He Jianshi | |||||||||
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何劍士 | |||||||||
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| Born | He Bing (何昺) 1877 Nanhai, Guangdong, China | ||||||||
| Died | 1915 | ||||||||
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| Chinese | 何劍士 | ||||||||
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He Jianshi (simplified Chinese: 何剑士; traditional Chinese: 何劍士; pinyin: Hé Jiànshì, 1877 – 1915) was a Chinese cartoonist, painter, and songwriter. The son of He Kunshan, a wealthy businessman, He learned the arts in his youth, as well as swordfighting from a monk in Sichuan. In 1905, He began producing cartoons for the Journal of Current Pictorial, using the penname Jianshi ("Swordsman") among numerous others; he continued producing manhua for The True Record when that magazine was established in 1911. A member of the Tongmenghui, an anti-Qing movement, he promoted the use of Chinese opera to spread revolutionary ideas. Analysis of He's work has emphasized his flamboyant style, drawing from the literati tradition while blending realism and exaggeration.