Chang Chong-Chen
Encyclopedia
Chang Chong-Chen is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin
, the series of classic Belgian
comic books written and illustrated by Hergé
. Although Chang and Tintin only know each other for a short time, they form a deep bond which drives them to tears when they separate or are re-united. Chang was based upon Zhang Chongren
, a real friend of Hergé's.
The story which introduced him was to have a major effect on Hergé and Tintin, making it one of the most popular series of all time. His next appearance would also be in one of the most moving of Tintin's adventures.
. So far, he had taken a very stereotypical and cliché
d view of the countries that Tintin visited: a Russia
of starving peasants and brutal commissars; a Congo
of simple-minded, uneducated villagers; an America
of gangsters, cowboys and Indians
; and an India
of fakirs and maharaja
s.
In the process of planning his story, Hergé was contacted by a Father
Gosset, chaplain
to the Chinese students at Louvain University
, who suggested that he do some actual research into life in China as it really was. Hergé agreed and Gosset introduced him to Zhang Chongren, a student at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts
in Brussels
.
The two men, both aged 27, got on well and Hergé decided to include his new friend in the story. Zhang supplied much of the Chinese writing that was to feature and told Hergé a lot about Chinese culture, history and drawing techniques. He also gave a detailed description of life in 1930s China, which included the occupation of eastern territories by the Japan
ese, British and Americans and other Western powers.
The result of their meetings was The Blue Lotus
, a major landmark in the development of The Adventures of Tintin
. From now on Hergé would research his subjects thoroughly. He also changed his attitude towards the relationship between native peoples and foreigners. He had previously taken a positive view of imperialism
in Tintin in the Congo
(published in 1930). Now, in The Blue Lotus (1934), he criticised the Japanese occupation of China
and featured an event inspired by the Mukden incident
. The Shanghai International Settlement
, with its racist Western businessmen and corrupt police (which includes white
and Sikh
officers), was also shown in a bad light.
The fictional Chang first appeared in The Blue Lotus as a young orphan whom Tintin saved from drowning. The first thing he asked was why a white foreigner like Tintin would bother saving a non-white boy at all (Tintin was to cause similar queries when helping Zorrino in Prisoners of the Sun
). He and Tintin then exchanged notes on the prejudice that Chinese and non-Chinese have for each other and laughed it away. In his description of Western prejudices, Tintin includes a Fu Manchu
-like character. (In fact The Blue Lotus features a Japanese villain called Mitsuhirato.)
They now became friends and Chang led Tintin to Hukow where he was on the trail of a kidnapped doctor. There they stayed with a friend of Chang's late father. They later encountered Thomson and Thompson
who had arrived dressed as figures out of a Chinese opera
and were being followed with amusement by half the population.
The Thompsons had been sent to arrest Tintin and took him to the local police station in order to start extradition
proceedings. However, they had lost a document written in Chinese which instructed the local police to give them assistance. Chang replaced the paper with another one which claimed that the Thompsons were "lunatics and this proves it". When he read the document the chief of police roared with laughter and had the Thompsons thrown out and Tintin released.
Chang also saved Tintin from a Japanese agent dressed as a photographer who had been sent to kill him.
Tintin took Chang with him back to Shanghai in order to settle his scores with his enemy Mitsuhirato. Tintin was staying at the headquarters of the Sons of the Dragon, a secret society that fought against the trafficking of opium
. Chang moved in with them and joined in the battle of wits against a major gang of opium smugglers.
Chang played a crucial part in the capture of the leaders of the gang and saving Tintin and others from execution. The crooks included Tintin's arch-enemy Rastapopoulos
. After that Chang was adopted by Tintin's ally Wang Chen-Yee.
Tintin and Snowy then left for Europe amid a tearful and emotional farewell to Chang and his new family.
, published almost 25 years later in 1958.
Much like Hergé and Zhang, Tintin and Chang do not appear to have kept in regular touch. As he was about to leave for Europe, Chang sent Tintin a letter to his old flat in Brussels
, unaware, it seems, that Tintin had long ago moved to Marlinspike Hall
to live with Captain Haddock
, Professor Calculus
and Nestor
, the long-suffering butler.
