![Wang Xingwei - Eight Women’s Suicide in a River [2003]](http://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8865/17884833732_e5be651e83_o.jpg)
The subject of the painting is an actual historical event that occurred in 1938 as the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army engaged the invading army from Japan in Heilongjiang province. The event was also the subject of Daughters of China, one of the first films made after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The film launched the career of first-time director Ling Zifeng. In the intervening years, the material has been depicted in a variety of other art forms, including fiction, film, traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, sculpture, graphic novel, television drama, dance, stage play, and opera. These adaptations continue today. As a subject of revolutionary history with accessible moralistic and nationalistic significance, the story has thrived through these portrayals from diverse perspectives. However, Wang Xingwei identified a clear fracture between the event itself and its subsequent artistic interpretations.
[Sotheby’s, Beijing - Oil on canvas, 195 x 300 cm]