The background for these images is usually washed and incomplete. The focus is on the central image not the entire picture plane. We see examples of this in the works by Korean artist Lee So-Ji, but also in Chinese artists Wang Zhenghua's Children Going to School and the series of works by Zhang Hongtu. Despite the tight control over artistic expression in China after the communists came to power in 1949, artists still used this traditional form but were forced to redesign their work in a politically acceptable format. Revolution and Propaganda clearly shows the new imposed style of the Communist Party.
Images are realistic, full of detail, and have proper perspective.
Artists were retrained in the Soviet Socialist Realism style. Art was no longer a means to express ones love of beauty and nature, but was instead used by the government to further its ideology. People were citizens of the state, working and living only to serve and better the state. As the century moved towards a close, we see change again. After the death of Mao in 1976, strict control began to loosen.