40.

Gu Yuan (1919-96)

Burning the Title Deeds

1947

Woodblock print

28 x 18 cm

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This is one of the best-known prints of the Civil War period (1946-49). It is a dramatic and highly-detailed scene of angry citizens burning the property deeds of a landlord. In Communist-controlled areas, land reform policies were enacted before the formal establishment of the People’s Republic. Gu Yuan had studied at the Lu Xun Academy of Arts, where the prescribed style was based on flat, colourful folk prints known as nianhua, and more of his surviving works are in that style.

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Muban Educational Trust registration number guvyv013