Chapter 16 Chinese Farmers'Painting中国农民画
Chinese farmers'painting enjoys a unique status of its own in the world folk art circles．In China，farmers constitute a large portion of the Chinese population，so it is natural that they have their own form of art due to the differences in customs，living background and educational background．The paintings reflect both styles and scenes of their life in the vast countryside of China．The glamour of the paintings has conquered hundreds of people both at home and abroad．The paintings have become an established art form in modern Chinese culture．
1.History
Chinese farmers'painting or Folk Painting is both ancient and young．It is ancient because it originated from the thousand-year traditions of embroidery，batik，paper cutting and wall paintings．And it is young because it did not emerge as an art form until the 1950s when farmers were encouraged to engage in art．
“People need art，and art needs more people．”It is this new understanding of art that stands at the cradle of Chinese farmers'paintings．Some communes pick it up，in the beginning for recreational purposes，or as a well-meant means of propaganda，or to express their dreams of a better life．
The farmers'painting's movements continued through 1960s．With the political and economic reforms at the beginning of the 1980s，farmer painting，as a genre of paintings，had developed gradually and has now become a very popular form of art．Moreover，the international exhibitions held at home and abroad and the coming of Western tourists to China in large numbers are sure to push this form of art to move forward．Today，there are more than 40 government recognized farmers'painters communities，organized in different artists associations on county，provincial and national level．The government promotes these activities and supports them by providing funds and various trainings．
2.Characteristics
The characteristics possessed by Chinese farmers'paintings in subjects，color and techniques make it rather a unique form of art．
1)Subjects
The subjects of Chinese farmers'paintings are taken from the experience of the daily life in rural communities．They show trivial activities like coming home from a market or having dinner;they display events like a marriage or a Spring Festival procession or they express the happiness of farmers or good wishes，such as a stable full of healthy cattle，happy children，sweet home，electricity，etc．With subjects focusing on simple and small things in the countryside，these paintings reveal farmers' understanding of life and their expectation for a better life．
2)Colors
The typical Chinese farmers'painting is hand-painted with gouache watercolors on paper．Different from sketches，farmers'painting should not be valued by the detailed accuracy．Farmers use color to show what they feel rather than what they see and they draw the pictures following their feelings．Therefore，the color of the grounding is mainly deep and colors like red，purple，blue are usually applied．These colors are rather brilliant and vibrant，which makes the whole compositions look naive．It may seem naive at first sight，but it should by no means be underestimated because they are the right style to show the rustic rural life．
3)Techniques
Generally speaking，farmers resort to intense colors，simple and clear line to detail their feelings and understandings of the world．Some of the farmers'paintings use the keyline technique which is adopted from ukiyoe，Japanese woodblock prints．The whole design is drawn with strong black outlines，and then the areas are filled with colors．Many of the Chinese poster designs use the same technique．
