Author's preface

I have published many cartoon collections. When I browsed all my cartoon works recently, I was surprised to find that a huge number of cartoons I have created in the last decade since China's reform and open-up to the outside world, much more than the amount of paintings created in other periods of my life.

The reason is that the country has created a good atmosphere for cartoons in the last decade. A democratic climate invites more cartoons, otherwise, an autocratic government fears cartoons. For example, in the ``Gang of Four'' period, the authority feared about people and feared about democracy. There was no cartoon on newspapers during that time. While the ``Cultural Revolution'' ended, a flood of cartoons have emerged. I have quite enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and brought out more works.

Cartoon is weapon of critics (except for humor cartoons), targeting everything ugly, corruptive and backward. Before the founding of the Republic, I used cartoons as sharp weapons to expose the dark side of the Kuomingtang, lashing out their crude action towards people. After the founding of New China, people become the real master of themselves. But I still found cartoon's power of exposing backward thoughts and bad habits. In the early days of the new republic, I was entrusted with lots of management duties and had no time to draw cartoons. When the political turbulence started from 1956, I was badly treated and almost lost my life. My painting career was totally deferred.

Thanks for the opening of the Third Session of the 11th Plenary of the CPC Central Committee in 1978, I can restart my career. Although I was over 60 then, I did not want to quit. The political movements have robbed me more than 20 years, I have to win my time back now through hard work. So I worked day and night like a ``young workaholic.'' However, I think this period is a very valuable one in my life.

I loved painting when I was a child. My father, Ding Song, a famous cartoon painter in 1920s-30s, had influenced me very much. Although my father did not like me to be a cartoonist who always cannot make ends meet, I have chosen cartoon as my life-long career because I really love it. I started publishing my cartoon works on newspapers since I was in high school. More than 60 years passed, I still work in the cartoon circles. Most creations of my early days have been lost during wartime. However, a few survived works of my early paintings can reflect the growth of a Chinese intellectual, from the old society to the new one. My paintings record the history. I hope my audience can feel the change of times from my works.

▲