This contemporary tiehua depicts fish, which strays from the traditionally more common elements of landscapes and bird-and-flower style paintings. Take note of the level of detail in the fishes—this reflects more modern western, realist influences. Interestingly, this piece is essentially devoid of any political content and deep meaning. We only see the objects and encryption—nothing more. After the Tiananmen Square protests and amid a blossoming market economy, many examples of Chinese art have been said by many, such as Gao Minglu, to lose meaning that they used to have. Historically, deep political and subjective significance would be integrated, be it by frustrated literati or later the Chinese Communist Party attempting to drive an ideological narrative (though socialist realism was purely political).