mmd posters

Tianjin style
Traditionally Tianjin had a distinctive style of woodblock printing that involved a high level of detailing within black ink printed outlines. These were subsequently hand-tinted to produce colourful and lyrical works with a significant amount of painted detailing beyond the printed outlines. This style remained alongside more recogniseable propaganda styles.

TIANJIN
This poster was printed in Beijing and Tianjin in 1971, but was also printed in Shanghai with a different, more idiomatic slogan in 1969.
This birth planning poster contains three subsiduray slogans and images to reinforce the message and to hold attention for longer.
From Left to Right:
Planning your birth is good to catch the revolution and promote production;
Planning your birth also enhances the people's health and the nation's future prosperity;
Planning your birth also protects the mother and her children.

Three Main Rules of Discipline, followed a few months later by an additional Six Points for Attention were first set down as a code of conduct by Mao in 1928 whilst the Red Army were fighting the civil war. He modified and reissued them in 1929 and again in 1947 into these 3 Rules and 8 Points for Attention. In 1929 Rule 2 was made more poetic and two Points of Attention requiring doors used as bedboards and straw taken from farmers to be returned, were replaced by the Points (i) and (ii) listed here. The 2 additional Points for Attention were originally worded (vii) don't bathe within sight of women; (viii) don't search the pockets of captives.

Mirroring the example of Classical ink painting, this poster includes a poem as a textual element:
The nighttime rain dampens the spring twigs,
The fields become wet and the young seedlings are glad,
I light the lantern and accompany my grandmother to night school,
Grandmother has a red heart,
She is highly aware of the progress of the revolution
And regularly reads the works of Marx and Lenin.
In the political storm her position is unshakeable.



Translation
Each entry includes a caption showing our translation of the original Chinese slogan. This is provided as a courtesy and whilst we aim for accuracy discrepancies may occur and alternative choices of words and grammar are always possible. If the precision of the translation is important to you we can provide on request the original Chinese characters where possible.
Each entry also includes the pinyin of the artists names that appear on the poster itself. Again we make every effort for accuracy but mistakes may occur.
Please email if you require more information.
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