Song Yuanwen is a cross-century artist who inherited the essence of the new Chinese woodcut and initiated the spirit of contemporary printmaking. He also made significant contributions to the teaching of printmaking in CAFA and the development of contemporary Chinese printmaking. He has studied under emerging representatives of printmaking such as Li Hua, Gu Yuan, Huang Yongyu and other leading masters. Professor Song Yuanwen is already 80 years old, but he is still devoted to the expansion and research of printmaking language. His works, “Spring Flood”, “Rondo”, “A Place Where Wild Flowers Bloom” and “Across the Sky” have been exhibited in the 9th, the 10th, the 11th and the 12th National Prints Exhibition, Another work “A Flock of Birds Searching for Home” was selected into the 8th National Art Exhibition, and his works have been collected by many essential art galleries and institutions at home and abroad. 

Following the exhibition entitled “Prometheus in Printmaking” celebrating the 110th anniversary of the birth of Mr. Li Hua, CAFA Art Museum launches another research exhibition for professor Song Yuanwen – “Spiritual Journey”, which comprehensively showed Professor Song Yuanwen’s engagement in printmaking up to now, and explored the practice process of printmaking shifting from the traditional to the modern and the contemporary. As a printmaking educator, Mr. Song Yuanwen opened a new era of teaching about the in-depth study of printmaking techniques and the development of diversified ideas and art languages of printmaking, thus laying the foundation for the development of printmaking education in line with international standards. As a printmaking activist, he carried on the spirit of the emerging woodcut movement, actively participated in the national printmaking activities, continuously promoted the vitality of printmaking, and encouraged the young generation of artists to involve in these activities as well. While as an independent creator, professor Song Yuanwen explored the approach to connect printmaking art with contemporary times by refined carving technique and sincere emotion. We selected 50 pieces of works from the exhibition to get a brief understanding of Professor. Song Yuanwen’s tireless pursuit of art and his vision, as well as the aesthetic energy in his works.

 1  Moving Sunlight

Moving Sunlight, 26cm×15cm, Stone Plate, 1956

Song Yuanwen made this work in his first month of school. It depicts a corner of the former site of CAFA under the guidance of Mr. Li Hongren and reflects Song Yuanwen’s nostalgia in the old CAFA.

 2  Mother and Daughter

Mother and Daughter, 24cm×14cm, Colored woodcut, 1957

“I am just recording my real experience”, said Song Yuanwen. This picture is based on the composition he made when he went to the countryside and carved after he returned to school. When speaking of this print, Mr. Song recalled his true feelings: “It is very common that children would follow the example of adults. I also had this kind of experience, like if my mother went to the river to wash clothes, I also followed along, taking a piece of small clothes and learning to beat it with a stick. Thus, children learn by examples, and many behaviors and habits are learned from parents. At that time, some classmates questioned me what is the point of this? My understanding at that time was that the enlightenment of life came from the teaching by word and example, imitating what parents did. It took me several years to come up with a phrase to describe it as ‘behavior culture’.”

 3  Under the Old Cypress

Under the Old Cypress, 17cm×22cm, Black and white woodcut

“In 1958, I attended Mr. Huang Yongyu’s class on wood carving techniques, and he taught us to start from the structure. I went to People’s Cultural Palace and spent half a day to paint cypress trees. From tree trunks, branches and leaves, I clearly described each part and the relationship between various parts of the background, and thus created ‘Under the Old Cypress’. From then on, I realized that the basic language composition of woodcut must be based on the structure of black-white-gray and dot-line-surface, which is different from drawing objects with parallel lines or color gradation. This can also be demonstrated in traditional woodcut prints and foreign black and white woodcut.”

 4  The Ninth of the “For the Sake of Sixty-one Brothers” Series

The Ninth of the “For the Sake of Sixty-one Brothers” Series, 29cm×27cm, Colored woodcut, 1960

It is one of Song Yuanwen’s few works on revolutionary battles, and it reflects the artist’ understanding of the contemporaneity of art in that era, which made his strokes in line with the times. Song Yuanwen recalled: “In that year, there were 61 migrant workers suffered food poisoning in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, which affected the hearts of the whole country. What I drew was a crowd lighting a bonfire, expecting a plane from Beijing to drop medicine.”

 5  The illustration for The Hurricane

The illustration of The Hurricane, 25cm×36cm, Black and white woodcut, 1959

The creation concept of this work came from Song Yuanwen’s experience of witnessing the historical event – “Land Reform” in his childhood. The peasants who had been poor for thousands of years were liberated, and this was a great shock to his soul. Later, when he saw Zhou Libo’s novel The Hurricane, he was reminded of the Land Reform and came up with the idea to draw illustrations for it, with the characters depicted mostly coming from his memories.

