Of Grocery Stores and Barbershops: Slices of Taiwan in Ruan Guang-min's Manhua
Paoliello, Antonio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Although not as popular as Japanese manga, Taiwanese comics, known as manhua, are an important cultural product, which is being promoted both locally and internationally through several governmental initiatives. Ruan Guang-min is among the most wellknown contemporary manhua artists, the author of many graphic narratives that circulate domestically and, through translation, abroad too. The main characteristic of his oeuvre is that it is often set in the rural milieu, and it nostalgically reflects on the simplicity of small-town life. In this paper, I will focus on two of his works, namely The Grocery Store and Dong Hua Chun Barbershop, paying special attention to some of their cultural-specific features. Through an analysis of the two manhua, my aim is to show that the Taiwanese elements in Ruan's graphic narratives can be perceived differently depending on the readers' background: for local readers they have a nostalgic and sentimental impact, while for foreign audiences they represent a window to Taiwanese society and culture.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Manhua ; Ruan Guang-min ; Comics ; Taiwan ; The Grocery Store ; Dong Hua Chun Barbershop
Published in:	Image & Narrative, Vol. 24 Núm. 2 (2023) , p. 197-216, ISSN 1780-678X

Adreça original: https://www.imageandnarrative.be/index.php/imagenarrative/article/view/3192

21 p, 2.3 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Arts and Humanities > Research Group in Chinese-Catalan/Spanish Translation and Interpreting (TXICC)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles