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Yangliuqing New Year Woodblock Print

Source: Shanghai Daily | 00:05 UTC+8 July 30, 2017 | Print Edition

NEW Year painting, a popular decoration for the Chinese New Year holidays, is not only a unique genre of traditional paining, but also a jovial form of fine arts in China. And Yangliuqing, a small town in the western suburbs of Tianjin metropolis, is one of the best-known New Year painting producers in the country.

Created with woodblock printing and colored hand-painting techniques, New Year painting has a history of nearly 2,000 years in China. Some say it originated from the “Door God” paintings that used to be placed near the doors to fend off evils or ghosts.

According to classical historical records, the tradition of putting paintings of deities in front of the doors dates back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220), but some researchers and historians say the standard form of the Door God painting first appeared in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

It is said Emperor Taizong (AD 598-649), a co-founder of the Tang Dynasty, used to be startled by wailing ghosts in his dreams. Two of his generals then volunteered to stand outside the door of the emperor’s chamber every night to guard against any evils and ghosts.

The vigil proved effective as the emperor began to sleep peacefully at night. But he worried about the two generals getting exhausted standing vigil every night. Therefore, he ordered the court painters to paint the images of the two generals and paste the painting on his door and relieve them.

Since then, the Door God paintings caught up with the rest of the country.

However, it was not until the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) that the Door God painting evolved into the New Year prints that people would paste on their doors, walls, windows or even stoves and wardrobes before the Chinese New Year to bid goodbye to the year and usher in a prosperous year.

To create a New Year painting usually involves drawing, tracing, block engraving, printing, coloring, painting and finally mounting.

Featuring rich bright colors, sharp contrast and somewhat exaggerated figures and subjects, New Year painting covers a wide range of themes, such as historical stories, myths and legends, traditional operas, folk customs, birds and flowers.

But most of all, such paintings always bring the message of good luck, festival atmosphere, praise of traditional Chinese virtues and worship of gods, especially those of fortune, prosperity and longevity.

Also, New Year paintings are always full of symbolic representations.

For instance, “Brimful Happiness Year after Year” is one of the favorite subjects of New Year paintings, which usually features a cherubic baby holding a lotus flower in one hand and clutching a big fish in the other arm. Since the lotus sounds similar to “consecutive” and fish is a homophone of “surplus” in Chinese, the painting implies a wish for “prosperity in consecutive years.”

Also, for centuries, Chinese people believed that “more children will bring more blessings and greater happiness,” so New Year paintings of cute babies help to make a house “crowded and lively.”

Other symbolic subjects include cranes, pines and peaches for longevity; peonies for wealth and social status; plum blossoms for perseverance, loyalty and grace; lotus flowers with crabs for harmonies; oxen and roosters for diligence; tigers for valor; elephants for peace; monkey riding a horse for immediate promotion to a higher position; and dragons and phoenixes for extremely good fortune.

There are a number of famous New Year painting production towns and villages across the country. They include Yangliuqing in northern China’s Tianjin metropolis, Zhuxian Town in Kaifeng in central China’s Henan Province, Taohuawu in Suzhou in Jiangsu Province south of the Yangtze River, Yangjiabu Village in east China’s Shandong Province and Mianzhu in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Among them, Yangliuqing is generally considered the leading producer of traditional New Year paintings in the north and Taohuawu its matching counterpart in the south.

In Chinese, Yangliuqing literally means Green Poplar and Willow and Taohuawu, Peach Blossom Dock, hence the saying “Willow in the north and peach in the south” among the New Year painting producers and customers.

Yangliuqing New Year woodblock print dates back more than 600 years in Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), when an artisan specializing in wood engraving came to Yangliuqing to take refuge as the peasants’ rebellion raged across the country.

To make a living, the artisan sold woodblock prints of door and kitchen deities to the locals, which soon became very popular. The production of such prints was turned into a local trade.

Particularly, in the early 15th century, the newly-dredged Grand Canal, the longest artificial river in the world, brought high quality paper to town and a great variety of coloring materials from the south, which had greatly helped to boost the woodblock print business in Yangliuqing.

In its prime years in the middle and late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), there were more than 30 villages around Yangliuqing that were all engaged in the production of New Year woodblock prints that were sold across the country.

Yangliuqing New Year woodblock prints are known for their vivid colors, dramatic designs, radiant festive vibe, greatly varied themes and exquisite block printings.

Over centuries, Yangliuqing has witnessed many ups and downs in its New Year woodblock print business. After the founding of New China in 1949, the central and local governments, in order to protect traditional Chinese folk art, supported the town to ensure it continues to produce New Year woodblock prints. As a result, Yangliuqing New Year woodblock prints, as well as New Year paintings produced elsewhere in the country, are still very popular today, especially in the rural areas.

In 2006, the State Council, or the Chinese Cabinet, listed Yangliuqing New Year woodblock print as a state intangible cultural heritage.

Now and Then


 

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