Abstract: The, a reduced-block woodblock print, created in the 1990s against the background of China’s social and cultural transformation and the “period of confusion” in the development of Yunnan printmaking, is a representative work exploring the spiritual connotations in Yunnan ethnic-themed printmaking. Inheriting the tradition of Yunnan’s regional and ethnic themes, the work enhances its painterly quality via reduced-block woodblock techniques. Drawing on realism’s idealized portrayal of laborers, the Red Land forms monumental images embodying the symbiosis between farmers, oxen, and the land. With a visual symbolic system composed of red, yellow, black and white, combined with rough carving strokes and a full composition, the work integrates the natural characteristics of the red soil in eastern Yunnan, the farming scenes of ethnic minorities and their spiritual beliefs, breaking through the stereotypical limitations of regional-themed art and realizing the cultural transformation from natural landscape to the national spiritual home. Through de-ethnic-labeled characterization and the expression of universal cultural imagery, the work constructs a strong sense of the Chinese national community, providing a valuable paradigm with practical and contemporary significance for contemporary ethnic-themed art creation in integrating professional skills with artistic innovation, and regional characteristics with national identity.

Key words: Red Land, regional characteristics, spiritual connotation, Yunnan printmaking, national community