For my final exhibition I will examine the modernist woodcut movement in China and its unique relationship with communist politics. 

The woodcut movement in China was revived by Lu Xun to produce a more socially-aware art medium for the people. He combined the traditional Chinese print form with Western techniques to introduce a new style for the woodcut print that criticized the social and political circumstances in China. Lu Xun and many other left-wing scholars started to believe that the woodcut print was the best medium to portray the social and political upheaval in China. Not only was it cheap and easy to mass produce, but the raw aesthetics helped promote powerful messages. The characteristics of linearity, sharp contrast of black and white, and Western realism presented an influential design that had a persuasive impact on its audience. Lu Xun started to use this medium of art as an educational tool, where he could communicate his ideas and reshape what people thought of China. This became a vigorous weapon of the people that Lu Xun used to reveal the harsh realities of imperialism and feudalism to promote socialist modernity.

The woodcut print became a revolutionary new medium of art that diverged from Chinese traditionalism and promoted modernity. The woodcut print had soon developed activist traditions that provided the common people of China a voice. In Lu Xun’s final years of his life he became a patron, where he promoted this socially-aware art form to help better the Chinese society. However, after Lu Xun’s death in 1936 and subsequent years of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) the woodcut print began to experience radical new developments.

Although Lu Xun was never an official member of the Communist Party, his emphasis on the exploitation of peasants and the working class coincided with the political aims of the Communist party (CCP). As a result the Communist party (CCP) adopted the woodcut print and repurposed it to be used as a weapon against their political enemies. This transformed the art of the people into communist propaganda. In Mao’s Yan’an Talks (1942), the leader of the Communist party redefined the role of art in China. The modernist woodcut movement was now strictly used for political purposes only. Chinese woodcuts became associated with the Communist party, which consisted of two types: nationalistic– which attacked the imperialists and GMD, or socialistic– which praised the CCP (Hung 1997,  p.35). After Lu Xun’s death, the woodcut print was controlled by the Communist party, which restricted artistic freedom and reshaped its purpose to align with communist politics.

Through several works the audience can see the transition of woodcuts before and after it was adopted by the Communist party…

Li Hua, Roar, China! woodcut, 1938.

Li Hua, Raging Tide I: Struggle, woodcut, 1947.

Li Hua, Arise, woodcut, 1947.

Yang, Yanbin, Mao Zedong, woodcut, 1945.

Li Qun, To Live in Abundance, woodcut, 1944.

Gu Yuan, Protect Our People’s Troops, woodcut, 1944.

Citations:

Lin, Pei-Yin. “Print, Profit, and Perception : Ideas, Information and Knowledge in Chinese Societies, 1895-1949,” edited by Weipin Tsai, BRILL, 2014.

Hung, Chang-Tai. “Two Images of Socialism: Woodcuts in Chinese Communist Politics.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 39, no. 1 (1997): 34-60. 

Two Images of Socialism: Woodcuts in Chinese Communist Politics by Chang-Tai Hung is a scholarly article from the Cambridge University Press that analyzes the influence of woodcuts in Chinese politics. This article provides valuable insight on the relationship between the rise of the Communist party and the modernist woodcut movement. It further delves into the background of the movement and examines its founding father, Lu Xun. The author praises Lu Xun for his contribution to modern art in China and further introduces other well-known woodcut artists such as Li Hua, Wo Zhang, and Gu Yuan. This article provided immense detail about the political aims of woodcut prints and how the CCP strategically used this medium against their political enemies and for promoting the revolution. It analyzed important artists who influenced both the art movement and Chinese politics.

After reading this lengthy article I learned a lot more about my artist, Lu Xun. For instance, Lu Xun was significantly influenced by German graphic artist, Kat Witz; the Russian engraver, Vladimir A. Favorsky, and the Belgian woodcut artist, Frans Masereel. All of which introduced Western techniques of linearity and sharp contrast. Lu Xun borrowed these Western techniques and introduced a new style of woodcut print to China. Both the simplicity of a woodcut and new style of sharp contrast allowed Lu Xun to produce effective messages that promoted social and political change in China. Lu Xun and many other leftists started to believe that this was the new medium for art. Not only could this sway the opinion of the public through effective aesthetics, but it was cheap and easy to mass produce. This article provides interesting information about the modernist woodcut movement in China and its integral relationship with communist politics.

Work Cited:

Hung, Chang-Tai. “Two Images of Socialism: Woodcuts in Chinese Communist Politics.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 39, no. 1, 1997, pp. 34–60.

 https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/179238.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A93a3148d5ce61f0d7aeaa9482a48b6e8

Li Hua, Raging Tide I: Struggle, woodcut, Dimensions 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm), 1947. Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/77098

Li Hua’s “Raging Tide I: Struggle” is a woodcut print that portrays three strained figures laboring in an agricultural field. These men appear to be dragging a plow through the barren fields of rural China. Both the facial expressions and body language of these men reflect the agony these men are experiencing while working in the fields. The viewer can almost sympathize with these toured souls, presumably forced to cultivate this land for their feudal master. Li Hua combines western influence of German expressionism with traditional woodcut print to create a masterpiece.

Li Hua directly references the Peasants’ War series by the German Expressionist Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) in this work. But, at the same time, his work refers to the social turmoil in China during their Civil War. Li Hua provides social commentary that critiques the traditional Chinese life in the rural countryside. Li Hua addresses these issues with a sympathetic and humanitarian touch to his artwork. In this work he reflects the harsh and unfair realities of Chinese feudalism through the pain and agony of the working class peasants. Although Li Hua was not officially a part of CCP until 1953, his works were largely associated with their movement.

Li Hua used woodcut print for art because he believed that it was the best medium to portray social and political upheavals and to promote change, because of its simple black and white nature. The introduction to the modern woodcut movement originated from Lu Xun. In the late 1920’s Lu Xun introduced the modern Western woodcuts in China from German graphic artist, Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) and the Russian engraver, Vladimir A. Favorsky (1886-1964). He considered Western woodcuts a counterpart to the traditional Chinese woodcut prints and combined the two techniques to vividly capture social and political issues in China. Lu Xun proved to be immensely influential to modern Chinese art and introduced technique of woodcut printing to artists such as Li Hua. Many artists followed Lu Xun’s ideals and used the woodcut to promote social/political change and modernization in China.

Citations:

Hung, Chang-Tai. “Two Images of Socialism: Woodcuts in Chinese Communist Politics.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 39, no. 1, 1997, pp. 34–60.

Lin, Pei-Yin. Print, Profit, and Perception : Ideas, Information and Knowledge in Chinese Societies, 1895-1949, edited by Weipin Tsai, BRILL, 2014.