China Traditional Arts and Crafts: Four New Year Pictures

China Traditional Arts and Crafts: Four New Year Pictures

New Year pictures are traditional folk works of art in China, which are mostly used for posting in the New Year and decorating the environment, and contain the meaning of wishing the New Year auspicious and festive. Woodblock New Year pictures appeared in the Song Dynasty after the invention of block printing, and became an independent art form from the middle of Ming Dynasty. Famous New Year pictures came into being, including Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin, Yangjiabu in Weifang, Shandong and Mianzhu in Sichuan. These are the four famous folk woodblock New Year pictures in China.

Suzhou Taohuawu

A kind of folk woodcut, which is widely spread in the south of China and has great influence, is carved with woodcut and printed with the traditional watermark method of one page and one color, forming a beautiful and neat unique style. The folk painting circle is called "Gusu Edition".

Tianjin Yangliuqing

Produced in Yangliuqing, Tianjin, it has the reputation of "every family can engrave plates and everyone is good at painting". The characteristics of Yangliuqing New Year pictures are: the combination of woodcut watermark and hand-painting, with the theme of old playing bones, magnesium girls and fat dolls. It is also called "Peach Blossom in the South and Willow in the North" with the famous Suzhou Taohuawu New Year Pictures in the South.

Yangjiabu, Weifang, Shandong

It rose in the Ming Dynasty and was all made by hand in the traditional way. It was influenced by Yangliuqing New Year pictures in the early stage of development and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty. Yangjiabu New Year pictures have a wide range of themes, rich imagination, reuse of primary colors, rough lines and pure style.

Mianzhu in Sichuan

Known for painting, it has strong national characteristics and distinctive local characteristics. The composition of Mianzhu New Year pictures emphasizes symmetry, integrity, fullness, clear distinction between primary and secondary, diversity and unity.