Figure ①: The fifth set of RMB 100 yuan with the back pattern "Great Hall of the People".
Fig. ②: The fifth set of RMB 20 yuan back pattern "Guilin Landscape".
Fig. ③: The fifth set of RMB 10 yuan back pattern "Three Gorges Kuimen".
The Great Hall of the People, Potala Palace, Guilin Landscape, Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, Mount Tai, and San Tan Yin Yue are all the buildings and scenery behind the fifth set of RMB banknotes. Why did you choose them as the main scene on the back? Can the photos taken by framing be directly used on paper money? Recently, the reporter came to China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation and visited the people who had participated in the design and production of the fifth set of RMB in that year to reveal the secrets of the scenery on RMB for you.
Theme design
Beijing West Railway Station and Jiuquan Launch Site were once candidates.
Everyone knows that the fifth set of RMB was officially listed and issued in 1999. In fact, the design and development of this set of RMB started as early as 1988, and its design process is also very complicated and tortuous.
The design of the theme alone has undergone many changes. In the fourth set, the front main view of RMB is the head of representative national figures in China, and the back main view is based on the famous mountains and rivers such as the main peak of Jinggangshan and Hukou Waterfall of the Yellow River, which embodies the theme of high spirits and unity of people of all ethnic groups in China. What is the good theme in the fifth set?
The first theme given by the designer is ancient historical figures, in the order of dynasties. Kong Qiu and Qu Yuan in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Sima Qian and Cai Lun in the Han Dynasty were all selected. The second theme is contemporary leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. The third theme is the head of Mao Zedong on the front and the famous scenery and buildings in China on the back, highlighting the great rivers and mountains of the motherland.
In the process, some leaders suggested that nanpu bridge, Beijing West Railway Station, "Three North" Shelterbelt, Jiuquan Launch Site and so on could be added to the ticket.
In fact, China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation has designed color drafts of these schemes and submitted them to the People’s Bank of China, and the People’s Bank of China has submitted them to the State Council for discussion. What is finally confirmed is what we see now. On the front, Mao Zedong’s head is adopted, and on the back, famous buildings and landscapes such as the Great Hall of the People and Potala Palace are selected from China’s historical sites and buildings and landscapes.
There are so many scenic spots in China, why are these selected? The most basic principle is not to use the scenery that has been used before. "Let people know at a glance where it is, have a special status and popularity, and be expressive", which is the standard in one of the designers’ mind. Although it may not be possible to cover the factors considered by every designer, after hundreds of repeated discussions and verifications by designers, the victories of Potala Palace and Mount Tai are truly deserved.
"It was once suggested that Huangshan Mountain be used on the back of 50 yuan, but after discussion, everyone thought that Huangshan Mountain had been used before, and the Potala Palace not only reflected the elements of national unity, but also added a lot to its religious significance." Liu Yongjiang, director of the product development office and head of the fifth RMB design, said.
Field shooting
The mysterious collector of the West Lake has to take a close-up shot in the rain.
In the minds of employees of banknote printing and minting companies, RMB is an "outstanding representative product" they produce, hoping to be recognized and loved by the people. However, after all, RMB has its own particularity, so that it is kept secret throughout the design and production process, and even it is difficult for ordinary people to see it until the moment it comes out. Kong Wei Yun, a sculptor of RMB, told the reporter an interesting story that happened during the filming.
In those days, Kong Wei Yun went to the West Lake in Hangzhou to collect the wind and print the moon on the three pools behind the 1 yuan paper money. According to the confidentiality regulations, only the director of the currency issuance department of the local people’s bank knew the purpose of his visit and arranged his accommodation and itinerary. Unfortunately, the day of collecting the wind just happened to catch up with the rain.
There are regulations in the West Lake that you can’t go out when it rains, and you can’t shoot Santan at close range without taking a boat. What should I do? Kong Weiyun told the boatman that he was an advertising company, and his task was urgent. He would return to Beijing tomorrow, and he had to shoot today. The boatman said that he would sail, but there must be two guests on board, so Kong Weiyun had to pay for a tour guide.
Finally, the ship sailed successfully, but the route was not satisfactory. The boats in the scenic spot all have a fixed driving route and time, but Kong Wei Cloud has its own specific shooting point, so we can only spend more money to let the boatmen temporarily change the route and add time. "The boatman still wondered and asked me why I didn’t see so many beautiful scenery in the West Lake."
Do we have to photograph the real thing? Kong Weiyun said that unlike designers who can find inspiration by looking at albums, as sculptors, they must see the details. If you don’t look at the details, you don’t know how to do the edges and corners when carving, and you don’t know what the patterns and patterns on Santan stone carving are. Because he couldn’t tell the boatman his true intention, Kong Weiyun joked that he was a "mysterious collector of the West Lake".
In the fifth set of RMB design stage, Kong Wei Yunhe and other designers and sculptors were also pulled into a small building at the foot of the Great Wall to "lock up" for two weeks’ closed creation. There are no "outsiders" here, and they eat and live in the building. Because the mobile phone was not popular and the transportation was inconvenient at that time, it can be said that it was really isolated from the world and the confidentiality work was done quite well.
"combined" landscape
Want to take pictures of the scene? Actually, it can’t be completely matched
After the introduction of the fifth set of RMB, the back scenery became a hot topic, and tourists took RMB to take photos of the back scenery, but designer Li Zhinong told you, "Forget it, you can’t find exactly the same place."
Li Zhinong told reporters that unlike the previous sets, the fifth set of RMB clearly stated that "combined" scenery can be used. In other words, what you see on the back of the paper money, such as the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, the Three Ponds and the Moon, is difficult to find exactly the same angle to shoot again in reality. They are combined "brand-new" landscapes.
Take Mount Tai as the most representative, the unique stone carving of Wuyue, the Southern Gate of Heaven and the Jade Emperor’s Peak are all symbolic symbols of Mount Tai, but it is difficult for tourists to find a place to photograph these three elements. Why do you want to put them together? Li Zhinong said that the characteristics of Mount Tai are not very prominent. It is difficult to tell if it is Mount Tai only by depicting the mountain features. Therefore, in order to better show the grandeur of Mount Tai and facilitate identification, all three elements are simply integrated into one picture.
Similarly, after a large number of multi-angle shooting in the early stage, in order to make the composition more beautiful, the designers also "moved" the positions of several distant mountains in Guilin Mountain, "moved away" some mounds near Potala Palace, and "depressed" the grandeur of the distant mountains, making the pillars as the decoration of the Great Hall of the People, the five-pointed stars and lights of the dome become its background … …
"There is actually no close correspondence between color and face value. One hundred yuan is red, but once one yuan was used in red." Liu Yongjiang said that colors serve the theme, and they should ensure that different denominations cannot be confused and easy to distinguish.
Of course, how to design is not up to one person, and it can even be said that every link of RMB design has the hard work of countless people. Not only do designers choose scenery and design angles to draw sketches, but also some people draw sketches to improve them, and sculptors use dotted lines to shape scenery … … Every draft of design, painting and sculpture will be different. After each link, the scenery may change slightly. "Because of the technological restrictions and anti-counterfeiting requirements, the scenery on the banknotes must stand scrutiny and picky." Liu Yongjiang said.
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