Chang Chong-Chen, a young Chinese artist studying at the Brussels Beaux-Arts Academy, advised and helped Hergé to this end in 1934, going as far as to write in the militant ideograms on the posters, banners, and walls ("Abolish the unfair treaties!" "Down with Imperialism!" etc.). An intense friendship developed between the two men until Chang's return to his native Shanghai in 1935. Such was the impact of The Blue Lotus that the wife of the nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek invited Hergé to China in 1939, but the impending outbreak of war in Europe, as well as Hergé's workload, prevented him from accepting.