• ARTWORK
  • EXHIBITIONS
  • NEWS
  • LIBRARY
  • ABOUT
中文 | English
YEAR
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2006
  • 2004
  • 2003
  • 2002
  • 2001
  • 2000
  • 1999
  • 1998
  • 1997
  • 1996
  • 1995
  • 1994
  • 1993
  • 1992
  • 1991
  • 1987
  • 1986
  • 1983
  • 1980
  • 1977
......
CATEGORIES
  • PRINTMAKING
    • Mustard Seed Garden Landscape Scroll
    • Ghost Pounding the Wall
    • Lost Letters
    • My Book
    • Five Series of Repetition
    • Bustling Village on the Water
    • Shattered Jade
    • Big Tire
    • Brilliant Mountain Flowers Magazine
  • CHARACTER
    • Book from the Sky
    • Book From the Ground
    • Square Word Calligraphy
    • Square Word Calligraphy Classroom
    • The Character of Characters
    • Mustard Seed Garden Landscape Scroll
    • Living Word
    • Magic Carpet
    • Landscript
    • Art for the People
    • Stone Path
    • The Glassy Surface of a Lake
    • Bird Language
    • Excuse Me Sir,Can You Tell Me the Way t...
    • Body Outside of Body
    • Lost Letters
    • Brailliterate
    • A, B, C...
    • Monkeys Grasp for the Moon
  • ARTIST BOOKS
    • Book from the Sky
    • Square Word Calligraphy Classroom
    • The Foolish Old Man Who Tried to Remove ...
    • Body Outside of Body
    • Cultural Negotiations
  • ANIMALS
    • American Silkworm Series
    • Cultural Animal
    • A Case Study of Transference
    • Wild Zebra
    • Panda Zoo
    • The Leash
    • The Net
    • The Parrot
  • INSTALLATION
    • Book from the Sky
    • Book From the Ground
    • Phoenix
    • Background Story
    • Square Word Calligraphy Classroom
    • Travelling to the Wonderland
    • Tobacco Project
    • Living Word
    • Magic Carpet
    • Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?
    • Landscript
    • Art for the People
    • Ghost Pounding the Wall
    • Stone Path
    • Purple Breeze Comes from the East
    • Ergo Dynamic Desktop
    • The Well of Truth
    • The Glassy Surface of a Lake
    • Bird Language
    • Excuse Me Sir,Can You Tell Me the Way t...
    • The Foolish Old Man Who Tried to Remove ...
    • Body Outside of Body
    • Cultural Negotiations
    • Brailliterate
    • Post Testament
    • Big Tire
    • Monkeys Grasp for the Moon
  • NEW MEDIA
    • Book From the Ground
    • The Character of Characters
    • Nokia: Connect to Art
  • FILM
    • Dragonfly Eyes
  • SOCIAL PROGRAMS
    • Forest Project
    • Ghost Pounding the Wall
    • A Consideration of Golden Apples
......
PROJECTS
  • Dragonfly Eyes
  • Book from the Sky
  • Book From the Ground
  • Phoenix
  • Background Story
  • Square Word Calligraphy
  • Square Word Calligraphy Classroom
  • Travelling to the Wonderland
  • The Character of Characters
  • Mustard Seed Garden Landscape Scroll
  • Forest Project
  • Tobacco Project
  • Living Word
  • Magic Carpet
  • Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?
  • Landscript
  • Art for the People
  • American Silkworm Series
  • Cultural Animal
  • A Case Study of Transference
  • Wu Street
  • Ghost Pounding the Wall
  • Five Series of Repetition
  • Bustling Village on the Water
  • Shattered Jade
  • Monkeys Grasp for the Moon
......
Back Home

Brilliant Mountain Flowers Magazine

PHOTO|VIDEO

1975-1977

Medium: Mimeograph on paper

Dimension: 27 x 19.5 cm (closed); 27 x 39 cm


After graduating from the Affiliated High School of Peking University, Xu Bing was sent to Huapen Commune in Yanqing, a village outside of Beijing nestled within the Taihang Mountains from 1974 to 1977. This was part of the Cultural Revolution policy that dispatched young intellectuals to the countryside to live and learn there. During this period, he and his fellow youths would spend their free time participating in mass arts and literature activities. One such pursuit was Brilliant Mountain Flowers Magazine. This mimeographed publication was published in an edition of 500, aimed at the rural community. The first issue was shown in the “Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius National Exhibition,” a political campaign targeting the ancient philosopher alongside disgraced high-level official Lin Biao. The publication’s layout, font, and illustrations were all designed by Xu Bing, aiming to show the purity and persistence of a life of hardship. Historians believe that Brilliant Mountain Flowers Magazine can be seen as Xu Bing’s first artwork inspired by the concept of books.


PRINTMAKING