Some farmers use a more refined technique called gradation to draw paintings which is a passing by barely perceptible degrees from one color to another．
3.Major Types
Chinese farmers'painting mainly refers to the auspicious handmade or printed drawing，with strong rural characteristics．Since the 1950s several painting centers have came into being:Longmen(Guangdong Province)，Huxian(Shaanxi Province)，and Jinshan(Shanghai)．
People often regard the farmers'painting of Longmen，Guangdong，representing the southern areas，the farmers'painting of Jinshan，Shanghai，representing the eastern areas，and the farmers'paintings of Huxian of Shaanxi representing the northern areas as the three major types of Chinese farmers'paintings．The three villages play very important roles in the development of farmers'painting．
In addition to the paintings in these three places，some other paintings like New Year Paintings，which are pasted onto doors，walls，cornice and furniture of homes，business establishments，and temples in Chinese villages and towns during the Spring Festival are also regarded as some of the most influential painting forms of farmers' painting．
1)Longmen
Longmen County is located in South China's Guangdong Province．Surrounded by picturesque scenery，the local people have kept up the fine tradition of drawing the dynamic scenes of their daily life．For their outstanding achievements in developing this folk art since 1970s，the State Ministry of Culture in 1988 awarded the region the honorary title of a“Village of Chinese Modern Farmers'Painting．”
The most salient feature of Longmen Farmers'Paintings is their bright and contrasting colors．Using bright colors and exaggerated depictions，the artworks usually boast profound morals．The farmer-artists mainly take festivities，local customs and work scenes in the fields as their subject matter．The terse and crisp style vividly outlines the place's beautiful landscape，farmers'cozy family lives，lively atmosphere on the farmland，and jubilant festivals，fully demonstrating the modern artistic features．
The artworks demonstrate the heart and soul of the farmer artists．The composition，color，shape and pattern clearly show the profound cultural background of these works．While emitting the flavor of modern arts，the works also boast high value for academic researches and collection．
2)Huxian
Huxian County，with a population of only 500，000，has been commonly known as“Home of Painting”，not only because the place has a picturesque landscape，but also everyone there loves painting and most of the painters are farmers．These farmers have stepped out of Shaanxi，as well as China，to the world．
Developing from traditional paper-cut，embroidery and other folk arts，farmers' painting in Huxian County，long-lasting，has come out with a great number of fine works in the last 50 years．The total works add up to 30，000，among which 1，500 pieces have been published in periodicals of the state level，428 have gained reward in exhibitions of fine arts in the mainland，4，500 have been selected to show to 48 nations and regions，and over 18，700 pieces of works have been collected by international friends and in overseas museums．
The expression techniques of the Huxian County farmers'painting bear an obvious local trace．Bright red and purple take a predominant place in the works of Huxian County farmers'painting．Peculiar and exaggerated in depiction，the works possess profound implication．They are concise and lively in style．The picturesque landscape，lifelike life in the rural area，grand scenes of working and the scenes of joyful festival celebrations are all covered，fully reflecting the characteristics of the modern folk art．Not only are their hands employed in their painting，but also their hearts．The design，sculpting and color all symbolize abundant cultural contents，brim with the taste of modern art，and possess high academic and collective value．
