On May 1, 1950, a new version of the portrait of Chairman Mao was once again welcomed on the Tiananmen Gate Tower. After reviewing a large amount of historical materials, Xin Mang finally chose a half-sided photo of the chairman looking up slightly.

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On May 1, 1950, a new version of the portrait of Chairman Mao was once again welcomed on the Tiananmen Gate Tower.

After checking a large amount of historical information, xinmang finally selected a half-sided photo of the chairman looking up slightly. After more than half a month of hard work, the portrait was successfully released, but the people expressed their opinions after reading the painting.

The masses have three doubts about this:

1. Why should a great man look upward, rather than gently facing the people he loves deeply?

2. Why is there only one ear exposed? Combined with the situation at that time, it will give people the illusion that Chairman Mao listens and believes.

3. The portrait is distorted, which is inconsistent with Chairman Mao himself.

The central government has made urgent rectifications in this regard, and this version of the portrait of the great man was also taken down after hanging for a day.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao's portrait has been replaced in 8 versions. What stories have been experienced behind this?

painter Wang Guodong and great men

bustling Tiananmen Square are the recorders of major events in various periods in China, witnessing the rise and fall of this country, and are known as the heart of the entire China.

On the city tower of Tiananmen Square, a huge colorful portrait of Chairman Mao hung for many years. After experiencing wind, frost, rain and snow, it will never fade.

The most surprising thing is the kind gaze of the old man in the portrait. No matter which angle you look at you, you will find that he always looks at you gently. This is the portrait of Chairman Mao who has always accompanied the whole Chinese people.

But few people know that from founding ceremony to the current standard chairperson image, 8 versions were modified and replaced during , and the last version continued to this day, determined in 1967.

At that time, the one who took over the "paintbrush" was Wang Guodong, a portrait painter of Beijing Art Company, .

After taking over the burden, Wang Guodong read a large number of past paintings and worked hard on his eyes.

However, the actual creation began and problems followed one after another. is the basic condition first. Giant canvas are difficult to find. The splicing of canvas affects the smoothness of the painting, let alone the image of a great man for millions of people to admire.

Furthermore, ordinary photo frames are prone to water seepage. When it encounters rainy and snowy weather, the color will be stained and the overall image will be destroyed.

At that time, there was only a standard photo of a great man, and many subtle expressions were difficult to capture, let alone eyes, movements, etc.

Fortunately, the organization provided him with great help. The first is the lack of basic conditions. Relevant personnel quickly found professional people to deal with problem issues such as photo frames, canvas, brushes, etc.

Then the superiors won the opportunity for Wang Guodong to observe the work of great men up close. In the process, he truly felt the great men's love for the people, which laid a solid foundation for his creation.

On National Day in 1967, the portrait of Chairman Mao created by Wang Guodong hung high above the Tiananmen Gate Tower.

This portrait of Chairman Mao made countless people amazed. From the outside, this is a flat portrait with the great man looking straight ahead.

But anyone can feel it from the bottom of their hearts that the kind and peaceful mind contains the tenacity, wit, insight into everything, and deep love for the people.

This portrait is no longer limited to a simple portrait, but also the sustenance of the spirit of hundreds of millions of people.

is also why The giant portrait of Wang Guodong became the final template for years to be drawn. Before that, the portrait of the great man had been changed in 7 versions!

Change of Chairman Mao’s portrait

On February 3, 1949, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army entered Pei Ping , The thousand-year-old capital ushered in the real great liberation, and the portrait of Chiang Kai-shek was taken down. htmlOn the 212th, at the celebration of liberation, a portrait of Chairman Mao, who represents the people as masters of the country, hung high.

are also portraits of Zhu De, Nie Rongzhen, Ye Jianying and others. It is the first and only time that has such a multi-meritorious person on the list at the same time.

The main writer at that time was Dong Xiwen, an oil painter who created "Millions of Heroes Cross the River". The great man once commented on his creation of "The Founding Ceremony": "Our paintings are taken internationally, and others cannot compare to us."

At the meeting commemorating the 12th anniversary of the "July 7th" War of Resistance Against Japan, a portrait of Mao Zedong and Zhu De was hung on the Tiananmen Gate Tower again, and it was still a portrait of a great man written by Dong Xiwen.

On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded!

At this historic moment, Dong Xiwen missed the portrait of a great man, and there were talents in the world. His successor was Zhou Lingzhao .

When Peking was liberated, Zhou Lingzhao was also a teacher in the Department of Practical Arts of the National Arts.