According to the letter sent to Tintin and an article in a newspaper, Chang appears to have moved to Hong Kong
, which was then a British
possession. It is not clear if Chang just happened to be there for a short while or if his adopted family had moved into the colony. The second hypothesis may be likely since, as the wealthy leader of a secret society with a luxurious house and servants, Wang Chen-Yee would not have fitted in too well with the People's Republic of China
.
Chang was on his way to London
in order to work in an antique shop owned by a brother of Wang's when his plane crashed over the mountains of Tibet
. Chang survived the disaster while all his fellow passengers perished.
Chang struggled from the wreckage to a nearby cave where he came face-to-face with the yeti
, the mythical creature said to live in the Himalayas
. The yeti took care of Chang, providing him with food, but when rescue arrived he also took Chang, weak with fever
, as far away as possible.
Tintin was convinced that Chang was not dead. He had seen in a dream that Chang was alive and calling for help. Against all logic he set off to find him, with the grudging help of Captain Haddock who, along with almost everyone else, believed Chang to be deceased.
Upon reaching the wreck of the aircraft high in the mountains, Tintin found the cave where Chang had taken refuge. He had carved his name on a rock in both Chinese and Western writing. He also saw Chang's scarf floating on a mountain peak where Chang had lost it.
Tintin and Haddock eventually tracked Chang and the yeti down to another cave. Chang was still suffering from fever, but he and Tintin enjoyed a tearful reunion. As they tried to leave the cave, the yeti returned with food and, seeing his companion being taken away from him, attacked Tintin. Fortunately the flash
from a camera
scared him away.
Although he had to leave him, Chang was very grateful to the yeti for keeping him alive and would describe him as "poor snowman", rather than "abominable". When Tintin wondered if he might one day be captured, Chang objected to this, feeling that the yeti should be looked upon as a human rather than a wild animal.
The yeti for his part howled in sadness as Chang left with Tintin and Haddock and the final panel of the story has him watching from a distance as his only friend leaves the area.
Chang later went to London
from where he kept in touch, sending letters to Tintin and Haddock (see The Castafiore Emerald
).
Tintin in Tibet was perhaps Hergé's most deeply personal work. When he wrote it, he had not seen the real-life Zhang for several decades. Later, in 1981, the French media managed to find Zhang in China and arrange a trip to Europe for a reunion with Hergé. In 1985, Zhang received French citizenship and settled in Paris
to teach, where he died in 1998.
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
, the series of classic Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
comic books written and illustrated by Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
. Although Chang and Tintin only know each other for a short time, they form a deep bond which drives them to tears when they separate or are re-united. Chang was based upon Zhang Chongren
Zhang Chongren
Zhang Chongren , was a Chinese artist and sculptor best remembered in Europe as the friend of Hergé, the Belgian comics writer and artist and creator of The Adventures of Tintin. The two met when Zhang was an art student in Brussels.-Early life:...
, a real friend of Hergé's.
The story which introduced him was to have a major effect on Hergé and Tintin, making it one of the most popular series of all time. His next appearance would also be in one of the most moving of Tintin's adventures.
Inspiration and influence
In 1934, Hergé was about to start work on a story which would take Tintin to ChinaRepublic of China (1912–1949)
In 1911, after over two thousand years of imperial rule, a republic was established in China and the monarchy overthrown by a group of revolutionaries. The Qing Dynasty, having just experienced a century of instability, suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign imperialism...
. So far, he had taken a very stereotypical and cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
d view of the countries that Tintin visited: a Russia
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets is the first title in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé...
of starving peasants and brutal commissars; a Congo
Tintin in the Congo
Tintin in the Congo is the second title in the comicbook series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Originally serialised in the Belgian children's newspaper supplement, Le Petit Vingtième between June 1930 and July 1931, it was first published in book form...
of simple-minded, uneducated villagers; an America
Tintin in America
Tintin in America is the third title in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé...
of gangsters, cowboys and Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
; and an India
Cigars of the Pharaoh
Cigars of the Pharaoh is one of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero...
of fakirs and maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
s.
