SIWEI XU

方子 Prescription
Installation
Found objects(books, Chinese medicine cabinet),wax
Size varies
2024

      "Pi Shu" refers to a category of foreign books translated and internally published by the government around 1950. These books were used primarily for ideological criticism. The covers of these books were simple in design and typically come in different colors, such as gray (for political readings), yellow (for Western literature), and blue, among others. The phrase "internal distribution" was usually printed on the cover, and the books often featured a preface critiquing the content from a Maoist perspective.
      Pi Shu was notoriously difficult to obtain; however, some of these books still managed to circulate among sent-down youth who secretly shared them. These books, often referred to as "drawer readings," had a significant impact on the intellectual landscape of that era and beyond.
      I have compiled a representative list of forty Pi Shu, half of which are genuine publications from that period. The other half are modern publications that I have altered by painting the covers gray while retaining the original titles, authors, and publishers.
      These forty books have been placed inside forty drawers of a traditional Chinese medicine cabinet. The drawers are sealed with semi-transparent white wax, revealing only the covers and prefaces.

方子 PrescriptionInstallation
Found objects(books, Chinese medicine cabinet),wax
Size varies
2024

"Pi Shu" refers to a category of foreign books translated and internally published by the government around 1950. These books were used primarily for ideological criticism. The covers of these books were simple in design and typically come in different colors, such as gray (for political readings), yellow (for Western literature), and blue, among others. The phrase "internal distribution" was usually printed on the cover, and the books often featured a preface critiquing the content from a Maoist perspective.
Pi Shu was notoriously difficult to obtain; however, some of these books still managed to circulate among sent-down youth who secretly shared them. These books, often referred to as "drawer readings," had a significant impact on the intellectual landscape of that era and beyond.
I have compiled a representative list of forty Pi Shu, half of which are genuine publications from that period. The other half are modern publications that I have altered by painting the covers gray while retaining the original titles, authors, and publishers.
These forty books have been placed inside forty drawers of a traditional Chinese medicine cabinet. The drawers are sealed with semi-transparent white wax, revealing only the covers and prefaces.

方子 PrescriptionInstallation
Found objects(books, Chinese medicine cabinet),wax
Size varies
2024

"Pi Shu" refers to a category of foreign books translated and internally published by the government around 1950. These books were used primarily for ideological criticism. The covers of these books were simple in design and typically come in different colors, such as gray (for political readings), yellow (for Western literature), and blue, among others. The phrase "internal distribution" was usually printed on the cover, and the books often featured a preface critiquing the content from a Maoist perspective.
Pi Shu was notoriously difficult to obtain; however, some of these books still managed to circulate among sent-down youth who secretly shared them. These books, often referred to as "drawer readings," had a significant impact on the intellectual landscape of that era and beyond.
I have compiled a representative list of forty Pi Shu, half of which are genuine publications from that period. The other half are modern publications that I have altered by painting the covers gray while retaining the original titles, authors, and publishers.
These forty books have been placed inside forty drawers of a traditional Chinese medicine cabinet. The drawers are sealed with semi-transparent white wax, revealing only the covers and prefaces.

方子 PrescriptionInstallation
Found objects(books, Chinese medicine cabinet),wax
Size varies
2024

"Pi Shu" refers to a category of foreign books translated and internally published by the government around 1950. These books were used primarily for ideological criticism. The covers of these books were simple in design and typically come in different colors, such as gray (for political readings), yellow (for Western literature), and blue, among others. The phrase "internal distribution" was usually printed on the cover, and the books often featured a preface critiquing the content from a Maoist perspective.
Pi Shu was notoriously difficult to obtain; however, some of these books still managed to circulate among sent-down youth who secretly shared them. These books, often referred to as "drawer readings," had a significant impact on the intellectual landscape of that era and beyond.
I have compiled a representative list of forty Pi Shu, half of which are genuine publications from that period. The other half are modern publications that I have altered by painting the covers gray while retaining the original titles, authors, and publishers.
These forty books have been placed inside forty drawers of a traditional Chinese medicine cabinet. The drawers are sealed with semi-transparent white wax, revealing only the covers and prefaces.