The drawings of Yin Zhaoyang open the theme of expressing emotion for the sorrow towards youth by the generation born in 1970s. They are genuinely building the image and emotional features of this generation. Regarding the distance of time and the significant concept of "Mao", what is fuzzy may be memory for the younger generation artists such as Yin Zhaoyang and what is vivid is still cognition. The image of Mao Zedong, a kind of social and historical heritage, relates to a social phenomenon affording for thought for the diversified uses.

Yin Zhaoyang is interpreting and describing a splendid image of that era with his own experience. His works are unique among numerous like ones under the theme "Mao" with his unprecedented demeanor. Yin Zhaoyang's works in relation to Mao Zedong always represent an allegory. Even this "Mao", featuring such simple drawing and composition, contrasts the pose and temperament of the figure with colors. The figure and the background are basically rendered in two major tones: red and green. Red is a code for maintaining a politically correct status in the communist context. In traditional Chinese culture, it also has positive associations to fortune, fertility, happiness, and success. The green color of military uniforms occupies a large part of the canvas; green symbolizes hope, while also being the characteristic color of the Chinese Red Army. At the same time, the primary colors used evoke the pure color field explorations of Mark Rothko, giving the portrait deeper emotional resonance than a straightforward realistic depiction.