Niu Wen (b. 1922) Linshi, Shanxi

Niu joined the Eighth Route Army in Yan'an, in 1937, and studied at the Lu Xun Academy of Literature and Arts. In 1943 he was transferred to the Jin-Sui Border Region, in Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, where he made woodblock prints, was secretary of the Art Workers' Association, and edited the newspapers People's Pictorial and Jin-Sui Daily. Like Li Shaoyan, he travelled in 1949 with the army to Sichuan; later, in Chongqing, he worked as editor of the newspapers New China Daily and New China Pictorial. He was among the first to popularize minority peoples as subjects for prints. His official posts have included chairman of the Chongqing branch of the Chinese Artists' Association, vice-chairman of the Sichuan branch of the Chinese Artists' Association, member of the council of the Chinese Artists' Association, and vice-chairman of the Chinese Printmakers' Association.

82. New Students for Beijing University 1954 27 x 46 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper Signed and title inscribed by the artist A Westerner and a Zangzu (Tibetan) woman are among several people waiting to board the airplane that will take them to Beijing.     83. The East Is Red, The Sun Is Rising 1959 30.5 x 32 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper Signed and title inscribed by the artist A group of Tibetan children dance to the popular song of the print's title. (See also note to The Commune's Club, cat.10). The title was changed to Happy Tibetan Children when the print's image was posted on the internet.     84. The Dream of "Small Radish Head" Illustration for the novel Red Rock 1961 46 x 27.3 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper Signed and title inscribed by the artist The novel, by Luo Gongbin and Yang Yiyan, has a child-hero who spends his life in a Guomindang jail with his parents, both imprisoned because they are Communists. He is given the nickname "small radish head" because his head seems large compared to his undernourished body. A historical novel whose action takes piace in Sichuan, the book was published in *Chongqing in 1961. Many of the most prominent Sichuan woodblock artists created illustrations for it, including Li Shaoyan, Li Huanmin, Wu Qiangnian and Xu Kuang, who are represented in this exhibition.     Li Shaoyan and Niu Wen 81. Finished With Medical Studies, She Returns 1954 25 x 37.5 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper With a stethoscope protruding from her pocket, a young Zangzu (Tibetan) woman is greeted by family and friends. The herds of animals, houses and sheds, clothing, and farm implements are all specific to the Tibetan way of life.