Badiucao: Caricature as a Form of Protest against Chinese Policy

Abstract

The object of the research is the political caricatures of the famous Chinese artist Badiucao (巴丢草). The authors used content analysis of a wide range of visual sources, primarily the artist's personal website, the first publications of caricatures on the Twitter, as well as comparative analysis to reveal the artistic features of the works. The main attention was paid to the biography of the artist as it defines his style and the way he depicts political events or politicians. The caricatures were analyzed in accordance to their main characteristics, formal stylistic qualities, iconographic features and thus their symbolic meaning were identified. It is important that there are a large number of publications abroad devoted to the artist and his works, while in China his art is subjected to strict censorship. There are almost no mentions of him on the chinese Internet. In Russia, the name of the cartoonist is practically unknown, which is the novelty of this study for both cultural studies and russian Sinology. The obvious conclusion of the research is that Badiucao is challenging the censorship and dictatorship of the PRC with his art. His caricatures are his main and strongest weapon in this confrontation. Using a wide range of artistic techniques and color palette, he talks about current events, not allowing to forget the sins of the past, demanding not only an apology for political mistakes, but a change in the attitude of the government towards the people of the two coasts – China and Taiwan.