In the process of planning his story, Hergé was contacted by a Father
The Reverend
The Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
Gosset, chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
to the Chinese students at Louvain University
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
, who suggested that he do some actual research into life in China as it really was. Hergé agreed and Gosset introduced him to Zhang Chongren, a student at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts
The Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels is an art school, founded in 1711.The faculty and alumni of ARBA include some of the most famous names in Belgian painting, sculpture, and architecture: James Ensor, Rene Magritte, and Paul Delvaux...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
The two men, both aged 27, got on well and Hergé decided to include his new friend in the story. Zhang supplied much of the Chinese writing that was to feature and told Hergé a lot about Chinese culture, history and drawing techniques. He also gave a detailed description of life in 1930s China, which included the occupation of eastern territories by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese, British and Americans and other Western powers.
The result of their meetings was The Blue Lotus
The Blue Lotus
The Blue Lotus , first published in 1936, is one of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Hergé featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. It is a sequel to Cigars of the Pharaoh, with Tintin continuing his struggle against a major gang of drug...
, a major landmark in the development of The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
. From now on Hergé would research his subjects thoroughly. He also changed his attitude towards the relationship between native peoples and foreigners. He had previously taken a positive view of imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
in Tintin in the Congo
Tintin in the Congo
Tintin in the Congo is the second title in the comicbook series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Originally serialised in the Belgian children's newspaper supplement, Le Petit Vingtième between June 1930 and July 1931, it was first published in book form...
(published in 1930). Now, in The Blue Lotus (1934), he criticised the Japanese occupation of China
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
and featured an event inspired by the Mukden incident
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....
. The Shanghai International Settlement
Shanghai International Settlement
The Shanghai International Settlement began originally as a purely British settlement. It was one of the original five treaty ports which were established under the terms of the Treaty of Nanking at the end of the first opium war in the year 1842...
, with its racist Western businessmen and corrupt police (which includes white
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
and Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
officers), was also shown in a bad light.
Meeting Tintin
Prisoners of the Sun
Prisoners of the Sun is the fourteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. It is a continuation of The Seven Crystal Balls, and is one of very few Tintin...
). He and Tintin then exchanged notes on the prejudice that Chinese and non-Chinese have for each other and laughed it away. In his description of Western prejudices, Tintin includes a Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
-like character. (In fact The Blue Lotus features a Japanese villain called Mitsuhirato.)
They now became friends and Chang led Tintin to Hukow where he was on the trail of a kidnapped doctor. There they stayed with a friend of Chang's late father. They later encountered Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson
Thomson and Thompson are fictional characters in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Thomson and Thompson are detectives of Scotland Yard, and are as incompetent as they are necessary comic relief...
who had arrived dressed as figures out of a Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
and were being followed with amusement by half the population.
The Thompsons had been sent to arrest Tintin and took him to the local police station in order to start extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
proceedings. However, they had lost a document written in Chinese which instructed the local police to give them assistance. Chang replaced the paper with another one which claimed that the Thompsons were "lunatics and this proves it". When he read the document the chief of police roared with laughter and had the Thompsons thrown out and Tintin released.
Chang also saved Tintin from a Japanese agent dressed as a photographer who had been sent to kill him.
Tintin took Chang with him back to Shanghai in order to settle his scores with his enemy Mitsuhirato. Tintin was staying at the headquarters of the Sons of the Dragon, a secret society that fought against the trafficking of opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
. Chang moved in with them and joined in the battle of wits against a major gang of opium smugglers.
Chang played a crucial part in the capture of the leaders of the gang and saving Tintin and others from execution. The crooks included Tintin's arch-enemy Rastapopoulos
Rastapopoulos
Roberto Rastapopoulos is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is the antagonist in many of Tintin's adventures....
