In July 1969, disastrous mountain torrents flooded the Huangshan Region of Anhui Province, and 11 educated young people from Chalinchang, Huangshan went into the waist-high raging floodwater hand in hand to rescue the food and chemical fertilizers of the commune and thus died unfortunately. After that, Li Borong and Shi Qi, two young painters, rushed there for an interview on the event and created an illustration for the corresponding thematic report which was published in the Jiefang Daily later. Since then, the picture had raised much attention immediately. Ha Qiongwen from Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House contacted Liu and invited him to paint a piece of gouache painting based on the original black-and-white sketch for promotion. Liu recalled that he was just 17 years old then and finished the creation with “dedicated outlines, great value and profound composition” in no time.

In the picture, Liu depicted the intense scene of these young martyrs fighting against the torrents in his imagination. The huge waves created by the surging flood were about to swallow up the 11 educated young people who stand hand in hand to form a defensive wall with their bodies. Among the young men and women in the foreground, one in a red vest raises his right fist, showing his firm will and perseverance, which echoes the title “There Is No Fear with Light in the Heart”. The woman beside him holds a Little Red Book (of selected writings of Mao Zedong), demonstrating the fighting spirit of rising to the challenge and the fearless spirit in the battle against flood. The nine people in different postures behind them, just like sculptures of life, form a solid arc structure and exhibit their determination to win.

In the “red” visual art environment, the picture filled with dramatic tension gives the audience a great refreshing feeling no matter in terms of the topic or the visual effect, and carries the sincere and exciting temperament of the times. It is not only a historical painting of a special era, but also a hymn to life!

(Edited by Li Hanning & Yang Zhige, 2021)