Woodcut New Year pictures (Laohekou woodcut New Year pictures)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: woodcut New Year pictures (Laohekou woodcut New Year pictures)

Applicant: Laohekou City, Hubei Province

Project No.: 841

Project No.: Ⅶ - 65

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Hubei Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Laohekou City, Hubei Province

Protection unit: Laohekou Mass Art Museum

Woodcut New Year pictures (Laohekou woodcut New Year pictures)

Applicant: Laohekou City, Hubei Province

Laohekou New Year picture is a kind of Chinese folk New Year picture. It is one of the main varieties of traditional folk art in Laohekou City, Hubei Province. It is also one of the three major producing areas of New Year pictures in Hubei history.

Laohekou New Year pictures have a long history. It is said that they were introduced from Taohuawu in Suzhou through Zhuxian Town in Henan Province in the late Ming Dynasty, and flourished from Qianlong to Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty. During the period of the Republic of China, Laohekou New Year pictures still had more than 1000 employees, and employed in more than ten new year pictures workshops, such as songchangfu, liuyuansheng, demaogong, wanyuanyong, etc. the annual output of each workshop was about 100000 pieces, and the products were exported to Hubei, Henan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and other regions. Later, it gradually declined because of the rise of lithography and modern printing. In the 1950s, Laohekou set up a woodcarving factory to organize local woodcut artists to continue to engage in the production of woodcut New Year pictures and woodcarving.

Laohekou woodcut New Year pictures are made of hard pear wood, with fine and smooth carving and strong lines. The pigments used in printing new year pictures are plant and mineral pigments, which are bright and not easy to fade. Common varieties are kitchen painting, big and small door painting, nave, strip screen, etc. The contents of Laohekou New Year pictures are mostly based on historical dramas and legends, and the figures are vivid and exaggerated. At present, Laohekou woodcut New Year pictures also face the situation of no successor, which needs to be supported and protected.