序一

Tremendous in Warring Arts

——Pang's narrative cartoon in my eyes

庞大浩瀚 战事一绝

——我眼中的庞氏连环画

Prof. Albert Diem

丁爱博教授

Pang，meaning “Tremendous” in Chinese，is the surname of this artist. Indeed，Pang Wanfu's 7 years project is tremendous ——drawing thousands of narrative cartoons on the Tangut warring events（983-1227）. Rooted in a literary family of Pang Tong（a military scholar in the Three Kingdoms Period，220-265 AD），his family tree can be traced back far. It is no doubt that Pang's scense on ancient warring history is gifted.

庞，在汉语里是“庞大，浩瀚”的意思，也是眼前这位艺术家庞万福的姓氏。庞万福先生花了七年创作了一件庞大浩瀚的艺术作品——用上千幅动漫连环画，表现了西夏王朝立国前后（983—1227）两百多年战事。庞家是书香门第，三国（220—265）时期的谋士庞统（号凤雏先生）是今日宁夏惠农庞家的老祖先。庞万福对古代战争的历史感，无疑是与生俱来的。

Generally speaking，the warring scene is the most challenging topic in oil painting，sculpture，and cartoon. In doing so，Pang has put meticulous studies on the Tangut warring history. As a state along the Silk Road，Tangut constantly dell with war and peace during two hundred years: when just established，it was threatened by the neighboring Khitans，the Uyghurs，the Tibetans，and the Northern Song. On the eve of its fall，Tangut impressed Genghis Khan's army with 6 wars in 22 years，by its solid city walls and powerful cannons. Once Pang asked Prof. Yang Manzhong，the Tangut expert at Ningxia University，about the Tangut cannon. Yang replies，on camel back the Tangut cannon can turn around smoothly in 360 angels. It was learned by the Mongols，as the secret weapon during Genghis Khan's conquer of Europe.

战争场面，本身是油画、雕塑、连环画创作中，公认的场景最大、难度最高的题材。为此庞全身心地投入，琢磨上千个画面画什么，怎么画，文字说明如何。西夏是丝绸之路上的小王国，其王朝两百多年战事在历史上富有戏剧性：立国之初，北有大辽国，西北有高昌回鹘和甘州回鹘，西南有吐蕃，南有北宋，强敌环饲，战事纷沓。西夏最终毁灭于蒙古大军铁蹄。一代天骄，成吉思汗，曾经六攻西夏而不果，前后征战二十二年，对于西夏坚固的城池和先进的火炮，印象深刻。庞为了画好战争场面，曾经请教宁夏大学西夏研究中心杨满忠教授，关于西夏火炮的细节。杨教授说，西夏火炮是世界军事史上一大发明，西夏人把小型火炮架在骆驼背上，打仗时可以360°旋转，进退自如。蒙古人在与西夏国的交战中，学到了这门技术，在成吉思汗西征欧洲的战役中，成为绝门武器。

That is what I appreciate most，Pang constructs a brilliant warring epic，with black-and-white all around in his works. His drawing technique seems naive like a child，and his view angel appears unique，which，moving me deeply in sigh. Of cause it is my pleasure to offer him some details on the Tangut armlet. Hoping his art can survive in this hectic modern world. I believe through reading Pang's narrative cartoons，children today would have a better understanding on the devastated Tangut cultural heritage.

对于庞的连环画我最欣赏的一点是，他采用朴素的黑白线条，勾画了一出绚丽的战争史诗，歌尽悲欢离合。他儿童般稚拙的手法和独特的视角，常常让我停下来惊叹。我很乐意给他提供一些西夏盔甲的细节。希望他能在时代的喧嚣中继续画下去。希望更多的孩子通过阅读他的连环画，而深入了解这一段湮灭于时光尘埃中的西夏文化遗产。