Wall politics

Author: Chen Zhongdan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-08-01
Features: This is a small book that explores foreign propaganda and history in the 20th century through promotional posters. As far as I know, there is no other book of this kind in China. During my study in the United States, I searched in several libraries but did not find any similar works. I sincerely hope that this modest contribution can inspire fellow enthusiasts to write more comprehensive and in-depth studies on promotional posters and political propaganda, enabling us to gain a multi-faceted understanding of history and better comprehend the present.
The content of political propaganda does not equate to historical facts, and the two are sometimes vastly different. This can be illustrated by comparing the following two well-known images. Precisely because of this, interpreting promotional posters holds particular value.
When it comes to propaganda, let alone political propaganda, it has a long and storied history. The earliest political propaganda work I have encountered is the Narmer Palette from ancient Egypt, dating back 5,000 years. It depicts the Pharaoh Narmer's post-war punishment of captives and his worship of deities on both sides. It can be said that political propaganda emerged almost simultaneously with the history of human civilization and may continue to exist as long as civilization itself.
Each poster in this book is accompanied by a short essay of a thousand words, providing background information and an analysis of various aspects of the poster.