CRI听力:Zhuxian Town Woodblock New Year Painting: Popular Gifts

If you want to get a Chinese gift for Western friends, one of the best options might be: a scroll of a woodblock New Year painting.

This handmade painting using traditional techniques is considered a symbol of China. Today our colleague, Xu Weiyi, visits Zhuxian Town in Henan Province, home to woodblock New Year paintings, to learn more about this authentic Chinese art form.

Zhuxian Town is a thirty minutes drive from the ancient capital city of Kaifeng. Today, we visit a local family that makes woodblock New Year paintings.

As we arrive at the family courtyard, we see a young man sitting in front of a square desk in the middle of the yard.

He is using a knife to engrave on a piece of wood, which is as big as a book.

"My name is Zhang Tianyun, I'm 23 years old. The technique of woodblock painting was passed down from my ancestors."

Without professional training, he learned the technique from his father, Zhang Tingxu, an official successor of Woodblock New Year Painting recognized by the provincial government. Now, the entire family is working on woodblock painting.

According to the father, there are two major steps in making woodblock pictures. The first step is to carve images on woodblocks and the second is to print colors using woodblocks.

"The hardest part is to engrave on woodblocks. We need one woodblock for one color. So we make as many as 9 woodblocks for a painting of 9 colors. Even the simplest image needs five colors."

Zhang says each woodblock takes at least 4-5 days to carve. If he makes a mistake while engraving, he must make another one. When woodblocks are ready, he can print colors one by one.

In a nearby room, his daughter-in-law is printing colors on a pile of New Year paintings. It's a picture of a chubby boy who brings happiness to people.

There are already two colors in the painting: black and red. And she is adding the third color - green.

As it looks simple, I asked to try one.

Zhuxian Town Woodblock New Year Picture originated in the Song Dynasty about 800 years ago. It's one of the four most famous Woodblock New Year paintings in China.

Zhang Tingxu explains Zhuxian Town's paintings have a distinctive style.

"Zhuxian town woodblock New Year paintings use big and wild lines to sketch an image. Images are simple and exaggerated. They include heroes, deities, theatrical legends and propitious characters."

The handicraft experienced ups and downs in history. According to Zhang Tianyun, the most recent setback was during the Cultural Revolution a few decades ago, when the making of New Year paintings was discouraged.

"In 2003, there are only 2 families in the village still making woodblock paintings. As the government promotes woodblock painting, there are 6-7 families making them in Zhuxian Town."

The father Zhang Tingxu teaches family members and also students at a university about his technique.

"I'm a part-time professor at Henan Normal University. Each year I go to the university to teach art students how to make woodblock New Year paintings for 4-5 days."

In recent years, people usually buy mass-produced New Year paintings from factories. However, many collectors and local people prefer hand-made woodblock paintings, though it's a little bit more expensive.

In Zhuxian Town, a small piece of woodblock painting is priced at around 5 yuan and a big scroll at 200 yuan, which is about 30 U.S. dollars.

The price is not too bad for a gift, isn't it?

For CRI, I'm Xu Weiyi.