The people in Duan Zhengqu’s paintings carry fat fish, fire pots or big chunks of pork as they run along the mountain paths…. The artist intentionally makes their movements solemn and ritualized, using primitive and naïve folk culture to construct a fairytale world for himself, alluding to a religion of the spirit. For Duan Zhengqu, folksy Shaanxi painting transcends mere realist appropriation of folk traditions. Here, the mysterious, ancient folk figures come together with his own self-awareness, expressing the sharpness of the transition period from modernist realism to contemporary spiritual exploration.