This porcelain figurine belongs to a group of Cultural Revolution items. Dressed as a blue-collar worker, he is portrayed seizing a miniature man dressed in traditional Chinese robes.The characters “大批判” (great criticism) seen on the base of the figurine describe the worker’s forceful actions. His seizure of the miniature figure may be understood as the struggle against “class enemies”. To emphasise the righteousness of the fight, the worker is portrayed standing upright and much larger; while the enemy is presented in a contorted and ugly manner. During the Cultural Revolution, criticism of counter-revolutionaries or people deemed to be exploiting the workers and peasants was encouraged. The verbal attacks launched against these anti-socialist elements often escalated into physical violence, as this figurine indicates.
