French West Africa with the exception of the Senegalese Communes, the administrative structure of French rule at the lower levels remained constant, based upon the Cercle system. This was the smallest unit of French political administration in French colonial Africa that was headed by a European officer. They might range in size, but French Sudan (modern Mali) consisted of less than a dozen Cercles for most of its existence. Thus, a Cercle Commander might be the absolute authority over hundreds of thousands of Africans. A Cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages, and was almost universal
The Founding Ceremony of the Nation changes to the painting tell a bitter story, reflecting the political influences on art. But it didn't affect Dong Xiwen's love of art." Wu Hung described "The Founding of the Nation" as "arguably the most celebrated work of official Chinese art". He noted that the painting is the only "canonized" one depicting the October 1 ceremony, and that other artists have tended to give the people's perspective, subjecting themselves to Mao's gaze. The painting is a modern-day example of "damnatio memoriae", the alteration of artworks or other objects to remove the image or name of a disfavored person. Deng Zhangyu,