Taiwan.
漫畫
Taiwan
1949
漫畫
Taiwanese manhua began under Japanese rule, and in 1935 Ji-long-sheng (Chen Bing-huang) became the first Taiwanese cartoonist to publish a book.
After 1949, anti-communist newspaper cartoonists and children's magazines such as Xueyou (1953) and Manhua Dawang (1958), home of Yeh Hung-chia's Zhuge Shiro, created a boom that state censorship from 1966 nearly ended. Newspaper strips by Ao Yu-hsiang, Tsai Chih-chung and Zhu Deyong, and a 1990s generation led by Yu Su-lan and Chen Uen, rebuilt the field, which since 2010 has had its own Golden Comic Awards.
200
89
1949
1990s
Artists from Taiwan in the archive.
Comics from Taiwan in the archive.
Tubaozi Xia Jiangnan, the earliest comic from Taiwan in the archive.
The decade when the most new comics from Taiwan began.
漫畫
Taiwan in 5 chapters
A short history you can leaf through. Click a page, use the arrow keys, or press Turn the page to read on.
Taiwan.
漫畫
5 chapters
Chapter 1
1911
to 1945
Colonial beginnings
1911
to 1945
Chapter 01
Colonial beginnings
The magazine Taiwan Puck was launched in Taiwan in October 1911, and Taiwanese cartoonists such as Chen Kuang-hsi and Chen Ting-kuo published in island newspapers. Ji-long-sheng's cartoon collection appeared in 1935, and in 1938 the Xingao cartoon group formed in Hsinchu with Yeh Hung-chia and Hung Chao-ming among its members.
1945
to 1965
Chapter 02
Postwar boom
After 1949 the Liang twins and Niu Ge were prominent in anti-communist newspaper cartooning, with Niu Ge's Niu Bobo running in the Central Daily News from 1951. The children's magazine Xueyou (1953) serialized Yang Ming's Xiao Ba Ye, and Manhua Dawang (1958) launched Yeh Hung-chia's Zhuge Shiro and a comics craze.
1966
to 1986
Chapter 03
Censorship and piracy
From 1966 every comic needed approval from the National Institute for Compilation and Translation, and submissions fell from over 4,000 volumes to about 400 by 1974. Pirated Japanese manga filled the gap from the mid 1970s, while four-panel newspaper strips such as Ao Yu-hsiang's Black Dragon Courtyard (1982) kept local work alive.
1987
to 2008
Chapter 04
Licensing and a new generation
Review lapsed after martial law ended in 1987. Yu Su-lan's Melancholic Princess (1989) became a best seller, Chen Uen won a Japan Cartoonists Association prize in 1991, and after licensing began in 1992 magazines such as Dragon Youth and Star Girls ran local creators.
2009
to today
Chapter 05
Awards, history comics and webtoons
The Creative Comic Collection began in 2009 and the Ministry of Culture's Golden Comic Awards in 2010. History comics such as The Boy from Clearwater (2020) won international prizes, and in 2022 the top award went to a LINE Webtoon series.
The comics to know
- Niu Bobo Da Youji牛伯伯打游擊1951 · comic stripNiu Ge. Anti-communist strip in the Central Daily News.
- Zhuge Shiro1958Yeh Hung-chia. Serialized in Manhua Dawang; it set off a comics craze.
- Black Dragon Courtyard烏龍院 (漫畫)1982 · comicAo Yu-hsiang. Four-panel strip in the China Times.
- Zhuangzi Speaks莊子說1986 · graphic novelTsai Chih-chung. Comic adaptation of a Chinese classic that topped the bestseller list for 10 months.
- Melancholic Princess傾國怨伶1989 · Taiwanese manhua seriesYu Su-lan. Seen as a turning point for Taiwanese comics.
- Dong Zhou Yingxiong Zhuan東周英雄傳1990 · comic book seriesChen Uen. Historical manga serialized in Kodansha's Morning until 1993.
- The Boy from Clearwater來自清水的孩子2020 · graphic novelYu Pei-yun and Zhou Jian-xin. Four-volume graphic biography of Tsai Kun-lin.
The people to know
- Ji-long-sheng雞籠生1903 to 2000Chen Bing-huang; first Taiwanese cartoonist to publish a book (1935).
- Yeh Hung-chia葉宏甲1923 to 1990Creator of Zhuge Shiro.
- Niu GeLi Fei-meng; creator of Niu Bobo, who led the 1982 comics campaign against the state review system.
- Liu Hsing-chin劉興欽Born 1934Creator of A-San-ge and Da-shen-po; first Golden Comic Awards lifetime honoree.
- Ao Yu-hsiang敖幼祥Born 1956Creator of Black Dragon Courtyard.
- Tsai Chih-chung蔡志忠Born 1948Best-selling adapter of Chinese classics into comics.
- Yu Su-lanCreator of Melancholic Princess and The King of Blaze.
- Chen Uen鄭問1958 to 2017Ink-wash comics master, first non-Japanese winner of a Japan Cartoonists Association prize.
More artists from Taiwan
All 200 artists- Ren-Jie Mai麥人杰Born 1964 · comics artist
- Sulan You游素蘭Born 1967 · comics artist
- Chang Sheng常勝Born 1968 · comics artist
- Yi Huan依歡Born 1969 · comics artist
- Xing Qi Yi Hui Shou Ri星期一回收日comic artist
- Zhu Deyong朱德庸Born 1960 · comics artist
- Selena Lin林青慧Born 1979 · comics artist
- Nicky Lee李崇萍comics writer
- Tsong-cheng Wei韋宗成Born 1982 · comics artist
- Huangse Shukan黃色書刊Born 1988 · comics artist
- AKRU沈穎杰comics artist
- ZECO陳皇宇Born 1980 · comics artist
More comics from Taiwan
All 89 comics- The King of Blaze火王Sulan YouTaiwan, 1991
- The Seven Mirrors' Stories古鏡奇譚Sulan YouTaiwan, 1989
- Origami Warriors摺紙戰士Zhou XianzongTaiwan, 1996
- Chronos Ruler時間支配者Pon JeaTaiwan, 2014
- Turn Left, Turn Right向左走·向右走Jimmy LiaoTaiwan, 1999
- The First Intimate Contact第一次的親密接觸Tsai Chih-hengTaiwan, 1998
- Go! Go! Comi!!挑戰者月刊Taiwan, 2004 to 2008
- Brave Series勇者系列Huangse ShukanTaiwan, 2019
- Jhuge Shiro諸葛四郎Yeh Hung-chiaTaiwan, 1958
- The Unique Legend特殊傳說Hu XuanTaiwan, 2007
- Formosa Youth寶島少年Taiwan, 1992
- Young GunsTaiwan