A comic take

It wasn't a comical situation per se. But the comics still brought joy. "Let's eat hot-and-dry noodles together," reads the caption of one, depicting two people sharing the snack that has long remained an icon of Hubei's provincial capital, Wuhan, which was the hardest-hit city in China during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Lin Dihuan, a 45-year-old teacher at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong province's capital, Guangzhou, sketched the cartoon.

He isn't a pro artist. But he's wildly popular online as a painter, photographer, calligrapher and author.

He sent 119 of his comics to the Dongxihu Keting makeshift hospital in February at the request of his fan Huang Xinwu, a nurse from Guangdong who went to Wuhan with a medical team.

He then sent another 200 series, totaling more than 20,000 prints to all the makeshift hospitals in Wuhan and dozens of designated hospitals treating COVID-19 patients around the country.

His comics are still displayed in some hospitals.

"It would be a great success for me if any patient or worker took encouragement from them," Lin says.

He recently published his new comic collection, Xiaolin Comics: A Happy Excursion in Life, which features a good chunk of prose and about 600 comics conveying inspiration that are rendered in traditional Chinese ink-painting style.

The two-volume collection published by Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on the emotions of young people struggling in cities.

A Happy Excursion is a famous article from the ancient Chinese Taoist classic Chuang-Tzu in which "the author talks about how giving up selfish desires provides individual freedom", Lin says.

The concept inspired his collection's title.

"Although nobody can gain total freedom, we can learn from the concept, put aside some of our worldly desires and engage with something that can make us feel peaceful, stable and happy, like charity and art, so that we can feel much more consoled," he adds.

Popular Chinese review site Douban user Tudoubushifanqieding says: "Lin's comics are good at reducing stress. Some make me laugh. Others make me think."

Editor Zhang Ni says Lin's comics are uplifting since they offer different perspectives on life challenges.

"Lin uses simple details to depict ordinary people's experiences, including anxieties and disappointments. The comics express our buried, unpleasant feelings in a direct and humorous way. We can even laugh at ourselves. This soothes our psyches," she says.

"Immersion in negative feelings may make us lose positive perspectives, and we can become progressively anxious. Lin's comics … can snap us out of this."

A comic showing a superhero withstanding attacks with a knife, bomb, arrow and stool impresses Zhang.

Lin's caption reads: "Life endows you with so many difficulties because you are the protagonist."

Zhang says: "These comics first point out the problem. Then, the punch line is encouragement. It helps people face problems."

Lin took inspiration from online news and personal introspections.

The traditional Chinese painting style he uses may enhance the cartoons' appeal. They've proved popular at exhibitions in such countries as the United States, Japan and Greece.

And they've been printed in Vietnam and are scheduled for publication in the US.

"I've continued practicing Chinese calligraphy and painting … I have intense interest in traditional Chinese art and literature, and try to explain the ancient classics using modern expressions," Lin says.

"This is an important direction for my future creation."

For example, Lin has drawn some comics in recent years that describe stories in ancient Chinese classics like the poetry collection, The Book of Songs, and the ancient Chinese biopharmaceutical text, The Compendium of Materia Medica.

The native of Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, has loved calligraphy and painting since childhood. He decided to be a teacher rather than a doctor after completing his degree in clinical medicine.

That's because he wanted to lead a "less restrained" life doing what he enjoys. And that is, painting, photography and writing.

His ink-brush works portraying the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar were chosen as the illustration for the terms' UNESCO intangible heritage application in 2016.

He has also designed stage sets for CCTV's Chinese Poetry Conference.

Creating comics creates meaning in his life, he says.

"Many people, including me, seem to repeat monotonous daily routines. Creating comics allows me to find happiness while challenging myself."