3)Jinshan
Jinshan District is located in the southwest of Shanghai and it is not until 1970s that local farmers developed folk painting in Fengjing town of this district，which combines elements from traditional arts，such as paper-cuts，embroidery and knitting．
The works of Jinshan farmers have been exhibited around the world in more than 20 countries，and more than 200 pieces have been collected by the National Art Museum of China，the Research Institute of Chinese Paintings and the China Folk Arts Museum．
Drawing from their life experiences and romantic imaginations，the people of the land have created many paintings full of freshness and images of the Shanghai countryside．With simple subjects rendered in bold colors，these beautiful works of art have gained the name of“Jinshan Farmers'Painting”and the creative farmer artists are even considered“Chinese Picassos”．
The“primitive”painters usually use a wide range of striking colors across the canvas．Instead of exploring modern urban reality，traditional rural themes such as fishing，cloth dyeing，spinning，and market scenes are preferred．Figures and objects are usually drawn in a way that most may consider“childish”．
4.New Year Painting
New Year Paintings or Nian Hua are one form of farmers'paintings and are China-specific drawing genre．The paintings are pinned up on doors，walls，windows，cornices and furniture of homes during the Chinese Spring Festival for decoration as well as praying for blessing．They are an important part of the annual celebrations．
1)Content
New Year Paintings have a great variety of topics，the contents of which are wellwishing stories that could add to the festive atmosphere．Some come from fairy tales and classical novels．Therefore，images on the painting are of gods and deities，heroes and sages，to whom the Chinese prayed and worshipped in return for protection and blessing．The most popular characters appearing on painting are the door gods Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong，the demon catcher Zhong Kui，the Three Star Gods of Happiness，Wealth and Longevity，the God of Wealth，and Guanyin—the Goddess of Mercy．
Some of them carry a moral message．At a time when education was not accessible to everyone，these paintings served as useful teaching tools．Some of the typical messages are loyalty，benevolence，kindness and retribution．Beautiful lady figurines are another favorite topic for these painting．Besides，some topics about people's everyday life are also quite popular and appear on the painting，the most common of which is a cartoon-like chubby child with short arms，short legs，a short neck，small eyes，and a big head．Playful，plump children symbolize the wish for many sons to come or a blessing for good fortune．
The iconography reflects traditional Chinese folk and popular cultures．In ancient China，people believed that numerous gods inhabited the Three Realms(heaven，earth，and the underworld)and ruled over human affairs and destiny．To fulfill their hopes for a bountiful harvest，a healthy male heir，official promotion，and other auspicious wishes，people sought the blessing of these deities by representing them graphically in a medium that has become a unique folk art tradition known as“paper gods”or“paper joss”．
