History of Chinese Poster Art

The poster originated in the French-speaking area of the 16th century. In China, it was an imported product that came with Western goods after the end of the Opium War. In the history of Chinese posters, two world-class miracles were created twice. The climax of these two poster periods had different historical backgrounds, and the content of the posters was also different as a medium for information dissemination. In the 1920s and 1930s, with commercial trade as the core content, the artistic exchanges brought by missionary culture precipitated and promoted the cooperation between Chinese folk artists and European businessmen. This not only allowed Chinese society to accept this new thing, but also jointly created the first grand event of Chinese posters. In the 1960s, the "Cultural Revolution" led by Mao Zedong brought about the second wave of Chinese posters. It took the form of Soviet art, and the core content turned to political propaganda. The two poster heydays, whether in the number of artists or the print volume of posters, have become records that cannot be surpassed so far. Today, few people know about the history and artistic achievements of Chinese posters, and they have long been ignored in international poster history. The content of this book is centered on the history of Chinese posters, and the method is to analyze the artistic value. After the appearance of posters in China at the end of the 19th century, until the end of the Cultural Revolution, the changes in artistic style, the changes in the status of artists, and their creative experiences during nearly a century of time are described in detail. This book contains nearly 200 precious color poster collections, which will bring new content to the study of Chinese design history and Chinese art history.