The ＂convention＂ of replacing Chairman Mao’s portrait in Tiananmen Gate before the National Day has lasted for more than 50 years.
On the evening of September 27, 2018, in order to welcome the National Day, the Tiananmen Gate was replaced with a new portrait of Chairman Mao.
At 11: 02 pm, in the drizzle, a crane and a truck carrying a new portrait of Chairman Mao pulled out from the middle doorway of Tiananmen Gate. After the two cars stopped, the old portrait of Chairman Mao, which had been hung for a year, was lifted by a crane and slowly taken off. Subsequently, the crane lifts the new portrait for replacement, and the whole installation process takes about one hour.
The staff will take down the old portrait of Chairman Mao that has been hanging for one year.
A new portrait of Chairman Mao that has been replaced.
"Politics" (WeChat ID: xjbzse) noticed thatEvery year on the eve of the National Day, the Tiananmen Gate has to be replaced with a new portrait of Chairman Mao. This "convention" has been going on for more than 50 years.
The Memorandum of Tiananmen Square published by Xiyuan Publishing House records:The portrait of Chairman Mao at Tiananmen Gate is 6 meters high and 4.6 meters wide. Together with the photo frame, the total weight is 1.5 tons.This is the largest hand-painted portrait in China, Asia and even in the Eastern Hemisphere. The portrait of Chairman Mao needs to be changed once a year. Generally, painting began around the "beginning of autumn" in August, and it was replaced by a new one on National Day.
Jia Yingting, a former deputy director of the Tiananmen District Management Committee, is the author of "One Hundred Years of Tiananmen Square". He wrote an article recalling:Taking August 1966 as the demarcation point, before, the portrait of Mao Zedong was hung on the Tiananmen Gate during major holidays; After that, the portrait of Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate was hung every day, and a new one should be replaced every year before the National Day.
"Many people think that the portrait of Mao Zedong was hung for the first time in founding ceremony on October 1, 1949," Jia Yingting said.Mao Zedong’s portrait was hung on Tiananmen Square for the first time on February 12, 1949 at the celebration of the peaceful liberation of Beiping. In the 60 years from 1949 to now, Mao Zedong’s portrait on Tiananmen Gate has experienced "eight changes", that is, eight versions of the portrait have been replaced.
据贾英廷回忆：最终确定的画像版本，即第八版，依据的是毛泽东第四张标准像，是1967年10月1日挂上天安门城楼的，主笔是北京市美术公司王国栋。1977年，王国栋的徒弟葛小光接任主笔，直到现在。
王国栋还有一个徒弟邢秋成。邢秋成称，当年王国栋绘制第八版画像时，遇到不少问题，“油画在强烈的阳光下照射会很容易褪色，最多坚持一年，这也是为什么毛主席画像每年都要更换的原因”，他说，“在上世纪70到80年代，绘制毛主席画像主要使用的颜料都是天津美术颜料厂和上海美术颜料厂生产的国产颜料。为了让红色褪色慢，我师父用了一种叫做‘中国银珠’的高档颜料，当时一般的颜料也就三四角钱一支，中国银珠起码在6角以上，这在当时是很贵了”。
此外，“因画像过大，没有整块的画布，要用几块画布拼接在一起，因接缝不平，画面上两道直贯上下的棱子十分明显，这就影响了肖像面容的美感。为解决画布问题，师父与哈尔滨亚麻厂等单位合作攻关，终于试织出宽幅的亚麻油画布”。
不少人问过邢秋成一个问题：为什么不管你站在画像前方的哪个位置，都会看到毛泽东的目光注视着你？
“答案一点也不神秘”，邢秋成说，“比如你看着镜头自拍，拍完之后从不同角度看，也会发现照片上的你一直看着现实中的你。毛主席照片本身就具有这样一个眼神，如果绘画者的基本功到位，准确地塑造和描绘，鲜明地表达主席的神态，画出的画像就会呈现这个效果。我师父（王国栋）的绘画造型能力在行内确实很非凡。”
还有人问过邢秋成：有现代发达的技术为什么天安门毛主席像每年还要画家来画？
邢秋成认为，“我想这既是我们的国家形象，也是我们国家从新中国成立到现在延续下来的传统。这个传统正是经过多个年代、很多人、多位老艺术家的不断努力所形成的特有经验、标准和流程，更是早已形成的一门特殊的绘画技艺。再说，绘画和照片不是一回事，大型肖像与一般油画也不是一回事，因为每绘制一幅大型领袖像都需要画家依照照片进行更准确、更深入地艺术表现，每幅大型领袖像都是一个要求严谨的大型油画肖像的再创作”。
“政事儿”(微信ID：xjbzse)撰稿/新京报记者王姝 摄影 薛珺
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