio and produced by Welkin-Animat ...
'' in 2001, and although 66% of its profits came from selling related merchandise, it lagged far behind foreign animations.
2007 saw the debut of the popular Chinese Series, ''
The Legend of Qin''. It boasted impressive 3d graphics and an immersive storyline. Its third season was released on 23 June 2010. Its fourth season is under production.
One of the most popular
manhua in Hong Kong was ''
Old Master Q''. The characters were converted into cartoon forms as early as 1981, followed by numerous animation adaptations including a widescreen DVD release in 2003. While the publications remained legendary for decades, the animations have always been considered more of a fan tribute. And this is another sign that newer generations are further disconnected with older styled characters. Newer animations like ''
My Life as McDull'' has also been introduced to expand on the modern trend.
In 2005 the first
3D CG-animated movie from
Shenzhen China, ''
Thru the Moebius Strip'' was debuted. Running for 80 minutes, it is the first 3D movie fully rendered in mainland China to premiere in the
Cannes Film Festival. It was a critical first step for the industry. The immensely popular kids's animated series ''
Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf'' came out the same year.
In November 2006 an animation summit forum was held to announce China's top 10 most popular domestic cartoons as ''
Century Sonny'', ''
Tortoise Hanba's Stories
''Tortoise Hanba's Stories'' () is a large scale 3D- CG Chinese animation TV series in China. It is also referred to as ''The Story of Hanbagui'' or ''Hanbagui''.
Background
The show was produced by "Shenzhen Toonring Animation" in Shenzhen
...
'', ''
Black Cat Detective'', ''
SkyEye'', ''
Lao Mountain Taoist'', ''
Nezha Conquers the Dragon King'', ''
Wanderings of Sanmao'', ''
Zhang Ga the Soldier Boy'', ''
The Blue Mouse and the Big-Faced Cat'' and ''
3000 Whys of Blue Cat
''3000 Whys of Blue Cat'' () is the first large-scale Chinese animated series in mainland China with an emphasis on science. The series is produced by "Hunan Sunchime Happy Culture Company". The show remains one of the longest-running children ...
''. ''Century Sonny'' is a 3D CG-animated TV series with 104 episodes fully rendered.
In 2011
Vasoon Animation released ''
Kuiba
''Kuiba'' () or Greatbug is a 2011 Chinese animated film. It was released on July 8, 2011. The film was followed by ''Kuiba 2'' in 2013 and ''Kuiba 3
''Kuiba 3'' () is a 2014 Chinese animated fantasy action adventure film directed by Wang Chuan ...
''. The film tells the story of how a boy attempts to save a fantasy world from an evil monster who, unknowingly, is inside of him. The film borrows from a Japanese "hot-blooded" style, refreshing the audience's views on Chinese animation. ''Kuiba'' was critically acclaimed, however it commercially fell below expectations.
It was reported that the CEO Wu Hanqing received minority help from a venture capital fund at Tsinghua University to complete "Kuiba." This film also holds the distinction of being the first big Chinese animation series to enter the Japanese market. From July 2012 to July 2013, ''YouYaoQi'' released
One hundred thousand bad jokes.
In 2015,
Monkey king: Hero is back gain 2.85 million USD box office, it was the highest-grossing animated film in China.
The most important award for Chinese animation is the Golden Monkey Award.
Flash animation market
On 15 September 199
FlashEmpirebecame the first
flash community in China to come online. While it began with amateurish contents, it was one of the first time any form of
user-generated contents was offered in the mainland. By the beginning of 2000, it averaged 10,000 hits daily with more than 5,000 individual work published. Today it has more than 1 million members.
In 2001, ''
Xiao Xiao'', a series of flash animations about
kung fu stick figures became an
Internet phenomenon totaling more than 50 million hits, most of which in
mainland China. It also became popular overseas with numerous international artists borrowing the ''Xiao Xiao'' character for their own flash work in sites like
Newgrounds.
On 24 April 200
Flashlands.comwas launched, hosting a variety of high quality flash animations from mainland China. The site is designed to be one of the first
cross-cultural site allowing English speakers easy access to domestic productions. Though the success of the site has yet to be determined.
In October 2006
3G.NET.CNpaid 3 million
RMB (about US$380,000) to produce
A Chinese odyssey', the flash version of
Stephen Chow's ''
A Chinese Odyssey'' in flash format.
Government's role in the industry
For every
quarter, the
State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television announces the ''
Outstanding Domestic Animated Television Productions'', which is given to the works that "persist with correct value guidance" () and "possess relatively high artistic quality and production standards" (), and recommends the television broadcasters in
Mainland China to give priority when broadcasting such series.
Criticism
Statistics from China's
State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) indicate domestic cartoons aired 1hr 30 minutes each day from 1993 to 2002, and that by the end of 2004, it increased the airing time of domestic cartoons to 2hrs per day. The division requested a total of 2,000
provinces to devote a show time of 60,000 minutes to domestically-produced animations and comic works. But statistics show that domestic animators can only provide enough work for 20,000 minutes, leaving a gap of 40,000 minutes that can only be filled by foreign programs. Though insiders are allegedly criticizing domestic cartoons for its emphasis on education over entertainment.
SARFT also have a history of taking
protectionism actions such as banning foreign programming, such as the film ''
Babe: Pig in the City''. While statistics are proving there are not enough domestic materials available, the administration continues to ban foreign materials. On 15 February 2006 another notice is issued to ban cartoons that incorporated live actors. As reported by
Xinhua News Agency, the commission did not want CGI and 2D characters alongside human actors. Doing so would jeopardize the broadcast order of homemade animation and mislead their development. Neither ban makes logical sense to the general public, according to foreign sources.
Bibliography
There is little discussion of Chinese animation in English. Daisy Yan Du's PhD dissertation, ''On the Move: The Trans/national Animated Film in 1940s-1970s China'' (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2012), is by far the most systematic analysis of early Chinese animation before 1980. Weihua Wu's PhD dissertation, ''Animation in Postsocialist China: Visual Narrative, Modernity, and Digital Culture'' (City University of Hong Kong, 2006), discusses contemporary Chinese animation in the digital age after 1980.
Besides the two major works, there are other articles and book chapters written by John Lent,
Paola Voci, Mary Farquhar, and others about Chinese animation. The first English-language monograph devoted to Chinese animation was Rolf Giesen's ''Chinese Animation: A History and Filmography, 1922–2012'' (McFarland & Company, Jefferson NC, 2015).
See also
*
Anime
*
Chinese art
*
Cinema of China
The cinema of China is one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan.
Cinema was introduced in China in 1896 and the first Chinese film, '' Dingjun Mountai ...
*
Dongman
*
History of animation
*
Korean animation
*
List of animated feature films
*
List of Chinese animated films
*
List of Chinese animated series
These Chinese animated series have been shown publicly and have achieved varying levels of popularity in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan; they are in Mandarin Chinese language only:
List of Chinese animated shows in Each decade
1980s
* Ca ...
*
Manhua
*
Taiwanese animation
References
External links
China's Cartoon Industry Forum* Remembering Te We
at AnimationInsider.net
{{Animation
Animation
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
Animation
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...