In April, the Central Committee received a Nanjing delegation at the Six Kingdoms Hotel. Zhou Lingzhao was responsible for leading the students to set up the venue. During this period, he created a painting of the chairman hanging in the conference room.

The great man in the painting wore an octagonal hat , his face slightly raised, as if he looked forward to the future, his eyebrows and eyes were smiling, and the collar position was slightly open. The reference is the photo of the great man from the Yan'an period . The background of this portrait is a bright red symbolizing victory, which complements the wooden peace dove in the hall, showing the yearning for a peaceful life. This painting won high praise from the leaders present.

In September, the central government decided to hang portraits of great men on the Tiananmen Gate Tower on the day of the founding ceremony. In order to reflect the solemnity, the previous two versions were abandoned and the photographer was specially asked to take the front portrait of the chairman.

But after all the photos were washed out, the great man expressed his dissatisfaction seriously.

His life serves the people and advances and retreats with the people. He does not like this formal and distance-looking photo , so he suggests to choose from the photos taken by life.

Finally, the image of the great man walking by the Yan'an River in 1945 was finally confirmed. The photographer was Zheng Jingkang . As for the painter, the central government naturally thought of Zhou Lingzhao, who was outstanding in the Six Kingdoms Hotel.

At the warm invitation of the leader, Zhou Lingzhao took the lead in painting a huge portrait of Chairman Mao for the founding ceremony!

For him, this was a supreme and glorious thing. The founding ceremony will surely be recorded in history, so that future generations can remember it for generations. He was extremely excited to be able to contribute to it.

For this reason, he has made great efforts because he has never had the experience of drawing such a giant oil painting in the past, and he can only explore and practice it little by little.

The workplace of the painting is in the space east of the Tiananmen Gate Tower. He and other staff carefully studied the design of the photos, then erected the wooden boards at the base of the wall and built three layers of scaffolding.

The painter in charge of ancient buildings helps them base and adjust colors. Zhou Lingzhao drew the photo into a small square grid, drew a 30cm×40cm draft, and then continued to lattice and enlarge it on the draft.

Time is tight and the task is heavy. Zhou Lingzhao did not dare to relax at all. Every day, they entered the nervous drawing. When the meal is over, the water will be quickly resolved. It is not until the night comes and it is completely invisible, so it staggers back home.

In order to prevent errors, Zhou Lingzhao must get off the shelf and observe the overall effect from a distance every time he draws a little.

Half a month later, is 6 meters high and 4.6 meters wide, wearing an octagonal hat, a thick tweed uniform, and a portrait of a great man with a friendly smile is officially completed. In order to show the great man's free and easy aura, Zhou Lingzhao deliberately opened the collar.

According to the requirements of the city leaders, the five big words "Serve the people" were also written at the bottom of the portrait.

However, when Nie Rongzhen was reviewing the portrait, he found that his collar was open. he suggested that it would be best to buckle the style. After all, it was a founding ceremony, mainly solemn and dignified.

When Zhou Lingzhao and others heard the modification request from their superiors, they immediately modified it.

On the eve of National Day, late at night on September 30, a rapid knock on the door sounded, and Zhou Lingzhao, who was already in a state of uncertainty, was immediately awakened.

After getting up and opening the door, the person who came looked nervous. said that the central leadership suggested removing the five words "Serve the people", and Zhou Lingzhao immediately rushed to the front of the city tower.

At that time, the portrait was too late to take off, so I could only set up a ladder under the door opening to repair it, and the spotlight was turned on around.

Zhou Lingzhao used paint and changed the painting with one hand. He worked hard little by little for the middle of the night, drew the original subtitles into clothes, and added a button to complete the task successfully before dawn!

This is the third version of Chairman Mao’s portrait.

This carefully "carved" oil painting was not hung for too long. On May Day the following year, it was quietly unloaded by the central government in accordance with the regulations of "change once a year".

In early 1950, China and the Soviet Union signed a friendly treaty. Major newspapers and magazines at home and abroad ranked photos of Chairman Mao and Stalin . Both of them were leaders of great powers, but their temperaments were completely opposite.

Stalin was wearing a marshal's formal outfit, feeling a sense of majesty that no strangers could approach, but Chairman Mao was wearing a cotton top, with a friendly smile with unquestionable firmness! In order to show the might of a great country, the central government decided to draw a portrait of the chairman again.

950, the painter Xin Mang received the important task of painting the portrait of the chairman. When he was in the liberated area, he was praised by everyone as the "expert" of the portrait of a great man. The finished product often receives a lot of praise. But unexpectedly, this time he missed his way!

