An art movement spearheaded by Lu Xun in the 1930s that spread from Shanghai to other parts of China. With the belief in ‘art for the society,' Lu Xun actively promoted modern European and Soviet woodcut prints as well as organised woodcut classes, which inspired the establishment of numerous printmaking societies across China. In response to the Nationalist government’s failure to resist Japanese aggression, many of the prints were either anti-government, anti-Japanese, or overtly socialist. The expressive styles and versatile vocabulary brought a radically new look to the marginalized native medium and contributed to a movement that is unprecedented in scale and impact on the masses. During Japanese aggression in China from 1937 to 1945, many woodcut artists followed Mao Zedong’s idea of art as a political tool for mobilizing the working class and rural community. Although the nature and style of woodcuts transformed in this period, it is considered by some as the second phase of the Modern Woodcut Movement.
