Folk art of China: artistic characteristics of New Year's paintings "puhui Nianhua" of Gaomi city, Shandong Province

Van Cuiping PhD in Technical Science Senior Lecturer, Department of the Russian Language of the Department of International Cooperation, Shandong Professional College of Water Management 276826, China, Rizhao city, Xueyuanlu Str., 677 785886384@qq.com Other publications by this author

Lyui Jiezhang PhD in Art History Associate Professor, Department of Oil Painting, Qufu Normal University, Shandong Province 273165, China, Shandong, Qufu, Jingxuansilu str., 57 liujiezhang@rambler.ru

Chinese folk arts flourish, enriching public life and expressing the spiritual aspirations and moral values of the common people, having a pronounced practical and aesthetic value. Puhui paintings (lit. "swat ashes, ashes") nianhua (lit. "New Year's pictures") of the city district of Gaomi is a vivid example, representing one of the three art forms characteristic of this area. The New Year's lubok puhui nianhua, originated at the beginning of the reign of the Ming Dynasty, has more than five hundred years.

It is believed that the foundation of puhui nianhua was laid by a family bearing the surname Wang and living in the Beixiang region, in the village of Gongpomiaocun on the territory of the modern urban-type settlement of Xiazhuang, in the village of Dongfeng. This indicates that the general historical context forced the Wang family in search of livelihood to migrate to the area of modern Shandong Province, where representatives of this family began selling copies of posters and temple frescoes, gradually mastering and exploring the technology of painting using burnt branches of the ubiquitous willow, as well as seals carved on salt-soaked vegetables., and blanks for stuffing the pattern. This is how Puhui nianhua New Year's pictures were born, carrying a rural flavor, folk traditions and customs, the elegance of folk style and incredible attractive power.

Considering the artistic styles of Puhui nianhua in various periods of the development of the New Year's splint, it can be noted that early paintings, which were relatively strongly influenced by the art of temple frescoes, were usually characterized by a large amount of work and an insignificant role of the idea, simplicity of style and relatively careless, quick ink drawing of all elements except for hands and facial details – all this it created a feeling of uncomplicated elegance, and the paintings themselves were called "laomo huazzi" (lit. "paintings with old strokes [of ash/ ink/paint]). In Puhui Nianhua of the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, ink was replaced by paints that filled New Year's pictures with bright colors. The image in the splint painting of this period sought to create a sense of movement, the lines were distinguished by breadth and freedom of scope. Faces with thick earlobes and large jaws did not lose grace despite the completeness of the depicted people, who demonstrated happiness and well-being with their obese appearance. All these features radically changed the vague and dark "Laomo Huazzi", creating a completely new style.

Puhui nianhua of Gaomi County is the result of many years of work and continuous improvement of several generations of masters, as well as the quintessence of collective aesthetic consciousness. The New Year's splint not only embodies the desires and aspirations of the working class in the depicted subjects, but is also stylistically closely related to the customs and habits of the inhabitants of this part of Shandong – local aesthetics and color constitute the fundamental standard of New Year's painting. The simple and practical principles of creating nianhua, which were adhered to by Shandong farmers, are embodied in the saying "when painting is not subject to strict rules, beauty appears."

The artistic characteristics of puhui nianhua – one of the most significant types of folk art – are reflected in the field of form, color, composition and revealed plots. In terms of form, the key feature of the Shandong New Year's splint is decorative, integrity and even some conventionality. In many paintings, the following principles of depicting human figures can be traced: "generals without necks, girls without shoulders", "only then will there be a glorious nianhua when the body is small and the head is large." The heads are most often depicted in such a way that "eight tenths of the face and the eyes of a grasshopper" are visible, it is very rare to find drawings in profile – all figures are integral, complete, since the image of half of the body or only one eye is considered unfavorable. Thanks to such bold hyperbolized forms, the paintings become expressive and noticeable, and their key themes become more vivid, which gives the splint a significant degree of decorativeness and at the same time makes it understandable for a simple peasant. However, sometimes puhui nianhua becomes too schematic, conditional, and then all the characters turn out to be similar to each other, losing their individuality.

