Wit and Humour from Ancient China

Ding Cong, now 76, still signs his work Little Ding, a highly diversified artist, he is above all a brilliant cartoonist and illustrator, who from boyhood loved art. Like virtually all Chinese artists of his generation. Ding Dong has had a very chequered career. He suffered during the Anti-Japanese War. After 1957, the Anti-Rightist Movement and the 'cultural revolution' deprived him of the freedom to publish under his own name for twenty years. But the fluctuations of his fortunes have toughened him, enriched his experience and deepened his sympathy for all underdogs. In over fifty years of his career, he has drawn cartoons, illustrated stories and helped design exhibitions. His illustrations grace books by such famous writers as Lu Xun, Lao She and Mao Dun, as well as many others. When he was rehabilitated in 1979, Ding Cong determined to make up for lost time. His work is still in great demand, and his cartoons keep appearing in papers and magazines. He is always optimistic, energetic and diligent. He retains a simple, childlike heart. Thus to his readers he will be Little Ding forever.