The Magic Horse of Han Gan [Hardcover]

Chen Jiang Hong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

A Junior Library Guild selection

Included in New York Public Library's list "Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"

Named a "Best Children's Book of the Year" by Bank Street College of Education

"Altogether this is a masterfully told picture book and one whose timeless message will resonate with many readers."—School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 1-5–This elegant picture book recounts a legend involving the painter Han Gan, who lived in China 1200 years ago. Though he came from a poor family, his talent was recognized early and he won acceptance to the academy for official painters. The young man loved to draw horses, and he always drew them tethered, as he warned, my horses are so alive they might leap right off the paper. One night, a great warrior visited him and asked him to bring to life a valiant steed. The artist was frustrated with his attempt, but as he tried to destroy the painting in the fire, the horse came to life and rode away with the warrior on its back. The great horse did not need to eat, drink, or sleep, and was invincible in battle, until it took pity on its vanquished foes. The steed threw off its rider and returned to be part of a painting on the wall of Han Gan's home. The tale is crisply and concisely told. The double-page illustrations are dominated by strong browns, blacks, and reds, and are painted directly on silk in the style of Han Gan. The oversize art underscores the tale's drama and epic scale with plenty of period detail, balanced with large open areas. Altogether, this is a masterfully told picture book, and one whose timeless message will resonate with many readers.–Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
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From Booklist

Well-known-painter Hong introduces Han Gan, a ninth-century Chinese artist, in this beautifully illustrated, picture-book fantasy. Young Han Gan, who loves to draw, grows up to gain wide recognition for his original style and for his sole subject: horses that are always tethered: "My horses are so alive they might leap right off the paper." A warrior challenges his claim, commissioning a steed that will spring to life. Han Gan meets the challenge, but his magnificent creation so abhors war's violence that it races back to the two-dimensional world of painting. A closing note includes more about Han Gan as well as a reproduction of the original painting that inspired Hong's story. Working with the material his biographical subject used--paint on silk--Hong creates a visually stunning story, rendered in bold lines and spare, brilliant colors set against parchment-brown backgrounds. Like Han Gan's, Hong's horses are glorious. The scenes of battle are frightening and powerful, but the peace messages are also strong. An intriguing, creative view of a rarely featured artist. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 38 pages
• Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592700632
• ISBN-13: 978-1592700639
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 12.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An introduction to classical Chinese painting, January 22, 2007

By 

Erik Eisel (Huntington Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Magic Horse of Han Gan (Hardcover)

From a Western perspective, we may discount Chinese classical painting as being too stylized and one-dimensional, the faces of the people without expression, and the lines on the page flat. It is the same experience that we have when we view art from 12th-century. We shrug without any real enjoyment, accepting the artist's work with the thought, "Well, that's just the way it was back then. They had limited tools."

Chen Jiang Hong's work here tries to undo all of those prejudices, suggesting that Han Gan's work, whom he imitates here, was controversial in its day for its realism. Just as 13th-century European artists fought hard for a more realistic style, Han Gan's work sought a true imitation of reality, which, as the fable tells us, could be confused with reality.

Han Gan's creation, a horse that could be ridden by the most demanding soldier-warrior, also has emotion and intellect, enough so, that he ultimately makes the choice to live in the imagined world of the painter rather than the world of suffering created by the warrior class.

Thanks to the perfection of the illustrations and the inherited wisdom packed into the fable, the book truly works on many levels.

The book can be enjoyed by three-year-olds, like my daughter, but, I'd like to think that I enjoyed it much more.

Like a coffee-table book of beautiful pictures, "Han Gan" can be enjoyed many times over.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Traditional Chinese art rendered evocatively, February 24, 2007

By 

Anne B. Levy "bookbuds.net" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Magic Horse of Han Gan (Hardcover)

Okay, Chinese traditionalists, here is your book.

Chen trained at Beijing's Academy of Fine Arts and has dedicated his career to relating the history and traditions of his ancestral home. He even painted the illustrations directly onto silk to emulate the story's subject, a painter who lived 1,200 years ago but whose lifelike renderings of horses are still celebrated today.

Han Gan's family was too poor to indulge his love of drawing, until a wealthy artist discovered his talent and bought him paper, inks and brushes. He excelled at horses; the only humans in his art are riding or tending the magnificent steeds he creates. They may've been a little too lifelike: one day, a warrior comes to him with an unusual request.

From there, the story takes a fabulist turn, with a subtle message infused with Chinese wisdom. Chen's prose is lean and understated, giving us just enough to fuel the imagination, while the illustrations really stoke the fire.

The plain silk backgrounds and flattened perspective help us keep our focus on the important figures, with white-clad Han Gan seeming small next to the busy aristocrats hobnobbing over tea or those fine, muscular equines who prance and chomp at the bit. He's the only one in white, however, which immediately draws our eye to him.

The way inks bleed into the silk affects the way robes seem to drape and adds texture to a nighttime sky. Chen's palette is muted, with subtle grays, greens and beige, except for great streaks of angry crimson used on walls to create a sense of enclosure, or on war gear to add excitement, and even in a red sunset as the din of battle loses its allure.

As your eye follows those reds, you'll notice crimson serves a practical purpose: the compositions are off-center, with figures spreading unevenly across the picture plane. The spot use of crimson ties everything together, creating symmetry and harmony out of chaos.

Gorgeous stuff, and a great introduction to the Chinese aesthetic from a purist.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A story of magic for the imaginative., July 17, 2007

By 

Marjorie K. Chamberlin (Charleston, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Magic Horse of Han Gan (Hardcover)

This is written for children,or those interested in ancient Chinese art. The illustrations are plentiful and very colorfull.The drawing of a magic horse is taken from an ancient painting and could be of interest to any one interested in art.