2)Types of New Year Painting
New Year Painting has a long history，recorded as early as the Song Dynasty．China's top three New Year Paintings are those developed in Taohuawu，Suzhou，Jiangsu Province，in Yangliuqing，Tianjin，and in Yangjiabu，Weifang，Shandong Province．
A．Taohuawu New Year Painting
Taohuawu New Year Painting was once one of the major paintings in China．The painting，originated at the end of the Ming Dynasty in a workshop on Suzhou's Taohuawu Street，was highly popular during the reign of the emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong(1723-1795)of the Qing Dynasty with annual publications up to one million．In the first half of the 20th century，New Year Painting's production declined because of constant warfare and turmoil．After the founding of new China in 1949，great efforts were exerted in Suzhou to restore this folk art，and over 200 representative draft drawings were collated and printed．
The painting，taking the form of door painting，central painting and hanging scroll，is made delicately with one color of woodblock print being used at one time．Therefore，the production of one single painting requires at least four-time prints，sometimes even more than 10 times．While maintaining simplicity，economy of means，and strong decorativeness of farm art，the craft in figure creation，cutting techniques and coloring has also been striven．The colors used are never confined only to those seen through the eye in real life;colors like scarlet，peach，yellow，green and purple are used，resulting in a gay，bright and striking style．Themes of Taohuawu Painting cover every aspect of life:stories of the Gods or heroes，customs，current news，beauty，babies，or even Kitchen God，etc．The characteristics listed above accounts for their popularity home and abroad for hundred of years．
B．Yangliuqing New Year Painting
Yangliuqing New Year Painting，which first appeared in the late Ming Dynasty，is another important genre of New Year Paintings throughout China．Because of the genre's delicate painting style and strong rustic flavor，such pictures are quite popular．The paintings，taking motifs from people's daily lives，display strong local features．They are an art incorporating carving and painting and are characterized by delicate delineations，bright colors，graceful figures and extensive motifs．They feature mainly figures，including the most popular old-style maids and babies．
The artistic characteristics of Yangliuqing New Year Painting are multi-facets and so are the reasons of forming them．The most prominent one is reflected on the production．The production of a New Year Painting consists of several steps，including outline tracing，woodblock distribution，woodblock cutting，printing，color painting and mounting．Compared with the other genres of New Year Painting，the first four steps have nothing special but follow exactly the same procedures as the others．It is different from others in that the painting of colors is very complicated by delicately combing knife carving with brush lines which brings the best in each other．Due to painters'different drawing styles，the same original painting can be polished into“decent painting”or made into“rough painting”，making a striking contrast with each other in style and each possessing high artistic value．
C．Yangjiabu New Year Paintings
The production of Yangjiabu New Year Painting began during the Ming Dynasty over 400 years ago and thrived in the Qing Dynasty，when there were over 100 workshops producing copies of more than 1，000 pictures．
