Chinese animation has a history of over 80 years, starting with the "Wan Brothers" (Wan Laiming, Wan Guchan, and Wan Chaochen) who started to produce Chinese cartoon films in the 1920s in many kinds of categories, such as puppet，paper-cut and so on.

Ink-wash animation is one of them, having first appeared in the 1960. It was a breakthrough in the form of expression and aesthetic conception in animated area. Two Ink-wash films called "Tadpoles Searching for Mother" and "Cowherd's Flute," with Te Wei as art director and Qian Jiajun as technical director developed a high reputation both at home and abroad.

The former received the Best Animated Film Prize at the First Hundred Flower Awards as well as winning five international prizes, while “Cowherd’s Flute" was awarded the Golden Prize at the Odense International Fairy Tale Film Festival in Denmark.

Water ink animation reflects the thinking of traditional Chinese aesthetics. France, "Le Monde" in the commentary said: "The Chinese ink painting, scenery soft, meticulous style, and expressed concern that, indecision and happy action, the film has charm and poetry." A scholar also commended that, “This is entirely Chinese-style animation.”

Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy (1960)