SONG RUXIN
(b. 1946) Yan'an, China

"Old Woman of North Shaanxi at Free Market" 1979-1980
woodcut, 21 3/4" x 16 1/2"
Courtesy of Eric Hyer

The older woman selling eggs and other products she has produced to supplement income from the family farm was typical of the rural free markets allowed after the Cultural Revolution. The People’s Communes were dismantled and free markets were opened to spur increased production and economic development.