New Year Prints from Ancient Times to Contemporary

by Shenzhan 申展

Thanks to Prof. Li, Mingjie （李明洁）for her generous support and advice.

（Search for “Studio Mandarin” on “喜马拉雅主播平台”or Podbean and listen to this article with my voice.）

FU, Prosperity, gift from Prof. Li, Mingjie, 2019

It’s almost 9 pm on Feb. 5, 2019. Astoria, New York. In the unusually warm air on my balcony during this time of the year, I looked up and saw Orion (猎户座), the brightest star in the northern hemisphere winter sky. The Moon was nowhere to be seen.

It’s the first day of the Year of the Pig and the best time to talk about Lunar New Year prints （年画, nián huà）, a Chinese folk art special to Spring Festival since ancient time. Prof. Li, Mingjie (李明洁），an anthropologist and folk art historian from the Folklore Institute, East China Normal University in Shanghai, China, is in New York with her own collection of the prints from late 19th to early 20th Century. I am excited about seeing those stunning prints in New York, and the possibility that they will charm New Yorkers and many people from the world.

There is something about just being seen in New York, isn’t it?

At the moment, I just want to look up to the Orion,imagining they were exactly the same when my ancient Chinese ancestors created the lunar calendar. Legend says it was created by the Yellow Emperor (黄帝, huáng dì) in 2637 B.C.. Here I am, more than 4,000 years later in New York, celebrating Chinese New Year defined by that calendar.

the Woodblock Prints and the Lunar New Year 木版年画 (mù bǎn nián huà）

The invention of woodblock prints may be traced back to Qin (秦，qín）and Han（汉，hàn） period in China before the 2nd Century B.C.. By Han Dynasty (203 B.C. -220 A.D.), Shen Tu (神荼，shén tú）and Yu Llei (郁垒，yù lěi）already appeared as door gods. First made for Buddhist texts, calendars, calligraphy, and auspicious charms, woodblock prints with images became popular in Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), when urban lives were thriving. A woodblock printing workshop, Wang’s Family Paper Horse Prints, appears in “Along the River During the Qingming Festival”(《清明上河图》，by Zhang, Zeduan (1085–1145), one of the most acclaimed Song Dynasty paintings in China. Horses, considered to be the ride for the gods, were one of the earliest woodblock designs. Subsequently those woodblock prints themselves took the name “paper horse” as the carrier of the gods images. Made to ward of the evils and often burnt at rituals for the lunar new year celebrations, birthdays, funerals, opening ceremonies for buildings, etc.  the design of “Paper Horse” gradually took on various objects incorporating nature, Taoist celestial beings, Buddhist gods, Confucian sages, folklore heroes, historical stories, etc. Later in Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), with full-color printing available and colorful illustrated books and single-sheet images high in demand,  woodblock printing was thriving. The Lunar New Year prints as a folk art were especially popular during Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912). It is perhaps during this time period that Chinese woodblock prints were widely introduced to Japan, a source of the long debate among scholars regarding its influence on Ukyio-e (浮世绘), a mainstream art in the Edo Period (1603 - 1868) that presented “pictures of the floating world”. Ukyio-e further had an impact on western impressionist artists of the 19th century such as Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ by Katsushika Hokusai (ca. 1829-1833)
Photo: Katsushika Hokusai [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

New Year prints often have themes related to good wishes most popular and valuable in Chinese traditions, such as warding off the evilness, wishing for numerous sons to carry on a thriving family line, and praying for a year with surplus.

Door Gods posted at the entrance to guard the household.

source: online

The Door Gods are common for New Year Prints. The earliest door gods were Shen Tu（神荼）and Yu Lei (郁垒）, appeared in “Classic of Mountains and Seas” (山海经）, a  classical Chinese text of mythic geography and myths compiled before 3rd Century B.C.. They are believed to be the guardians of the household to keep the evils and ghosts out of the door. In Tang Dynasty, emperor Taìzōng (太宗, 598 - 649 A.D.) posted images of his most revered generals, the legendary Qìn Qióng (秦琼) and Yùchí Gōng (尉迟恭), outside his door as protection. As prints became more readily available with the development of woodblock printing technology, ordinary people began following this tradition, incorporating Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong as one of the popular door gods.

