Year Hare Affair

Year Hare Affair
那年那兔那些事
Genre Historical, comedy
Author Lin Chao
Publisher Sina Weibo (China)
Original run June 13, 2011 – present

Year Hare Affair (Chinese: 那年那兔那些事/那年那兔那些事儿; literally: "The story of that rabbit happened at that year") is a Chinese webcomic by Lin Chao (Chinese: 林超).[1] The comic uses animals as an allegory for nations and sovereign states to represent political and military events in history. The goal of this project was to promote nationalistic pride in young people, and focuses on appreciation for China's various achievements since the beginning of the 20th century. It was originally not intended for foreign audiences, but when the animated series gained popularity after its first season, the creators stopped planning episodes in strict chronological order so as to be able to portray countries with the most screen time in a positive light more often.

An animated adaptation of the series started airing on the Internet in March 2015[2] and a free-to-play strategy video game based on it was released on iOS and Android in July 2015.[3]

Characters

Nations and sovereign states

Nations / Sovereign statesAppearanceReasons and source of the appearance
China (or Communist Party of ChinaHareHares are herbivorous animals that are usually considered cute, docile and populous, but can still inflict nasty bites and kicks when irritated. It represents the author's view that the People's Republic of China is traditionally not so aggressive in foreign policies, but can still pack a punch when required.[4]
Taiwan (or Kuomintang)BaldheadBased on the hair style of Chiang Kai-shek. Besides, in Standard Chinese "baldhead" (秃子 tūzi) and "rabbit" (兔子 tùzi) have similar pronunciations, which represent the complexity of Cross-Strait relations.
Soviet UnionRussian BearBear is a common national personification for Russia and the USSR starting from the Russian Empire. The Soviet bear has a symbol — the hammer and sickle of Communism — on his stomach, which later becomes more like a character, "父", meaning "father" in Chinese.
RussiaRussian Bear with a single separated hairTo differentiate with the Soviet Union. This bear has a character "大" on his stomach, meaning that he is the "eldest son" of the USSR. The hair stands for the common Northern Chinese nickname for Russians "毛子" ("hairy ones", referring to the comparatively higher body hair count in Caucasians).
United StatesBald eagleBald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America.[5]
JapanCrane / ChickenThe crane is an important part of the Japanese culture.[6] The chicken is used as an insult based on the similar appearance of crane and chicken and the traditional Chinese slang term xiao riben.
South KoreaGaoli bangzi with helmetBangzi is an ethnic slur used in Northeast China as a reference of Koreans.[7] To differentiate with North Korea, a US-style combat helmet is added to the appearance of South Korea.
North KoreaGaoli bangzi with red star hatBangzi is an ethnic slur used in Northeast China as a reference of Koreans.[7] To differentiate with South Korea, a Communist-style red star ski cap is added to the appearance of North Korea.
Multiple countries in Southeast Asia
Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines		MonkeyMonkey is commonly seen in the tropical jungles of Southeast Asia. It is also used as an ethnic slur in China for areas without modern development.[8]
PakistanMarkhorMarkhor is commonly seen in Pakistan and the national animal of this country. In the animation the Markhor is called Ba Ba Yang ("Pak Goat") and sometimes nicknamed "Little Ba" by the Hare.[9]
IndiaWhite elephantWhite elephant is commonly seen in India as an important part of Hindu mythology. In the animation the author chooses it rather than the bull which is sacred in Hindu to represent India because bull has already been used to represent the UK.
United KingdomBull"John Bull" is a national personification of England and the United Kingdom in general.
FranceGallic roosterGallic rooster is an unofficial national symbol of France.
GermanyTiger/CatTiger II and other Tiger series of tanks are the most famous German heavy tank.[10] So in the assumption of the comic this animal called Hans was at first a tiger. But after World War II, Germany has been restricted to use military force, and thus after the war both East and West Germany become cats — a "downsized" tiger.
Multiple countries in Africa
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Tanzania
Sudan
South Sudan
Eritrea		HippopotamusHippo is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in Sub-Saharan Africa.[11] Both in the comic and the animation, nearly all mentioned African countries are represented by hippopotamus, except for Uganda under the Idi Amin regime. Also, Colonel Ka the Hippo sometimes symbolizes Muammar Gaddafi himself other than the country. Sudan and South Sudan only appear in the end of Episode 3, Season 2 of the animation.
UgandaDuck"Uncle Crazy Duck" is, in fact, the nickname of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi among Chinese netizens. The appearance of "Uncle Crazy Duck" in the comic is based upon Count Duckula and has screws on his head, meaning that his brain is different from other Africans; he wears the skin of a hippo. In the animation, Uncle Crazy Duck even shouts "Banana!" as the Minions do during the speech.
Multiple countries in the Arab world
Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
Iran		CamelsCamel is commonly seen and used as transportation in the desertous Arab world. Both in the comic and the animation, nearly all mentioned Arabic countries are represented by camels, but they have different appearance — Afghan camel wears a scarf and is bearded; Saudi Arabian camel wears a scarf and lots of diamonds; Iraqi camel under the Saddam Hussein regime wears a beret; and Iranian camel during the Pahlavi dynasty has a throne on his head.
IranPersian lionPersian lion is the symbol of ancient Iran and the Persian Empire. The religious reform of Ruhollah Khomeini made Iran quite different from its Arabic neighbours, and so the author chooses the symbol of ancient Persia to represent it.

