Woodcut New Year picture is China's historic art form of traditional Han Chinese which has a history of more than 1000 years. To the late Qing Dynasty, folk New Year paintings reached a peak stage. For the Han people, New Year picture is a symbol of the year. If not post new year pictures, it is not like celebrating the New Year. New Year holiday decorations not only has cultural and artistic value, but also making it reflect the social and cultural life of the Han folk encyclopedia.

History of Chinese Woodcut New Year picture

Woodcut New Year picture's origin has been divided into two centers: the north is in Tianjin Yangliuqing and Shandong Weifang Yangjiabu (Hanting); the south in Suzhou Taohuawu and Guangdong Foshan. Their yield and production have their own clear style and a great range of markets. This is because the woodcut New Year pictures have existed in a very long time and it has been a Han Chinese favorite works of art. Though woodcut New Year pictures in Song already has a prototype of the scale; but it's true to form in the Ming Dynasty. The oldest one is Tianjin Yangliuqing’s products.

Feature of Chinese Woodcut New Year picture

Woodcut New Year pictures have similar process. They generally use hard and delicate pear wood and date wood. After carving and ink brushing, print the color pigments on rice paper which absorb water easily. They also use water-based color pigment and print colorful New Year pictures in several times.

Han traditional folk woodcut New Year picture has simple lines and basic colors. They general use red, green and yellow to illustrate the bustle scene of the New Year. Its contents can be divided into festival auspicious and drive out evil spirits. As woodcut New Year picture is easy to print, worthy price and its theme is people love to hear and see, it is widely popular among Chinese people. As a result, woodcut New Year picture has become an essential part of Chinese holidays, weddings, ceremonies, etc.

Top Woodcut New Year pictures in China

Tianjin Yangliuqing New Year Pictures
Yangliuqing is a small town in the east of Tianjin City, about 30 kilometers away. It is located in the downstream of Daqing River where there is beautiful scenery and convenient transportation. About two fifth people in the town are engaged in the business of New Year pictures. Its business began in the late Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 300 years. Its peak period of its business was in the tenth year of Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty. In that year, they sold more than 20 million pictures to north China, east China and Xin Jiang.

Shandong Yangjiabu New Year Pictures
Yangjiabu was famous for producing woodcut New Year pictures. Together with Tianjin Yangliuqing and Suzhou Taohuawu, they are known as three picture markets in China. Yangjiabu woodcut New Year pictures have a history of more than 300 years. Yangjiabu woodcut New Year picture is miracle of Shandong Weifang folk arts. In many years, its unique charming of arts attract the broad mass. Although it gains its subject from the folk society, it also have many wonderful imagination and exaggeration. The figures in the pictures are simple and unadorned, exudes a strong local flavor.

Suzhou Taohuawu New Year Picture
Suzhou Taohuawu New Year picture about open for business in the period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It not only sell its products in Suzhou, but also spread to Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou and so on. The country attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On June 8, 2007, Jiangsu Province Taohuawu Woodcut Heritage Day Museum was the first issued by the Ministry of Culture.

Guangzhou Foshan New Year Picture
Foshan used to be a big town of Nanhai County. Its New Year pictures best sold in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, New Year pictures are not only used as a kind of decorations, but also as a valuable crafts.

Sichuan Mianzhu New Year Picture
Mianzhu New Year picture was emerged in the late of Ming Dynasty. In the period of Emperor Qianlong and Jiajing of Qing Dynasty, Mianzhu woodcut New Year pictures achieved its greatest success. In its most prosperous time, Mianzhu has more than 200 shops selling New Year pictures and more than 10000 craftsmen engaging in the work.

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