As much of the world locks down in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people are experiencing the boredom and uncertainty that was the province of mainland China during the initial outbreak, a period now popularly dubbed “zui chang de guonian”, or the longest spring festival.
For those quarantined in their flats, it was a time when bad news, local and national, had to be digested over long days living in the shadow of this terrifying new disease. Some found light relief playing dinner-table ping pong or living-room badminton, videos of which have since gone viral on social media. But for China’s creative classes, the worry, anger, horror and hope inevitably manifested into works of art produced in the confines of their homes.
