Ye Luying wins her second Golden Dragon Award with a new Mulan manga

Illustrator and picture book artist Ye Luying won the Annual Animation and Manga Award on October 2 at the 23rd edition of the China Golden Dragon Awards for Animation and Manga, held in Pazhou, Guangzhou. The honor comes for her work Gǎn yǐ hóngzhuāng wèn shānhé (roughly "Dare to Ask the Mountains and Rivers in Red Makeup"), a new take on the story of Mulan.

This is the second time Ye Luying has received this recognition, considered by many to be the "Oscar of Chinese-language anime and manga." A decade ago, while still a graduate student, she won the best illustration award with her adaptation of Luòshénfù (The Goddess of the Luo River). Now she repeats, but this time with a work that took five years to mature.

From award fan to two-time winner

What makes this story special is that Ye Luying grew up following the Golden Dragon Awards. "When the first edition was held, I was still in elementary school and already followed them," she said in an interview with Yangcheng Evening News. For her, winning this award was a childhood dream, and it was precisely that wish that led her to study at the China Academy of Art, where she is now a professor in the illustration and manga department.

The first time she went up to accept the award, with her version of Luòshénfù, she almost burst into tears on stage. "I didn't think I could actually fulfill my childhood dream. That gave me confidence in this industry," she recalled. Since then, her relationship with the awards never broke: she was a guest creator at the 15th edition, designed the Dragon Girl in the Four Seasons posters that are still in use, and also served as a judge and speaker.

Now she returned as a competitor and took the top prize. A full-circle moment that confirms her place in the Chinese comic and illustration scene.

Mulan as a mirror for those chasing a dream

Ye Luying had already drawn a version of Mùlán cí (the Mulan poem), but she felt the story had more to give. Five years later, she returned to the character with Gǎn yǐ hóngzhuāng wèn shānhé, a work that focuses on the journey that takes Mulan from a village girl to a general.

"Mulan's story is very similar to the lives of modern people: many of us leave our homeland to pursue a dream and take responsibility for every decision," she explained. The author wants Mulan's spirit and her evolution as a character to serve as encouragement for those on that search.

The choice of subject was no coincidence. Ye Luying had long been turning over a question: "how does a person grow?" And she found a possible answer in Mulan. "Whether something turns out well or wins an award is a matter of probability. The important thing is not to give up and to keep doing it; sooner or later there will be an echo," she said.

The author also spoke about her connection to Guangdong, the province where the awards are presented. Although she is originally from Zhejiang, she considers herself a "good friend" of the region, to which she has constantly returned over these ten years for exhibitions and events. About the local scene, she said that Guangdong's anime and manga are "very diverse, like the region's flowers, with a feeling of blooming everywhere and in full boom."

There is no news yet that Gǎn yǐ hóngzhuāng wèn shānhé will be licensed outside China, but with two Golden Dragons on her shelf, Ye Luying cements her place as one of the most interesting voices in current Chinese comics. Were you already familiar with her version of Luòshénfù? Let us know in the comments if you would like to see this new Mulan published in English.