Mao Zedong Inspecting Harvest, 1957-58

This black-and-white photograph of Mao Zedong inspecting fields ready for harvest at the start of the Great Leap Forward was taken in 1957. The original image included Vice Chairman Liu Xiaoqi. Official photographic retoucher Chen Shilin removed Liu from the image and drew plants to cover the space where he once stood. A colorized version of the photograph became a widely circulated propaganda poster.