In December 1968, the legendary photo of "Earthrise" was taken from lunar orbit by astronauts on the Apollo 8 space mission. This iconic photo presents the view of the earth from the moon, which inspired Liu Guosong to create the iconic "Space Series".
Red Sun (B) is the classic example of this series.

In late 1960s, Liu Kuo Sung was deeply inspired by Fan Kuan’s Travelers among Mountains and Streams, which in 1968, the character for dawn or day (dan) appeared as an important symbol and in his work, of which the composition resembles structurally with the Chinee character: The upper part of the picture stands like a monument, while the ink strokes in the lower part are like flowing water. Red Sun (B) presents the classic composition of the "Space Series" on the basis of this "Dan" structure: the artist employs the circle and arc within a rectangular frame, such compositional structure echoes to the traditional Chinese philosophy of “tian yuan di fang” (Heaven is round and Earth is square). It demonstrates the artist’s view of the universe which is rich in traditional Chinese culture and aesthetics. Towards the bottom part Red Sun (B), Liu Kuo Sung painted with wide brushstrokes and incorporated with the “stripped tendons, peeled skin” technique which he pioneered from infusing the brushwork of Song-dynasty landscapes to create a finer texture. Red Sun (B) is an epit.mes of the early “Space Series” works, which carries the artist’s ardent anticipations for his art and world at that t.mes .

1968年12月，阿波羅八號太空任務公佈一張自太空傳回的「地出」(Earthrise) 照片，此標誌性照片呈現由月球遠眺地球之景，啟發劉國松於1969年開創蜚聲畫壇的「太空系列」。《紅日（B）》即屬此創作系列的經典作品。

六〇年代末，劉國松深受范寛《谿山行旅圖》之啟迪，使他的作品自1968年起呈現重要的「旦」字形結構：圖的上方矗立如巨碑，下半部的墨意筆觸則如流水；《紅日（B）》在此「旦」字形結構之基礎上，同時呈現「太空系列」的經典構圖：藝術家在長方形的畫幅中經營出正圓與弧形的結構，如此利用方圓配置所構成的畫面，呼應中國傳統文化「天圓地方」的觀念；把空間意識的「天」與「地」跟藝術造形的「圓」與「方」統合於作品中，既展現藝術家的宇宙觀，亦富有中國傳統的文化內蘊及美學特點。《紅日（B）》的畫面下方可見劉國松以大筆觸的書法線條，加上其開創的「抽筋剝皮皴」，在創作構圖及染色後，抽取紙筋，呈現有如裂縫的白色肌理；既融合宋代山水筆意，更為構圖賦予更細緻的脈絡肌理。《紅日（B）》乃「太空系列」中的早期典例，盛載藝術家於此時對其藝術以至世界的熾熱盼望與期許。