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By Hsi Kao, illustrated by Sun Pin, Li Hou-mi & Feng Chih-chung (Foreign Language Press, Peking)
No ISBN
Set in the period immediately following the victory of the Moaist forces in China, this startlingly engaging slice of graphic propaganda tells of the ultimate defeat of the Slave-Owning class in the sheltered Liangshan Mountains of Szechuan Province and the eventual coming together of the people under a new, Democratic system.
I’m not going to comment on the obvious political overtones – indeed, bias – of this story, but concentrate on the quality of the piece as an artefact of graphic narrative. I will however reiterate my long-held belief that the wedding of powerful words and beautiful pictures is an almost irresistible tool for disseminating ideas. Any force that wishes to capture hearts and minds should be wary of this. Perhaps distressingly, many such forces are.
Although most of China was semi-colonial and Feudal prior to 1950, the Liangshan Mountains region, ancestral home of the Yi People and an area of minority ethnicity, held to a slave-owning system, with landed nobles actually owning the peasants who worked that land. Even after Mao’s victory, this region remained unstable and disputed until 1956. This allegorical tale relates the battle for independence of the small village of Walo.
In 1945 this village had rebelled, but after initial victory they were re-enslaved by their previous owner. In 1950 the victorious People’s Liberation Army secured regional autonomy and tried to reconcile the Yi and their deposed masters, but the latter proved to be duplicitous and plotted to undo the democratic reforms.
Depicted as a classic heroic struggle between the evil Louhunglaha and his former chattels Latieh, Wuniu, Yipo and Mukuo, this is a thrilling picture story of chases and battles, beautifully illustrated in strong black and white brush strokes, where the goodies win and the baddies are defeated.
The craftsmanship of this tale is impeccable and if you are prepared to acknowledge different ideologies as readily as we comic fans embrace different species, religions, mythologies, histories or physical laws, you might have a whale of time with this little beauty.
© Foreign Language Press, Peking 1977. All Rights Reserved.