In nianhua, where shapes are defined by lines, the latter play a very important role. In addition, the brushwork features characteristic of the New Year's splint also deserve attention and preservation. In the field of form, Puhui Nianhua strives for integrity – including human figures, perfection and beauty. Metaphors are used in New Year's pictures: for example, a flying bat symbolizes "happiness before the eyes", and a pomegranate tree – many sons, respect and a high position in society; such metaphorical splints are filled with meaning. In the paintings, the most important characters are depicted large, and the minor ones are depicted small, contrasting with the more significant figures. Figures of different sizes contrast with each other. Finally, the content of puhui nianhua becomes absolutely transparent due to the description of much through little, the ratio of emptiness and fullness, near and far.

The peculiarity of the puhui nianhua composition is balance. As for the structure, often different shapes are chosen for the left and right parts of the splint, shades of different saturation alternate, contributing to the fact that while maintaining symmetry, the picture changes, allowing you to get away from the feeling of immobility and inertia. In accordance with the principle of preference for conciseness versus diversity – with the exception of screens with flowers and herbs and accents on the height and completeness of the characters – the background of Puhui nianhua is very modest or completely absent, so the figures of the depicted characters occupy almost the entire space of the painting. On the ascetic plane, many lines, varying in thickness and small dark and light areas, characteristic of Chinese painting, are used. The result is a bright, eye-catching picture. For example, on the splint "Sister-in-law and daughter-in-law gossip" (Fig. 1) the mutual arrangement of the characters is thought out very carefully. The small and slender figure of the sister–in-law [here her husband's younger sister] contrasts with the lush and tall daughter-in-law, enhancing the composition. Even if the story is told by a large–scale scene, the artist chooses only some key part and emphasizes the very essence, so only the main element is reflected in the painting, even if we are talking about "those several related stories" or "a mighty army" - the viewer gets the opportunity to use his own imagination and feel the essence of the picture.

Fig. 1. Sister-in-law and daughter-in-law gossip. Puhui nianhua.

In the work "Changban Slope" (Fig. 2), the artist depicted only the figure of Zhao Yun, who drew his sword, leaving all the other heroes and the landscape surrounding them outside the picture. This technique has a lot in common with the conciseness of acting in the Beijing opera and the idea that "thought will reach where the brush will not reach" (or "express a thought without resorting everywhere to the help of a brush") in Chinese painting. With a pronounced main theme and the replacement of diversity with conciseness, almost all puhui nianhua are paired pictures: the same content of the work is represented by a reverse and facial splint – this is the main compositional feature of New Year's paintings. Another distinctive feature is the fullest possible use of the space of the painting, when almost all the free space is filled with elements related to the depicted plot, so there is practically no empty space left. Finally, the composition of puhui nianhua is unusual in the presence of serial pictures, when one story is divided into several parts, each of which turns into a separate splint.

Fig. 2. Changban slope. Puhui nianhua.

In terms of color, the main feature of the nianhua district of Gaomi is bright, festive colors that enhance the joyful atmosphere. If ink is used, then the methods of its application and distribution help to create different levels in the picture: dry and wet paint, saturation and transparency of shades. In addition, the color frames the shape, a suitable degree of color density is used, so it retains brightness without vulgarity.

If we talk about specific techniques, the features of Shandong New Year's paintings are "a big stroke, an unrestrained stroke" (the entire contour is drawn in one broad stroke) and "the connection of gongbi and se–yi" (approximately "to output hieroglyphs and write freely" - to combine in one painting the manner of careful, neat, subtle writing and the technique of free painting ideas). "A big stroke, an unrestrained smear" resembles yes se-i (lit. "big painting of ideas" – unlike "small" expresses not the objects of the surrounding reality, but the subjective feelings of the artist), and "the combination of gunbi and se-i" indicates that there are parts in the image that are executed with greater control and greater care, as when using the gunbi painting technique. In addition, considerable attention is paid to scrupulously depict a facial expression that should seem flexible and elastic to the viewer. Among all the techniques of nianhua, the most subtle and detailed ones are used for faces. Finally, for the decoration of clothes, ornaments are used, carved on vegetables soaked in salt, which are dipped in paint and used as stamps in the right parts of the picture.

