At midnight on April 23, 1949, Nanjing was liberated, and the next day the news spread to Beiping. People rushed out to the streets to purchase the Extra Edition (hao wai) newspaper. The artist Wu Zuoren, along with his wife and daughter, witnessed this commotion on Dongdan Street, and subsequently captured this moment in the painting Extra Edition on the Liberation of Nanjing. Wu Zuoren seemingly takes the spectator back to April 24th of that year, placing the view on the northeast corner of Dongdan Street and Chang’an Avenue, looking westwards. In the foreground are nine people huddled together to peruse the Extra Edition, with clusters of citizens cheering in a distance. On the far horizon is the archway (pailou) of East Chang’an Avenue. Although it was demolished in 1954, it was still an architectural landmark all too familiar to the locals. Nearby, the youth in blue holds the newspaper with “hao wai” printed on top, and People’s Daily faintly visible just below. The newspaper content is somewhat indiscernible, but the title Extra Edition on the Liberation of Nanjing rids much of the mystery. The year 1949 marked a critical year in Wu Zuoren’s shift of artistic direction. This painting signifies Wu’s first step towards the style of literature and art under Mao’s direction, and insinuates Wu’s position and standpoint facing the strong political currents of the time – a challenge lived by most artists of that very generation.

(Wu Xueshan, Wu Zuoren’s “Victory” and the First Cultural Committee Conference, 2011 [Extract])