The Land Reform was a major theme of revolutionary art creation in the 1950s and 1960s. According to Song Yuanwen, “Important topics that reflected the nature of reality were advocated in those years, and I also had a life experience of Land Reform. For this reason, I have gone to Shangzhi county, Heilongjiang province to experience life, and collected newspaper materials in the Land Reform period during my winter and summer holidays, producing more than 20 sketches. I only accomplished one of them, ‘Revolt’. And for the rest, as the plan was too big, it was picked up twice later but put down due to busy work.”

   6  A Celebration of the Lantern Festival

A Celebration of the Lantern Festival, 16cm×45cm, Black and white woodcut, 1959

“In the era of the Great Leap Forward, people have active minds, and students spontaneously organized activities. In the windows of Wangfujing Department Store and Xidan Exhibition windows and more than ten other places, students’ new works are displayed aperiodically. I carved ‘A Celebration of the Lantern Festival’ depicting the dragon lantern dance and ‘The Class in the Field’ describing rural pupils taking part in productive labor as a lesson in the field.”

 7  Singing

Singing, 45cm×42cm, Black and white woodcut, 1960

Song Yuanwen always believes that artistic creation should be implicit and natural, and he advocated to feel the ordinary people’s optimistic attitude towards work and life and the yearning for a better future from the real experience. To this point, he once recalled: “in the creation class in the first half of 1960, I first went to Beitaishan (now Lake Yanqi) to experience life in the construction site of the reservoir and made a few sketches. After returning to school, I conceived again and again, and finally, I finished ‘Singing’ by black and white woodcut. At that time, the Great Leap Forward had turned into a difficult period and the angle that is chosen for Singing intended to express the ideals of the masses. There was also an interlude during the creation of this print. People who sang songs held their heads up, and when Mr. Gu Yuan looked at the sketch, he found a girl with her head down. I was thinking about whether to change it or how to change it, and then the master turned around and said yes, there were changes and diversified unity. A group of old men came to see us taking the creation class, and we respected old men very much at that time. There were several colored flags inserted in the background of the picture, and according to the usual black and white woodcut, it should be shown as black. Unfortunately, it can only be carved into a single line in that period, so even now, the disharmony still remains and is regarded as a regret left by the history.”

 8  August

August, 40cm×60cm, Colored woodcut, 1961

“August” is the graduate creation of Song Yuanwen. At that time, it was the difficult period of “Great Chinese Famine (1959-1961)”, and to highlight the theme of self-reliance and hard work, Song Yuanwen chose to work for the “Farming Autumn” in one of the hardest production teams in his hometown Liaoning province. The austere life brought him unforgettable experience and unavoidable puzzle and confusion, which laid the foundation for his creation conception. It tries to show the theme of harvest but is far from real life. When Song Yuanwen saw farmers not complaining but being busy with autumn harvest for the winter and new year, he believed that their desires to get rid of trouble through hard work was another reality that dominated their lives. He hopes that his works can inspire people and believes that he can tide over the difficulties with them together. Those real scenes and bright colors in the works, to a certain extent, expresses the simple feelings of laborers and their aspiration for happiness, and also conform to the artists’ pursuit of being close to reality and striving for his dream. This set of prints also shows the painter’s ability to describe landscapes and his natural familiarity and affability with rural life. About that year’s graduation creation, Song Yuanwen described as follows: “the fifth grade was the time for graduate work, and in the second half of 1960, I went to the toughest district in Liaoning province – the seventh team of Gonggao Yingzi of Dapingjian commune in Chaoyang county to experience life. China had entered the three years of ‘Great Chinese Famine’ then, and people in the countryside was still eating steamed corn bread by communal pot. The members of the commune all knew that the production team had no surplus grain, and as soon as the autumn harvest was over, many people rushed to Heilongjiang province where they were said to be able to pick up 30 jin of grain a day. During the Spring Festival, each person can only get half a kilo of white flour and a kilo of meat. Farmers were generally down in spirits. On second thought, my graduation creation should only be based on self-reliance and hard work as the concept. In the spring of 1961, some students felt that the creation materials were not enough, so they went to the Zhakou village of Wanjin county (now Shunping county), Hebei province for half a month. Thus, the background of ‘August’ was drawn from Chaoyang city, Liaoning province, which emphasized the theme of food as it was vital to the lives of hundreds of millions of people. In 1961, I stayed at the academy after graduation, and I taught sketch class and served as the teacher in charge of the class, taking students to the countryside for practice, which kept me busy without time to do creations.”