. After that Chang was adopted by Tintin's ally Wang Chen-Yee.
Tintin and Snowy then left for Europe amid a tearful and emotional farewell to Chang and his new family.
Chang and the Yeti
Chang remained unmentioned in the stories until Tintin in TibetTintin in Tibet
Tintin in Tibet is the twentieth title in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin, written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Originally serialised from September 1958 in the French language magazine named after his creation, Le Journal de Tintin, it was then first published in book...
, published almost 25 years later in 1958.
Much like Hergé and Zhang, Tintin and Chang do not appear to have kept in regular touch. As he was about to leave for Europe, Chang sent Tintin a letter to his old flat in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, unaware, it seems, that Tintin had long ago moved to Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall is Captain Haddock's country house in Hergé's comic book series The Adventures of Tintin.The hall is modeled after the central section of the Château de Cheverny...
to live with Captain Haddock
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
, Professor Calculus
Professor Calculus
Professor Cuthbert Calculus is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
and Nestor
Nestor (Tintin character)
Nestor is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is the long-suffering butler of Marlinspike Hall....
, the long-suffering butler.
According to the letter sent to Tintin and an article in a newspaper, Chang appears to have moved to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, which was then a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
possession. It is not clear if Chang just happened to be there for a short while or if his adopted family had moved into the colony. The second hypothesis may be likely since, as the wealthy leader of a secret society with a luxurious house and servants, Wang Chen-Yee would not have fitted in too well with the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Chang was on his way to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in order to work in an antique shop owned by a brother of Wang's when his plane crashed over the mountains of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. Chang survived the disaster while all his fellow passengers perished.
Chang struggled from the wreckage to a nearby cave where he came face-to-face with the yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
, the mythical creature said to live in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. The yeti took care of Chang, providing him with food, but when rescue arrived he also took Chang, weak with fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
, as far away as possible.
Tintin was convinced that Chang was not dead. He had seen in a dream that Chang was alive and calling for help. Against all logic he set off to find him, with the grudging help of Captain Haddock who, along with almost everyone else, believed Chang to be deceased.
Upon reaching the wreck of the aircraft high in the mountains, Tintin found the cave where Chang had taken refuge. He had carved his name on a rock in both Chinese and Western writing. He also saw Chang's scarf floating on a mountain peak where Chang had lost it.
Tintin and Haddock eventually tracked Chang and the yeti down to another cave. Chang was still suffering from fever, but he and Tintin enjoyed a tearful reunion. As they tried to leave the cave, the yeti returned with food and, seeing his companion being taken away from him, attacked Tintin. Fortunately the flash
Flash (photography)
A flash is a device used in photography producing a flash of artificial light at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a dark scene. Other uses are capturing quickly moving objects or changing the quality of light...
from a camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
scared him away.
Although he had to leave him, Chang was very grateful to the yeti for keeping him alive and would describe him as "poor snowman", rather than "abominable". When Tintin wondered if he might one day be captured, Chang objected to this, feeling that the yeti should be looked upon as a human rather than a wild animal.
The yeti for his part howled in sadness as Chang left with Tintin and Haddock and the final panel of the story has him watching from a distance as his only friend leaves the area.
Chang later went to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from where he kept in touch, sending letters to Tintin and Haddock (see The Castafiore Emerald
The Castafiore Emerald
The Castafiore Emerald is an album in the classic comic-strip series The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
).
The real Chang is found
 |
Zhang and Hergé in 1981. Behind them the cut-outs of Tintin and Chang (although dressed for The Blue Lotus) are saying the words used in their reunion in Tintin in Tibet: "I Knew I'd find you in the end !... This is wonderful !" "Tintin ! Oh, how often I've thought of you !" |
Tintin in Tibet was perhaps Hergé's most deeply personal work. When he wrote it, he had not seen the real-life Zhang for several decades. Later, in 1981, the French media managed to find Zhang in China and arrange a trip to Europe for a reunion with Hergé. In 1985, Zhang received French citizenship and settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to teach, where he died in 1998.