Solidarity Through Satire

Artist Chen Yuli and his wife Li Qing’ai kept a low profile after hearing that their political cartoons had been praised by Wang Qishan， head of the anti-corruption wing of the Communist Party of China （CPC）. Wang ordered his staff to“widely use” Chen and Li’s works to promote clean government.

The artists themselves， however， are more concerned about whether or not they will receive royalties.

In August， more than 100 cartoons by the Frog Cartoon Group， which was founded by Chen and Li， were posted on the website of the Ministry of Supervision， catching the eye of Wang Qishan， head of China’s Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection. Based in Qiu County， Hebei Province， the Frogs found fame overnight.

“It was the local government that handed our works over to the higher authorities，” Li told NewsChina. They had to wait for remuneration until the end of November， when a meager sum arrived that they divided between the members of the group.

Stubborn

Born in 1934， Chen Yuli has suffered from a dislocated hip， which he couldn’t afford to have treated. Consequently， he adopted the nickname “Lame Chen.”

Living in a rural area， he had failed to find work as a farmhand， instead becoming a figure of ridicule. He hid away behind his books， and was admitted at the age of 17 to a local college to study art. After graduation， he landed a job as a “barefoot teacher” spread between several local schools. Soft-spoken and shy， Chen was unable to control his rowdy classes， and soon abandoned teaching to return home and pursue his dream of being an artist.

In 1958， when the Communist Party launched the Great Leap Forward， an ambitious and ultimately catastrophic attempt to mechanize China’s agriculture by mobilizing the entire rural population， Chen set up a sixmember cartoon collective， which included his future wife Li Qing’ai. The team’s slogan was “turning streets into art galleries，” and they devoted themselves to creating propaganda glorifying the Great Leap Forward.

In 1960， Chen and Li were both enrolled in the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts with the aim of improving their skills. Chen studied architecture， while Li pursued painting. After graduation， Li was assigned to work as head of the women’s affairs bureau of Qiu County at a time when college graduates were highly sought after. Her main job was to ensure locals handed all grain surpluses over to the State. Aged 22， and having secured a job for life， Li was a highly regarded member of the community. But her conscience soon got the better of her， and she resigned from her post， unable to continue to appropriate the only food of farmers who could not feed themselves or their families. “It was the last thing I wanted to do，” Li told NewsChina.

“The farmers were really starving. Many people suffered from gastrointestinal disease and women were collapsing with uterine prolapse，” Li said. “But the grain yield statistics were exaggerated and， to fill the actual shortfall， local cadres had to shake people down.”

Nightmares

Chen and Li married in 1963. They worked in the fields during the day and drew cartoons on their few days off. Occasionally， their works were published in the People’s Daily， mouthpiece of the Communist Party， under the pen names “Chen and Li.”They enjoyed relative peace and quiet until 1968， when a campaign to “trap hidden Kuomintang [Nationalist] Party members，”who the Party claimed had continued to infiltrate the Chinese mainland after the previous government’s flight to Taiwan following the civil war.

The movement was led by the local revolutionary committee， a temporary organization charged with smoking out Kuomintang agents and consisting of workers， farmers and student representatives， and given strict quotas. From early 1968 to March 1969， 3，835 local residents were declared to be Kuomintang members， and 523 family estates were confiscated. 1，316 locals were maimed during interrogations and 734 were tortured to death in Qiu County alone， according to local records.

Chen and Li were also implicated. Because Li was born into a wealthy rural family， a head of the revolutionary committee de- clared that she was a top-level spy who joined the Kuomintang at the age of eight and had married Chen as a cover-up. Eventually， Li and her second child Chou’er， less than two years old， ended up in a prison.

While Li was in prison being tortured， her husband Chen Yuli was relentlessly persecuted. Their eldest daughter， Ji， then aged five， was bullied for her “bad background，” with her teachers encouraging her peers to attack her.

Once， when Ji was bringing a meal to her imprisoned mother， she was bitten by one of the revolutionary committee’s guard dogs. She had to wait for her father to come back home at night to bind her wound. Nobody else， including her own relatives， would get involved for fear of attracting the attention of the committee’s powerful members.

From June to October 1968， Li Qing’ai was confined to her prison cell， and slowly began to give up hope of leaving alive. However， one day， a military official came to the village to investigate the unpopular campaign. His damning report resulted in the prosecution of the campaign’s leaders， and the release of all prisoners， along with compensation， including Li. Thin， desperately ill and scarred from weeks of torture， Li was sent to a hospital in Shijiazhuang， Hebei Province.

Second Life

In the early 1970s， Li and Chen， both physically disabled， lived by selling paintings for 2.5 yuan （40 US cents） a piece. The paintings cost 1.7 yuan （28 US cents） to produce. However， slowly， their lives improved.

By 1979， the couple was virtually rehabilitated. They were invited to paint for the Qiu County Cultural Center. Two years later， they once again threw themselves into the creation of their “Chen and Li” cartoons.

In 1982， they made the acquaintance of Hua Junwu and Fang Cheng， two nationally renowned artists. Hua encouraged them to set up in their village and “seek inspiration from the masses.” Fang， however， suggested they set up a working group to train more rural artists.

The next year， the Frog Cartoon Group was born. Li said she named the group after a frog because they can “devour pests and sing for the harvest，” making frogs good companions for farmers， just as the artists themselves hoped to be.

More than 1，000 farmers studied with the group. They worked in the fields during the day and doodled at night. Their efforts eventually paid off with works frequently published in the State media. Some artists even became contract cartoonists for the official Xinhua News Agency. “We created based on our lives， and life enriched our creation，”Chen said.

Their creations gradually reoriented them away from socialist-realist propaganda and towards highlighting social injustice， a stark contrast to their previous works. Among the tens of thousands of cartoons the group created， Li estimated some 40 percent were satirical. While corruption was occasionally a theme， however， the group was more interested in issues specific to rural areas.

“As long as there is a good idea， we turn it into a cartoon，” Li told NewsChina. “We only follow our inspiration.”

The couple retired simultaneously with a combined annual pension of 7，000 yuan（US$1，153）. Of their four children， one works in the United States and another works for the government. Qiu County has set up a cartoon museum dedicated to the Frogs. Every month about 50 members meet to share experiences and discuss new ideas， as well as conducting outreach in local schools.

Li Qing’ai told our reporter that as she has grown older， the horrors of her experiences in jail have continued to haunt her. She remains both fascinated and appalled at how neighbors and friends can turn into merciless monsters when given a little political power.

Now， Li says she wishes to document her experiences and share them with the young. In her view， only by exchanging these horrific stories can China avoid repeating its recent， bloody past.