The Yangjiabu style was，to some extent，influenced by the Yangliuqing style，while at the same time maintaining its original flavor of being unsophisticated and vivid，forming its own unique style．
Yangjiabu New Year Painting is characterized by local flavor，artistic exaggeration and sharp color contrasts．The production of Yangjiabu Painting consists of outline drawing，cutting，printing，and mounting and every step is highly refined．The first plate finishes black outlines，which then is stuck to planed pear wood or planed birchleaf pear wood to carve the main line．The next step is to use color plates．Deep colors are printed first on small sections of a picture．Light colors are printed last on large sections of the picture．The main colors are red，yellow，purple，green，blue and black．The production is completed when the mounting is done．
The contents of Yangjiabu New Year Painting come from the lives of the local people．Their motifs cover flowers，birds，mountains，rivers，characters in traditional operas and fairy tales，etc．In a word，festivity and prosperity are the permanent motifs of Yangjiabu New Year Painting．The composition of the pictures is vigorous，the depiction is exaggerated，the lines are simple and smooth and the colors are gorgeous．The bright red，green and purple colors give prominence to the rustic flavor．The collocation of colors is usually exaggerated，bold，intense，and violent in contrast． The wild lines also add a special touch of farmer style painting to the art form．The pictures highlight the bold and unconstrained character of farmers in northern China．
Chinese folk art reflects the long history of popular customs and traditions in Chinese culture．Deeply rooted in agriculture，people's daily life and rituals are inevitably connected with nature，the surrounding landscape．Therefore，paintings drawn by local people have the subjects，colors and techniques of their own．Chinese farmers'painting，growing out of the countryside，is the representative of farmer's aesthetic value and thinking，Therefore，Chinese farmers'painting is not only the works adorned by people but also a channel for people to know more about farmers and their way of life．
Word Bank
batik蜡染
gouache树胶水彩画
rustic乡村的
gradation(颜色)渐渐变化
salient突出的
terse简洁的
jubilant喜悦的
sculpting造型
primitive朴实的
canvas画布
benevolence善行
retribution报偿
figurine小雕像
chubby圆胖的
iconography肖像画法
motif主题
delineation描绘
参考译文
中国农民画这一艺术形式在世界民间艺术界享有特殊的地位，是中国独有的一种艺术形式。其出现的原因是中国农民占中国人口的很大一部分，由于风俗习俗、生活背景和文化教育背景的差异，中国的农民总是相对保持着他们自己特有的文化特性。中国农民画反映了中国广大农村农民的生活方式和生活场景，其独特的艺术魅力赢得了国内外友人的青睐。现在农民画已经成为现代中国文化的一种既定的艺术形式。
1.农民画的历史
中国农民画可以说既古老又年轻。说它古老，是因为它以中国几千年传统的刺绣、蜡染、剪纸和壁画为基础。说它年轻，是因为直到20世纪50年代中国大力提倡农民投身艺术才可以称得上是农民画的初级阶段。
“人民需要艺术，艺术需要人民。”人民对艺术的这一新的理解成为农民画发展的根源。起初，很多人是怀着娱乐或宣传的目的来作画的，以表达他们的梦想或对美好生活的向往。
农民画在20世纪60年代的时候继续发展。20世纪80年代初的改革开放给农民画的发展提供了一个平台，使农民画有了长足的发展，越来越受到人们的欢迎。而在国内外举办的具有国际规模的农民画展览以及大批西方游客的涌入对农民画的发展起到推动作用。在农民画的发展方面，政府也提供了财力以及培训等方面的支持，迄今为止，全国已有40多个政府认可的农民画村。
2.农民画的特点
农民画这一特殊艺术形式的特殊主要表现在主题选择、色彩及技巧应用等方面有鲜明的特色。
1)主题
农民画的主题都和乡村生活有关。这些主题有的展现的是平常的活动，如从集市回到家中或吃饭等，有的展现的是婚礼、春节等节日场景，有的用来表达农民的欢乐心情或美好的心愿，如大群牛羊、快乐的孩子、温馨的家庭等。农民画作者通过描绘农村简单细小的事情，表达他们对生活对世界的理解以及对美好生活的向往。
2)颜色
农民画大多是手工画的树胶水彩画。与素描不同，农民画不是通过精确性来衡量其价值。农民用颜色来表达他们所感觉到的，根据内心的感受来作画。因此，大多数农民画色彩鲜艳，对比强烈，底色多以红、紫、蓝等深色为主，这些特点使整幅画第一眼看起来非常纯稚，但其艺术价值决不应该被低估，因为他们是乡村田园生活的真实表现。
3)技巧
总的来说，农民用鲜艳的色彩，简单清楚的线条来表达他们对世界的感受及认识。一些农民采用日本木版画的拼版手法来绘画，整幅画的轮廓用又黑又粗的线条来勾画，中间的部分用颜色来填充，很多宣传画的设计也用这种方法。
有的农民用另一种精细的“渐变”的手法来演绎农民画，这种手法主要通过色彩的浓淡以不可察觉的层次的变化来作画，以达到既定的效果。
3.农民画的分类
农民画多系农民自己制作和自我欣赏的吉祥图案的绘画和印画，乡土气息很浓。自20世纪50年代以来，逐渐形成了广东龙门、陕西户县、上海金山等地的农民画乡。
人们常把代表中国南方的农民画——广东龙门农民画，代表中国北方的农民画——陕西户县农民画，还有代表中国东部的农民画——上海金山的农民画，并称为中国农民三大画乡。这三大画乡对农民画的发展起了不可低估的推动作用。
