Jack Ma's drawings lead to online amusement, soul searching

Alibaba founder Jack Ma proved he's got more to offer than business acumen.

The billionaire published four comic drawings inspired by self-portraits on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like variant, on Sunday morning, saying it takes more to be a painter than to run a business.

As he developed Alibaba from an unknown start-up into an Internet conglomerate listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Ma's status as a successful entrepreneur is self-evident. Taking his business accomplishments into account, maybe it can be as hard to be an equally capable artist.

Now that the business leader finds every little bit about his life under national scrutiny – a byproduct of frequenting China's Rich List and Alibaba's sensational initial public offering last September - it came as no surprise that the post attracted more than 43,000 likes and nearly 8,000 comments in 24 hours.

Apart from the aesthetic perspective, some viewers said it's the blogger's whimsical captions that prompted more laughter, offering a glimpse of the businessman's verbal skills.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma published four comic drawings inspired by self-portraits on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like variant, on Sunday morning, saying it takes more to be a painter than to run a business. [Photo/weibo.com]

"This painting from Pablo Picasso's early age caught my eye on my first visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Reflecting the famous Spanish painter's sense of beauty, it can demand any price," Ma wrote. A question was raised to independent viewers: what makes the artwork great – the painter's skills or the good-looking model?

It can't be more noticeable that the model looks like you, Jack.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma published four comic drawings inspired by self-portraits on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like variant, on Sunday morning, saying it takes more to be a painter than to run a business. [Photo/weibo.com]

The other three images followed a timeline from a childlike Jack to a boldly-dressed, white-haired young Jack and ended with a cigarette-smoking senior.

The caption on the second image, with Jack sporting a pop star vibe, reads "be your true self", indicating a blatant, out-there attitude.

Now the tone is less farcical and more philosophical.