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Illustrator’s Note

When I first read Ji-li’s manuscript and was offered the chance to illustrate it, I was excited and couldn’t wait to start
working on it.

The most interesting and the hardest part was doing the research. I considered what I would be like if I was alive during this
period. I thought about what my daily life would be like and what kind of clothing men and women would wear. I
imagined what kind of Chinese brush I would use and how I would hold the brush. I found multiple references and
discussed them with professors of Chinese literature and history. In my research I found that Xianzhi’s father, Xizhi, could
hold Chinese brushes in multiple ways. One type is called the “two-finger single hook method.” I was surprised to learn that
with different styles of calligraphy, there are different ways of holding the brush. With all this complexity, it is
understandable why Xizhi is called Shu Sheng, a great calligraphy master.

His son, Xianzhi, had shown an early talent for calligraphy. He started learning with his father as a child, copying his father’s
style. While learning calligraphy, he realized that talent alone was not enough to become an excellent calligrapher. Rather,
this achievement comes through continuous effort and absorbing different life experiences and knowledge.

This book gave me a lot of inspiration as I developed the illustrations. I realized that no matter how talented someone is,
dreams cannot come true without hard work. I hope everyone who reads the story can be inspired by the spirit of Xianzhi to
keep practicing and working hard on the goals they want to achieve.

About the Authors

Ji-li Jiang is the award-winning author of Red Scarf Girl,
her middle-grade memoir of life during the Cultural
Revolution in China. She has also written several picture
books. Ji-li was born in Shanghai, China and now lives in
the San Francisco Bay Area. You can see more about her
and her work at www.jilijiang.com.

Photo by Hao Wu

Nadia Hsieh received her MFA in Illustration at the Academy
of Art University in San Francisco. Nadia’s mission is to
create characters and stories that focus on empathy and
understanding others. She also teaches art education to all
ages and can be found playing the piano when she’s not
drawing. Learn more at www.nadiahsieh.com.