After graduating from “Lu Xun Academy of Arts and Literature” of Yan’an in 1940, Gu Yuan went to Nianzhuang Town for rural grass-roots work. He served as a member of the local culture and education committee, and lived with farmers. He attached great importance to inspirations from ordinary life, and once compared himself to a diligent bee, which “produces spiritual honey from the spring of people’s life.” Liu Zhidan is just a work of that stage.

The painting vividly depicts the warm scene where Liu Zhidan, one of the creators of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and a hero, goes to a newly-liberated village to meet the poor and is surrounded by enthusiastic villagers. In the center of the picture, Liu and the villagers embrace each other tightly. He is tall, handsome, kind and resolute, and full of great concern for the villagers. Villagers are gathering around him from both sides of the picture, forming the main body of the composition. Some of the villagers hold Liu Zhidan’s arms, some open their mouths halfway. All of them lean towards Liu, expressing gratitude with postures and facial expressions. The props like the grinding base, buckets and other furnishings originate from Gu’s careful observation of the daily life.

The well-arranged figures, emotional scene and the bold and powerful carving technique bring out the best in each other. With the composition of a horizontal row, Gu connects Liu, the main figure, and the crowd, and reflects the theme via simple emotion. By integrating the intaglio and the relief, he highlights the contrast between black and white and creates distinct sense of depth. The sagacious and tough image of Liu and the hard-working and kind-hearted masses are vividly depicted in this work, as natural as a trickle of emotion flowing slowly among the crowd.

(Edited by Li Hanning & Yang Zhige, 2021)