 9  Early Spring

Early Spring, 36cm×55cm, Watermark print, 1963

In the early 1960s, the country advocated military reclamation in the border areas, encouraging young people to explore the frontier of the motherland. “Early Spring” was created in such a background. Song Yuanwen has been fond of wild geese since he was a child, and in his print, wild geese appeared first in 1962. From the habits and movements of wild geese, the artist felt the correspondence of various emotions and thoughts were flying in the infinite space and time with the assistance of the wings of wild geese. We can see that lyrical styles emerged in “Early Spring”. Mr. Song Yuanwen said: “the ‘Early Spring’ created in 1962 when the state was promoting youth to support border areas, and the students were proud of obeying the state’s distribution, with the mood of the people striding forward with the newly-established republic.”

 10  Spring

Spring, 46cm×52cm, Colored woodcut, 1964

“The picture depicts a scene just after the Spring Festival: the tractor station hurried to repair the tractor and the leader of the production team also came to discuss cooperation in advance, presenting the theme of diligent people doing plow.”

 11  One of the “Battle Drum at the Equator” Series

One of the “Battle Drum at the Equator” Series, 38cm×51cm, Black and white woodcut, 1965

Around 1960, people of colonial countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America started vigorous independence and liberation movements, and was supported by all righteous countries and people all over the world. What a heavy price paid by humans for the end of an old system and the birth of a new one. Song Yongwen said he was fortunate to be at the end of this historical tide. The creation of the “Battle Drum at the Equator” Series is really a sympathetic and passionate work. The composition and description of the picture tend to be concise and formal, with color blocks highlighted.

In this group of black and white woodcut prints full of revolutionary passion, we can feel the inheritance of art. Looking back on Mr. Li Hua’s “Raging Billows”  series of painting, we can also feel the carrying on of revolutionary woodcut prints in each generation from the uncertainty and passion of the composition structure of the work and the intense relationship between black and white, of course, there are also obvious differences. Mr. Li Hua’s works are atmospheric and have many rich details, sharp and full of turbulence, while Mr. Song Yuanwen’s “Battle Drum at the Equator” Series is more general as the composition and description of the picture tend to be concise and formal, with color blocks highlighted.

“In 1964, at a time when the people of Asian, African and Latin American countries were waging a struggle against imperialist colonial rule, I created three paintings of the ‘Battle Drum at the Equator’ series based on twelve years of suffering as a conquered people, which could be regarded as a sympathetic and passionate work. In retrospect, the works in this period were generally unaffected by the left-leaning, which may account for my accepting the concept of poetic painting in my early years – not fond of the straightforward slogan but to follow the law of art.”

 12 The Voice of China

The Voice of China, 54cm×60.5cm, Black and white woodcut, 1978

It is a typical engraving work on the basis of revolutionary realism aesthetic creation. It is actually the choice of the times and is difficult for the painter to get rid of this constraint. Song Yuanwen was originally good at lyric expression, but his artistic exploration was suspended for more than ten years due to the heating up of political movement and the disturbance of the turmoil of the Culture Revolution.

“‘The Voice of China’ stated: since the war years, my greatest respect has been given to those who gave their lives for the cause of Communism, even though I have made very few direct political works. During the ten years of the Cultural Revolution, the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries represented by Premier Zhou confrontationally had fought against the ‘Gang of Four’ who attempted to usurp Party and state power. When Premier Zhou died in 1976, people could no longer stand to see what would happen to China’s political situation, and angrily launched a revolution of ‘Tiananmen Incident’ against the ‘Gang of Four’ that shocked the world, which fully showed that public opinion could not be violated. Premier Zhou’s revolutionary career run out of his final energy and strength for the cause of communism. ‘The Voice of China’ was made only to praise the high character of Premier Zhou.”

 13  The Sleepless Earth

The Sleepless Earth, 43cm×80cm, Black and white woodcut, 1979

“The Sleepless Earth” is a work that shows a consistency of individual and the era. In the late autumn of 1978, Chao Mei and I went to the fifth team of the branch farm at Farm 853 in the Jiangken district, Heilongjiang province. We lived next to the tractor station, and it was too noisy to sleep because of the non-stop machine during the autumn plowing. Even if the machine stopped, the motor would not stop. At midnight, Chao Mei and I put on our overcoat and went to the field two kilometers away. In the dark, we saw a tractor shuttling back and forth, with lights on from a distance. The sound of the motor was singing in the sky and offered us an immersive feel that the earth was vibrant and awake, followed by a flash of reflection and exciting thoughts. It was based on this intuitive perception that I really feel China, which needed renewal, marched on, and the heart knots depressed for ten years had been untied. After repeated conception and composition, “The Sleepless Earth” was born.

