Fernand Fang

Fernand Fang Ren (Chinese: 方韌; pinyin: Fāng Rèn; February 17, 1917 - May 30, 1990) was a Tsengian animator, manga artist, film producer, screenwriter, and director. Popularly known as the Father of Tsengdonghua or Father of Tsengian Animation, Fang was a major figure in creating and popularizing Tsengian-made animations after Tsengian independence in 1946. He continued to expand his animations, founding Studio Jiangshan in 1959, which would soon grow into the largest animation studio in Tseng.

Bio
Fang Ren was born on February 17, 1917 in Chartres, the Talasides. He adopted the French name Fernand at school. At age 14, he was introduced by a friend to , which gave him an interest in drawing comics. Fang spent most of his time drawing and less focusing on studies, which made his grades falter. Nonetheless, he was accepted into the in 1936. Fang graduated in 1939.

After returning to Tseng, he was hired by Antonio Tzeng to make propaganda for the Tsengian independence movement. Fang quickly became known for his animations.

After 1946, Fang worked on some live action films that were unsuccessful. He decided to work on animations again, and in 1953 joined the Shihu Animation Studio (SAS). In 1956 SAS released the first Tsengian-made cartoon, The Monkey King. Fang was the director and main artist of the cartoon, spending days and nights drawing each frame with his team.

Fang founded his own animation studio in 1959, Studio Jiangshan (江山工作室). They produced films like TBA (1960) and TBA (1962) before temporary moving to Japan due to the Luanzheng. Although members from across the political spectrum wanted to recruit Fang to make propaganda animations, Fang disliked politics. He denounced Frederik Bao after he came to power in 1962, causing Fang to be exiled to Japan.

Fang and Studio Jiangshan settled in Tokyo, and he was known as Jin Hō, a direct transliteration from Chinese. In 1967, Fang obtained Japanese citizenship and renounced his Tsengian citizenship.

Fang returned to Tseng in 1975 (and obtained Tsengian citizenship again). He was interested in the increasing influence of anime in Tsengdonghua, and decided to blend American-style animation with Japanese-style animation. Although he wasn't the first to do it, he popularized it for Tsengian animators.

In 1987, he and a group of artists and animators including Lawrence Gu and Cai Xiao-chun flew to the Qishan state, where the people were recovering from a Minamata disease outbreak that occurred a year earlier. They took photographs and made sketches while consulting with Indigenous tribal leaders about customs. The result was Mother and Child, a 1989 animated film about Tsengian indigenous peoples and their hardships since the Five Kingdoms Era. Mother and Child became the highest-grossing animated film in Tsengian history until  dethroned it in 2001.

Fang died in 1990 after a long battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.