In preparation for the October 1st celebration, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing’s buildings and streets are adorned with large red flags and glowing red lanterns. Finally I feel the immense oppression of the Communist party. This week of celebrations is called “National Day Golden Week.” Many foreigners leave the country to stay far away from the glorified weapons parade and the festivities that honor M.A.O. and his regime.

For this monumental event I have posted the works of Tian Taiquan for you all to enjoy. His works speak of his life experiences. He himself was a Red Guard as a youth. He is from Chongqing which is the home of one of the largest burial grounds for Red Gaurds and he uses the grounds as the setting for all his works.

These works are unique because they speak about the injustices towards women during the Cultural Revolution. Women were seen as “equals” in the army and they were “de-sexualized,” wearing baggy clothing and no makeup.

This was a facade because woman were mentality and physically abused under a farce of equality and modernity. They never had a voice; if they spoke up it would be a death sentence.

Tian Taiquan’s works beautifully capture the pain and suffering these women went through. Their faceless bodies represent the hundreds of thousands of women that perished.

Tian Taiquan’s work is the banner for my blog. He is one of the only male artists that is speaking the truth about the treatment towards women during the Revolution. Everyone else has kept their mouths shut.

In addition his works are very inexpensive since he is a up and coming artist.

A very eye-opening book is The Good Women of China . I suggest that you read it if you want to understand the suffering of Chinese women during this time. The personal accounts are extremely hard to stomach.