Included events

Events mentioned in the webcomic[12]

Animated series

On March 5, 2015, an animated series started airing on the Internet.[2][15][16] Three seasons had been produced by the time the series concluded on March 8, 2017.[17] The theme song "Zhuī Mèng Chìzǐ Xīn" (追梦赤子心; lit. "Dream Pursuer with Childish Heart") was performed by the Chinese band GALA.

Video game

A free-to-play strategy role-playing video game based on the webcomic, was released on iOS and Android on July 15, 2015. The player controls one of three factions: Hare, Bald Eagle and Bear.[18]

Reception

Critical response

The comic expresses the modern history of China and its international relations in a fun way.[13] It has sparked patriotism in China's younger generations.

Hare (Chinese: 我兔. lit. We the rabbit) is now used as positive Internet slang referring to China.[19]

Criticisms

Creators of an anti-Year Hare Affair Facebook community page[20] believe this comic is a sign of rising of Chinese chauvinism and Sinocentrism, thus mocking the titular "That Rabbit" by calling him "Nazi Rabbit" caused by the identical pronunciation of "that" and the abbreviation for the word "Nazi".[21]

The historical vision, provided in first two seasons of Year Hare Affair, came under heavy criticism in an overview on the Russian website South China Insight, especially Sino-Soviet relations. Though it is admitted that relations with Russia "occupy a leading place" in reflecting of Chinese history, but with a "complete disregard for historical facts", such as Soviet involvement in the CPC's foundation and the Red Army's liberation of Manchuria from Japanese forces. It was also noted that the Sino-Vietnamese War has been completely left behind.[22]

Oiwan Lam of Global Voices Online finds racism in portraying the African as a hippopotamus, which she considers "a lazy and stupid animal". In that regard, "China's aid for Africa has also been simplified as a last resort because 'the first world refused to play with us'."[23]

Ratings

The second and third season received 8.6 and 8.4 points out of 10 on Douban.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "漫画《那年那月那兔》向志愿军致敬版 微博上转了两万条_中国兔子乌拉_新浪博客". blog.sina.com.cn.
  2. 1 2 Year Hare Affair 01 （ English Sub） 那年那兔那些事儿01. YouTube. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  3. ↑ http://shouyou.178.com/nnnt/
  4. ↑ 贺志. "寂寞深蓝". cardinalhehe.blogspot.ca (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Lawrence, E.A. (1990). "Symbol of a Nation: The Bald Eagle in American Culture". The Journal of American Culture 13 (1): 63–69
  6. ↑ ja:タンチョウ#.E6.97.A5.E6.9C.AC
  7. 1 2 Kristof, Nicholas D. (April 11, 1993). "THE WORLD; China and North Korea: Not-So-Best of Friends". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  8. ↑ "金猴献瑞，蛮夷来朝". tianya.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Markhor: the national animal of Pakistan".
  10. ↑ Jentz, Thomas; Doyle, Hilary (1993). Kingtiger Heavy Tank 1942–45. Osprey Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 185532282X.
  11. ↑ "Hippopotamus". awf.org.
  12. ↑ "那年那兔那些事儿". 那年那兔那些事儿吧 (in Chinese). 2 February 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  13. 1 2 "台湾网友欢乐讨论内涵漫画《那年那兔那些事》". 360doc.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "逆光飞行：那年那兔大船梦_南渝霜华_新浪博客". sina.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "动漫: 那年那兔那些事儿 TV版 2015". Youku (in Chinese). 5 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "90后00后为何非常爱国，B站老总的回答亮了_网易哒哒-新生代趣闻工厂" (in Chinese). 163.com. 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2016-12-11. ”团队“翼下之风”获视频网站“哔哩哔哩”(B站)2000万元A轮融资
  17. 1 2 Li, Hongrui (March 16, 2017). "Five popular new Chinese animation series". China Daily. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  18. ↑ "国漫《那年那兔那些事儿》出军事题材手游". xw.qq.com (in Chinese). June 6, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Google". google.com. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "Year Hare Affair". facebook.com. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  21. ↑ Wu, Haiyun (April 27, 2016). "New National Mascot Burrows into Netizens' Patriotic Mindset". Sixth Tone. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  22. ↑ ""Дела зайца в те годы" - как китайцы видят отношения с Россией в одном из самых популярных мультфильмов Китая" ["Year Hare Affair" - how the Chinese view relations with Russia in one of the most popular cartoons of China]. South-insight.com (in Russian). May 7, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  23. ↑ Lam, Oiwan (June 1, 2016). "Why Some Chinese Fail to See Racism in Qiaobi's Viral Detergent Commercial". Global Voices Online. Retrieved August 7, 2017.

Further reading

  • Sun, Jiarui (November 2017). "The Moe Politics in Year, Hare, Affair". Clamantis: The MALS Journal. 1 (3). Retrieved 29 June 2018.
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