Door god: Zhong Kui, by Tao Hua Wu, early Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912)

Courtesy to Prof. Li, Mingjie, Folklore Institute, East China Normal University

Another popular door god and protector is Zhōng Kuí (钟馗), the fierce mythological figure with the ability to capture ghosts. Appeared in this picture in an ancient official robe, Zhong Kui holds a sword to indicate his special power over the ghosts.

A Portrait of A Hundred Children (百子图，bǎi zǐ tú），by Tao Hua Wu, Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912)

Courtesy to Prof. Li, Mingjie, Folkore Institute, East China Normal University

Often posted inside the room for females, this print design represents the longing for a big, forever thriving family.

Every Year There Is Something to Spare (莲年有余, lián nián yǒu yú ), by Yang Liu Qing, Early Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912)

Courtesy to Prof. Li, Mingjie, Folklore Institute, East China Normal University

This design shows the wish for a materially good year with more than enough to spend. The Chinese word for fish, “鱼” (yú), has the same pronunciation as the word for surplus “余”(yú). A happy and chubby healthy boy is a natural symbol for continuing the family line. The first word “莲”，(lian), refers to lotus seeds, also symbolizes fertility.

Unlike brush paintings, the art of the gentry class in traditional China, the New Year prints were originally created by and made for the general mass, the majority farmers in the countryside and urban residents in city centers. As a result, they were instantly consumed during the celebrations and were rarely preserved as a work of art. Nevertheless, for over 400 years, techniques and styles of these prints have evolved into different regional schools, famously recognized as the Southern School represented by Tao Hua Wu (桃花坞）in Suzhou, Zhejiang province, and the Northern School by Yang Liu Qing (杨柳青) in Tianjin.

As an ancient technique, woodblock prints started to lose its popularity in late 19th century when more efficient western printing techniques found its way to China. However, 1920s has seen a variety of new designs related to daily life introduced to woodblock prints as a revival. Indeed, as a folk art, the woodblock prints were quick to reflect social topics and issues.

Perhaps it is because of such reason, woodblock prints in 1930s went through some dramatic revival with the effort of the revered Chinese writer and social critic, Lu Xun (鲁迅), who re-positioned woodblock prints with a modern European style to call for social revolution. In contrast to the colorful and vibrant New Year Prints with positive wishful messages for the new year, the 1930s movement employed a much more bleak imagery in black and white, reflecting the intense and often violent social issues at the time.

China, Roar! by Li Hua (李桦), 1936

Source: https://aphelis.net/li-hua-china-roar-1936/

Today studios in places like Tao Hua Wu and Yang Liu Qing continue to produce delicate and artistically expressive new year woodblock prints, keeping a tradition started over 2,000 years ago alive. The time and people are different, while what’s considered to be valuable for people, rich or ordinary, —for example, staying away from the evilness, wish for a thriving family, wealth, prosperity, etc.— are the same. By directly communicating such values in colorful, positive and vibrant imageries, the storied pictographic new year prints serve as the most accessible medium to the majority of the people, literate or not. In this sense, it truly is a universal art of the people.

Astoria, New York

February 11, 2019

Reference:

文汇报春节特辑：当我们赏析年画时，心手相传的，是看得见的美好生活 李明洁

桃花坞年画不光承载农耕文明，也深植于市民文化繁盛的都市 李明洁

姑苏版与浮世绘：传说抑或论题 李明洁

木版年画集成总序 冯骥才

中华文化元素：节庆 萧放，长春出版社，2016年

History of Japanese Woodblock Prints, Kelly Richman-Abdou
The invention of woodblock printing in Tang and Song Dynasty

Lesson Plan: The Ukyio-e and Japanese woodblock print

History of Chinese Woodblock Printing, Stephanie Przybylek

Woodcuts in Modern China, Teach China, China Institute