Learn from the Spirit of Daqing
學大慶精神 Xue Daqing jingshen
Ha Qiongwen 哈瓊文
1966, Shanghai
An oil worker, who resembles Wang Jingxi, the Stakhanovite hero of Daqing, grips a rope attached to pipe, as snow whirls around. A Mao volume peaks out of his coat pocket. The subject matter would soon be eclipsed by the political struggle themes of the Cultural Revolution (1966-69). The style here is more dramatic than the stiff poses often featured in the posters of the 1970s, when production themes were back in vogue.