Page 407 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 London

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Commemoration of the martyr Yang
Kaihui
1977
Carved black lacquer with relief-painted gesso
depicting a patchwork of green fields in front of
steep stairs leading up to a memorial for Yang
Kaihui, the second wife of Chairman Mao, framed.
58.5cm x 58.5cm (23in x 23in)
£5,000 - 8,000
HK$62,000 - 100,000
CNY49,000 - 79,000

1977年 黑漆石膏畫「紀念楊開慧」圖板
Provenance: produced at Yangzhou and exhibited
in China until the end of the Cultural Revolution,
and then placed in storage at the No.1 State
Lacquer Factory in Yangzhou
Exhibited at the Olympia Fine Arts and Antiques
Fair, New Art from Ancient China - Lacquer from
Yangzhou, November 1998
A British private collection

來源：產於揚州，一直在中國出展直到文化大革命
結束，後存在揚州第一漆廠的儲存室
1998年11月出展於奧林比亞藝術及古董博覽會
的《New Art from Ancient China - lacquer from
Yangzhou》展覽
英國私人收藏

Designed by Senior Artist Lu Xingtang, a student of 401
Fu Baoshi
Made by Junior Masters Jiang Debao, Wang
Jinghui, Jiang Houlan and Dai Fumei

This plaque was made during the first six months
of 1977 as a hurried response to the re-emergence
of the memory of Yang Kaihui (1901-1930). Four
masters were employed on its carving to increase
speed of manufacture without compromising
standards. The plaque shows the tomb and
monument of Yang Kaihui, in Bancang County,
Hunan Province.

Yang Kaihui was Mao’s first wife, who was
captured and shot by the Guomindang. She and
Mao’s two young sons were captured in 1928 and
held prisoner for two years. In 1930, communist
sympathisers were able to bribe the guards and
secured the release of the two children. After the
escape of her children, Yang Kaihui was shot. Her
two sons were both subsequently killed; the elder
died fighting in the Korean War and the younger in
Shanghai during World War II.

Mao’s second wife, He Zizhen, died naturally after
seven years of marriage. Mao’s third wife, Jiang
Qing, was arrested after Mao’s death in 1976 and,
along with the other members of the ‘Gang of
Four’, was held responsible for the excesses of
the Cultural Revolution. With the disgrace of Jiang
Qing, the martyrdom of Yang Kaihui was brought
to the fore. Her three children by Mao, Mao
Anying, Mao Anqing, and Mao Anlong, were also
memorialised in the park.

The Chinese characters written on the memorial
read:

‘Eternal glory to the martyr Kaihui’

402

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