 14  Farm Holiday

Farm Holiday, 35cm×49cm, Black and white woodcut, 1979

The work “Farm Holiday” presents an open vision with the characters standing in the middle of the picture. The painter stood at a distance from the scene to record and observe the summarised image of characters and the pleasant and vivid scene.

 15   Chanty of Wusuli River

Chanty of Wusuli River, 34cm×55cm, Colored woodcut, 1979

In the late 1970s, Song Yuanwen went to Wusuli River twice, which situated in the border between China and Russia, and the river flows very slowly. Song Yuanwen saw many uninhabited islands along the river, and the colors of autumn, under different weather and different lights, changed endlessly, showing extremely beautiful scenery. The painter was suddenly enlightened to know what is “to find beauty”. In this independent landscape painting, the scene is open, and the middle scene is highlighted, which enabled people to feel the same wide and open mood of the painter. The silhouette of the animal image resembles the geese flying afar, and the character image is condensed. The features of the black earth at this moment deeply touched Song Yuanwen.

 16  Apples Are Ripe

Apples Art Ripe, 44cm×54cm, Colored woodcut, 1979

The painter scaled down the proportions of the characters and enlarged the proportions of apple trees and the fields. The description of the scene seems to be somewhat unrealistic as if there is a sense of abstraction. The arrangement and proportion of various objects may occur naturally in the artist’s creation, but we still are aware of the change in his painting consciousness and his desire to express new points.

 17  Song of Spring

Song of Spring, 28cm×49cm, Colored woodcut, 1979

Fertile soil uncultured for many years, vast grassland, and the footsteps of the development and construction have become the counterpart of an emotional vent of the painter in the artificial nature. Open and bold, this work is different from the small bridge and flowing water in the south part of China but reflects the magnificent beauty of the northern scenery.

 18  Summer

Summer, 28cm×49cm, Colored woodcut, 1980

The picture of this work is vast and comfortable, with more content placed in the middle and long perspective, and people can feel a sense of distance and space created by the picture.

 19  The Willows in the Strong Wind

The Willows in the Strong Wind, 37cm×56cm, Black and white woodcut, 1980

Song Yuanwen said: “Artists and life are the opposite of a contradiction, and you have to communicate with life.” “The Willows in the Strong Wind” is the embodiment of some human feelings in Song Yuanwen’ s works, and it is also a reflection of him penetrating life with the eye of art.

“The image resource of ‘The Willows in the Strong Wind’ came from the inspiration of the willow tree’s quality of ‘overcoming firmness by gentleness’. On the eve of the National day in 1980, I arrived at Qindeli Farm in Tongjiang county. There were a strong wind and cold rain that very night, and I stood at the window of the guest house and looked outside. At a distance of a hundred meters away, there were willows next to the fields and being blown to the ground by the wind, looking like they were going to break and fall down. But as long as the wind came down, willows immediately restore their original posture. For three days and three nights, I observed the willows every day. They do not pick the growth environment, and usually provide a wind barrier and reinforcing dam. With this kind ‘overcoming hardness with softness’ and devotional character, willows left a deep inspiration on me. Before that, I visited several farms, such as Youyi Farm having many imported modern machines, and the newly-built Honghe Farm, which completely adopted western mode to gather the agricultural workers to live in branch factories and commute to and from work by car. However, I didn’t find any creative inspiration from these farms. I also visited some grass-roots cadres of the farms. They were very angry at the Cultural Revolution and couldn’t understand the one-size-fits-all policy of the household contract responsibility system, but they were extremely cautious and responsible for their jobs. The outstanding qualities of those revolutionary leaders, who had made contributions in the war years, cultivated the Great Northern Wilderness in northeast China and experienced all kinds of tests, all accorded with the spirit of ‘softness overcoming hardness’. With this integrating point, I sketched a lot of willows blowing in the wind and drew a small draft easily with a pen, then enlarged it onto the board and thus carved out ‘The Willows in the Strong Wind’.”

 20   The Audience

The Audience,  33cm×54cm, Black and white woodcut, 1981

“In the early summer of 1981, I went to Gahai commune in Hezuo county of Gannan Tibet District for the first time. For an event, herdsmen came from far, pitched camps in the vicinity of the grass beach, and then invited the opera troupe to play Tibetan opera every afternoon in the communal courtyard. Some old women came with their children hours in advance to wait for the show. When they watched the play, they were quiet, crying, while I just sketched the scene. When I looked back the performance on the stage, I found an unexpected scene. The theme of that play was to advise people not to kill. The main character of the queen wore a phoenix coronet, a sunglasses and gold earrings, with her big gold teeth shown from time to time. Also, with a ring on her finger, a watch on her waist, and a pair of high-heel shoes on her foot, she was like a fashionable lady swaying on the stage. The mindless actor with the fascinated audience formed a huge contrast. When I came back to Beijing, I looked at the sketches and carved out ‘The Audience’. If works are usually made for the audience, this work, however, is made for workers of literature and art. As a soul engineer, what do you want to convey to your pious audience with your spiritual product?”

