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Silk Tapestry And Other Chinese Folktales: Songs of Our Ancestors Volume II

By Hervé St.Louis
March 21, 2005 - 13:26

The second volume of this innovative series, Silk Tapestry contains three traditional Chinese stories. The first is about how the original man created the world. The second is about an old woman weaving a tapestry for the sake of her daughter. The last story is about a little boy, named Popo whose paintings come alive and the people who wish to harness his skills.



The stories are interesting and sober. Their tone really sounds like something Chinese. Atangan’s adaptation feels genuine. In the Silk Tapestry, the old woman’s sons fight with their mother for the tapestry. Their concubines fight with them and among each other for the tapestry. In the end, the old woman’s daughter also joins the fray. Everybody is fighting for what one day was an old rag. It is interesting to see how the balance of power shifts throughout the story. Each story has a simple moral that expresses itself throughout the works



The artwork in this book is impressive. Heavily influenced by Craig Russell, the artwork is intricate. The characters seem like Atagan took them from a Chinese folk illustration book. One thing missing though, is lack of integration with the tapestry background. One would expect that such an detailed piece would transform the pages’ layout into a virtual tapestry.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12