Senior Chinese animator Te Wei

Senior Chinese animator Te Wei has died of respiratory failure in a Shanghai hospital at the age of 95, according to domestic media reports.

Previously named Sheng Song, Te Wei was born in Shanghai on August 22, 1915. As the founder of Chinese animation, he devoted his entire life to its development and was the only artist in the country to receive a lifetime achievement award from the International Animated Film Association.

Te's famous works include "The Conceited General" in 1956, "Where Is Mama?" in 1960, "The Cowboy's Flute" in 1963, and "Feeling from Mountain and Water" in 1988--all classics that have influenced many generations of Chinese.

Te's animation style was influenced by Chinese painter Qi Baishi. He first applied Chinese brush painting to "Where is Mama?" or "The Little Tadpole Looking for His Mother" in 1960, which stunned the animation world when it was produced.

As the first president of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Te insisted on innovation and introduced new techniques such as incorporating traditional paper-cutting and paper-folding in animated films. While he was in charge of the work, the Shanghai Animation Film Studio produced many other animated films such as "Uproar in Heaven" and "NeZha Riots the Seas."

"The Conceited General" in 1956

"Where is Mama?" or "The Little Tadpole Looking for His Mother" in 1960

"The Cowboy's Flute" in 1963

"Feeling from Mountain and Water" in 1988