After reading a large amount of historical materials, Xin Mang selected the great man to raise his head slightly, looked at the half-sided photos above, and summoned well-known painters such as Zuo Hui and Zhang Songhe to work together.

On May 1, the painting was completed and hung high on the Tiananmen Gate Tower, but passers-by shook their heads to express their dissatisfaction when they stopped to watch.

The most controversial ones are single ears and eye issues. Xin Mang's original intention is to reflect the foresight of the great man, and the most intuitive understanding of the people is not in line with the daily image of the great man.

In the hearts of the people, The great man has always cared for the people and treated the people sincerely, kindly and cared for them. It is absolutely impossible for the people to look up to him. And only one ear will remind people of being partial and believing.

Great people have always been strict with themselves, lenient with others, advocate fairness and justice, and the meaning of single-ear is not very good!

combined with the strong feedback from the public, the central government decided to draw a portrait of the chairman again. The fourth edition of the portrait was also removed immediately after Labor Day.

combined with the suggestions of the general public, Chen Shilin of the Photography Office , after gradual selection and inspection, he determined a photo of the Chairman and several combat heroes as a sample of the fifth edition. The great man in this photo is kind and dignified and generous. After the chairman's personal identification, it was officially announced by Xinhua . Xinmang and others then used this as a copy to draw a new image of Chairman Mao. After the National Day exhibition, it received unanimous praise and was not officially replaced until 1952.

The sixth and seventh editions were created by Zhang Zhenshi of Central Academy of Fine Arts. It follows the former style and focuses on looking straight ahead and looking at the front with a kind face, and has slightly modified it.

Unfortunately, the author of the creation portrait has very strict requirements on physical fitness.

Each time you draw, you need to go back and forth from a ladder more than 6 meters high to view the overall effect. The painting is divided into several parts, each part must be completed in one go, and there is no pause in the middle.

According to normal levels, a portrait takes more than 20 days, which is a huge test for the painter's physical strength.

Therefore, after became the "special painter" of Chairman Mao's portrait for eleven consecutive years, Zhang Zhenshi's body issued an early warning, but he had no choice but to take down his heavy responsibility and handed over to Wang Guodong!

In October 1967, the portrait of Chairman Mao painted by Wang Guodong received unanimous praise from everyone and the final version was confirmed.

In 1976, the great man passed away, and Wang Guodong became the last portraitist of the Chairman during his lifetime. The portraits of the great man since then were no longer superficial ornamental works, but an important inheritance of the people's spirit.

Before 966, portraits of great men were hung on major holidays, which generally did not exist. After 66 years, the central government made a decision to hang great men's portraits on the city tower every day, and a new one must be replaced before the National Day every year.

I believe many people have doubts about this, why does a great man need to spend time and effort every year to replace it? Why don’t you hang photos and prefer portraits? How long will it take to hang a lifelike portrait of a great man?

Many doubts about the Chairman's portrait

Ge Xiaoguang is a painter who has been responsible for painting great portraits since 1977. In related interviews, he made corresponding replies.

Photography and painting are always different. Photography records real images, and painting emphasizes vividness. No matter which angle it records, photography can only reflect truthfully, at most a press release.

Different paintings, choosing painting means having a fixed understanding of something, the portrait of a great man must have charm, pay attention to the spirit, and be able to lively painting.

painting can completely make up for the small shortcomings and shortcomings in photography. From the final version, no matter from which angle, the great man is like looking at everyone gently, and photography cannot express such feelings.

and the portrait on the city tower means that it will be experiencing wind, sun, rain, frost, and long-lasting hanging. The color must be different from the first time. In addition to studying the production method, frequent replacement is also a big way!

Finally, it is a matter of hanging time. It has been decades since the death of the great man. During this period, the leaders have been constantly changing, but the portrait on the Tiananmen Gate Tower will never change.

In 1980, Italy Farage, known as the "world's No. 1 female journalist", asked whether the portrait of Deng Xiaoping's great man was permanently preserved during the special period of reform and opening up .

Deng Xiaoping made an accurate reply: "Always keep it."

In the view of Deng Gong, without Chairman Mao, China would have to explore in the dark for a longer time. His greatest achievement was to combine Marxism-Leninism with Chinese practice and point out the path to victory in China!

The permanent hanging of the image of the Chairman represents the pioneering and innovation of the New China and is a beacon for future rulers. allows every citizen on the land of China to stand between the world confidently and proudly, creating a prosperous era for everyone to be masters of the people!