Magazine for keeps

An issue, dated October 2007, published an essay and a drawing by Wei Erqiao, a cardiologist at the school hospital of Harbin Institute of Technology in Heilongjiang province, who died of lung cancer two months earlier, at age 43. Between the lines, Wei narrated the changes in his feelings for life, art and belief after being diagnosed with the disease. The late doctor liked drawing since childhood, and developed a habit of painting on prescription pads during night shifts. His works look simple but are humorous and insightful. He drew over 7,000 illustrations, including several for Duzhe that are also on show.

The works of Qiu Jiong, who graduated in physics from Nanjing University and now works as a comic and illustration artist, was inspired by Han Xizai Gives a Night Banquet, a master scroll painting made more than 1,000 years ago. Qiu has reenacted the banquet scene — showing the host, guests and performers — to go with an article on versatile figures in Chinese history.

Qiu says he likes to draw "embarrassing moments" in real life, or scenes in which he would put together figures from different periods of time and generate dramatic tension. He says he hopes to evoke shared feelings in the audience and engage in a mind-opening journey.

Liang Xiaosheng, the noted author and a regular contributor to Duzhe, attended the exhibition opening on March 16, and said he came to see the works of his favorite artists. He said the birth of the magazine was out of a wish to enrich the cultural life and spiritual world of young people in Lanzhou, and was "a miracle", as it is based in deep northwest, and not in Beijing or Shanghai.

"I began to read Duzhe in my 40s, and now, in my 70s, I am still reading it. I have kept dozens of issues of it at home," he says. "I'm getting old, and still a faithful reader."