A chip off the old block
2 years, 11 months ago

A chip off the old block

China Daily  

As the oldest artisan working at the Yangliuqing woodblock prints workshop affiliated to Tianjin Yangliuqing Fine Arts Press, Wang Wenda has been busy preparing for another Spring Festival. Holding his self-made carving knife, day after day, 77-year-old Wang immerses himself in crafting one of the most renowned Chinese New Year picture brands. The name, which literally means “willow is green”, refers to a small town on the outskirts of Tianjin that is said to be the birthplace of this style of woodblock printing. In 1958, when the country tried to combine the scattered artisans of the woodblock printing in a bid to save the endangered technique, a new publicly-owned workshop was established in downtown Tianjin.

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History of this topic

Ancient Huizhou paper-cutting comes alive in modern life
1 year, 1 month ago

Ancient Huizhou paper-cutting comes alive in modern life

China Daily  

A model shows off a fashion design by Wu Xiaomei featuring the traditional art of Huizhou paper-cutting. Just walk into the Wu Xiaomei Papercut Experience Center in Huizhou Ancient Town – located in Shexian county in Huangshan city, in Anhui province – and you're bound to be dazzled by the cornucopia of Huizhou paper-cutting works. A leading female artisan called …

Making the cut: Prints by prominent woodblock artists on show in Beijing
1 year, 2 months ago

Making the cut: Prints by prominent woodblock artists on show in Beijing

China Daily  

Woodblock print s on show at the China National Academy of Painting's art museum: Portrait of Lu Xun by Li Qun. His intense interest in Chinese printing tradition and modern Western woodcuts was the reason he started the "New Woodcut Movement" in the 1930s, through which he motivated a younger generation of artists to produce woodcuts integrating the styles of …

Making the cut: Prints by prominent woodblock artists on show in Beijing
1 year, 2 months ago

Making the cut: Prints by prominent woodblock artists on show in Beijing

China Daily  

Woodblock print s on show at the China National Academy of Painting's art museum: Portrait of Lu Xun by Li Qun. His intense interest in Chinese printing tradition and modern Western woodcuts was the reason he started the "New Woodcut Movement" in the 1930s, through which he motivated a younger generation of artists to produce woodcuts integrating the styles of …

Ancient crafts give designers a heritage of creative ideas
1 year, 6 months ago

Ancient crafts give designers a heritage of creative ideas

China Daily  

Four packs of letters, with elaborate patterns, highlight the creativity of Yangzhou Guangling Ancient Book Engraving Co Ltd. CHINA DAILY Early last year, when the production team members of the mobile game Canal Towns, which is set in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the Ming Dynasty, were creating the scenes depicting Yangzhou in East China's Jiangsu province, …

Ancient crafts give designers a heritage of creative ideas
1 year, 6 months ago

Ancient crafts give designers a heritage of creative ideas

China Daily  

Four packs of letters, with elaborate patterns, highlight the creativity of Yangzhou Guangling Ancient Book Engraving Co Ltd. CHINA DAILY Early last year, when the production team members of the mobile game Canal Towns, which is set in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the Ming Dynasty, were creating the scenes depicting Yangzhou in East China's Jiangsu province, …

Ancient crafts give designers a heritage of creative ideas
1 year, 6 months ago

Ancient crafts give designers a heritage of creative ideas

China Daily  

Four packs of letters, with elaborate patterns, highlight the creativity of Yangzhou Guangling Ancient Book Engraving Co Ltd. CHINA DAILY Early last year, when the production team members of the mobile game Canal Towns, which is set in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the Ming Dynasty, were creating the scenes depicting Yangzhou in East China's Jiangsu province, …

Weifang woodcut New Year paintings enter peak season
2 years, 1 month ago

Weifang woodcut New Year paintings enter peak season

China Daily  

As the Chinese New Year approaches, the demand for the Yangjiabu New Year woodblock paintings is surging. A folk artist hangs woodprint New Year paintings in Yangjiabu village. Villagers make Yangjiabu New Year woodblock paintings to meet the surging demand during the Spring Festival season. A folk artist engraves the printing woodblock for Chinese New Year paintings in Yangjiabu village. …

A chip off the old block
2 years, 11 months ago

A chip off the old block

China Daily  

The Yangliuqing woodblock print has a history of about 400 years, being founded in the late Ming Dynasty. According to Li Zhenyu, a fine arts professor from Sichuan University, Chinese New Year paintings date back to the Western Han Dynasty when a pair of images depicting two deities appeared on doors to ward off evil spirits. During the Ming Dynasty, …

A chip off the old block
2 years, 11 months ago

A chip off the old block

China Daily  

Editor's note: Beijing is co-hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics with Zhangjiakou in Hebei province. As the oldest artisan of the Yangliuqing woodblock prints workshop affiliated with Tianjin Yangliuqing Fine Arts Press group, Wang Wenda, 77, has been busy preparing for another Spring Festival. Wielding his self-made carving knife, Wang immerses himself, day after day, in crafting items for …

