An exhibition of Foshans woodcut new year pictures

In the old town of Chancheng District, behind the crowded and noisy Pujun Market is Pujun South Road(普君南路), actually a narrow old street with some old buildings on both sides. Among these buildings is an over 200-year old house, on the doorway of which are hung several boards that respectively read "Foshans woodcut new year pictures: the Feng family", "Centuries-old shop" and "Woodcut new year picture workshop of Foshan Folk Art Research Institute". The walls inside this small house are covered by various colorful woodcut new year pictures. This house is Feng Bingtang’s workshop.

The Feng’s workshop

This old street, called Xixiang (细巷 literally narrow alley) in the old days, was once a famous "Foshans  new year picture street". One can hardly imagine how busy this street used to be during the period from the Qing Dynasty till the beginning of Japanese invasion of China. At the time, dozens of new year picture workshops stood on both sides of the old street, some of which specialized in carving woodcut types, some in making ink rubbings with a brush from the types, and some in adding color to the ink rubbings. Many of the new year pictures made in this street were sold to Xinhui, Kaiping, Taishan and Enping in Guangdong, some sold to Guangxi and Hunan, some even sold to Southeast Asia.

 
In the golden age, some big workshop hired over a thousand workers to produce woodcut new year pictures. The woodcut new year picture industry didnt begin to wane until the 1960s. Nowadays, the only family workshop that produces traditional handmade woodcut new year pictures is the Feng family.

 
Fengs close with woodcut new year pictures

Feng Bingta

Feng Bingtang(冯炳棠), now in his 70s, is the third generation of producing and selling woodcut new year pictures in the Feng family. 

 
Fengs father, Feng Jun(冯均), was good at making woodcut door god pictures and dubbed "Door god Jun", whose pictures were quickly sold out. At the age of 12, Feng Bingtang began to learn how to carve woodcut types and print woodcut pictures from his father.

Surviving in the harsh wartime, the picture business of Fengs family gradually resumed after 1949. However, during the Cultural Revolution, new year pictures were considered as a symbol of feudal superstition and workshops stopped producing them, burned the inventories of pictures and destroyed the wood types for printing. In this overwhelming wave, Fengs family business suspended. 

When the turmoil ended, Fengs family dared not immediately restore production of woodcut new year pictures. To earn a living, Feng Bingtang and his father had to work at construction sites or work in hardware factories. Not until the 1980s did Feng Bingtang begin to restore the family business. In 1989, Feng Jun, on his deathbed, asked Feng Bingtang not to give up the family business.

Wood types

Since the reform and opening-up, Feng Bingtang has gradually mastered a set of techniques for producing woodcut new year pictures, including drawing rough sketches, carving woodcut types, making ink rubbings with a brush from the types, adding color to the ink rubbings, and mounting the finished pictures. He is the only artist who manages to master the whole set of techniques for producing woodcut new year pictures in Guangdong.
 
Feng Bingtangs son Feng Jinqiang followed his fathers footsteps and took over the family business. In 2010, Feng Jinqiang established "Students Union of Foshans Woodcut New Year Pictures" and led a team to work for the development of woodcut new year pictures.

New ways to merge tradition with innovation
 
2014 is a turning point for Fengs family business. In this year, Feng Bingtang took eight post-90s persons as apprentices. Among them Zheng Taichang was Fengs best student who has been following Feng since 2013.

Feng Bingtang and his apprentice Zheng Taichang

"It takes years to master the whole set of techniques to produce woodcut new year pictures."said Feng Bingtang. "As to the quality of ones work, it depends on ones talent and aesthetic perception."

There is an operation team led by Feng Jinqiang, members of which are mostly post-90s. In recent years, Feng Jinqiang tried to make his cultural products adapt to the market. Besides making exquisite works for private collection, Fengs family produces spin-offs of woodcut new year pictures, including desk calendars, tea, tea sets, photo frames, tissue boxes, key rings, clothes, books, postcards and bookmarks. Moreover, Fengs workshop offers experience tour service and tourists can try printing new year pictures by themselves at the workshop.

"The tradition of Foshans handmade woodcut new year picture is struggling to survive. We should try hard to innovate and revive this waning tradition." said Feng Jinqiang.

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Foshans woodcut new year pictures

Door god pictures

Foshans woodcut new year picture is one of "Chinas top 4 woodcut new year pictures", along with Tianjins Yangliuqing new year picture, Suzhous Taohuawu new year picture and Weifangs Yangjiafu new year picture.
 
Foshans woodcut new year picture originated in the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty and thrived from the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty till the beginning of Japanese invasion of China.

Foshans woodcut new year picture

The themes of Foshans woodcut new year picture are figures usually from Chinese legends and history, including "Shenshu and Yulv ( 神荼郁垒 two door gods in Chinese legends)", "Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong(秦叔宝 尉迟恭 two generals in the Tang Dynasty whose figures are often used to drive out evil spirits)", "Fu, Lu and Shou (福禄寿three gods that respectively represent happiness, wealth and longevity)", "Children carrying gold (金钱童子)", "God of peace and harmony (和合二仙)", "A fairy brings a son (天姬送子)", "Guan Yu (关羽 a general in the Three Kingdoms period)" and "Justice Bao (包公 a government officer during the reign of Emperor Renzong in the Song Dynasty)". After 1949, new themes are added to woodcut new year pictures, such as "Women can hold up half of the sky".

Foshans woodcut new year picture has been listed as one of Chinas National Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2006 and Feng Bingtang is the inheritor of this art form. 

Written by Morly

Source: Guangzhou Daily, Times Weekly, Foshan Municipal Cultural Centre