Tsai Chih-chung

"C. C. Tsai" redirects here. For Taiwanese footballer Tsai Chih-chieh, see Tsai Chih-chieh.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Tsai.

Tsai Chih Chung (Chinese: 蔡志忠; pinyin: Cài Zhìzhōng; born 1948) is one of the best-selling comic artists in the world. He is best known for his graphical works on Chinese philosophy and history, most notably on Daoism and Zen Buddhism, which he made accessible and popularized through the use of plain language and engaging illustrations.

Tsai's books have sold over 500 million copies in 59 countries. He currently resides in Hangzhou, China.

Biography

C. C. Tsai was born on February 2, 1948 in Huatan, Zhanghua, Taiwan. In 1963, when he was 15 years old, he answered an ad for a comic artist and was hired. He dropped out of school and moved to Taipei, where he anonymously created hundreds of comic books, mostly in the kung-fu genre.

From 1968 to 1971, he fulfilled three years of requisite military duty, during which time he educated himself in art history, color theory, and design. Upon being released from the military, he applied at Kuangchi Program Service (the first independent television production company in Taiwan) and beat out all of the fresh design school graduates for a position as director of television art design. Using KPS's equipment and library, Tsai taught himself the art of animation, and in 1977, he separated from KPS, partnered with Che Gam-Tiu 謝金塗, and established Far Eastern Animation Productions 遠東卡通公司, creating animated ads and shorts. Their first full-length movie, Old Master Cute 七彩卡通老夫子 came out in 1981, based on Hong Kong cartoonist Alfonso Wong's 王澤 Old Master Q 老夫子 comic strip.  It was co-directed by Tsai, Che, and Woo Shu-Yue 胡樹儒, was a box-office success, and won the 1981 Golden Horse Award for best full-length animation.

In 1981, Tsai left Far Eastern Animation and started his own company, Dragon Animation 龍卡通, which brought out the full length-animated movie Old Master Cute Part 3 山T老夫子 in 1983, and in 1984 it brought out Black Dragon Courtyard 烏龍院, based on comics by Ao Yu-hsiang 敖幼祥. In 1984, Tsai shut down Dragon Animation to focus on original comic illustrations of his own.

In 1983, Tsai began serializing his own comic strips:

• 1983, Drunken Swordsman 大醉俠 in Crown 皇冠月刊, Oriental Daily News 東方日報 (Hong Kong), and Lianhe Wanbao 聯合晚報 (Singapore)
• 1984, Fat Dragon Crosses the River 飛龍過江 and Traveling Swashbucklers 江湖游俠 in United Daily News 聯合報
• 1984, The Bald Detective 光頭神探 in Min Sheng Daily 民生報, Ming Pao Daily News 明報 (Hong Kong), and Shin Min Daily News 新民晚報 (Singapore)
• 1984, One-Eyed Dragon Master Thief 盜師獨眼龍 in China Times Weekly 時報周刊, Women 女性, Outdoor Activities 野外, Torch of Victory 勝利之光, and Sinchew Daily 星洲日報 (Malaysia).
• 1984, Some of the above were also serialized in Japan's Manga Time まんがタイム, Manga Sunday 漫画サンデー, and Manga Life まんがライフ.
• 1986, Heroes of the Marsh 水滸傳 and Journey to the West 西游記38變, both in United Daily News 聯合報 and China Times Weekly 時報周刊.

In 1985, the year he was named one of Taiwan's Ten Outstanding Young Persons, Tsai developed a plan to adapt the major Chinese classics into comic book format. The first was Zhuangzi Speaks 莊子說：自然的簫聲 (1986), which immediately shot up the best-sellers list and stayed at the number 1 spot for 10 months.

Awards

• 1979: Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards for his work on Old Master Q (老夫子)
• 1985: The 23rd "Republic of China's Ten Outstanding Young Persons" (中華民國十大傑出青年) for his graphical work on Zhuangzi (莊子說)
• 1999: Prince Claus Award for "Creating Spaces of Freedom"

See also

• Taiwanese art

External links

• Cai Zhizhong: A Master Cartoonist
• Tsai Chih Chung at the Lambiek Comiclopedia