History of Modern Chinese Prints

Author: Li Yunjing
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1996-10-01
Features: Li Yunjing is a renowned scholar of Lu Xun and has published works such as Lu Xun and the Emerging Woodcut Movement and Lu Xun and Chinese and Foreign Art. This demonstrates his inheritance of Lu Xun’s concerns for Chinese art and the emerging woodcut art movement. What makes me even happier is that he has not only delved into the field of art but has also transformed from an ordinary art enthusiast into an outstanding expert in modern Chinese woodcuts. As a result, he has successfully written this outstanding History of Modern Chinese Woodcuts.
In the history of modern Chinese art, woodcut art played the role of a pioneering revolutionary art, expressing the revolutionary and combative spirit of modern China in artistic form. It is deeply connected to the joys and sorrows, struggles and aspirations of the people, embodying the spirit of the times. Therefore, writing the history of modern Chinese woodcuts should firmly grasp the main theme of the era, treating the artistic achievements of numerous woodcut artists as bright and beautiful notes, composing a moving symphony. Li Yunjing’s History of Modern Chinese Woodcuts shows that he has successfully completed this great symphony.
The author uses five periods—germination, growth, development, extraordinary period, and prosperity—as the framework and longitude of the book, while discussing the woodcut movement, woodcut artists and their works, exchanges between Chinese and foreign woodcuts, and the theoretical development of woodcuts as the latitude to elaborate on the activities and development of emerging Chinese woodcuts in different periods. Thus, this book is both a microcosm of the 60-year development of emerging Chinese woodcuts and an analysis and evaluation of their creative works over the past 60 years.
Although as an art historian, one should be loyal to the objective course of the development of emerging Chinese woodcuts, how to evaluate woodcut artists and their works may vary depending on the author’s artistic perspective and intentions, leading to different choices and emphases, as well as different praise and criticism. Li Yunjing has consistently adhered to the literary theories of Lu Xun and Mao Zedong, and his fundamental stance is realism. I carefully read his 400,000-word manuscript, and overall, his academic approach is rigorous, the chapter layout is clear, and the narration of the woodcut movement is concise yet comprehensive, without the mere listing of events like a. Over 90% of the excellent works of woodcut artists reviewed in the book align with my own views and with the generally recognized facts in the field of woodcuts. For example, when reviewing Li Hua’s later works, he particularly praises A New Building Rises from Ruins and Conquering the Yellow River. When discussing Gu Yuan’s works, he especially praises Xianglinbu’s Sorrow. When commenting on Chao Mei’s creations, he highlights September in the North. When analyzing Li Huamin’s works, he praises Tibetan Girl and First Treading the Golden Path. All the works he praises are representative. Moreover, his writing is concise and vivid, with in-depth analyses of the works, achieving the depth described by Zheng Banqiao as “penetrating the wood” rather than “scratching the boot.” This demonstrates that he is indeed a scholar worthy of the name.
The original Soviet female writer L. once described sowing in her novels as the land “conceiving.” This metaphor is excellent.