Cheng Conglin is one of the most influential artists in modern China. His Snow: One certain day in 1968, which was produced in 1968, broke the stiff art formulae in Cultural Revolution and opened the door for modern art. The Yan ---- Looking at the Beginning of the Century was produced in 1997. It is a great historical painting, which takes the development of modern China in the 20th century as theme. There is almost no discernible object in the painting. But it is not an abstract painting either. In fact, the painting is metaphoric. It is composed of a lot of symbols, which represent the Chinese spirit in an abstract way. Further reading would reveal to us some discernible elements, such as decorative parts of traditional buildings and the images of victims of wars. These elements have clear meanings. They could be found everywhere in every period in Chinese history. They are the symbol of Chinese history. And they reveal the meaning of this metaphoric painting by Cheng Conglin to us. By transferring the history of modern China into symbols, Cheng Conglin makes his audiences witness the hardships of the nation directly, which could hardly be expressed by words but could be grasped by a sensitive mind.