With the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic on October 1, 2009,
China has presented a new face to the world. Over the past 60 years,
Chinese society has undergone significant changes that are clearly
reflected in literature, painting, film, drama and other literary and
artistic works. In China, both the rich and the poor, the elite and the
working class all celebrate the Spring Festival. Paintings depicting
Spring Festival entertainments are one of the most popular and
inexpensive consumables of the season. Before TV sets and
internet became as popular as today, Chinese New Year
paintings (including publicity paintings) were one of the most
direct and biggest media for observations of China, which were able to
reach millions of households throughout the country. This book is
composed of 200 carefully chosen Chinese New Year paintings from 1949
on, and is divided into threetime periods: 1949-1965. 1966-1978, and
1979-2009. These paintings tell of the major events in China from
different perspectives and in different periods over the past 60 years.
including politics, the economy, urbanization, industrial and
agricultural production, folk customs and more. In doing so. they
objectively reflect the extraordinary process of China's development and
growth.
