Cousin Lee Comes to Town

"Ranan R. Lurie fever" swept over Taiwan from August to December the past year, as both the 53-year-old American political caricaturist himself and his famous cartoons, carried in 51 countries and 400 newspapers, captured our attention.

Lurie's job: to replace the old stereotype of the Chinaman with skullcap, droopy moustache, and pigtail with an image for the 1980s.

Lurie gave it his best. His July visit here was packed with activity--with trips to the National Palace Museum, Adademia Sinica, Kinmen, and the Industrial Technology Institute; meetings with the President and the Premier; and discussions with members of the cartoon, film, media, and business circles. Lurie used every available channel to contact and observe the Chinese. "Even the cabdrivers and cops in the street--he looked at them all without blinking," revealed an official who accompanied him during his visit.

According to Lurie himself, the idea of creating a cartoon image to represent contemporary Chinese occurred to him the first time he visited Taiwan back in 1977. "Then, the impression I had was very different from the impression I was carrying with me, due to unfair propaganda. I was amazed to see here a modern and vital society where the young people especially left me with a deep impression," Lurie said. "I noticed this because everything I had seen before that, especially cartoons, depicted Oriental ways unfairly."

That Lurie had already begun to pay attention to China at least eight years ago has seldom been pointed out by the media. Many people here have wondered how Lurie, a foreigner with, they believe, only a superficial knowledge of Chinese culture, could go about depicting a representative image for the Chinese people.

Lurie indeed did not find his job easy. "My biggest problem was how to find a common denominator among one billion people, which is why I drew so many drafts." He said that he was particularly careful because what he was drawing was not just a cartoon but a symbol.

At 4 p.m. on December 13, the main hall at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum was packed with visitors. All eyes were fixed on a 50" by 62" picture frame tightly covered by a red cloth. After a short ceremony, the cloth was slowly raised and "Cousin Lee," after 14 months of artistic conception and two months of actual creation, was revealed to the expectant eyes of his compatriots.

With bushy eyebrows, large ears, a strong chin, turned-up nose, and a shock of black hair, his features were not prepossessing, but with his steady stance and the emblem of flag of the Republic of China emblazoned on his kungfu suit, he looked like someone you had seen before. Without a doubt, he was "Cousin Lee," Lurie's impression of a typical Chinese.

Reactions were naturally mixed.

Those who like Cousin Lee think he is down-to-earth, handsome, and energetic. Some people say his large ears indicate the ability to gather information from many directions, while his bright complexion and firm stance symbolize freedom and health. Some people even maintain he is a composite of Vice President Lee Teng-hui, Taipei Mayor Hsu Shui-teh, and Kaohsiung Mayor Su Nan-ch'eng.

Those who are more picky think his nose looks unlucky, his features are Korean, or his face is too urban, like a street punk. One girl student said quite simply that he looks "a little sneaky."

But Lurie has his own thoughts on the subject. He points out that Cousin Lee's features seek to reflect the vitality and happiness of the Chinese he met on Taiwan. Cousin Lee's exaggerated aspects, like his jutting chin, his fighting stance, and his kungfu outfit, suggest the determination of the Chinese to overcome obstacles and not give in.

"My work is done in a language Westerners can understand," Lurie explains. "If it's not popular, I still won't take it back." Lurie told a group of cartoonists, "It's really not the time to talk about what it looks like any more. It's like an empty glass. What's important is what you put inside it."

See him as you may, Cousin Lee is the first cartoon character to take on the responsibility of "representing the Chinese people." "Although he was born in the Republic of China on Taiwan," Lurie says, "I hope he will be like a torch in the dark for all Chinese to gather round--whether they are in Malaysia, Singapore, mainland China, or San Francisco."

No matter when or whether Lurie's hopes can be realized, one thing is certain--a "Cousin Lee" storm has hit the media. Newspapers blare headlines, magazines feature photo spreads, and television stations search for Cousin Lee look-alikes and "Cousin Lee's little sister."

Amid all the hoopla, a more serious question remains. "Just what kind of image are we creating for others," many people ask themselves. Perhaps we should each of us take a little more responsibility for the impression we make on other people.

But as Lurie himself says, Cousin Lee's unveiling is merely a beginning.

[Picture Caption]

Our first peek at Cousin Lee. What do you think?

This picture is from our August 1979 issue. Did it inspire Lurie? (Sinorama files)

Public reaction to the Cousin Lee cartoon is expressed here in a cartoon. (courtesy United Daily News)

Cousin Lee in the imaginations of other cartoonists. That above was drawn by Shan Pa; that below, by Tsai Chih-chong.

Chinese call themselves "the people of the dragon." Ch'iu Jo-lung, the cartoonist, is just 20 years old.

Ranan R. Lurie with his caricatures of political figures.

Two works selected by the United Daily News in its contest "A Cartoon Image for the ROC" Cheng Chin-wen drew the above, Li Yi-hsin, that below.

One cartoonist symbolized the ROC with the loveable monkey king from Journey to the West.

Ah Chin and Big Aunt, familiar characters from Liu Hsin-ch'in's popular comic.

Kao Chang-ch'in's satirical piece, "Chinese Love to Eat."

This picture is from our August 1979 issue. Did it inspire Lurie? （Sinorama files）

Public reaction to the Cousin Lee cartoon is expressed here in a cartoon. （courtesy United Daily News）

Chinese call themselves "the people of the dragon." Ch'iu Jo-lung, the cartoonist, is just 20 years old.

Cousin Lee in the imaginations of other cartoonists. That above was drawn by Shan Pa; that below, by Tsai Chih-chong.

Ranan R. Lurie with his caricatures of political figures.

Two works selected by the United Daily News in its contest "A Cartoon Image for the ROC" Cheng Chin-wen drew the above, Li Yi-hsin, that below.

One cartoonist symbolized the ROC with the loveable monkey king from Journey to the West.

Ah Chin and Big Aunt, familiar characters from Liu Hsin-ch'in's popular comic.

Kao Chang-ch'in's satirical piece, "Chinese Love to Eat.".