Xia Da (夏达)

She is a Chinese manhua artist. She is best known for creating the comics Zi Bu Yu and Chang Ge Xing, and five million copies of her works have been sold as of 2018. Her art has been noted for its classical style, and have been met with positive reception in both China and Japan. In 2008, she won the Gold Prize in the girls’ category of the fiction section, the Fifth OACC Golden Dragon Award Original Animation & Comic Competition, the biggest one in China of its kind.

Her interests had included painting and comic-reading since she was a child, and she was eventually inspired to make her own comics in high school. She published her first work, titled Cheng Zhang, in the Beijing Cartoon magazine, receiving an encouraging, handwritten reply by her editorial teacher. After graduating from university, she moved to Beijing and briefly worked in advertising before quitting to focus on her own comics. During this time, she became engrossed in drawing, seldom leaving her apartment as she lived on a modest income.

Alternate names: 夏達, Ся Да, 하달