First off, it is fairly difficult to find good quality bilingual Chinese English books. There are many bilingual self-publishers on Amazon, and sad to say, the translation are pretty uneven. Li Jian’s books translation have held up so far!
Secondly, the illustrations are mesmerising. Li Jian is a trained illustrator and he specialises in traditional Chinese brush strokes, which is really beautiful to see. While they are not bright and vibrant, their muted colours actually brings a subtle beauty to the images.
Thirdly, Li Jian’s stories are so culturally rich. I cannot think of any other Chinese illustrator who has succeeded in bringing Chinese culture, Chinese language and English language as wondrously as Li Jian.
In this post, I will introduce you to two of his most popular book series: The Chinese Zodiac Story Book Series, and the Story of China Book Series.