China: A disturbing image from 'Shanghai Manhua' (Shanghai Sketch) entitled 'Beauty's Space'. Wan Laiming, July 1928

The face of a slender young woman has fallen off to reveal the skull beneath, epitomizing society's fleeting obsession with beauty and wealth.

The pictorial 'Shanghai Manhua' (Shanghai Sketch), published between April 21, 1928 and June 7, 1930, was a mixture of drawings, photographs and images ranging from advertisements to social criticism and political caricatures.

Shanghai Manhua was an outlet for professional cartoonists and sketch masters, generally of an avant garde or progressive nature. Many of the images printed in 'Shanghai Manhua' are observations of urban life in contemporaneous Shanghai, as well as often critical comment on the social mores of the time.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Credit:

Pictures From History

Theme:

OLD SHANGHAI