Books

Zheng Jun's Tibetan Rock Dog

JDM090201rockdog.jpg
Dogs rocking out

Rock star Zheng Jun has come out with a graphic novel, Tibetan Rock Dog, that combines his three loves: cartoons, animals, and music.

The story unfolds in Tibet, where a Tibetan mastiff named Metal grows up in a Buddhist temple after his parents and siblings die protecting a peasant family. His grandfather, who learned the secrets of walking upright and speaking human language, trains him in canine meditation and teaches him about his ancient enemy, the Tibetan wolf. A rock musician on a pilgrimage adopts Metal as a son and takes him back to Beijing.

The city is a fabulous new world for Metal: in Beijing, dogs walk upright and have a secret underground realm of their own. He forms a rock band with the friends he meets at obedience school:

  • Metal (麦头) as lead singer;
  • Lead guitar Zorro (佐罗), a short-haired, heavily-inked Great Dane whose master owns a tattoo parlor;
  • On keyboards is iKey, a Labrador. His master started an IT company when he came back from America, so he's obsessed with the Internet;
  • On drums is Vasily (瓦西里), a rottweiler from a martial arts family;
  • On bass is Wangcai (旺财), a St. Bernard from a Korean barbecue who became a vegetarian after customers attempted to buy and eat him when the restaurant ran out of beef;
  • Dingding (丁丁), a schnauzer whose master is a crosstalk performer, acts as manager;
  • And a golden retriever named Vivian (薇薇安), who is Metal's girlfriend.

But the big city isn't a paradise: his girlfriend's father doesn't approve of Metal, and when his band, Rockdog, hits it big, he runs afoul of a gang of hip-hop wolf hounds who resent his success. Will he be able to prove that rock music is a worthy pursuit for a dog? Can he save his girlfriend from the clutches of the evil rap artists? Will success come in time to pay for his master's hospital bill and save his club?

JDM090311rockdog.jpg
Tibetanized Chinese on the cover of Tibetan Rock Dog

The answers to these questions will come as no surprise, but setting the story in a hidden canine empire is inspired, the art is full of puns and pop-culture references, and the extended fight sequence that takes up half of the second volume is fairly entertaining.

Zheng Jun, who's credited with the characters and overall supervision of Tibetan Rock Dog, has revealed that a film version is in the works — something like Kung Fu Panda (not a knock-off, since he came up with Metal and friends four years ago). He might also come out with a prequel or a sequel to the graphic novel.

The current story fills 340 pages split between two volumes and was written for kids of all ages, as Zheng explains in the preface:

A friend of mine once said that Chinese children have no childhood. They spend their childhood doing child labor, and are busier than their parents. Children have few opportunities to tell children's stories, and they rarely dare to dream. His words are a little absolute, but they're not without merit.

What's strange is that I discovered one day that adults in China have the opportunity to enjoy the storied benefits of childhood. As masters of our own lives, we are fully able to give ourselves the decent childhood we missed, a deluxe childhood that a healthy, happy individual ought to have. Of course, no one necessarily knows what a deluxe childhood ought to be. I know a few young women who insist on sucking their water out of baby bottles, and who go to sleep hugging Hello Kitty. This seems to miss the point, but a return to youth is always a good thing.

I finally had a deluxe childhood after I became a father. Or perhaps it would be better to say that I took over my daughter's childhood, but at any rate I was excited and overjoyed to have it. I discovered that enjoying childhood as an adult feels much better than enjoying adulthood as a child. Having a childlike-heart makes you feel happy all over. The two of us raised dogs — big ones — watched cartoons, told stories, read comics, and played with toys. I even tried to work my way into her circle of friends, but I was turned away. Things finally got better after I wrote a theme song for the Kaku TV station, and discovered a language we all share: cartoons, animals, and music. I like animals — I love dogs — and I love cartoons and music.

And it's a language that crosses national boundaries. From an interview with QQ:

Wang Ke: In addition to having a good story, the book seems pretty commercial. People who like dogs will want to read it, as will music lovers. And adults may want to read it too. You've also mentioned that you may bring out foreign language editions. In my opinion, reading this book would be a good way for foreigners to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.
Zheng Jun: The story is set in two different locations. First, there's the background story of him growing up in Tibet, and then there's the process of him realizing his dream after he gets to Beijing. These two things will appeal to foreigners, I think. How a Tibetan mastiff makes music in Beijing and, together with a group of other dogs, finally succeeds in his aims. Heavenly Mastiff Yoga, a form handed down from ancient times by Tibetan mastiffs, at its highest levels can enable a dog to speak human language and play an instrument.

This is not the first nod toward Tibet in Zheng's work. One of his famous early songs was "Return to Lhasa" (回到拉萨).

Links and Sources
There are currently 12 Comments for Zheng Jun's Tibetan Rock Dog.

Comments on Zheng Jun's Tibetan Rock Dog

Metal the Rockdog seems almost as rad as Poochie from The Simpsons.

Was not aware hallucinogens were so popular in the Beijing rock scene.

Really Inst?

