Confucius Didn't Say

After the Summerzoo studio moved to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in 2006, Xia moved with them. There her career reached new peaks with Zibuyu (Confucius Didn't Say), the story of a nine year old girl moving to a mountain with her parents. The strip, told from a child's perspective, illustrates the unseen beauty of the world. It won first prize at the Golden Dragon awards in 2008, an award founded in 2004 to encourage new talent in China.

Judges for the competition included Shigeki Yukio, chief editor of one of the biggest publishing houses in Japan, and well-known cartoonist Matsui Eimoto. They recommended her work to Ultra Jump, one of Japan's biggest comics magazines, where it was published in February 2009. Zibuyu went on to become the first original Chinese comic to be published in the Japanese market.

Despite this success, it's been the innocent schoolgirl photos that have really catapulted Xia to fame. Yao Feila, a Chinese artist who helped publish Zibuyu, said in an interview with Shenzhen Economic Daily that they'd been no plan to use the photos for publicity, but that if it helped the comic reach a greater audience, it was a gift.

Serious about art

But her overnight fame has left Xia embarrassed and even angry. "I have always dreamed of producing good work as an artist, and I have been paid a lot for that end. I have devoted over 10 hours a day to drawing and you can't imagine how many times my comics were refused by publishing houses and how many setbacks I have suffered. But now I've become famous not because of my work, but because of my appearance. I really felt embarrassed," she said.

In Xia's blog on blog.com, she remarked fiercely "Those photos were just something done for fun, not promotional shots. I beg all of you to stop spreading those photos and don't call me a 'Beautiful young girl' or a 'Lolita', which only makes me feel ashamed."

"No one has done this deliberately. But it has really caused me a lot of trouble. I thank those who have praised that I am pretty. But I hope people pay more attention to my work, show me more respect and give me a quiet space to do my job," Xia explained.

Xia hopes that her new work, Gesila Bushuohua (Godzilla Doesn't Talk) will win readers for its quality, not her looks. "It comes out in April. It's autobiographical from when I was 14. I want to share with all girls this beautiful and lonely time we have when we are young."

(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2010)