發掘廖未林發表在《中央日報》兒童週刊的漫畫與插畫

Discover Liao Weilin’s Comics and Illustrations Published in Central Daily News‧Children’s Weekly

筆者偶然間注意到楊喚的〈夏夜〉當年在《中央日報》兒童週刊首次刊登時（1951.08.28），所搭配的精妙插畫其作者竟是人稱「百變設計家」的廖未林。透過追查才進一步驚覺，廖未林不僅靠著一系列的創作成為楊喚童詩的優異詮釋者，同時也是《中央日報》特別是「兒童週刊」在早期份量最重的首席插畫家，期間更創作台灣戰後第一部以「頑童」為主題的漫畫〈小雀斑〉。然而，即使是曾經在培育兒童藝文的兒童園地長期扮演不可或缺又提供巨大養分的要角，廖未林的精彩創作與相關訊息，如今卻非常遺憾地遭到社會大眾、學者專家甚至作者本人所遺忘或誤植。筆者擬透過報章所保存的第一手刊印，將這些過往積極參與藝文建設也為這段時代特性留下寶貴見證的圖像，進行一系列的整理與析論，為廖未林眾多散佚的創作天地補上一片小小的拼圖暨表達個人的敬意。

The author, by chance, noticed the exquisite illustrations accompanying Yang Huan’s poem,“Summer Night,”when it was first published in Central Daily News‧Children’s Weekly on August 28, 1951. The illustrator, to the author’s surprise, was actually Liao Weilin, known as the“Versatile Designer.”After further investigation, the author was astonished to discover that Liao Weilin became not only an excellent interpreter of Yang Huan’s poems through a series of creations, but also the chief illustrator for Central Daily News in its early days, especially Children’s Weekly. During this period, he also created Little Freckles, Taiwan’s first post-war comic focused on the theme of“urchins.”However, despite his indispensable role in nurturing the garden of children’s art and literature, these wonderful creations and related information of Liao Weilin regretfully have now been completely forgotten or misrepresented by the public, scholars and experts, and even Liao himself. Utilizing first-hand prints preserved in newspapers, the author intends to systematically organize and analyze these images, which played an active role in shaping art and literature in the past and served as valuable testimonials to the characteristics of their times. Through this work, the author aims to piece together part of Liao Weilin’s scattered creative world and pay personal tribute to him.