The character of Lu Zhishen from The Outlaws of the Marsh. Photo: Courtesy of Tianjin People's Fine Art Publishing House.

For young people looking to read Chinese literature for the first time, the obscurity and obtuseness of the language can easily become a huge barrier baffling aspiring students. Among China's four great classical novels, Dream of the Red Chamber is especially difficult due to the intricate relationships between its characters  compared with the remaining three classic novels of Journey to the West, The Outlaws of the Marsh and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Some believe that by publishing these great works as graphic novels may offer easier access to Chinese literature classics. "We plan to publish the graphic novel version of Dream of the Red Chamber and The Outlaws of the Marsh in June, while the other two will reach the public around the end of the year," said Sun Xiaojiao, executive editor of this project from the Tianjin People's Fine Art Publishing House.

Setting a precedent by publishing all four works as a whole, the upcoming volume has been an 8-year-long production. "To ensure the upmost satisfaction of different groups of readers, we paid great attention to different details," said Sun. "We will publish both colored and black-and-white versions at the same time. The former is mainly targeted at those born after the 1990s, while the latter is for those nostalgic older groups who grew up with similarly colored comics from Japan," Sun told the Global Times.

Tailored production

Non-differentiation of readers has been a lingering problem for the Chinese comic book industry. "Too often we see comic books that label themselves as 'appropriate for all ages,'" said Sun, "but high-school students and children actually have very different reading demands!" As for these four classic novels, they are actually quite different from one another with each work possessing its own literary characteristics.

To underscore these differences and make these works more appealing to different readers, creators applied different strategies when adapting each work. "For example, female readers are especially drawn to Dream of the Red Chamber due to its subtle emotions and minute details. Hence we used a number of footnotes containing comments from some historically famous writers such as Lu Xun (1881-1936) and Hu Shi (1891-1962) to help readers better understand the meaning behind this emotional interplay," Sun explained.

Likewise, fans of The Outlaws of the Marsh, who tend to be male, will be able to find numerous and exciting illustrations of the various weapons used by their heroes in the novel. Meanwhile, children, most of whom are loyal fans of the TV broadcast version of Journey to the West, will find explanations in the graphic novel versions pointing out how the graphic novel differs from their TV favorite.

In addition, to make reading feel more alive, the page layout has been arranged in such a way that each frame naturally flows into the next, explains Shao Qing - general manager of the Creator World Caricature Company in Tianjin, the company responsible for drawing these four classic novels.

"Framing things correctly makes them feel more like audio books, not just simple two-dimensional books," Shao told the Global Times.

The essence of classic literature

For the graphic novel version of a literature classic, the biggest concern is how to appropriately capture the literary significance of the original work. Familiar scenes such as "Making Havoc in Heaven" from Journey to the West, "Taking an Oath in the Peach Garden" from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as well as "Daiyu Buries the Fallen Flowers" from Dream of the Red Chamber, all pose difficulties when it comes to illustrating the emotions of the characters involved and the overall atmosphere of the scene.

"To maintain the original flavor of those classic story lines, attention to details including the clothing of characters, etiquette and even ancient Chinese architecture is very important," Shao explained. For example, in the chapter "Taking an Oath in the Peach Garden," a background containing swirling peach blossoms is used to underscore the loyalty and faithfulness connecting the three main heroes Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Peach blossoms symbolize loyalty in Chinese culture.

"Also for scenes in the Dream of the Red Chamber which is about the overly luxurious lifestyle of four bourgeoisie families under China's feudal system, all the illustrations are drawn in the style of traditional Chinese paintings so as to underline a sense of aestheticism and romanticism," said Shao.

The advantages of traditional Chinese art

Without a doubt traditional Chinese painting styles are extremely suited to bringing ancient Chinese literature classics to life. Each brush stroke, line and even the coloring chosen for this project all follow this style. "Drawing lines with traditional ink and brush, and painting with exacting precision and enriched colors, all create a feeling of a traditional Chinese painting," Shao explained.

Like mentioned, many young people in China have been highly influenced by popular comics from Japan and Korea. Shao feels this ink and wash technique will be a breath of fresh air as these readers sit back to enjoy this series. For a masterpiece like the Water Margin, which presents 108 heroes with sharply different temperaments and talents, getting these characters right is half the battle.

Shao believes that the realistic style associated with oil painting would be both time-consuming and counter-productive for such a huge project. "The heroism of the different characters in this novel should be reflected through interpretative and simple drawings," said Shao.

Like in the chapter "Lu Zhishen Pulls the Weeping Willow from the Ground," the simple strokes used to draw Lu's upright eyebrows as well as his rounded eyes instantly portray this character's chivalrous spirit.

"Chinese classical literature needs to be presented through traditional Chinese art," Shao stressed. "By using traditional Chinese painting techniques, the graphic novel version of the four classics actually unfolds like a slowly unrolling ink and wash scroll."