Picturing an epic journey

He produced two of his iconic oil paintings inspired by the journey: Revolutionary Ideals Higher Than Heaven and With Firm Strides We Start Again. The former fetched 40 million yuan ($6.16 million) at an auction in Beijing in 2012, while the latter is in the collection of the National Museum of China.

From 1988 to 1993, Shen finished his album The Red Ribbon on the Earth based on a namesake novel by writer Wei Wei. It's made up of 926 engravings and a picture book based on it has been published in several languages and countries.

Shen has combined the line drawing technique learned from traditional Chinese painting with an approach obtained from oil painting in the Red Classic series, which gained him fame and praise in China's art circle.

Between 2012 and 2014, he produced The Long March 1936 and finished the final album of the trilogy, The Promethean Fire, in 2018.

He is often asked why he still concentrates on the subject, since the times and the environment have changed dramatically.

"Our generation would owe a debt to history if I don't do it," Shen explains, adding that if he doesn't visualize the history while the people related to it are still alive, there's a chance it will not be preserved for the next generation.

Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn