“’Beijing Underground’ is a story of trapped people.
One summer, four people were trapped in a bar in Beijing after falling asleep on a black couch, and three of them knew very well that the only way to get out is to go to the "Beijing Underground". They chatted and gossiped, gradually realizing that the Tengu mask on the wall can help them out of their predicament. Finally, they left the bar carrying the Tengu mask and walked down the street.
One day in Beijing, I passed out on a black leather couch in the bar where we (Xueying and I) were staying, but I hadn't passed out before (so I'm not sure I really did), except that the state I was in was distinctly different from sleep.
When I managed to sit up from the deep couch, the first thing I saw was a Tengu mask on the opposite wall, and I realized I hadn't seriously looked at it from the front before, so I stared at it for about ten minutes, and at some point, I came to my senses.
Anyway, the Tengu, the couch, the heat, the wind, the cold, the bar, the subway, and all that sort of thing are all translations or direct uses of the experience of being in Beijing during that time. At first, we only planned to stay in Beijing for a week, but then we stayed for a long time. The people we met and the things that happened during that time were very interesting!
Then we went back to Guangzhou.”
A hand-drawn comic inspired by a mask, with 2 double fold-out pages, one of which forms the conclusion of the story, translation by Peng Xueying, design by Feng Feiteng, bilingual edition in English and Chinese.
Saddle-stitched, 21 x 15 cm, 44 pages, Shanghai 2024