 21  Teacher Zhuoma is Coming

Teacher Zhuoma is Coming, 28cm×45cm, Black and white woodcut, 1981

The print “Teacher Zhouma is Coming” came from my visit to Gannan when I saw that teacher Zhuoma and children were reluctant to part. “In that grassland party, I also saw a Tibetan female teacher of an outstanding image, dressed in decorated black national costume. Her students wanted to draw a painting of her, but she didn’t agree and turned her face away whenever who wanted to draw her. In those days, there was always a group of primary school students around her, and she would take the hands of the younger ones while left her clothes held by the elder ones as if they were mother and children. The schools of pastoral areas are mobile as the herdsmen. Then the idea of ‘Teacher Zhouma is Coming’ came up to me.”

 22  White Mountain and Black Water

White Mountain and Black Water, 42cm×58cm, Black and white woodcut, 1981

“The watermark woodcut ‘White Mountain and Black Water’ was conceived during my trip across the Shanjiang Plain. ‘White Mountain and Black Water’ is the general term for the northeast region in China, and every winter takes up more than half a year. The black water derives from the humus juice that consisted of rotten forest leaves and weeds, and then seep into streams and rivers with the color of soy sauce. White mountain and black water nurtured the fierce character of the people here and created a heroic epic against foreign aggression. After the ‘September 18th Incident’, many patriotic youths fled to Shaihaiguan and picked up the gun on the frontline to fight the Japanese invaders. They sang their hometown with tears on their faces: ‘my home is in the northeast Songhua river, where there are forests and coal mines,  and also soybean and sorghum all over the mountains.’”

I came to contact with such art very early, so I thought later that white mountain and black water was a vision of northeast people for their own land, and whether in the construction period or the war period, it gave people a kind of power.”

 23 “Martyr Deng Zhongxia” of “The Dissemination of Socialism in China” series

“Martyr Deng Zhongxia” of “The Dissemination of Socialism in China” series, 13cm×9.5cm, Black and white woodcut, 1982

The illustration of “The Dissemination of Socialism in China” series is one of the few revolutionary works by the artist, with the theme shifting from the Gannan trip, description of characters, to that of the mainstream. Compared with the work of Martyr Deng Zhongxia engraved by Mr. Li Hua, both Mr. Li Hua and Mr. Song Yuanwen showed the heroic spirit of the character yet in different expression methods, and thus we can see the inheritance and development of woodcut in the Department of Printmaking in CAFA.

 24  Peaceful Riverbank

Peaceful Riverbank, 36cm×38cm, Watermark woodcut, 1982

In the late 1970s, we could see large red flags such as “Be Alert to Protect Our Country” and “Against Revisionism and Hegemonism” everywhere along the bank of the Heilongjiang River. While in the early 1980s, the slogans were changed to “Love Peach”, “Develop Friendly relationship with the World People”, and so on. The easing of international relations has brought a peaceful atmosphere along the river.

Jiejinkou is a village belonged to Tongjiang county, near the mountains and by the river. It was early autumn, and the mountains were covered with red leaves. One day, Song Yuanwen followed fishermen in a small fishing boat to fish in Heilong River, where he saw the spectacle of the water of two colors flowing in parallel for dozens of miles at the meeting of Songhua River and Heilong River. He also saw fishermen’s living in a cellar by the river during fishing season and reflected his feelings in the work “Peaceful Riverbank”.

 25  Through the Green Woods

Through the Green Woods, 37cm×52cm, Watermark woodcut, 1982

This piece of work is a representative work created by Song Yuanwen when he went deep into life. It describes a man riding a bicycle with his new wife in red holding a baby on the back seat, and they go through the green woods, making people feel warm and moved deep down. In the picture, characters are small, but the background is extensive and neat, and the warmth and green color renders a full sense of life.

 26  Black Earth

Black Earth, 55cm×29cm, Watermark woodcut, 1983

Song Yuanwen used a large area of black to show the vast expanse of black land. The houses in the middle scene indicate full signs of human habitation with vitality. With the middle scene as the center of the picture, a large area of empty sky and land as well as the curling smoke were full of life and let people feel heartfelt warmth.

 27  Wide Geese Chirping in the Sky

Wide Geese Chirping in the Sky, 42cm×71cm, Black and white woodcut, 1984

A large group of wild geese not only give people visual impact with great formation and atmosphere but also offer people spiritual shock with strong nostalgia, which shows the dependence on the black land and the attachment to the hometown.

