Chinese propaganda posters

hlcc_propa_01 As Winston S. Churchill famously said, “The Empire of the future will be the empire of the mind.” In the days before CNN and Fox News, a still image truly was worth a thousand words and these posters were how Mao and his group informed and restored the collective mind of the Chinese people.

Posters were designed to not only meet the demand of the government but to also be embraced by the masses. In striving to achieve these works, many artists reached deep inside themselves, producing extraordinary poster designs perfectly capturing the indomitable nature of the human spirit, the transformational power of unbridled industriousness, and the soaring spirit of the people’s optimism. Even considered among works of fine art a large number of these posters will prove of exceptional quality and forever hold significance in the history of Chinese art.

Definition of Propaganda

While in the Western world the word propaganda bears negative connotations, the Chinese word "xuanchuan" , which is liberally translated as propaganda, actually means to broadcast or to spread (information), with no negative connotations that would imply bias or untruthfulness. This explains why many English speakers would consider the use of such a term as an outright acknowledgment of the biased nature of Chinese propaganda, although the term can in fact be used in politically neutral contexts. For example, Chinese "propaganda" has also served to raise public awareness about the law, the need for common courtesy, the importance of embracing science and technology, the need to take preventive measures against the SARS disease, and the dangers of the AIDS disease.