Tsai Chih-chung

Tsai Chih-chung (; C. C. Tsai; Buddhist name Yanyi 延一; born February 2, 1948) is a Taiwanese comic-artist. He is known for his graphical works on Chinese philosophy and literature, most notably on Daoism and Zen Buddhism, which he made accessible and popularized through the use of plain language and engaging illustrations. He also made a name for himself as an award-winning film director, serialized comic strip creator, widely collected painter, champion bridge player, and premiere collector of antique bronze Buddhist statues. He is also a Shaolin monk.

Tsai's books have sold over 500 million copies in 59 countries. He currently resides in Hangzhou, China. 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. Three months later, he moved to the largest comic publishing house in Taiwan, where he anonymously created hundreds of comic books, mostly in the kung-fu genre.

From 1968 to 1971, he fulfilled three years of compulsory military service, during which time he educated himself in art history, color theory, and design. ) and beat out all of the fresh design school graduates for a position as director of television art design. 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.

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. He was the bestselling author in Taiwan in 1987 and 1988.

He also published comedic interpretations of classic literature, such as Journey to the West 西游記 (1987–88), Ghosts and Wizards 聊齋志異 (1988), Outlaws of the Marsh 水滸傳 (1988), and White Snake 白蛇傳 (1990), as well as straightforward versions of the poetry of the Tang and Song dynasties (1989).

Overall, Tsai was instrumental in initiating Taiwan's animation and comics boom that began in the 1980s, providing both expertise and unprecedented creative style. Within one year, sales topped 30 million volumes and 60 million by 1998.

By 1991 authorized translations of his books were being published in English, Spanish, Japanese, Czech, and Russian, among other languages in over 20 countries.

Painter In the late 1980s, Tsai took up traditional Chinese ink-wash painting.

His solo exhibitions include:

1991, Lianxin Gallery 連信藝品藝廊, Tainan 2014, "Zen Ambience 水墨禅境," Commercial Press 商务印书馆, Beijing, 111 ink-wash paintings 2015, "A Colorless World," Nanjing Art University of the Arts Art Gallery 南京艺术学院美术馆, Nanjing 2015, "Buddhas and Boddhisattvas 诸佛菩萨, Commercial Press 商务印书馆, 80+ ink-wash paintings 2021, "Awakening," Baoan Gallery 宝安画院, Shenzhen 2022, "Guanyin," Baoan Gallery 宝安画院, Shenzhen

Collector In 1991, Tsai began collecting gold and bronze Buddhist statuary. By 1997, his collection included 2,000 items. The collection had increased to 3,300 by 2003 and to about 4,000 by 2020.

Exhibitions:

1997, Taiwan National Museum of History 國立歷史博物館, Taipei, 240 works Exhibition volume: The Beauty of Buddhism: Exhibition of C. C. Tsai's Buddhist Statuary 法相之美 : 蔡志忠金銅佛造像收藏展.

Family Cai's father was the village calligrapher.

C. C. Tsai Museums The first museum dedicated to C. C. Tsai opened in Hangzhou in March 2024. A second opened in Gaoping 高平, Shanxi 山西 in June 2024.

Honors and Awards 1981: Golden Horse Award 金馬獎 for Best Animated Film (Taiwan) 1985: Jaycees Republic of China Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award 中華民國十大傑出青年 1992: Republic of China Individual Contributions to Social Education 1999: Prince Claus Award for Visual Art / Reexamining History (Netherlands) 2004: Tsai's work appeared in the R.O.C.'s first set of stamps featuring comic illustrations. 2006: Tsai was honored by Shaolin Monastery with a stone monument dedicated to his work. At the time, only he and the great adventure novelist Jin Yong had been honored in this way. 2011: Golden Comic Award for Lifetime Achievement (Taiwan) 2013: Golden Tripod Award 金鼎獎 for Best Non-Fiction (Taiwan)