| Manhua | |
|---|---|
 The Situation in the Far East, an 1899 manhua byTse Tsan-tai | |
| Publishers | Tong Li Comics,Ever Glory Publishing,Sharp Point Publishing,Jonesky,Chuang Yi, Kuaikan, ManMan, QQ Comic, Vcomic, U17, Dongman Manhua, dmzj.com, Comico Taiwan, Line Webtoon |
| Series | List |
| Languages | Chinese (written inTraditional Chinese orSimplified Chinese) |
| Related articles | |
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| Traditional Chinese | 漫畫 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 漫画 | ||||||||||||
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Manhua (traditional Chinese:漫畫;simplified Chinese:漫画;pinyin:mànhuà) areChinese-languagecomics produced inGreater 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 majormanhua magazine,Shanghai Sketch, first published in 1928. During the early 20th century, politicalmanhua were printed as propaganda during times of political upheaval. At the start of the 21st century, Chinese cartoonists began to publishmanhua through social media andmicroblogging websites.
The wordmanhua was originally an 18th-century term used in Chineseliterati painting. It became popular in Japan asmanga in the late 19th century.Feng Zikai reintroduced the word to Chinese, in the modern sense, with his 1925 series of political cartoons entitledZikai Manhua in theWenxue Zhoubao (Literature Weekly).[1][2] While terms other thanmanhua had existed before, this particular publication took precedence over the many other descriptions for cartoon art that were used previously andmanhua came to be associated with all Chinese comic materials.[3]
TheChinese characters formanhua are identical to those used for the Japanesemanga andKoreanmanhwa. Someone who draws or writesmanhua is referred to as amanhuajia (traditional Chinese:漫畫家;simplified Chinese:漫画家;pinyin:mànhuàjiā).
The oldest surviving examples of Chinese drawings are stonereliefs from the 11th century BC andpottery from 5000 to 3000 BC. Many reliefs, such as those from theWu Family Shrines of theHan dynasty, detail historical events using sequential storytelling. Other examples include symbolic brush drawings from theMing Dynasty, a satirical drawing titled "Peacocks" by the earlyQing Dynasty artistZhu Da, and a work called "Ghosts' Farce Pictures" from around 1771 by Luo Liang-feng. Chinesemanhua was born in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, roughly during the years 1867 to 1927.[3]
The introduction oflithographic 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 likeLianhuanhua were popular inShanghai.[2] They are considered the predecessor of modern-daymanhua.
One of the first magazines of satirical cartoons came from theUnited Kingdom entitledThe China Punch.[3] The first piece drawn by a person of Chinese nationality wasThe Situation in the Far East fromTse Tsan-tai in 1899, printed in Japan.Sun Yat-Sen established theRepublic of China in 1911 usingHong Kong's manhua to circulate anti-Qing propaganda. Some of themanhua that mirrored the early struggles of the transitional political and war periods wereThe True Record andRenjian Pictorial.[3]
Up until the establishment of the Shanghai Sketch Society in 1927, all prior works were Lianhuanhua or loose collections of materials. The first successfulmanhua magazine,Shanghai Sketch (orShanghai Manhua) appeared in 1928.[3] Between 1934 and 1937 about 17manhua magazines were published in Shanghai. This format would once again be put to propaganda use with the outbreak of theSecond Sino-Japanese War. By the time theJapanese occupied Hong Kong in 1941, allmanhua activities had stopped. With the surrender of the Japanese in 1945, political mayhem between ChineseNationalists andCommunists took place. One of the criticalmanhua,This Is a Cartoon Era by Renjian Huahui made note of the political backdrop at the time.[3]
One of the most popular and enduring comics of this period wasZhang Leping'sSanmao, first published in 1935.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, begun in 1937, many Chinese cartoonists, including Ye Qianyu, fled Shanghai and other major cities and waged "cartoon guerilla warfare" against the Japanese invaders by mounting roving cartoon exhibitions and publishing cartoon magazines in inland cities like Hankou.[4]
The rise of Chinese immigration turned Hong Kong into the mainmanhua-ready market, especially with thebaby boom generation of children. The most influentialmanhua magazine for adults was the 1956Cartoons World, which fueled the best-sellingUncle Choi. The availability of Japanese and Taiwanese comics challenged the local industry, selling at a pirated bargain price of 10 cents.[3]Manhua-likeOld Master Q were needed to revitalize the local industry.
