Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads is an artwork by Chinese contemporary artist and political commentator, Ai Weiwei. The work comes in a small (gold) and large (bronze) version. Created in 2010, the zodiac heads (a Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig) are inspired by those which once comprised a water clock-fountain at the Old Summer Palace, which is a complex of palaces and gardens in Beijing that were constructed by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty. The Old Summer Palace was eventually destroyed by French and British troops in
Letter of the Six in to pressures. Although lacking in actual popular support, the letter was argued to be the among most important and influential acts of opposition during its period, and a notorious break with the tradition of strict obedience and party discipline. Nevertheless, political scientist Michael Shafir argues that the act of collective dissent within the Party was "too little, too late" and that if it had been done in the mid-1970s, it might have had some consequences and could have been a starting point for some real changes. Letter of the Six The Letter of the Six (Romanian: "Scrisoarea celor șase")