Puhui nianhua covers a wide range of subjects: mountains and rivers, fish and birds, flowers and herbs, fairy tales and legends, heroes of traditional musical dramas, emperors and princes, generals and officials, talented young men and lovely girls appear in the pictures – they are all in demand if they satisfy people's desire for good omens and a festive mood, peace and prosperity, wealth and honor. According to incomplete statistics, today the puhui nianhua lubok includes more than one hundred and fifty varieties presented in exhibition halls and markets and striking in their number and diversity. Not so long ago, the Chinese Association for the Study of Folk Literature and Culture awarded the city of Gaomi the title of "the birthplace of the Chinese puhui nianhua" and laid the foundation for the protection of this cultural heritage. Thanks to the efforts of the CPC City Committee and the Gaomi City Government, the number of those engaged in folk art is steadily increasing, constantly raising the level of the latter. New Year's pictures attract a lot of people who want to look at the New Year's splint, study or purchase puhui nianhua, which is developing in the direction of scaling and industrialization. In the center of puhui nianhua, as the name implies, there is one (new) year and the desire to celebrate its arrival, therefore, as the content of the pictures, the subjects beloved by the peasants are chosen, the spectrum of which is quite wide: various celestials who expel evil and wish happiness; landscapes symbolizing the joy of life with a folk flavor; plots of novels and musical dramas; benevolent flowers and birds, fish and animals.              

1. Paintings with Lao and Buddhist saints

The Spring festival – New Year according to the lunar calendar – is the largest and most ancient traditional holiday of the Chinese people. The most striking customs celebrating the arrival of the New Year can be seen in the Yellow River Basin region. According to written evidence, during the Shang and Zhou period, there were already traditions of seeing off the outgoing year, celebrating a rich harvest, exorcising evil spirits and wishing happiness, preserved millennia later. In ancient times, in every house and in every family, one of the most important aspects of the New Year's celebration was the offering of prayers to the gods so that they would bless all family members, endowing them with peace and well-being, and that the coming year would bring abundant harvest and wealth to the family. Since over time, images of Buddhist and Taoist saints have become required for all ancestor worship rituals, this very widespread type of nianhua includes the following varieties:             

1) Tsai-shen – the deity of wealth

In the past, in order to attract wealth and possess treasures during the celebration of the New Year, it was considered necessary to "welcome the deity of wealth", therefore, the nianhua with the image of Tsai-shen also enjoyed wide popularity, especially among business people and merchants. In the south, the commander Zhao Gong yuan-shuai, aka Zhao Gongming from the "Elevation to the rank of Spirits", was usually revered as "Tsai-shen". In Shandong, the worship of two historical figures is more widespread: Guan-gong (the god of war, the prototype of which was the real–life commander Guan Yu) and Bi Gan (advisor to Emperor Zhou Xin, recognized as a model of loyalty to duty) – one military god, the other - civilian. The "military god of wealth" Guan-gong is one of the central characters of the "Three Kingdoms". Guan Yu began to be revered as a deity during the Sui dynasty, and the emperors of subsequent dynasties endowed the military commander with new titles, including "the most wise" – the supreme lord of the most wise Guan. In order for the coming year to be successful for farmers, nianhua on the theme of a rich harvest is also widespread in Shandong: for example, the image of an elderly deity with a large peach in his hands symbolizes longevity.    

2) Guanyin Bodhisattva

Guanshiin, one of the main bodhisattvas in Buddhist countries, is also named Avalokiteshvara (Chinese Guanyin dashi) and, according to legends, has amazing magical power, the ability to save all living things and avert danger. In addition, it is believed that "the goddess Guanyin gives sons," so worship in front of the image of this deity during the Spring Festival has also become a tradition.

