Suzhou: Taohuawu Nianhua Workshop

13. Hero in a Battle n.d., but early 1950s 28.7 x 20.7 cm Polychromatic; shuiyin on daolin paper The title of the print is written on the red ribbon hanging from the soldier's paper merit flower. The children, including a girl, engage in typical New Year's activites, holding lanterns and setting off firecrackers. Stars, signifying the People's Liberation Army, adorn the soldier's cap and the flags rising from his shoulders; the latter is a convention borrowed from Peking opera-costuming to indicate a general's status. The print thus tells us that now an ordinary soldier deserves the honor granted in former times to high-ranking officers, and he, rather than gods, protects the children. 14. Eternal Life n.d., but 1950s 54 x 37 cm Polychromatic; shuiyin on daolin paper Printed at the bottom, left: "each print ten fen; no one may charge more than this." Bottom, right: "Suzhou, Taohuawu New Year's pictures workshop." Written on the peach: "Long Live Chinese Socialism." The peach and the storks flying above are traditional symbols of longevity. 15. Bumper Harvest A pair of New Year's prints December 1963 Yang Yunqing, artist; Xu Quanlin, engraver Both polychromatic; shuiyin on daolin paper The Commune Has Great Strength 45.8 x 25.6 cm Printed on the bottom margin: "price, twelve fen. Suzhou, Tao Huawu Woodcut New Year's Print." Celebrate an Abundant Harvest Year after Year 45.5 x 25.8 cm Printed on the bottom margin: "December 1963, first printing." The traditional magpie (symbol of joy) and the New Year's Lion Dance (to encourage rain) are shown on both prints. Cotton (the major industrial crop) and grains (the basis of the Chinese diet) are the harvest. The title of each print is written on a banner; the one on the right is a modern innovation, and the one on the left, a traditional New Year's print invocation. On each of the prints is a Chinese character that appears to be hung from a red ribbon. Together they read, "Bumper Harvest." 16.A pair of New Year's prints 1964 Yang Yunqing, artist; Xu Quanlin and Zhao Meigen, engravers Both polychromatic shuiyin on daolin paper (newsprint) Chinese Daughters Have High Aspirations 52 x 32 cm Printed at the bottom: "Suzhou city, Tao Huawu Woodcut New Year's Print; August 1964."   They'd Rather Wear Weapons Than Pretty Clothes   52 x 32.8 cm Printed at the bottom: "Suzhou city, Tao Huawu Woodcut New Year's Print." The titles of the pictures, written in semi-circles above rising red suns, are lines from a poem by Mao Zedong called "Militia Women: Inscription on a Photograph (1961)." The sun is a symbol of Communism as personified by Mao Zedong. Armed women demonstrate the change in female roles brought about by the new society. The motto on the kite held by the seated woman on the right says, "we surely will liberate Taiwan Island." The motto on the kite held by the seated woman in the left print says, "down with American Imperialism!" The pattern of the waves and rocks in the pictures recalls the design at the lower edge of robes worn by officials when they attended court during the Qing Dynasty. In imperial times it symbolized the emperor's role as mediator between heaven and earth. Here, in the Communist context, waves and rocks represent the multitude of China's people and their homeland. 17. Meeting the "Spring Ox" 1965 35 x 53.3 cm Polychromatic; shuiyin on daolin paper Hai Fuding, artist Printed on the bottom margin: "Suzhou, Tao Huawu Woodcut New Year's Print; price, ten fen. A tractor, called "iron ox" in Chinese and symbolizing modern mechanical aids to labor, is shown covered in pink ribbons which have been draped to create the character "Spring." The celebrants carry cotton, rice, and fish and are surrounded by banners bearing the slogans, "consolidate the collective economy" and "develop agricultural production." The Spring Ox ceremony had been performed in imperial China during the New Year's Festival, which fell at the beginning of spring. A papier-mache ox was beaten, and this was thought to bring on good harvests. The message of the print is that Socialism has brought modernization and is thus superior to the old, superstitious ways.