On April 13, the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize for children's literature," welcomed its first Chinese recipient in the illustration category: 80-year-old artist Cai Gao. Her works blend inkwash painting with folk tales and traditional culture to render a unique, vivid style of storytelling.
Born in 1946 in Changsha, Hunan Province, Cai was raised on her grandmother's folk stories, fairy tales and nursery rhymes - which she would later weave into her art. At 19, Cai became a primary school teacher in a village in nearby Zhuzhou, where she remained for 16 years. The rice fields, warm hearths and kindness of rural life laid the foundation for her creative journey.
At 36, Cai joined Hunan Children's Publishing House as a book editor. At the time, China's children's book industry was still in its infancy, making Cai one of its early pioneers.
Over the next 44 years, she devoted herself to artistic creation. In 1993, her work Bao'er (originally titled The Fox of the Wilderness) won the Golden Apple Award at the 14th Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, making her the first Chinese picture book artist to receive the honor.
Cai has long felt a deep affection for The Story of the Peach Blossom Spring, written by renowned poet Tao Yuanming (365-427 CE). She spent five years adapting the work, her experiences in rural China providing invaluable inspiration. Published in 2000, Peach Blossom Spring became one of her best known works. It was included in a textbook for Japan's national curriculum in 2002.
After retiring in 2001, Cai became even more prolific, illustrating titles such as Mulan, Moon Cakes and The Story of Birth.
Cai has no intention of slowing down. She hopes to focus on picture books for children aged 3 and under, helping fill a gap in original Chinese books for very young readers.
"I don't have time to fear growing old," Cai told Xinxiang Review magazine. "Live life to the fullest, grow old happily, maintain curiosity and love for the world, and immerse yourself in creation. Then you will forget your age and your worries."
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