The arrival of television in the 1970s was a changing point.Bruce Lee's films dominated the era and his popularity launched a new wave ofKung Fumanhua.[3] The explicit violence helped sell comic books, and theGovernment of Hong Kong intervened with the Indecent Publication Law in 1975.[3]Little Rascals was one of the pieces which absorbed all the social changes.The materials would also bloom in the 90s with work likeMcMug and three-part stories like "Teddy Boy", "Portland Street" and "Red Light District".[3]
Since the 1950s, Hong Kong'smanhua market has been separate from that of mainland China.
Si loin et si proche, by Chinese writer and illustrator Xiao Bai, won the Gold Award at the 4thInternational Manga Award in 2011.[5][6] Several othermanhua have also won the Silver and Bronze Awards at the International Manga Award.
In the second half of the 2000s and early 2010s, various Chinese cartoonists began usingsocial media to spreadsatiricalstrips and cartoons online.[7] Print publishing, being strictly controlled in China, is slowly being traded in formicroblogging websites such asSina Weibo andDouban, wheremanhua can reach a wide audience while subject to less editorial control.[8]
Despite China being a major consumer of comics for decades, the medium has never been taken as "serious works of art". R. Martin ofThe Comics Journal describes the Chinese outlook on comics as "pulpy imitations offilms". 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 onsocial media instead of attempting to issue paper editions. Websites such asDouban (2005) andSina Weibo (2009) are popular venues forweb manhua andwebcomics.[8]
TheTaipei International Comics and Animation Festival celebrated the coming of a "webcomics era" in 2015. With increasedsmartphone usage with a younger generation, webmanhua,webcomics, andwebtoons are expected to become more popular. With an increasing prevalence of Chinese-language online comic platforms, young artists have more opportunities to publish their work and gain a reputation.[9] In the second half of the 2010s,South Korean webtoons and webtoon platforms have become increasingly popular in China.[10]In 2016, twomanhua have been adapted intoanime television series:Yi Ren Zhi Xia andSoul Buster.[11][12] Another series,Bloodivores, based on a webmanhua, will start airing on October 1, 2016.[13] Another series,The Silver Guardian, premired in the Spring 2017 season.[14] Two years later,Ultramarine Magmell, another Chinese manhua, got an anime in 2019.
Taiwanesemanhua has its origins during theJapanese 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, includingTaiwan Puck (1911),Tetsuwan Puck (1912), andTakasago Puck (1916), inspired by Japanese publications.[15]
During the Japanese occupation, interest in comics grew, and publications began to include colored cartoons and satirical works. In 1921, theTaiwan Daily News began publishing a comic section, which became an important source of content for the local population.[16]
After World War II, the influx of Chinese Lianhuanhua and American comics likeBlondie andDennis 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.[16]
Before the official terminology was established, the art form was known by several names.[3]
| English | Pinyin | Chinese (traditional/simplified) |
|---|---|---|
| Allegorical Pictures | Rúyì Huà | 如意畫 / 如意画 |
| Satirical Pictures | Fĕngcì Huà | 諷刺畫 / 讽刺画 |
| Political Pictures | Zhèngzhì Huà | 政治畫 / 政治画 |
| Current Pictures | Shíshì Huà | 時事畫 / 时事画 |
| Reporting Pictures | Bàodǎo Huà | 報導畫 / 报导画 |
| Recording Pictures | Jìlù Huà | 紀錄畫 / 纪录画 |
| Amusement Pictures | Huáji Huà | 滑稽畫 / 滑稽画 |
| Comedy Pictures | Xiào Huà | 笑畫 / 笑画 |
Today'smanhua are simply distinguished by four categories.
| English |
|---|
| Satirical and politicalmanhua |
| Comicalmanhua |
| Actionmanhua |
| Children'smanhua |
Modern Chinese-stylemanhua characteristics is credited to the breakthrough art work of the 1982Chinese Hero.[3] Unlikemanga, it had more realistic drawings with details resembling real people. Mostmanhua also comes in full color with some panels rendered entirely in painting for the single issue format.Mostmanhua work from the 1800s to the 1930s contained characters that appeared serious. The cultural openness in Hong Kong brought the translation of AmericanDisney characters likeMickey Mouse andPinocchio in the 1950s, demonstrating western influence in local work likeLittle Angeli in 1954. Both the influx of translated Japanese manga of the 1960s and televisedanime in Hong Kong also made a significant impression.
