The True Story of Ah Q
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The True Story of Ah Q by the revolutionary writer Lu Xun (1881–1936) is bitterly ironic. The fictional Ah Q lived through the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 and the early years of the Republic. Paradoxically a bully and a coward, he epitomizes the seriously flawed Chinese character. Mindlessly following others through a life of misery, defiance, and self-delusion, he eventually brings about his own execution.
Zhao Yannian’s series of sixty woodblock-printed illustrations of this story is considered his masterpiece. Redolent of European Expressionism, Zhao’s prints focus attention on Lu Xun’s antihero by creating strong contrasts with the “black against white” and “white against black” techniques.
Zhao Yannian’s series of sixty woodblock-printed illustrations of this story is considered his masterpiece. Redolent of European Expressionism, Zhao’s prints focus attention on Lu Xun’s antihero by creating strong contrasts with the “black against white” and “white against black” techniques.
Artwork Details
- Title: The True Story of Ah Q
- Artist: Zhao Yannian (Chinese, born 1924)
- Date: 1980
- Culture: China
- Medium: Woodblock print (no. 1 in a series of 60); oil-based ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 10 5/16 x 7 5/16 in. (26.2 x 18.6 cm)
Overall: 16 x 11 in. (40.6 x 28 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: On loan from the British Museum
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art