Anyway, looks really awesome, like
something I'd enjoy

very much. My badz about weird
formatting my laptop is fubar .

Don't anyone discount this graphic novel just because the dogs look a bit "Disney." Seemingly childish/cartoonish settings can be a guise for really deep social discourse if you're willing to read between the lines (i.e. the recent Speed Racer movie, Watchmen, etc.) Nice work Zheng Jun!

Is it also a cliche in China that Koreans eat dogs? It seems a touch unfair since I don't think they do that any more than the Chinese.

But are they allowed inside the 4th Ring road?

Great article. I posted about it on Shanghaiist.
Do forgive the heavy block quotes.
Rebekah

For the first time I'm reading something Chineese. Interesting story.

Tim: The problem is that the "really deep social discourse" is pretty disturbing:

Metal (he actually has a Tibetan name but everyone calls him by the one his master gave him) is orphaned because tradition expects his kind to give their lives for their masters (he's more fortunate than his siblings, who die so that his master's baby can be fed). His fate is completely out of his control: he's handed off to a monk in a temple, who then turns him over to a visitor from Beijing.

City life is a series of struggles. Signs of decadence and decay are everywhere in the glittering underground city. "Stray dogs" (those without masters) are barred from entry, and a deep prejudice exists between wolf dogs and other breeds.

Metal's culture is wiped out by city life, or simply played for laughs. Though he never wore clothing in Tibet, he attends his first day at school dressed in "native costume." Even his close friends mock him. He hocks the heirloom his grandfather gave him to buy guitars for his new city buddies.

Unlike other breeds who succeed in obedience school, Tibetan mastiffs aren't expected to have the capacity to become working dogs, an assessment Metal accepts without question. He manages to pursue a livelihood on the fringes of society but it is only when he returns to his primitive roots by discarding the trappings of civilization (his rocker clothes), and then literally unleashes the beast inside to brutally murder another oppressed outsider, that he finally wins the grudging approval of the power elite.

I think I'd rather just read Tibetan Rock Dog as an entertaining, somewhat superficial comic book about a dog rock star.

Is it available to order online (abroad)?

Perhaps I skipped over purchasing info...

Thx

The book is available from Amazon.cn and Dangdang, but I don't have any experience with their overseas delivery procedures.

Tim: The problem is that the "really deep social discourse" is pretty disturbing:

Awesome sell. I'll pick it up should I find it.

Post a comment

All comments are moderated and subject to review by Danwei contributors and editors, but well-grounded and articulate comments will be published regardless of which way they lean. Because comments published on any website ultimately contribute to the character of that website, we may decline to publish comments that are irrelevant, redundant, or that do not adhere to generally accepted standards of courtesy; if you are looking for a fight, there are plenty of other venues available online.


Some useful html: <b>bold</b>, <i>italic</i>,
<a href="http://www.danwei.org">link</a>

Media Partners
Visit these sites for the latest China news
090609guardian2.png 090609CNN3.png
China Media Timeline
Major media events over the last three decades
Danwei Model Workers
laomo2008fpA.jpg
Recommended blogs and new media
Books on China
Diamond Hill by Feng Chi-shun: Feng's memoir Diamond Hill describes an era of gambling and gangsters, Suzie Wong and squatter villages, fires and food stalls, and the Kowloon Walled City and its white powder. "A time when people were poor, but life was rich," he says. The world that he grew up in no longer exists, but his book - the first ever on the Diamond Hill refugee settlement, in either Chinese or English - offers a candid picture of what life was like for most Hong Kong residents in the 1950s.
William A. Callahan's China: The Pessoptimist Nation: China: The Pessoptimist Nation shows how the heart of Chinese foreign policy is not a security dilemma, but an identity dilemma. Through a careful analysis of how Chinese people understand their new place in the world, the book charts how Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings in a dynamic that intertwines China's domestic and international politics.
The WTO ruling: a half victory at best: In August 2009, a World Trade Organization panel ruled against China's system of monopoly control over entertainment products. Was this the victory supporters hailed as the dawn of a new day for American and global entertainment companies in the China market?
Front Page of the Day
A different newspaper every weekday
From the Vault
Classic Danwei posts
+ Street hawker cries of Beijing (2006.12): Yang Changhe demonstrates hawker's cries in a video shot by Muzimei.
+ New Weekly: Do Chinese kids know anything about traditonal Chinese culture? (2004.06): Q: Do you know what China's four great inventions are? Paper, printing, the compass and gunpowder 49.3% know all four, 37.3% get one or more wrong, 13.3% don't know at all (2004.06.12)
+ Some questions about SARFT's full-stop for Red Question Mark (2007.09): SARFT axes Red Question Mark (红问号). He Dong (何东) responds.
Danwei Archives
Danwei Feeds
Via Feedsky rsschiclet2.png (on the mainland)
or Feedburner rsschiclet.gif (blocked in China)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Main feed: Main posts (FB has top links)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Top Links: Links from the top bar
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Jobs: Want ads
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Digest: Updated daily, 19:30