Mao Zedong: Red Box belongs to the set of twenty lithographs from "Wang Gaungyi´s Rhythmical Dichotomy ", which comes as a limited edition of 165 rare books. By combining depictions of workers with logos of famous commercial brands, such as Coca-Cola and Rolex (“corrections” of the political slogans he had painted as a youth), in this collection of lithographs Wang Guangyi synthesized the schematic propaganda of two seemingly opposed systems.

"In fact, in China, we think those squares like Jiugongge (Grid Box) - a graphic device; it can enlarge tiny things. Also, it can reduce a gigantic thing. The idolatry of Mao Zedong, the God worship of Mao Zedong, can be enlarged by the aspirations of the people towards God. I take the God worship enlarged by the people, and in drawing the squares, I reduce it into a person." —Wang Guangyi

As the art market became less and less regulated by the government, artists moved on to develop their own form of expression, rather than the government’s. This change made it possible for Wang to produce works that questioned the customary portrayal of Chairman Mao. He took images of the former leader and overlaid them with a grid of thick, black lines, substituting the normally warm reds for cold, bluish greys. He literally put up a barrier between Mao and the people, forcing viewers to take a new look at the image that had been regarded by so many as god-like.