SU Library’s Special Exhibition Promoting Classic Taiwan Comics ‘JhugeShiro’

From February 21^st to March 30^th , 2022, Soochow students and faculty are welcome to enjoy the library’s event, “JhugeShiro’s 72 Treasures in Grid Matrix,” which includes a display of the famous series of Taiwan’s indigenous comics JhugeShiro (諸葛四郎), videos of the comics’ characters played on digital signage, and interactive fun games, to fresh up some memories and make new impressions about this masterpiece and the traditional culture of Taiwan.

In 1958, JhugeShiro was hand-drawn and released by the Taiwanese pioneering comics master Yeh Hong-Chia (葉宏甲), who created a young hero with justice and righteousness that had become truly popular at the time, and made Taiwan’s comics widely known. However, the booming Taiwanese comics industry had gradually declined because of the social atmosphere and censorship system.

In the exhibition area, readers may savor the comics JhugeShiro, including the ones collected by the school library and those purchased by SU vice president Wei-Liang Chao long time ago. People could also watch the introductory footage of the comics characters shown on the digital billboards on the side before reading the comics.

In addition to comics collection, the event also includes an interactive area where students could play a variety of traditional children’s toys or games such as spinning tops, shuttlecocks, wāng zǐ biāo (traditional Taiwanese circular cardboards), sandbags and hopscotch. The games give a reminiscence of the wonderful childhood of the older generations.

Speaking of comics, Taiwan may not be the most representative country that pops up in one’s mind, but they are still an integral part of Taiwan’s culture. Be it the culture, music, or drama, how to pass down these legacies to the next generations is always an important and pressing issue.

As a part of celebration of SU’s 122^th anniversary, the library’s whole collection of over 9,000 comic books will be open to all Soochowers on March 26^th, 2022.