Chinese New Year pictures

New Year Painting

Chinese New Year pictures pinned up on doors, room walls and windows on the Chinese New Year to invite heavenly blessings and ward off disasters and evil spirits - which dates back to the Qin and Han dynasties. Thanks to the invention of block printing, folk painting became popular in the Song Dynasty and reached its zenith of sophistication in the Qing. Woodcuts have become increasingly diverse in style, variety, theme and artistic form since the early 1980s. Classification of Chinese Traditional Painting

Yangliuqing New Year Painting

Yangliuqing New Year Painting

One of China's three famous folk New Year picture styles, Yangliuqing New Year pictures originated in Yangliuqing Town, in the western suburbs of Tanjin City, in the early 17th centuryThe characters' countenances and attires are painted in lead powder in golden colour and characterized by varied themes, such as brightness, vivacity, happiness, auspiciousness and fascination, they are very popular.

New Year Painting

Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is the longest and most important holiday for Chinese people. It is usually celebrated from the eighth day of the twelfth month to the fifteenth of the first month (lantern festival), by Chinese lunar calendar. Traditionally, from the 23rd to the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, every family cleans and paints their houses and does New Year shopping. In rural China, hanging New Year paintings is a must. Bought from the market, New Year pictures are hanged on every important spots of the house-the gete, rooms, the kitchen, the storehouse, the well, and the stable. Portraits of village god and kitchen got are usually pasted up on niched to express people's wishes for peace and happiness. For average Chinese farmers, hanging New Year paintings bring about unusual festive joy and delight to them.

Chinese knots中国结

The knots are pulled tightly together and are sturdy enough to be used for binding or wrapping, making them very practical. Furthermore, the complicated structure of the Chinese knot allows all kinds of variations and enhances its decorative value. Almost all basic Chinese knots are symmetrical, which has set certain technical limitations on the design and creation of new patterns and themes. Symmetry is consistent with time-honored ornamental and aesthetic standards in China. Visually, the symmetrical designs are more easily accepted and appreciated by Chinese people.
Except for the Two-Coins Knot, the Chinese knot is three dimensional in structure. It comprises two planes tied together leaving a hollow center. Such a structure lends rigidity to the work as a whole and keeps its shape when hung on the wall. The hollow center also allows for the addition of precious stones.

Chinese knots中国结

Chinese people have known how to tie knots using cords ever since they began learned how to attach animal pelts to their bodies to keep warm thousands of years ago. As civilization advanced, Chinese people used knots for more than just fastening and wrapping. Knots were also used to record events, while others had a purely ornamental function. In 1980, dedicated connoisseurs collected and arranged decorative yet practical knots passed down over centuries in China. After studying the structures of these knots, the devotees set about creating new variations and increasing the decorative value of knots. The exquisitely symmetrical knots that come in so many forms are as profound as the great cultural heritage of the Chinese people.

The Chinese knot is based on over a dozen basic knots named according to their distinctive shapes, usages, or origins. The Two-Coins Knot, for example, is shaped like two overlapping coins once used in ancient China. The Button Knot function as a button, and the Reversed Swastika Knot was derived from the Buddhist symbol commonly seen on the streamers hanging down from the waistband of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.

Chinese knots

Traditional Chinese decorative knots, also known as Chinese knots, are typical local arts of China. They are a distinctive and traditional Chinese folk handicraft woven separately from one piece of thread and named according to its shape and meaning. In Chinese, “knot” means reunion, friendliness, peace, warmth, marriage, love, etc. Chinese knots are often used to express good wishes, including happiness, prosperity, love and the absence of evil.

