In the 1940s, Wu Yinxian took numerous photographs of Mao Zedong, especially between 1942 and 1945. In 1942, the Yan’an reforms and Mao Zedong’s Talks on Art and Culture at the Yan’an Meeting has elevated the artistic language the artist used motivated by saving one’s country to a height of revolutionary aesthetics, thus demanding the artist to shift from self-conscience to obedience, while clarifying their object and function their art serves.

Hardworking for Career Launching was shot in 1942 when Mao Zedong reported to the leaders of the 120 Division in the grottos of Yan’an. Mao Zedong wore grey uniform, two patches on his pants, and fabric shoes on his feet, standing in front of a small stool, who looked at the people with earnst gaze, his body leaning forward, hands held together in the motion of calculating. From this moment, Wu Yinxian has sensed the classical movements in Mao Zedong.

(Edited by Su Wenxiang, Xu Chongbao, Huang Si, 2015)