Mr. Zhao Yannian is a famous printmaker and art educator in mainland China, and one of the representatives of China's emerging woodcut movement. "He is the artist who has studied Lu Xun's works most profoundly, practiced Lu Xun's woodcut teachings the most diligently, and achieved the most brilliant artistic achievements in the mainland printmaking circle. Many people who have read "The True Story of Ah Q" think that Ah Q is the one in Zhao Yannian's prints.
Zhao Yannian's masterpiece "Portrait of Lu Xun", with a white gown, a black scarf and a black background, contrasts with Lu Xun's coldness and profundity. The dense knife marks on the picture, the long and short thick and intricate lines, make all the viewers facing "Lu Xun Portrait" feel a deep atmosphere, surging hearts, and thousands of thoughts.
My acquaintance with Zhao Lao is also due to Lu Xun. Like most literary youth, my favorite works of writers are Lu Xun and his books. It would be an honor for me as a book editor to be able to publish several collections of Lu Xun's works with pictures and texts. This wish was finally realized in June 2001 when the "Symposium on the Revision of the Complete Works of Lu Xun" was held. During the meeting, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Li Yunjing from the Lu Xun Museum. Mr. Li is not only an expert in Lu research, but also a historian of printmaking, which gave me an in-depth understanding of Zhao Lao's profound attainments in the art of contemporary woodcut printmaking and his outstanding contributions to the creation of Lu Xun's printmaking. After the meeting, through the introduction of Mr. Li, I got in touch with Mr. Zhao and reached an intention to publish the "Zhao Yannian's woodcut illustration book Lu Xun's works".
The People's Literature Publishing House is very supportive of this project. From the beginning of 2002 to the end of 2003, in less than two years, we successively launched several illustrations of Lu Xun's works, such as "Zhao Yannian's Woodcut Illustration Book "The True Story of Ah Q", "Zhao Yannian's Woodcut Illustration Book "Diary of a Madman", "Zhao Yannian's Woodcut Illustration Book "Wild Grass", "Zhao Yannian's Woodcut Illustration Book "New Story Edition", etc., with a total print run of more than 20 million copies. Among them, there are also several types of illustrated books that have been sold to regions and countries such as Hong Kong and South Korea.
The outstanding performance of "Woodcut Illustrated Lu Xun's Collected Works" in the book market is the result of Zhao Lao's hard work, which is inseparable from his pursuit of excellence in artistic creation and strict requirements for editing and publishing. Mr. Zhao participated in the whole process of editing and publishing this set of books from beginning to end. He carefully and conscientiously reads the proofs of each manuscript, and has strict requirements for the quality of manuscript editing and printing. He will be sincerely happy to see the progress made in the compilation and printing work, and give him affirmation and encouragement, and when he sees the shortcomings and omissions, he will also point them out in a timely manner so as to ensure the quality of the manuscript. For example, after receiving a clear copy of the manuscript of the illustrated version of The True Story of Ah Q, he wrote to him on March 9, 2002, saying: "In general, the layout is quite good. Some of the white dots I painted with a red pen indicated that they had to be filled in black. There are a few places that have been reduced after plate making, and some details have been blurred, so they are simply removed. The above two points, please be sure to pay attention to the adjustment of the printing house. On June 11, he wrote to me that he "had begun to conceive an illustrated draft of The New Story." He also said, "The covers of the four editions of "The True Story of Ah Q" are louder than in the past, but the thin lines of some of the works are still not clear, which greatly affects the effect." In the letter dated July 27, he instructed me in great detail: "The black box at the bottom of the second picture of "Diary of a Madman" cannot be removed. "The protagonist in "The Storm" has a blurred line on the right side of his face, which is detrimental to his image. ""The True Story of Ah Q" 39 and 40 pictures, the layout is not clear, it is best to redo it. ”
When I first planned this set of books, I only thought of using Zhao Lao's woodcut illustrations to publish several illustrated collections of Lu Xun's works suitable for all ages. After editing and publishing the above books and learning more about Zhao Lao's exquisite woodcut art, I further realized that this set of books is also of great significance and high value for learning and reference for the cultivation of woodcut talents and the development of woodcut art. Therefore, during the Spring Festival of 2004, I wrote to Mr. Zhao, telling him about my understanding and thoughts, and discussing with him whether I could ask him to combine the experience and experience of illustration creation of these Lu Xun works to write a "little book for everyone" about the art of woodcut creation. Zhao is very old, and he has been working continuously for two years, but he still readily agreed to my request, so he has "Zhao Yannian's woodcut Lu Xun works illustrated". This is a monograph on Zhao Yannian's woodcut creation art, which not only includes rich illustrations, but also uses some sketches, making this "everyone's little book" like a "woodcut art tutorial".
From October 2001 to January 2010, I wrote a lot of letters to Mr. Zhao on the phone on the phone because of various publishing matters. Recently, I re-read Zhao Lao's letter, and the image of a woodcarver who faithfully practiced Lu Xun's teachings and "put the knife and did it straight" appeared in front of my eyes again.
On October 23, 2014, Mr. Zhao Yannian, a generation of printmakers, passed away, nearly ten years later. April 11 this year is the centenary of his birth. I would like to use this small article to express my deep nostalgia and high respect for Mr. Zhao.