3) Other Deities

In addition to the above-described nianhua with deities, there are also "ancestral scrolls" used during the New Year to worship the past generations and representing, in particular, one of the types of puhui nianhua. Their existence and popularity are an inevitable consequence of the fact that superstitions still continue to live, but as historical progress, social development and the awakening of human consciousness, such pictures gradually disappear, becoming exclusively the object of research in folk art. 

2. Paintings with everyday life and customs

The origins of real art are in life itself, and puhui nianhua of Weifang City District in Shandong Province is no exception: the ashen New Year's splint is an art that has been developing for a long time through the work of folk masters, so it naturally reflects the life of peasants, their work, customs and mores. Although the proportion of such nianhua is smaller compared to splints depicting deities and spirits, everyday pictures reveal the love of life, the pursuit of well–being and the glorification of work - this is the art of realism. The painting "Mother and Son", for example, depicts a mother holding her son, who has a lamp in his hands. A bright smile on a woman's face creates an image of a loving mother, awakening warm feelings in the soul of those looking at the picture. On the "Shepherd" splint, a child grazes cows and carelessly sings a song – the richness of dynamic forms symbolizes the happy life of peasants. "The Swallow Game"^[1], which depicts a girl throwing a shuttlecock with her foot, is also distinguished by a vivid sense of movement and richness of emotions. "Sister-in-law and daughter-in-law gossip" creates a holistic image of ladies talking during a lull in field work: one of the girls, bowing her head, attentively listens to what the second whispers in her ear. The composition of this splint is carefully calibrated, the colors are saturated, light and shadow are balanced.

3. Pictures with homophonic metaphors

In addition to reflecting working life, Chinese peasants turned scenes of ancient festivals celebrating the advent of the New Year into nianhua, emphasizing the festive atmosphere and depicting symbols of an ideal year reflecting human aspirations and aspirations. In order to meet the wishes of the peasants and their belief in happy omens and fate, folk masters, skillfully using homophones, metaphors and symbols, created many beautiful works with favorable meanings.

For example, on the splint "Prosperity year after year" (Fig. 3), a lotus and other symbols of good luck are depicted under a pot-bellied baby holding a carp in his hands; all the images are bright and charming. The nianhua metaphors are designed to satisfy the peasants' desire for happiness and well-being in the new year. Folk artists skillfully combined homophones, metaphors and symbols, creating many works filled with auspicious omens.

Fig. 3. Prosperity year after year. Puhua nianhua.

Conclusion

Having gone through several centuries of ups and downs, changes and development, Puhui Nianhua art has formed its own craft and artistic features, expressing a relatively rich flavor of folk culture, comprehensively revealing social life, moral foundations and human relations, aesthetic interests and aspirations in the vast Qilu region [another name for Shandong Province], preserving the accumulated on the Jiaodong Peninsula the wealth of folk culture and performing a benevolent function. Puhui nianhua, accompanying the Gaomi people for more than five hundred years, in the process of development filled with obstacles and difficulties, turned not only into a way of earning money, but also into spiritual food – an integral part of the spiritual and cultural life of the people. The Confucian cultural spirit reflected in the images and plots of Puhui Nianhua is like a thin stream feeding the spirit, which otherwise becomes more and more like a desert every day. Nianhua is not just a New Year's decor, but a means and tool for transmitting culture, moral education, spreading aesthetics, and preserving beliefs. The New Year's splint embodies the holistic spirit of the Chinese people.

Puhui nianhua from Gaomi, being a folk art, not only shows descendants the features of the New Year's Qilu splint, but is also a pearl worthy of replenishing the treasury of Chinese folk art. Puhui nianhua is a beautiful note with a special charm, without which the whole system of folk art cannot sound; it is not only the historical and cultural heritage of China, but also an unparalleled treasure on the scale of the world historical and cultural heritage, possessing exceptional value and significance.