Chinese / People's Republic of China
Yi ke lian zi de sheng ming lü cheng
(The life of a lotus seed)
Chen, Yingting
(text)
Huaqing
(illus.)
Beijing: Beijing lian he chu ban gong si. (Beijing United Publ.), 2021. – [34] p.
ISBN 978-7-5596-4989-8
Lotus | Nature | Cycle of life | Non-fiction | Picture book
Reading age: 4+
White Ravens issue: 2022
A lotus seed falls into the mud and lies dormant until it begins to sprout the next spring. Readers can follow how it grows into a full plant, blooms, and withers away, replaced by a pod with new seeds inside. These will fall into the mud eventually, and the never-ending cycle of life will start again. Huaqing’s illustrations in the style of traditional Chinese ink paintings perfectly match the topic of this exquisite book, the life cycle of a lotus and of life itself. Emerging from the mud but forever appearing clean and elegant, the lotus has long been a spiritual symbol of life in traditional Chinese art and literature. After graduating from the Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Science, Chen Yingting has devoted herself for years to popularising science. Huaqing is pursuing her doctoral degree at the School of Fine Arts within the Chinese National Academy of Arts. »The life of a lotus seed« is an excellent example of the rising number of non-fiction picture books for children in China. [FW, ZX]