Chinese Colored Lanterns

Beijing, as one of the nation's four famous ancient capitals, boasts some of the most exquisite and elegant-shaped colored lanterns made of select raw materials. The lanterns hanging in front of the Tian'anmen Square are representatives of royal lanterns. They are made of steel frames which are then covered by red silk. Both their top and bottom mouths are decorated with ruyi (wish-granting scepter) patterns; their bottom mouths are also decorated with hanging golden tassels that shine beautifully and elegantly.
The best traditional Beijing palace lanterns require valuable rosewood as the skeleton and are usually covered with traditional-patterned thin silk or glass. Besides their original lighting function, the palace lanterns are also high works of art that are favored by Chinese lantern collectors. Palace lanterns are so named because they were first used in the palace. Now they are usually hung in halls or study rooms, for an added classic antique effect.

Fascinating Clay-figurines

Huishan clay figurines

The Huishan clay figurines of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province are in a different style and have a long history.
In the slack seasons, nearly all families in Wuxi make clay figurines. When festivals approaching, many people sell clay figurines at templeand market fairs.
In the Qing Dynasty, there were some professional clay figurine workshops in Huishan. Clay figurine artist Wang Chunlin once made five plates of clay children to the Emperor Qianlong and received high praise. From Emperor Tongzhi's to Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty, more opera figurines were produced and Huishan clay figurine production reached its peak. At that time, there were over 40 clay figurine workshops and stores in Huishan, with more than 30 professional craft workers. When the Empress Dowager Cixi celebrated her 60th birthday, the local officer of Huishan presented a set of clay figurines named Immortality Peach Gathering. From then on, Huishan clay figurines were officially recognized as articles of tribute to the imperial court.

Huishan clay figurines include fine and coarse figurines. Coarse figurines are made from moulds and produced in large numbers. However, fine figurines are made by hand in the shapes of oxen, tigers, the God of Longevity and so on. Generally speaking, Huishan clay figurines are short in stature, full with big heads, and their facial expressions are vividly depicted. Bright red, yellow, green and blue colors are applied to them to make them more distinct and beautiful.

Clay Figurine Zhang and Huishan clay figurines

Chinese folk artists use simple and cheap materials to make small and delicate handicrafts, won great favor among folk people. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, painted clay figurines were very popular. The most famous were the Clay Figurine Zhang ( Niren Zhang) made in Tianjin and the Huishan clay figurines made in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.
Clay Figurine Zhang


Clay Figurines Zhang was a kind of school of art in northern China. It was initiated by Zhang Mingshan in the late Qing Dynasty. Zhang Mingshan was born in a poor family in Tianjin. He learned from his father how to make clay figurines at a very young age. Zhang was clever, deft and full of imagination. He carefully observed people at different places, such as market fairs, theaters and so on. Then he would secretly make clay figurines of those he met and hide them inside his sleeves.
His clay figurines were very vivid and expressive, and Zhang and his figurines were soon well known in the surrounding area. Zhang not only inherited the legacy of traditional skills but also incorporated skills from other art forms such as painting, opera singing and Chinese folk wood engravings. He created more than 10,000 clay figurines during his life, and his unique handicrafts became famous both at home and abroad. People liked his clay figurines very much and gave him the nickname of Clay Figurine Zhang.

Fascinating Clay-figurines

The craft of making painted clay-figurines of Fengxiang has a recorded history of more than 3,000 years.
According to archaeologists, the decorative designs of Fengxiang's figurines made in the Western Zhou Dynasty were different from those on bronzeware buried in the same period. The images of clay figurines typically included flowers, birds, fish, insects, as well as auspicious birds and beasts, reflecting cultural characteristics of ancient China.
The figurines are made of local clay, which was mixed with pulp and painted after it was shaped. The colors of Fengxiang figurines are extremely bright, and with intensive contrasts. With a black outline, they are primarily scarlet, green and yellow.
The figurines have a wide-range of subjects, including facial makeup, folklore, historical stories, rural life and others. Their bold and short shapes are widely exaggerated. The resonate with admirers, and are deeply loved by people at home and abroad.
In recent years, with the development of China's tourism, Fengxiang's clay - figurines have become one of the Shaanxi's important travel souvenirs.