Yan Dingxian (严定宪)
Filed under: People, Animator, Character Designer, Director, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, China, Color, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Technicolor,
Full Name:Dingxian Yan
Occupation / Title:Animator, Character Designer, Director
Date of birth:?/09/1936
Date of death:26/12/2022
Birthplace:Wuxi of Jiangsu Province, China
Associated studios:Shanghai Animation Film Studio (上海电影美术制片厂)
Yan looking at his reflection to imitate gestures of monkey while drawing the Monkey King
Final design of the Monkey King by Yan
Biography
Yan Dingxian (严定宪) is the most renowned animator, character designer and director of early Chinese animation. He is the former president of Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS, 上海美术电影制片厂), China Film Association (中国影协理事), Shanghai Film Association (上海影协理事), vice-president of China Animation Association (CAA, 中国动画学会), and member of International Animated Film Association (ASIFA). He is known for being the designer of the Monkey King from Havoc in Heaven (1961).
Career outline
In 1953, Yan graduated from the Animation Department (动画科) of Beijing Film Academy (北京电影学院) and joined the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.
He first started as key frame animator for some of the earliest animations of People’s Republic of China (PRC) such as The Conceited General (1956, 骄傲的将军), A Zhang Brocade (1959, 一幅僮锦), and The Picture on the Wall (1958, 墙上的画) (Du, 56).
In 1961, Yan became the lead animation designer of Havoc in Heaven (1961, 大闹天宫). Initially director Wan Laiming invited Zhang Guangyu, top artist of China at the time, to design the protagonist, the Monkey King. However, none of Zhang’s designs satisfied the director. Since Zhang could no longer continue the job, he returned to Beijing to teach, and Wan decided to give Yan a chance to finalize the design which turned out to be the final image onscreen (Yan, 59-60). Yan was later granted the title of “Father of the Monkey King” because his version becomes the most iconic from which all later representations find inspiration.
After Havoc in Heaven, Yan started directing. He co-directed Nezha Conquers the Dragon Kings (1979, 哪吒闹海), Ginseng Fruit (1981, 人参果), Golden Monkey Conquers the Demon (1985, 金猴降妖), and a TV animation series Shook and Beta (1989-92, 舒克和贝塔).
Yan was appointed president of SAFS from 1984-89. During his presidency, Yan helped to conduct the first China International Cartoon & Animation Festival in 1988. He voluntarily resigned from his presidency to continue making animation.
After he retired in 1996, Yan published multiple books which are significant to the study of Chinese animation, including Animation Skills & Methods (1981, 动画技巧), Examples from Chinese Animation (2004), Animation Directing, Fundamentals and Creation (2006, 动画导演基础与创作), and Character Acting for Animation (2009).
References:
Dingxian, Yan. “Chapter 3 An Authentic Animator”. In Chinese Animation and Socialism, (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2021)
“《大闹天宫》首席动画设计严定宪去世，你一定看过他的动画.” 澎湃, 26, Dec. 2022, https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21309170