Few companies commissioned commercial illustration as consistently or as successfully during Republican China as Huacheng Tobacco Co. (華成煙草公司). Until 1949, it published over 16,500 ads in China’s most influential newspaper – the Shenbao.
The company’s origins trace back to 1917, but it was following its reorganization in 1924 under Chen Chuxiang (陳楚湘), that the company rapidly expanded its product portfolio, beginning with The Rat (金鼠) and its most well-known brand - My Dear (美丽牌), first advertised in 1926. Rather than relying solely on conventional advertising, Huacheng invested heavily in original illustration, employing some of Shanghai's finest commercial artists.
Among them was Zhang Dihan (张荻寒), born 1904 in Zhejiang, who trained at the Commercial Press before working for famous Shanghai ad man Carl Crow and later becoming Huacheng's resident advertising illustrator.
Working alongside contemporaries such as Hang Zhiying and Xie Zhiguang, he became renowned for elegant female figures, refined brushwork and the fusion of traditional Chinese painting with modern advertising aesthetics. His work extended beyond advertising into calendar posters, traditional Chinese paintings and lianhuanhua (illustrated storybooks).
Created in 1928, our striking My Dear cigarette calendar poster represents Zhang at the height of his career. The composition is dominated by a fashionable young woman posed before a shimmering gold-foiled background, surrounded by an elaborate Art Nouveau-inspired floral border with cranes (representing longevity and peace) and is topped with the main company name header rendered in a breathtaking Art Deco typeface. Rather than aggressively promoting the product, the illustration sells an aspirational lifestyle, with the cigarette packs arranged discreetly along the bottom as part of Huacheng's broader brand family. With that, the poster captures a pivotal moment in late 1920s China when local advertising fully embraced the language of modern consumer aspiration, symbolized by the iconic Shanghai calendar girls, while remaining deeply rooted in Chinese decorative traditions.
My Dear cigarettes ads illustrated by Zhang Dihan spanning three decades from the mid-1920s to the late 1940s
The year 1928 also marked Zhang Dihan's greatest public recognition. During the entire 77-year history of the Shenbao, only one advertising illustration competition was ever held. More than 20,000 readers voted on ads submitted by ten companies, with prizes of 500 yuan and silver medals awarded both to the advertisers and the artists. Zhang's advertisement for Huacheng's My Dear cigarettes won Second Prize, cementing his reputation as one of the country's foremost commercial illustrators.
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