Where excellence is made｜Yangjiabu woodblock prints
2 years, 11 months ago

Where excellence is made｜Yangjiabu woodblock prints

China Daily  

Yangjiabu woodblock prints are traditional folk prints handed down in Weifang, and as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage, they are one of the three major woodblock prints in China, together with Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Taoyu in Suzhou. What is the theme of this year's New Year paintings, follow the reporter's lens together to Yangjiabu to see. …

A chip off the old block
2 years, 11 months ago

A chip off the old block

China Daily  

As the oldest artisan working at the Yangliuqing woodblock prints workshop affiliated to Tianjin Yangliuqing Fine Arts Press, Wang Wenda has been busy preparing for another Spring Festival. Holding his self-made carving knife, day after day, 77-year-old Wang immerses himself in crafting one of the most renowned Chinese New Year picture brands. The name, which literally means “willow is green”, …

Wood carving revival in Jiaxiang county
3 years ago

Wood carving revival in Jiaxiang county

China Daily  

A craftsman carves patterns on a wooden comb at Zhou Guangsheng's factory in Jiaxiang county, Jining. The wood carving industry in Jiaxiang county, Jining dates back to the middle Qing Dynasty when a local family surnamed Yu fled to Anhui province, learned Anhui-style wood carving and went back to Jiaxiang to start their own business. In the past, most Jiaxiang …

Wood carving revival in Jiaxiang county
3 years ago

Wood carving revival in Jiaxiang county

China Daily  

A craftsman carves patterns on a wooden comb at Zhou Guangsheng's factory in Jiaxiang county, Jining. The wood carving industry in Jiaxiang county, Jining dates back to the middle Qing Dynasty when a local family surnamed Yu fled to Anhui province, learned Anhui-style wood carving and went back to Jiaxiang to start their own business. In the past, most Jiaxiang …

Wood carving revival in Jiaxiang county
3 years ago

Wood carving revival in Jiaxiang county

China Daily  

A craftsman carves patterns on a wooden comb at Zhou Guangsheng's factory in Jiaxiang county, Jining. The wood carving industry in Jiaxiang county, Jining dates back to the middle Qing Dynasty when a local family surnamed Yu fled to Anhui province, learned Anhui-style wood carving and went back to Jiaxiang to start their own business. In the past, most Jiaxiang …

A chip off the old block
3 years, 11 months ago

A chip off the old block

China Daily  

The National Art Museum of China hosts an exhibition of Yangliuqing New Year paintings in January 2017. A fifth-generation artisan from Hubei province is working hard to keep the craft of traditionally printed New Year paintings alive, Wang Kaihao reports. When talking about woodblock printing, for many in China, it is the Yangliuqing New Year paintings from Tianjin that will …

A chip off the old block
3 years, 11 months ago

A chip off the old block

China Daily  

The National Art Museum of China hosts an exhibition of Yangliuqing New Year paintings in January 2017. A fifth-generation artisan from Hubei province is working hard to keep the craft of traditionally printed New Year paintings alive, Wang Kaihao reports. When talking about woodblock printing, for many in China, it is the Yangliuqing New Year paintings from Tianjin that will …

A chip off the old block
3 years, 11 months ago

A chip off the old block

China Daily  

Chen Hongbin works on woodblock-printed paintings in his studio in Laohekou, Hubei province. They reveal Chinese people's pursuit for happiness," says Shen Hong, a Hubei-based veteran collector and researcher of New Year paintings. Before Spring Festival in 2019, a three-year project was initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to revitalize the craft of the Chinese New Year paintings. …

A chip off the old block
3 years, 11 months ago

A chip off the old block

China Daily  

The National Art Museum of China hosts an exhibition of Yangliuqing New Year paintings in January 2017. A fifth-generation artisan from Hubei province is working hard to keep the craft of traditionally printed New Year paintings alive, Wang Kaihao reports. When talking about woodblock printing, for many in China, it is the Yangliuqing New Year paintings from Tianjin that will …

Veteran artist aims to keep folk woodblock tradition alive
4 years, 9 months ago

Veteran artist aims to keep folk woodblock tradition alive

China Daily  

A girl plays by a pond decorated with a traditional-style New Year painting of a carp in the Yangliuqing Woodblock Prints Museum in Tianjin in July 2011, when the facility opened to visitors for free. Wang, an inheritor of Yangliuqing Woodblock Printing in North China's Tianjin city, is one of the few artists dedicated to producing fish paintings, which were …

Folk artist in his 80s revives age-old woodblock printing
4 years, 9 months ago

Folk artist in his 80s revives age-old woodblock printing

China Daily  

A craftsperson paints a print featuring a plump baby holding a large fish with a lotus in the background－a classic image of Yangliuqing woodblock New Year prints. Yangliuqing Woodblock Printing was one of the most popular forms of New Year decorations in China, which flourished in Tianjin and the surrounding areas during a period between the late Ming Dynasty and …

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