 28  Affection for Leaves

Affection for Leaves, 46cm×73cm, Watermark woodcut, 1984

This painting contains the deep feelings of the artist. Besides a grand and generous emotion expression, it reflects the rich, profound and philosophical side of the painter, as well as the diversity of the author’s personality and different aspects of his perception of life.

 29  Rondo

Rondo, 43cm×67cm, Colored woodcut, 1989

“After the reflection on the Cultural Revolution, positive praise is no longer the only choice of the artists. Obeying law is often seen in nature. The development history of human society has always been an eternal contradiction and movement, so the works in this period are added more reflective context. In ‘Rondo’, a flower falls into the water under the moonlight and stirs up swirl ripples, suggesting that young people’s love does not all go well but also may go wrong.”

 30 A Dream by Willows

A Dream by Willow, 46cm×66cm, Black and white woodcut, 1990

Although his works are still based on the theme of black land, Song Yuanwen seldom went there in person at this period. This picture is like a dream, with a vast, grand, prominent and full scenery. The wild geese singing in the sky, spring breeze blowing to the ground and willow waves looking like smoke bring the viewer into a dreamlike place. It was one of the characteristics of his landscape prints in this period, borrowing scenery to express emotion, and the blending of sentiments and scenery is also a key element to move people.

“In the north part of China, willows dancing in the air every spring. It was this dreamlike moment that urged me to create ‘A Dream by Willows’. I also carved ‘Wild Flowers are Fragrant Everywhere’ and ‘Spring in the Field’ in such similar mood. Besides, I created beautiful sceneries that usually neglected by people, such as, ‘Peaceful Water’, ‘Flowers at Late Night’, and ‘Silent Lotus Pond’, to reveal that beautiful things exist despite people’s attention.”

 31 A Flock of Birds Searching for Home

A Flock of Birds Searching for Home, 45cm×71cm, Black and white woodcut, 1991

The content of the picture gathers in the middle, without the sense of distance from the perspective of observation. The same elements repeatedly overlap, with a strong sense of planar form and concise description, which endows birds with human feelings or accurately express human emotions through birds.

“In the 1980s and 1990s, there emerged a boom of studying abroad due to various reasons. In the early period of the anti-Japanese war when the country was faced with a crisis, some people went abroad, some people went to the rear area, and only the emerging printmaking team joined the front line. As the rise and fall of the nation is the concern of every person, someone had to get out of the trouble with the country. Based on this thought, I created ‘Affection for Leaves’ in 1984 and ‘A Flock of Birds Searching for Home’ in 1991.”

 32 A Place Where Wild Flowers Bloom

A Place Where Wild Flowers Bloom, 45cm×85cm, Black and white woodcut, 1992

“A Place Where Wild Flowers Bloom” was created in 1992, and the creation idea came from the oil field. The natural landscape of the oil field was just barren, yet there were rich minerals hidden underground. The workers of the oil field came from all over China, and in that remote area, the lofty sentiment of “Ambitious men aims far” had always flashed through his mind.

“‘A Place Where Wild Flowers Bloom’ was created after I visited five oil fields. I found that in the early 1960s, in order to break through the blockade and take the path of self-reliance, China began to undertake oil-exploration so that we could hear different local voices in the oil fields. People went to the most remote places to serve the motherland for the same purpose.” The persevering spirit of oil workers has always encouraged the Chinese people to challenge a new height bravely in the arduous journey of self-reliance.

 33 Flying Across the Sky

Flying Across the Sky, 42cm×76cm, Black and white woodcut, 1994

Song Yuanwen has always been confused about society and the world, which lasted from the Cultural Revolution period until now, and each stage had its own distinct puzzle. The print “Flying Across the Sky” and other works reflects a strong emotion, low and continuous.

“The works that trigger the associations of ideas such as ‘Flying Across the Sky’, ‘Swaying Flowers in the Field’, and ‘Wide Geese Chirping in the Sky’ were made when I felt perplexed, and I looked far, looked great to console myself, which also means ‘looking forward’.”

 34 Through the Cold Winter

Through the Cold Winter, 44.5cm×69.5cm, Black and white woodcut, 1998

In the thick black color, a white strip cut across the picture and the heavy color block is completely flattened like a wall, full of the feeling of a barrier. The image combination inside the white strip is generalized and simple, bringing out the artistic conception and the thoughts of the audience, so far away yet full of imagination. This work not only strengthens the sense of form and abstraction but also reinforces the emotional outlet as if heavy color lumps block the other side of oneself and the expression of emotion is more abstractive, which may be the frequently-mentioned “realization of philosophical thinking” by Mr. Song.

