Editor’s Note

Yan Shanchun, a famous animation artist and first-level director, died of illness at 05:01 on July 25, 2024 at the age of 90.

@空藏动漫档案馆 posted a message of mourning: "Mr. Yan Shanchun was one of the earliest experts to support and guide the document collection and oral history work of the Kongzang Animation Archive. He provided a lot of valuable professional advice for our work and gave us attention and care for ten years. All members of the Kongzang Animation Archive deeply cherish the memory of Mr. Yan Shanchun. In the future, we will keep our original intention and uphold Mr. Yan's will, and spare no effort to do a good job in the collection of Chinese animation history documents and animation history research!"

This article includes the foreword written by Yan Shanchun for "Being an Animator - Oral History of Shanghai Animation Film Studio" and the interview notes of Teacher Yan Shanchun written by Fu Guangchao. It was published on the WeChat public account of "Kongzang Animation Archives" on October 1, 2022, and was reprinted by The Paper with permission.

Foreword to "Being an Animator: Oral History of Shanghai Animation Film Studio"

Text/Yan Shanchun

Since I moved into my new home, I often stand in the corridor and stare blankly at the white building not far away. More than 60 years ago, I walked into its door for the first time and started my animation life. I am familiar with every room in the white building and the endless wonderful stories that happened there.

It was the former headquarters and animation workshop of Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Classic animations such as "The Proud General", "The Tadpole Looking for His Mother", "Havoc in Heaven", "Shepherd's Flute" and "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" were produced here. The group of animation artists who were active in the small building are now old or gone, and the past events they witnessed are gradually forgotten and taken away. Things have changed and people have changed. Whenever I think of this, I can't help but feel a little sad...

In the 1960s, young animators were working on the outdoor terrace of the "Little White Building" at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio (provided by Yan Shanchun) Front row: Feng Yusong, middle row from left: Ma Kexuan, Yan Shanchun, Dai Tielang, Wu Qiang, back row: Xiong Nanqing

The "Little White Building" in the 1990s

It was one day in August 2012. I received a call from a young man named Wang Hongjia. He wanted to talk to me about a big thing he was planning. I asked him to meet me at the Ruby Restaurant opposite the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. This meeting was very pleasant, and the "sorrow" that was weighing on my heart disappeared.

We chatted enthusiastically for the whole morning. Xiao Wang said that he usually focuses on collecting literature and materials related to comics and animation, and hopes to build a "Kongzang Animation Archive" in the future. At the same time, he plans to launch an "animator's oral history" project to vigorously collect interview video materials of animators. This young man with a vision and ambition of an entrepreneur aroused my great interest, and his spirit moved me.

Yan Shanchun in his studio in the 1980s (provided by Yan Shanchun)

On November 14, 1988, "Mountain and Water Love" won the grand prize at the first Shanghai International Animation Film Festival. Directors Te Wei, Yan Shanchun and Ma Kexuan came on stage to receive the award (provided by Yan Shanchun)

After returning home, I immediately called Ling Shu, Yan Dingxian and Lin Wenxiao to talk about my impression of this young man and convey Wang Hongjia's wish to visit them. This happened nine years ago and marked the beginning of direct contact between the Kongzang team and the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

Since then, the team led by Wang Hongjia and Fu Guangchao has conducted a "carpet-style" interview with Shanghai Animation Film Studio people, and has interviewed more than 90 people and conducted nearly 200 interviews. Today, the Kongzang Animation Archive is well-known in the industry for its rich collection of documents and high-quality interview materials, and the Kongzang team has become a new force in the field of Chinese animation and comics history research.

On March 6, 2018, members of the Kongzang Animation Archive team and senior filmmakers from the front row from right: Ling Shu, Yan Shanchun, Wu Yunchu, Fu Guangchao; back row from right: Wang Hongjia, Cai Jie

Fu Guangchao is the main person in charge of the oral history project of the Kongzang team. In recent years, he has published many articles on animation history and has received good reviews. "As an Animator: Oral History of Shanghai Animation Film Studio" is his latest research result. Through this book, readers can get a glimpse of the demeanor of several generations of Shanghai Animation Film Studio and look back on their brilliant achievements in the Chinese art film industry.

I hope the Kongzang Animation Archives will become better and better!

August 2021 in Shanghai

Yan Shanchun, animation artist. Born in 1934, from Dalian, Liaoning. Graduated from Luxun Academy of Fine Arts (formerly Northeast Fine Arts College) in 1958, he served as animation designer, art designer and director at Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio. He has participated in the animation design of nearly 20 films such as "Havoc in Heaven", "Shepherd's Flute" and "The Trumpeter", and served as the joint art designer of more than ten films such as "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King", "The Kind Xia Wudong" and "The Monkey King Conquers the Demons". His representative works as co-director include "The Adventures of the Sloppy King", "Mountain and Water Love", "Desert Wind" and "Journey to the West", and his representative works as an independent director include "Old Wolf's Invitation", "Net" and "Umbrella".

Interview notes of Mr. Yan Shanchun (excerpt)

By Fu Guangchao

Teacher Yan Shanchun was the first senior to provide us with support. It was during the 2012 China International Cartoon and Animation Festival. At an event, Wang Hongjia brought a large bag of animation materials to ask the senior seniors present at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio to sign and explain. The first person to sign for him was Teacher Yan. In August of that year, Teacher Yan introduced him to other senior colleagues. In this way, the work of the Kongzang Animation Archive took a historic step forward.

