Origins & Early Life

Wan Laiming (simplified Chinese: 万籁鸣; traditional Chinese: 萬籟鳴; pinyin: Wàn Làimíng; 18 January 1900 – 7 October 1997) was a Chinese animator. He was one of the Wan brothers who pioneered the Chinese animation industry, and is commonly considered as China's first animator. As the director of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, he would raise the standard to International level before other historical events affected the industry. Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan were twin brothers.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

They were the first ones to experiment with primitive film technology adapted from the United States and other parts of the world, and were often inspired by foreign cartoons that made it to Shanghai. In 1919 they worked in the fine art departments at Shanghai Commercial Press. They were exposed to early technologies like zoetrope with galloping horses that animate on rotation. Other cinema techniques like zoetrope projection principles were being studied. In the early 1920s on a summer evening, the brothers were squeezed into a small attic.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

They used a thick book and drew pictures of a cat and mouse. They bent the corners in such a way that it animated the cat catching the mouse. The brothers...

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