Thé Tjong-Khing

Who is Thé Tjong-Khing?

Thé Tjong-Khing is a children's book illustrator based in the Netherlands.

He was born in Purworedjo, Java to a large Chinese Indonesian family. As a child he was interested in the Tarzan comic strips of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Thé attended the Seni Rupa institute in Bandung. He came to the Netherlands in 1956 and started as a draftsman at the Toonder Studio's, initially as a volunteer and later as an employee.

In addition to his work on Olivier B. Bommelstrip's, he also contributed to the magazine Tina and created Arman & Ilva. In 1970 he was asked to provide illustration for Miep Diekmann's children's book. He became a freelance illustrator providing illustration to many children's book authors such as van Guus Kuijer, Els Pelgrom, Sylvia Vanden Heede en Dolf Verroen.

Thé won the Gouden Penseel award three times, and in 2005 won the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs for his book Waar is de taart?, a picturebook without text. For this he also won the Zilveren Penseel and was nominated for the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis in 2007.

Thé is also a film expert and has won many quizzes and contests over the years.