An artist of Tai Chi: A critical study of the life, art and cultural philosophy of the children's literature artist Ed Young

In recent decades, children's literature has become widely accepted as a legitimate field of study in North America, and the benefits of using children's books in schools have also been well documented. Nevertheless, in the domain of the picturebook, few serious efforts have been made to investigate the rich theoretical and pedagogical potentials of the interplay of the visual and the verbal. Likewise, the number of studies concerning picturebook authors/artists and the historical, cultural, and educational meanings of their work is still limited. Seeing the above research needs, this study investigates the life, work, and cultural philosophy of the renowned Chinese American children's literature artist Ed Young.; Interdisciplinary in its nature, the study is a combination of biographical, descriptive and interpretative research approaches. The researcher applies concepts and methods from the areas of critical biography, picturebook criticism, art history and cultural studies. This critical study narrates the life stories of the artist Ed Young in both China and the United States. In addition, the study also presents comprehensive readings of Young's entire body of work in the field of children's literature. An analysis of these readings indicates four significant developmental periods: apprentice of arts and culture, 1962-1978; searching for the soul of the stories, 1979-84; a freer, braver artistic spirit, 1985-91; and journeying towards the Tao, 1992 to present. Based on the description and analysis of both biographic and bibliographic data, the study further examines the cross-cultural significance and meanings of Young's life and work, as well as their educational implications. Discussion of Young's cultural philosophy reveals the philosophical roots of Young's art and work: Tai Chi, Tao, and Humanity, and relates these roots to the four major branches structuring his work--spirits of art and artist, storying, cultures, and education.; By investigating how the Eastern and Western cultures dialogue through the life and work of an influential voice in contemporary children's literature, the study makes significant contributions to our continuous exploration of the roles and functions of picturebooks by Asian American authors/artists in multicultural literature and multicultural education.