The Way of the Panda

The Way of the Panda is a children’s picture book interpretation of how the Panda got its peculiar markings. The story, written in the form of a fable, is based on the two questions surrounding the Great Panda that remain unanswered to this day:

1. How did it get those strange black and white markings?

2. It was originally a meat eater, what made it become a bamboo eater?

And, like a fable, there are also deeper layers to the story; a story brought to light through the illustrations

The Story

The story centres on how a ferocious white bear got lost in a bamboo forest long ago. The bear succumbed to his nature and devoured all that the forest had to offer, until there was nothing left to devour in a depleted forest. Starving and on the brink of death, the bear was saved by the Golden Monkey who nursed him back to health. Realising the error of his ways, the bear learned the ways of the forest and how to live in harmony within it; changing his ways and diet – the way he lived, balance was ultimately restored in the forest.

So that the lessons learnt are never forgotten, Golden Monkey took ink and brush and painted these reminders on the bear: black limbs so that he only takes what is available and needed, without craving for more; black ears so that he is always alert to the subtle cries of nature; black eyes so that he always sees how his actions are affecting others. And finally, the bear took the brush and painted a black band over his heart, to remind himself of where real change must come from.

The Illustrations

The illustrations will be beautiful and playful, ensuring that the serious messages of the story are presented in an artistic and positive way. The story suggests, at the end, that the only way we can achieve sustainability is changing the way we think and live. And this can only happen if we renew our lost connection with the environment.

The other endangered animals, from the same region as the Pandas, will feature amongst the illustrations as well as appearing as actual cut-outs in the giant bamboo forest. The same animals will be featured in an endangered list at the end of the book. This will bring home the currency, and truisms, contained within the ‘parable’.

[The story was conceptualised during my honours year and finally written after I graduated. I was then employed as the staff writer for the Adelaide Zoo’s Panda Exhibit. But the story is not mine alone, it also belongs to the story’s illustrator. For it was her toil that breathed such life into my words. Thank You Janette! ]

The Panda Story continues within the exhibit

The story of the Giant Panda is much older than the story of humankind. It is a story we can never fully know, or comprehend. We just know it is one that has outlasted the turmoil of natural history.

I chose to take it as a story of survival from a creature who has found a way to live in harmony with its environment. This harmony is a quality ancient Chinese literature has constantly written on.

I used this literature as an interpretive element to carry the story of the Giant Panda further in the exhibit (View: The Chinese Coins).