Late comic artist preserves essence of childhood

Digital gadgets have become "besties" for today's youth.

In the old days, younger generations had to use their creativity to invent games to play — making faces to make each other laugh, using low benches as hurdles in race competitions, and taking turns bending down while others jumped over them. Playgrounds were shared courtyards or long alleyways.

These warm, pleasant moments once enriched the childhood of He Youzhi (1922-2016), the late comic artist renowned for leaving a body of picture books and illustrations tugged at the heartstrings of several generations of Chinese people.

His dozens of works depict the simple children's games he once enjoyed while growing up in Shanghai's Nongtang alleyway communities. Some are now on show atHe Youzhi's Art Besides Lianhuanhua, an exhibition running at the Art Museum of the Beijing Fine Art Academy until Oct 15.

He's paintings, with their minimalist style, document details of people's social lives decades ago, many of which customs, such as children's games, have now all but disappeared.