I first met Mr. Yan on April 8, 2014. It was also our first formal interview with Mr. Yan. With the coordination of Mr. Yan, we went to a small meeting room on the first floor of the animation building of the old American Film Studio for the interview. The interview questions were mainly handled by Li Xiaotiao who came to help, and I was in charge of filming. At that time, we were still very inexperienced, and time was very tight, so the interview was rushed and the effect was not good.

On March 6, 2018, Yan Shanchun (right), Fu Guangchao (center), and Wang Hongjia reviewed classic animation clips (Photo by Cai Jie)

In October 2021, Fu Guangchao (left) visited Teacher Yan Shanchun for the last time (Photo by Bao Yuanhui)

Since then, we have maintained close contact with Teacher Yan, often calling and communicating on WeChat. When we go to Shanghai, we always chat with Teacher Yan. Teacher Yan gave great affirmation to our work, and recommended and contacted many interviewees for us. After doing as much homework as possible, I interviewed Teacher Yan again on March 6 and October 3, 2018. Most of the issues involved in the first interview were discussed again, and we tried to go deeper. But I was still not satisfied with the results of these two interviews. I hope to make a complete personal oral history of Teacher Yan's life.

Excerpts from an interview with Professor Yan Shanchun (trial reading)

The Shanghai Animation Film Studio was once full of talents. Animators of different generations and positions had their own unique skills and personalities. Among all the famous animation masters I have come into contact with, Mr. Yan Shanchun seems to be the most introverted, the most humble, and the least aggressive one.

After entering the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Mr. Yan worked his way up from sketching, in-between drawing, animation design, art design to director. Most of the works he has participated in creating are well-known and impressive. His knowledge and experience are rich, but he is not at all proud of himself.

Excerpts from an interview with Professor Yan Shanchun (trial reading)

Teacher Yan has also written several essays recalling his creative experiences, recounting past events in plain yet dense language (even the texts he sent to me via WeChat are in this style). His writing style is considered top-notch among animators.

However, such an artist has never had the "protagonist halo" throughout his career. According to my observation, this is certainly related to Mr. Yan's gentle and honest personality, his poor rhetoric, and his dislike of disputes, as well as his evaluation and cognition of his own achievements. In Mr. Yan's eyes, the standard of "good" or "excellent" is very high. He always likes to mention his talented and outstanding old colleagues such as Wang Shuchen and Ada. He feels that compared with them, he lacks talent, is not hardworking enough, and his contribution is not great enough. Therefore, when I first proposed to do a systematic oral history interview for Mr. Yan, Mr. Yan was not very active and even felt that he was not qualified.

Excerpts from an interview with Professor Yan Shanchun (trial reading)

But I insisted again and again. From the perspective of an animation researcher, we used to pay more attention to those big names with their own "protagonist halo". However, in addition to this, we also need to record more animators who have made great contributions but are not well-known, especially those who can look back on their lives relatively rationally. For thousands of animation practitioners who work silently, such stories seem to make them feel more intimate and more inspiring than those "big names" with extraordinary talents. Especially now, there is a lack of animators like Teacher Yan who are not arrogant, not complacent, and are pious and down-to-earth.

The first draft of the storyboard for Desert Wind, drawn by Yan Shanchun (provided by Yan Shanchun)

Storyboard for Qin Terracotta Warriors Fantasy, drawn by Yan Shanchun (provided by Yan Shanchun)

Story atmosphere of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", drawn by Yan Shanchun (provided by Yan Shanchun)

Of course, because of my personal respect and gratitude for Teacher Yan, I wanted to do something for Teacher Yan within my ability. I told Teacher Yan about my idea and he agreed.

When I made this decision, the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, and it would take some time to go to Shanghai for an interview. I didn't want to wait too long, so I discussed with Teacher Yan and hoped to conduct the interview over the phone, and Teacher Yan was also happy to do so. So, from August to December 2020, I conducted 11 telephone interviews with Teacher Yan, each lasting 1.5 to 2 hours.

Excerpts from an interview with Professor Yan Shanchun (trial reading)

Among the types of oral history interviewees, Teacher Yan is a "passive type". Among the elderly people I have interviewed, Teacher Yan's memory and oral expression are not the best, but because our interview is based on a high degree of familiarity and trust, it went smoothly overall. Before the interview, I would make a detailed outline and strive to salvage Teacher Yan's memory through a variety of intensive and targeted questions. Teacher Yan is also very rigorous and serious. He always repeatedly checks and verifies things that he can't remember clearly or is unsure of, and always informs me in time whenever he recalls new details.

In response to my questions, Mr. Yan did his best to "tell you everything he knows, and leave nothing unsaid." Mr. Yan has a strong spirit of reflection, and he does not shy away from talking about the embarrassing things in life. He can always analyze and review the omissions in his work and the regrets in his creations. Mr. Yan is always grateful to his old colleagues, old friends, and important collaborators who have helped him, and he is afraid of missing out on mentioning their names and contributions. In Mr. Yan's annotations to the interview manuscripts, we can often see the addition of relevant content.

Excerpts from an interview with Professor Yan Shanchun (trial reading)

The interview with Mr. Yan Shanchun in "Being an Animator - Oral History of Shanghai Animation Film Studio (Volume 1)" is the essence of the interviews from 2018 to 2020, about 30,000 words. Since this book is not a personal biography of Mr. Yan, I can only excerpt some of the content and include it in the book. In fact, I have always hoped to make a picture album for Mr. Yan, which can not only sort out Mr. Yan's art works over the years, but also present his life experience and creative experience relatively completely. I hope it can be realized!