On May 1, 1934, Tchang Tchong-Jen, a young Chinese student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, met Georges Remi, alias Hergé. Their collaboration would give birth to one of the most beautiful stories in the history of comics, The Blue Lotus, unanimously considered Hergé's first masterpiece. Among the characters in this adventure, Tchang, directly inspired by the young Chinese artist, occupies a central place.

But who really was this friend from the distant Celestial Empire? Through numerous unpublished documents and testimonies collected by Tchang Yifei, the daughter of Tchang Tchong-Jen, the book reveals a complete artist: a watercolourist, painter and sculptor. During the 1930s, he travelled across Europe, always in search of beauty in all its forms. Back in China and despite the long years of isolation imposed by Mao Tse-Toung, Tchang never stopped building bridges between East and West.

From Shanghai to Brussels, via Paris, where he ended his life, Tchang Tchong-Jen, travelling artist traces the journey of a travelling artist with an exceptional destiny.

Authors: Dominique Maricq and Tchang Yifei.

Dominique Maricq: A former secondary school French teacher, he joined Studios Hergé in 1997 as an archivist. He then developed a career as an author with works on the life and work of Hergé. Passionate about all artistic careers, he participated in the restitution of that of Tchang Tchong-Jen, thanks to the archives preserved by his daughter. He thus reveals the creative determination of a secretive man.

Tchang Yifei: Daughter of Tchang Tchong-Jen, born in the house of the Tchang Art Studio in Shanghai, she was immersed from a very young age in a family environment entirely focused on art and philosophy. Guardian of the archives, Yifei perpetuates the memory of Tchang, painter and sculptor, by participating in exhibitions devoted to his work. Through her contributions, she made a major contribution to the creation of the Tchang Museum in Shanghai. She lives and works in Brussels, and for 35 years she has been responsible for merchandising inspired by the work of Hergé and has specialized in the 3D figurine sector.