 35 The Spring Brew in the Winter Snow

The Spring Brew in the Winter Snow, 44.5cm×69.5cm, Black and white  woodcut, 1998

At this stage, Song Yuanwen no longer pursued the depth of an objectively existing space and the various presentation of individual images but strengthened the integrality, plainness, generality and the relationship of color comparison.

 36  Gathering

Gathering, 55cm×78cm, Black and white woodcut, 2003

The artist depicts the gathering of fish with a sense of rich layering and rhythm, implying a strong cohesion and centripetal force owned by the state and its people.

 37 Twilight

Twilight, 46cm×73cm, Black and white woodcut, 2003

The picture of this work is simple and pays particular attention to the black and white color. In the layout of big black and white color block, it shows a kind of rigor in the change of rhythm and layer.

“In ‘Twilight’, the birds that wake up in the morning love to fly to the surface of the water and give out water spray with their claws, just like doing morning exercise.”

 38 Horizon

Horizon, 46cm×73cm, Black and white woodcut, 2003

Song Yuanwen has talked in an interview: “I also engraved a picture called ‘Horizon’, which is black above and below. It was in the evening, there were some small birds on the horizon, and I watched them flying for an hour or two. Even it was getting dark, they had to fly, and definitely fly to a habitat, without breaking ranks.” 

“It was a scene I have seen many times in northeast China that a flock of birds flying in the same direction on the horizon until it is dark, heading for their home.”

 39 Sprout

Sprout, 45cm×51cm, Black and white woodcut, 2005

The depiction of this work is very elaborate, good at grey processing, and use both line carving and dot carving. Song Yuanwen described that according to different objects, he would use corresponding form language – a key to open a lock, which is exactly the key for him to avoid repetition and to constantly innovate.

“The dialogue between artworks and the audience is to appeal with emotion and reason, and the rhythm of people’s feeling is various and changeful. ‘Sprout’ refers to the buds out of the early branches, meaning production and germination. People in the northeast, after experiencing a long winter, finally capture a little spring information, which left a clear memory in my childhood. ‘Integration’ is a companion work, it shows that the people in the forest region use big chopped wood to warm themselves, with the firewood stacking like a fence. In the picture, it is the early spring when the snow is going to melt, and the background reflects an increasingly grey tone of the rising sun. The birds parking on the top of the firewood were playing and singing, bathing in the warm sunshine.”

 40 Integration

Integration, 43cm×65cm, Black and white woodcut, 2005

After 2003, Song Yuanwen almost retired from the leading position in the printmaking circle and rarely participated in related activities. So, he began to focus on artistic creation, producing joyful works in this period. “Integration” shows a cautious and appropriate expression in both the conception of the work and the exploration of engraving language. This work is hanging in Mr. Song’s living room, and every time we visit his house, we will stop and have a careful look.

 41 Winter

Winter, 46cm×70cm, Black and white woodcut, 2005

“Winter is actually a command, is nature, or a command that given to the world by the universe as when winter comes, you should serve winter, which is an irresistible natural law.”

 42 Breeding Migration

Breeding Migration, 46cm×74cm, Black and white woodcut, 2005

“I drew many migratory birds coming and going from north to south, which is the survival law of them. ‘Breeding Migration’ is to say that the fish in the sea, some swim to the heat flow and some to the cold flow because of their different nature.” 

 43 Sturdy Grass Turns White Again

Sturdy Grass Turns White Again, 45cm×80cm, Black and white woodcut, 2006

Weed was a new visual element added by Song Yuanwen at this stage, and pieces of sturdy grass were symbols and metaphors for the industrious laboring people who never stop working. 

“About the ‘Sturdy Grass Turns White Again’, there is a kind of reed-like grass growing everywhere in the north of China, and in autumn, it turns yellow when beaten by thick frost. Suffering a winter of snow and wind, the weeds are still alive the next spring, and only when the new green covers all over the fields, it will dissolve into the earth quietly. After many years of observation of its noble character, I created ‘Study Grass Turns White Again’, in which the black color takes up above and below, setting off the white dots and lines in the middle. The white color implies the natural beauty of grass covered by frost and snow, and its beauty of character that does not change its original quality every year, which is the opposite of the opinion of ‘Heaven destroy those who do not look out for themselves’.”

 44 Against the Wind

Against the Wind, 46cm×76cm, Black and white woodcut, 2006

“Against the wind” depicts a picture of flocks of wild ducks on the ice in the deep winter of northeast China, with their heads held high and bodies tensed against the strong wind. These slender wild ducks face a test of life every time they go through a cold winter, as they can’t hide, and any carelessness will lead to their death when blown up by the strong wind. The lake is their home, and they use their own way to show the tenacity of life, just like the people in the Great Northern Wilderness living doggedly no matter what they went through.

