In the 1930s and '40s, a new woodcut movement initiated by noted literary figure Lu Xun thrived in China. Woodcut prints were viewed as a medium to depict the plight of the masses and popularize the idea of a revolution. The movement became fashionable among young people who sought a progressive means to transform the country and people.

Yang Li, then a teenager, was one of those who found inspiration in the pieces created by several artists of the time.

"Woodcuts are small in size compared to paintings, but the intensity and strength of the traces left by the blades are quite compelling," says 91-year-old Yang.

"Because they could be printed again and again, woodcuts were fit for depicting anti-oppression themes, and one could feel an eruption of revolutionary enthusiasm underlying the works."

Since then, woodcuts have been an inseparable part of Yang's life.

An exhibition, titled Yang Li: The Enlightenment of Revolution, which navigates his art career through the decades, especially his accomplishments in woodcuts, is being held through Sept 5 at the art museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where Yang once studied and also taught.

The exhibition shows prints, watercolors and ink paintings. At the heart are the pieces in which Yang recalls his life and work in Yan'an, the cradle of the revolution led by the Communist Party of China, in Shaanxi province.

Through the connection of an underground Party member, Yang, then 18, and two schoolmates arrived in Yan'an in 1948. At the time, the remote place was seen by many intellectuals and young people like Yang as the hope of a brighter future for the country. An interest in the CPC and the areas under its leadership was ignited in Yang's heart years earlier.

He says that, while he attended middle school in Xi'an, the provincial capital, he found, in a library, a collection of woodcuts that impressed him.

The pieces depicted young patriots' heroic deeds during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the life and democratic atmosphere in the CPC-led liberated areas.

"The works kindled a glowing beacon in me," Yang says. "I felt a yearning for Yan'an and the liberated areas."

Decades later, Yang recalled his first impression of Yan'an upon arrival.

"I saw that the people, military officials and Party leaders, all wore the same coarse clothes, plain but warm. While in Xi'an there were homeless on the streets and also fancy cars carrying people in furs.

"In Yan'an, women and children had healthy natural blushes on their faces. At that moment, I developed a faith in the revolution, and I saw hope and brightness for the country."

Yang revisited the theme of Yan'an in his work through the decades, in which he depicted the area's landscape and industrious people doing farm work.

One such work on show, Light in Cave Dwellings, presents a serene atmosphere at night: a sky full of stars, a crescent moon, a plateau and a cave house lit by lamps.

Zhang Jun, a former student of Yang and the ongoing exhibition's academic director, says Yang's works are embedded with sincerity, and those depicting his time in Yan'an are exuberant with nostalgic feelings and a simple, straightforward passion for art.