Illustration:
ill. 5.2 (set: 5.2)
Date:
1967
Genre:
woodblock print
Material:
scan, paper, black-and-white; original source: woodblock print
Source:
HWBZL 1980: Hongweibing ziliao 红卫兵资料 (Red Guard publications). Washington: Center for Chinese Research Materials, 1980:683.
Inscription:
混进党里、政府里、军队里和各种文化界的资产 阶极代羡人物，是一批反革命的修正主义分子，一旦 时机成熟，他俩就会要夺取政权，由无产阶裁专政变 为资产阶饭专政。这些人物，有些已被我伺哉破了，有些则还没有被戴破，有些正在受到我何借用，被培 养为我俩的接班人，例如赫鲁囔夫那样的人物，他伺 瑰正踵在我例的身旁，备极党委必须充分注意这一 点。 毛泽东
Keywords:
Mao Zedong, Mao´s words, Red Sun, sunrays, Red Guards, Cultural Revolution, model portrait, woodblock print
Mao the Sun: Red Guard Materials
During this time, one would also frequently encounter Mao as the sun, with sunrays protruding from around his head as in this 1967 Red Guard publication. This type of image was quite ubiquitous and could be found everywhere, on porcelainware, as book illustration, on certificates and more (ill. 5.10 & ill. 5.11). In these images, Mao often towers over his loving people who would appear schematized as symbols: sunflowers often inscribed with the character 忠 for loyalty, as visible on a second image, a propaganda poster (ill. 5.3).
All Mao portraits are illuminated in such a way as to imply that Mao is the primary source of light. In the more obvious cases as here, sunrays are actually emanating from his head, but his cheeks may also be shining brightly as in the oil painting turned propaganda poster of his dip into the Yangzi (ill. 5.6) or the ink painting “Yan’an’s Children” (ill. 5.8); in the more subtle cases, all surfaces that face him appear to be illuminated. In this way, slogans such as “Mao is the sun in our hearts” 毛是我们心中的太阳 are turned into visible evidence (Andrews 1994:360).
