2018年CRI Comic books on the verge of fadeout: children's book author

 

Just over a decade ago, news-stands and bookstores selling a variety of comic book publications around a school premises¹ in Beijing were a common sight. Back then, these places would be packed with students and pupils scrambling² to get a glimpse of- or purchase comics right before or after school hours. Business was booming for publishers and sellers, and students largely contributed to their prosperity.

Today however, that reality is far from reach as the segment of comic book reading slims down amongst the younger generations. As expected this trend is creating concerns in China amongst people in the literary world as even publishers steer⁴ away from printing comic books for children.

CRI's Xu Fei has more.

Among those concerned are Shen Shixi (沈石溪);a bestselling children's author in China, who shares his fears.

"Basically, a host of children's press and publication houses are no longer in the business of publishing comic books. Going back 10 to 20 years ago, they used to be enthusiastic about comic books but today, comic books hold a much slimmer market share. The decline in comic books in China is mainly due to a shortage in good stories and an absence of literary minds in comic creations."

Nicknamed the "King of Animal Stories", Shen Shixi's work "Dreams of the Wolf King" was recently adapted into a comic books' series.

Guan Yunyun is an editor with the China Cartoon magazine, a magazine operated by the China Children's Press and Publication Group. She explains why Shen's book is widely believed suitable for comic books' adaptations.

"Dreams of the Wolf King became a bestseller with millions of readers in China way before its adaptation into comic books. In fact, many classic children's literature like these are only available in the stereotyped⁵ written form. But literature can be presented in different angles and forms. The China Children's Press and Publication Group I've been working with has always been in pursuit of discovering the fresh, value added works in classic children's literature. For instance, Dreams of the Wolf King is newly endowed with an aesthetic⁶ value of art via its comic book adaptations."

Years ago, a veteran comic book publisher Jin Cheng (金城) predicted that the decline of printing comic books would inevitably⁷ come as a result of the rapid evolution of e-book technology.

His prediction seemingly has come to pass.

Shen Shixi points out that the main reason behind the decline is due to comics nowadays barely qualifying as literature.

"I think literature is an important element of this genre⁸. Without literature's involvement, comic books, regarded as an important form of children's literature, are fated to gradually become extinct; so China Children's Press and Publication Group's effort to make these modern, influential⁹ children's literatures into comic books is very meaningful."

During the 2014 New York Comic Con³ panel "Super Girls: Using Comics to Engage Female Students in the High School Classroom", the significance of children reading comic books was discussed by teachers and librarians. They listed the benefits and skills strengthened through comics, including motivating reluctant readers, easy interpretation¹⁰, increased memory, sequencing, understanding succinct¹¹ language, and reading comprehension.

In addition to the comic world, illustrated¹² books can also be a great supplement to help foster love and enjoyment¹³ for books in early readers. Shen Shixi however is quick to point out the difference.

"It's undeniable that illustrated books have their unique charisma¹⁴. However, I believe that comic books enjoy a wider fan base, and are more interesting to the young readers. When the story is explained in the language of comic art, the way of its storytelling is inherently more vivid than that in illustrated books."

Although Shen is concerned about the decline of printed comic books in China, he holds some optimism that comic books still have a brighter future.

China Cartoon magazine's Guan Yunyun echoes Shen's sentiments.

"Comic books are easy to read for young kids. I believe in the near future, as more and more better-quality Chinese comic books are published, the artistic¹⁵ value of comic books will increasingly be more recognized and appreciated."

Guan Yunyun however notes that the challenge lies in grading Chinese comic books; otherwise, shallow books may bring about undesirable¹⁶ results that could make people forget that, comics, are supposed to be a type of visual art.

Therefore she adds that, all China needs is a series of thought-provoking comic books that can stimulate¹⁷ the market and shake off the existing prejudice.

For CRI, I'm Xu Fei.

1 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

2 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

4 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

5 stereotyped   

adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的

参考例句：

• There is a sameness about all these tales. They're so stereotyped -- all about talented scholars and lovely ladies. 这些书就是一套子，左不过是些才子佳人，最没趣儿。
• He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scientific) link with our ancestral past. 它们是恐怖电影和惊险小说中的老一套的怪物，并且与我们的祖先有着明显的（虽然可能没有科学的）联系。

6 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

7 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

8 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

9 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

10 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

11 succinct   

adj.简明的，简洁的

参考例句：

• The last paragraph is a succinct summary.最后这段话概括性很强。
• A succinct style lends vigour to writing.措辞简练使文笔有力。

12 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

13 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

14 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

15 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

16 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

17 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。