Visuals And Concepts—A Study Of Calendar Posters Images (1900-1949)

Since the 20 th century,Chinese people’s daily life has gradually been carried forward by images,and visuals have become increasingly dominant and leading,and contemporary culture has gradually become visual culture.It was also followed by the Chinese public because it kept pace with the fashion of women around the world;moreover,because of its living record of the material culture of the society and the change of people’s concept,it has become the most popular means for scholars to retrace the history and culture of the society and examine the changes of Shanghai city.It has also become the object of repeated research when scholars look back on social history,culture and urban changes in Shanghai.It can be said that the calendar posters is a unique design phenomenon and visual evidence during the transition period of Chinese society.Most of the calendar poster advertisements covered in this study are from 1927 to 1937,the most prosperous period for the development of calendar posters,but when discussing calendar posters,it is inevitable that some typical cases from the early 20 th century,when they first appeared,and the 1940 s,when they were most mature,will be involved.The ultimate goal of this thesis is to,first,re-examine the controversial nature of calendar posters,and whether they are,as Lu Xun said,"merchant girls who do not know the hate of their country";second,to examine what kind of urban modernity is embedded in the special visual experience created by the special social background;third,to clarify the experience of urban modernity in China.Third,to clarify whether Chinese modernity is the same as Western modernity.In this study,the following are the specific developments:Firstly,we review the changes in the design of moon signs from New Year paintings to advertising paintings,from traditional images to modern images,and from consumerism to nationalism,in order to conclude that calendar posters are progressing and developing in accordance with the public,social and political demands while advocating consumerism.Secondly,from the interactions between the subjects of the calendar posters,such as women and costumes,women and men,women and children,and women and animals,we rediscover that women participate in the experience of modernity and construct the imagination of modernity,giving visual patterns for people to emulate.Again,it explores how the "material" that exists in the city is transformed into "everyday life",and then "everyday life" is transformed into people’s visual experience,providing them with a model of modernity.The thesis also discusses how the calendar posters reflect social life and guide it at the same time.In the end,we conclude the thesis by discussing the existing controversies over the calendar posters,and re-examining their cultural functions and social significance by discussing the visual cultural characteristics they embody and their role in the modern transformation of society;explaining the progressive nature of the calendar posters in the integration of East and West;explaining that the calendar posters have an "imaginative" nature,and that this imagination promotes the modernity of China.It also explains that calendar posters are "imaginative" in nature,and that this imagination contributes to the emergence of Chinese modernity.