An artisan paints a print with a brush and watercolor.

Yangliuqing Woodblock New Year Pictures

Yangliuqing is a small town about 20 kilometers west of the center of Tianjin Municipality. The woodblock New Year pictures became popular in the area some 400 years ago at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and flourished during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).

In its heyday, almost every household in Yangliuqing was involved in making woodblock New Year pictures. Because the town is so close to the capital — about 150 kilometers southeast of Beijing — many of the artists were called in to the imperial court to serve as royal painters.

What makes Yangliuqing woodblock New Year pictures unique is the process of "half printing and half painting." The first part of the process is similar to other woodblock pictures — carving and printing — but what is different is that the artists will then paint on the basic prints with brushes and watercolor.

The most popular subject for Yangliuqing woodblock New Year pictures is children. A plump baby holding a large fish with a lotus in the background is the classic image of Yangliuqing woodblock New Year pictures. "Fish" (yu in Chinese) has a similar pronunciation as "surplus," and "lotus" (lian in Chinese) has a similar pronunciation as "successive."

In 2006, the State Council included Yangliuqing woodblock New Year pictures in the first group of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list. And in 2011, the Tianjin Yangliuqing Woodblock New Year Pictures Museum opened with a rich collection of more than 10,000 prints and 6,400 woodblocks dating back to the Ming Dynasty At No. 111 Tonglou Sanheli, Hexi District, Tianjin, stands a traditional Chinese courtyard — the Tianjin Yangliuqing Woodblock New Year Pictures Museum. Stepping into the museum, visitors are immediately immersed in a vibrant gallery of traditional artistry: a plump baby holding a fish, the door gods in shining armor, and the elegant ladies in fluttering garments which seem to emit a faint fragrance. This is not just an ordinary folk museum, but a national demonstration base for the production-oriented protection of Yangliuqing woodblock New Year pictures. The professional artisans stay focused on their craft — some sketching intricate outlines, and some others carving woodblock prints or printing New Year pictures. As an artisan paints skillfully with vibrant colors, a New Year picture titled Lian Nian You Yu, which means "there will always be some surplus year after year," gradually unfolds with the fragrance of wood and ink in the air, exactly how such pictures were made more than a century ago.