Depending on where they are created,manhua can have differences in the way they are formatted and presented. Besides the use of traditional and simplified Chinese characters,manhua may also need to be read differently depending on where they are from. Their original Chinese text is placed horizontally inmanhua from mainland China and read from left-to-right (like Western comics and Koreanmanhwa), while Taiwanese and Hong Kongesemanhua have the characters rendered vertically top-to-bottom and sentences are read from right-to-left (like Japanesemanga).[17]
These are due to differences in thestyle prescribed by the governments of China,Taiwan, andHong Kong.[citation needed]
Digitalmanhua, known as webmanhua, are a growing art form in China. Webmanhua are posted on social media and webmanhua 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 onlinemanhua in China, the medium has become popular due to ease of uploading and publishing titles, color publication, and free reading access. Some popular webmanhua sites include QQ Comic and U17. In recent years, several Chinese webmanhua have been adapted into animated series, with some in co-production with the Japanese animation industry.
Asmicroblogging andwebcomics were gaining popularity in China, the form was increasingly used for political activism andsatire. Despite China being a major consumer of comics for decades, the medium has never been taken as "serious works of art". R. Martin ofThe Comics Journal describes the Chinese outlook on comics as "pulpy imitations offilms". 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 onsocial media instead of attempting to issue paper editions. Websites such asDouban (2005) andSina Weibo (2009) are popular venues for webcomics.[8] TheTaipei International Comics and Animation Festival celebrated a coming "webcomics era" in 2015. With increasedsmartphone usage amongst a younger generation, webcomics featuring a scrollableinfinite canvas are expected to become more popular. With an increasing prevalence of Chinese-language webcomic portals, young artists have more opportunities to publish their work and gain a reputation.[9] In the second half of the 2010s,South Korean webcomics and webtoon platforms have become increasingly popular in China.[10]
Cartoonists such asKuang Biao andRebel Pepper make use of the Internet to criticize theCommunist Party and its leaders. Communistpropaganda and figures such asLei Feng are openly mocked on microblogs and in online cartoons, despite efforts of censorship by the Chinese government. David Bandurski, a researcher with theUniversity of Hong Kong'sChina Media Project, stated that social media has "dramatically changed the environment for cartoonists [as] they now have a really good platform to find an audience." Chinese animatorPi San criticized internet companies and web portals for being "pretty cowardly" and "too sensitive", as they take on the role of first line of defense through self-censorship. Rebel Pepper's account on Sina Weibo, where he posts his satiral cartoons, had been deleted over 180 times by 2012.[7]
Blogging websites such as Sina Weibo are also highly censored by the Chinese government.Reuters reported in September 2013 that about 150 graduates, all male, were employed to censor Sina Weibo day and night, and automatic censors processed around three million posts per day. A research team fromRice University, Texas, stated that they saw "a fairly sophisticated system, where human power is amplified by computer automation, capable of removing sensitive posts within minutes."[18] Images censored from Sina Weibo include a portrait ofMao Zedong wearing apollution 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 theone child policy.[19]
Webtoons have grown in popularity in China as another form to consume and producemanhua in the country thanks in part to the popularity ofSouth Korean webtoons. Microblogging platforms Sina Weibo and Tencent have also offered webtoons on their digitalmanhua sites alongside web-basedmanhua, 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).
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.[18]
TheTaiwanese comics industry expects webcomics to prosper financially, though no accurate figures exist as of yet. Prize-winning cartoonists such asChung Yun-de andYeh Yu-tung were forced to turn to webcomics as their monthly income was too low to live from.[9]
Beijing cartoonistBu Er Miao sells her webcomicElectric Cat and Lightning Dog on Douban'seBook service for 1.99CNY (roughly 0.30USD). When asked about whether she makes a profit off of her webcomic, Miao described the 1.79 CNY she makes per comic sold as "an amount of money that if you saw it on the street, no one would bother to pick it up."[8]
The Chinese webcomicOne Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes received afilm adaptation of the same name released in 2014. In 2016, twoanime series based on Chinese webmanhua were broadcast:Hitori no Shita: The Outcast,[20] based onUnder One Person by Dong Man Tang andBloodivores, based on a webmanhua by Bai Xiao.[13] Adonghua series adaptation of a webmanhua by Pingzi,Spiritpact, has been released in China.[21] A Chinese-Japanese animated series based onChōyū Sekai is scheduled to air in 2017.[22] Another series,The Silver Guardian, based onThe Silver Guardian, premiered in 2017.[23] Chang Ge Xing, a live-action adaptation of themanhua of the same name byXia Da, began filming in 2019.
The Taiwanese Manhua seriesBrave Series received ananimated television series adaptation released in 2021. The first season received positive reviews, and won the Award of Best Animated Series on the57th Golden Bell Awards.[24] A second season was released in 2025.
Kakao, operating the Korean webtoon portal Daum Webtoon, has collaborated with the ChineseHuace Group in order to produce live-action, Chinese language films and television dramas based on South Korean webtoons.[25]
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