Children Write to the Army
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This colorful image, in the style of folk-art prints from Yangliuqing, depicts children writing letters to their military heroes, a favored theme expressing the people’s affection for the army. The revolutionary message is integrated with traditional symbols such as the gourds of long life and good fortune.
Zhang studied traditional Chinese painting at the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) he taught cartoon making at the Lu Xun Academy of Literature and Art in Yan’an. Purged in 1957 as a rightist and again during the Cultural Revolution, he was rehabilitated in 1978 and later served as President of the Chinese Artists’ Association.
Zhang studied traditional Chinese painting at the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) he taught cartoon making at the Lu Xun Academy of Literature and Art in Yan’an. Purged in 1957 as a rightist and again during the Cultural Revolution, he was rehabilitated in 1978 and later served as President of the Chinese Artists’ Association.
Artwork Details
- Ertong laojun
- Title: Children Write to the Army
- Artist: Zhang Ding (Chinese, born 1917)
- Date: 1949–50
- Culture: China
- Medium: Watercolor woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 6 5/8 x 9 13/16 in. (16.9 x 24.9 cm)
Overall: 22 x 15 15/16 in. (55.9 x 40.5 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: On loan from the British Museum
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art