 45 Swaying Flowers in the Field

Swaying Flowers in the Field, 40cm×80cm, Black and white woodcut, 2007

Song Yuanwen flatted out the picture and scattered the visual center, focusing on one piece of grass or a landscape with some whole-hearted participation. In spite of this, compared with his previous stage of creation, the scene gets closer, the elements become simpler and more abstract, and the sense of form is further reinforced as if everything is included and dominated by the spirit. 

 46 Whose Grain Fields Smell Intoxicating Fragrance

Whose Grain Fields Smell Intoxicating Fragrance, 45cm×80cm, Black and white woodcut, 2007

After retirement, Song Yuanwen returned to the black land to experience the warmth of human nature in the hard work and the spiritual world of the people in the Great Northern Wilderness. Again, he was moved greatly and created the sight of this large paddy field with a heavy harvest.

“The print ‘Whose Grain Fields Smell Intoxicating Fragrance’ created in 2007 is my last work on the theme of farmers. The ripe wheat gives off a special smell so that the steamed bread made by it can also taste a flavor of wheat. Here, the Rhetorical word ‘Whose’, of course, refers to the old farmer. The reason why people did not starve to death during the Cultural Revolution was that there was no chaos in the countryside. Generally speaking, the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Liberation depended on the peasants in military uniform. During times of peace, more than one billion people were fed by the peasants who paid taxes in grain. Thus, we should be grateful to the people we rely on for a living – farmers at any time.”

47 Glinting

Glinting, 45cm×80cm, Black and white woodcut, 2008

The sparking light-spot on the lake changes rapidly, as if everything in the universe is in constant fluctuations, changing, developing, never ceasing for a moment.

“The print ‘Glinting’ depicts the highlight shown on the most common watermark, which appears and disappears, one after another. The initiator is the wind blowing the water to move, and this scene exist objectively, whether you can see it clear or not. There are many similar situations in real life, that is, because everything is in a state of motion, and new issues must be discovered and recognized from the continuous dynamics. If you can’t keep up with the development and changes of reality, you will lose the right to voice your opinion and express the reality.”

 48  Be with Motherland

Be with Motherland, 48cm×82cm, Black and white woodcut, 2008

“The work ‘Be with Motherland’ was a response to my pursuit of the true, the good, and the beautiful that lasted for thirty years, which I created from the inspiration of the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. More than a month after the earthquake occurred, I watched TV at home every day, and all kinds of rescue scenes were very touching. There were artworks reflecting the theme of rescue, but they cannot be compared with the real scene. The fact is that the truth, goodness and the beautiful exist in the actions of ordinary people, even today it can be found everywhere. This is the essence of our traditional culture, and we call it behavioral culture or normal culture. Since then, I have received the biggest education from the disaster relief – to highlight the national spirit, which could be recalled and benefited by our nation for generations. With such kind of realm united and our motherland strongly affected, I create the black and white print ‘Be with Motherland’.”

 49  A Memory of Autumn

A Memory of Autumn, 50cm×80cm, Silkscreen print, 2014

“Remembering the most unforgettable momentary memory, even if it is a facial expression or a kind of color, is an extraordinary wealth of life. The most beautiful color you can see in the Northeast forest area is in the autumnal Mount Wuhua. After having been covered with a frost, white birch – the broad-leaved tree, turns yellow, oak tree and maple tree turns red, Acer mono changes from orange to purplish red, the coniferous pines of various kinds transferred from green to blue, only the yellow pine turns from green to yellow. The leaves of needle tree fall to the ground, soft as a carpet with different colors. It evolves all the time and the scenery surpasses a garden of flowers in spring. Such fine view is not seen every year. Usually, as soon as the season comes, the leaves will change color. The leaves without experiencing a frost look withered and obsolete, and it turns into the strongest gorgeous color only when the greenery grows with saturated moisture and is hit suddenly by frost. I have been to the forest area more than ten times, only in 1980 in the village of the Hezhen nationality at Jiejinkou in Tongjiang county, I saw such a rare beautiful scenery, especially the glittering in the reverse light, which was so beautiful and hovered in my heart for a long time. Then, in 2014, I accomplished the silkscreen print ‘A Memory of Autumn’.”

 50  Flying

Flying, 85cm×180cm, Black and white woodcut, 2015

“A group of migratory birds flies through the changing time and space to their destination, which shows that for fulfilling the belief and mission, one must break through all difficulties and obstacles to reach the other side of the ideal.

Compiled by the editorial office of CAFA’s official website