Among the illustrations of "Red Star Over China" by the American reporter Edgar Snow, "Mao Zedong in Shanbei" is a picture that can live through the ages. It was shot in Yan'an in 1936. Mao Zedong, 43 at the time, is wearing an octagonal cap with red stars, and he is clearly in high spirits. This image of Mao has been deeply ingrained in the hearts of several Chinese generations. Yin Zhaoyang, who was born in 1979, has also been deeply impressed.

Yin Zhaoyang has expressed his admiration for Mao. That is why he puts Mao, red flags, Tiananmen and revolutionary images such as these into his artistic works, and uses a romantic way to match the revolution to his own passions and dreams. When painting this picture, Yin decided not to chose a bright color but muddy red a shading which represents the mood of the artist at the time of painting--to reminisce about a great man, and the loss of a great generation. It is difficult to say if it is also a reminiscence about the artist's own golden age when he was in full bloom and vigor.

When studied carefully, you can see that the unwavering eyes of the work are not Mao's but the artist's himself. During an interview with art critic Zhu Qi, Yin Zhaoyang laughed and said that it presented a kind of participation. "At that time I thought that I could only express my mood in this attitude and it was also a small foreshadowing making at that time. Or it is like a trap: It looks like Mao at first sight, but if studied carefully, you will find it is me." (The Second Interview of Yin Zhaoyang)