除了这三大画乡的农民画之外，农民自印的春节期间贴在自家门上、墙壁上、房屋屋檐角、家具上的年画以及贴在商业机构和乡镇寺庙里的年画，也是最有影响力的农民画的一种。
1)龙门农民画
龙门位于中国南部风景秀丽的广东省，当地人有将日常生活的情景画下来的传统。鉴于龙门人民在民间艺术发展上所做的贡献，文化部于1988年授予龙门“中国现代民间绘画画乡”这一称号。
龙门农民画主要特点就是颜色非常鲜艳、对比鲜明。鲜艳的颜色和夸张的描述通常包含深刻的寓意。主要以节庆喜事、特色民俗还有田间劳作等为主题。简洁轻快的绘画风格生动地描绘出当地秀丽的自然风光、居民温馨的家园生活、农耕时活跃的气氛以及喜气洋洋的节日等，充分展现了农民画的艺术特点。
这些艺术作品表达了农民画家内心深处的愿望，作品无论在构图、色彩、造型、勾线等方面都带有浓郁的当地文化气息。农民画中散发出强烈的现代艺术气息，具有极高的学术研究和收集价值。
2)户县农民画
户县人口为50万，向来有“绘画之乡”的美称，获得这一美称的原因不仅因为户县风景如画，而且还因为户县人人喜欢绘画，爱好绘画。现在户县的农民画家已走出陕西，走出中国，走向世界。
户县农民画有一大部分作品来源于传统剪纸、刺绣和别的艺术形式。在过去的50多年来，户县农民画经久不衰，生机勃勃，成果丰硕，累计创作作品30 000余件。其中1 500多件作品在国家级刊物上发表，428件作品在中国美术展览中获奖，4 500多件作品应邀在48个国家和地区展出，18 700件作品被国内外博物馆和农民画爱好者收藏。
户县农民画的表现手法有着明显的地域特色，它多以大红大紫的色彩、夸张化的描述和简洁明快的风格来表现寓意深刻的主题。户县农民画勾画出了画乡户县美丽的田园风光、栩栩如生的农家生活、气氛热烈的劳动场面和欢天喜地的节日庆典，充分体现了现代民间艺术的特点。在绘画中，艺术家不仅运用手来作画，并且用心来作画。农民画的设计、色彩都被赋予丰富的文化内涵，富有现代艺术的韵味，具有极高的学术和收藏价值。
3)金山农民画
金山位于上海的西南郊。著名的金山农民画于20世纪70年代发起于金山县的枫泾镇。农民画家将剪纸、刺绣、编织等传统艺术巧妙地运用到绘画中去，形成独具特色的农民画。
金山农民画在20多个国家展出过，200多幅画被国家艺术博物馆、中国画研究机构和中国民俗艺术博物馆收藏。
金山人民从日常生活场景中选材，运用浪漫的想象力，创作出生动的农民画，充分展现了上海农村的生活习俗和劳动场景。运用深色来诠释简单的主题，使金山农民画成为农民画的一个派别，为这些农民画家赢得了“中国毕加索”之名。
纯朴的农民画家们经常采用大量对比鲜明的色彩，绘画的主题围绕着传统乡村生活的，诸如钓鱼、印染、纺纱及集市场景，而不是描绘现代城市生活。人物的刻画及实物的描绘都采用天真、纯朴的手法。
4.年画
年画是农民画的一种，是中国特有的一种绘画体裁，大都用于春节时张贴在门、墙、窗、屋檐、家具上，装饰环境，含有祝福新年吉祥喜庆之意。春节贴年画是节庆活动的重要内容之一。
1)年画内容
年画多为祈福内容，以增添节日气氛。通常取材于当地的神话、传说故事，因此年画上的人物通常是神仙或英雄人物等，人们张贴他们的画像来祈福。门神秦琼和尉迟恭、捉鬼的钟馗、福禄寿三星、财神以及观世音菩萨等都是最受人们欢迎的神仙形象。
其中一些含有道德寓意，在教育不普及的旧时代，这些画起到了教育作用。一些年画以忠孝仁义、善恶有报等为内容。仕女图是另一个受欢迎的题材。除此以外，以人们日常生活为主题的年画也非常流行，其中以娃娃年画最为出名。娃娃画在造型上的特点是:短胳膊短腿大脑壳，小鼻子大眼睛没有脖子。可爱的胖娃寓意来年多子多孙或来年多福。
这些画是传统中国民间文化和大众文化的反映。古时候，人们相信神住在天堂、地狱和人间三界，掌管人类的一切事务及命运。因此，人们为了实现丰收、得子、升官等愿望或追求，向神仙的画像祈求，以求得到神的庇佑，这使得年画发展成为一种独特的民间风俗。
2)年画类型
年画历史悠久，据记载，最早始于宋朝，主要产地有江苏省苏州桃花坞、天津杨柳青和山东省潍坊杨家埠等。
A．桃花坞年画
桃花坞年画是中国主要的民间年画之一。桃花坞年画始于明朝桃花坞街的手工作坊，清代雍正、乾隆年间为鼎盛时期，每年出产的桃花坞年画达百万张以上。20世纪上半叶，由于连年战乱，桃花坞年画生产受到了严重的破坏，此后一直萎靡不振。直到新中国成立后，苏州大力恢复这一民族艺术，200多种代表性的年画得以整理出版。
桃花坞年画，主要有门画、中画和屏条等形式，系用一版一色的木版套印方法印刷，工艺精美，一幅画要套印四五次至十几次。在人物塑造、刀法及设色上，具有朴实、稚拙、简练、丰富的民间美术装饰性特色;在色彩上，不局限于现实生活人眼所见过的颜色，多用大红、桃红、黄、绿、紫等色彩，创作出欢快明亮的风格;在主题上，涵括生活的各个方面，有神话故事、人情风俗、时事新闻、美人、娃娃、灶神等。因其风格独特，数百年来享誉海内外。
B．杨柳青年画
杨柳青年画创始于明朝，是中国年画又一重要部分。由于绘制手法细腻，具有浓郁的乡土气息，因此深受人们喜爱。杨柳青年画多取材于百姓的日常生活，具有鲜明的地方特色，它巧妙地将雕刻与绘画融为一体，笔法细腻、色彩艳丽、人物造型秀美、内容多姿多彩，具有很高的艺术价值。杨柳青年画主要是以人物为主，其中仕女图和娃娃图是最受欢迎的。
杨柳青年画的艺术特点是多方面的，形成其艺术特点的条件也是多方面的。其中较为突出的则是表现在制作上。杨柳青年画的制作程序大致是:创稿、分版、刻版、套印、彩绘、装裱。前期工序与其他年画大致相同，都是依据画稿刻版套印;而杨柳青年画的后期制作，把版画的刀法版味与绘画的笔触色调巧妙地融为一体，使两种艺术相得益彰。而且还由于彩绘艺人的表现手法不同，同样一幅杨柳青年画坯子(未经彩绘处理的墨线或套版的半成品)，可以分别画成精描细绘的“细活”，和豪放粗犷的“粗活”，艺术风格迥然不同，各具独特的艺术价值。
C．杨家埠年画
山东省潍坊杨家埠年画兴起于明代，清代达到鼎盛期，杨家埠曾一度出现“画店百家，画种过千”的盛景。
杨家埠年画发展初期受到杨柳青年画的影响，但保持生动、简朴的特点，形成自己独特的风格。
杨家埠年画具有乡土气息浓厚、形象夸张、色彩鲜明等特点。杨家埠年画生产分为绘画、雕刻、印刷、装裱等几道工序，每一道工序都极为精细准确。做法是先将画稿勾出黑线稿，贴到刨平的梨木或棠木板上，雕刻出主线版。待印出主线稿后，再分别用不同颜色比如红色、黄色、紫色、绿色、蓝色和黑色，刻出色版，套色印刷，最后修版装裱而成。
杨家埠年画反映了当地人们的生活，其题材广泛，包括山水花鸟、戏剧人物、神话传说等，但喜庆吉祥是杨家埠年画的主题。杨家埠年画构图对称饮满、刻画手法大胆夸张、线条简单明了、色泽鲜艳明快。大红、大绿、大紫等颜色的运用，增加了年画的乡土韵味，而粗犷线条的运用，为农民画这一艺术形式增添了独特的表达方式。此类型的年画勾画出北方农民无拘无束的性格特征。
中国民间艺术反映了中国文化的悠久传统和风俗习惯。广大劳动人民根植于农村，因此他们的日常生活不可避免要和大自然、周围的秀丽风光联系起来。所以他们绘画作品的主题、色彩及技巧也必定会和他们生活的环境息息相关。在乡村成长起来的农民画，代表了农民的审美观点及观念，因此农民画不仅具有观赏意义，而且对于进一步了解农村、农民的生活习惯及方式提供了捷径。
Exercises
Section A Thought-provoking questions
1．Why did Chinese farmers'painting come into being and how did it make itself a unique art form？
2．What are the characteristics of Chinese Farmers'painting according to the passage？
3．In which aspects Huxian Farmers'Painting，Jinshan Farmers'Painting，and Longmen Farmers'Painting are in common？
4．Please list three types of New Year Painting and describe their characteristics in detail．
Section B Cloze
Fengjing has developed folk culture．Here is 1 as the cradle of famous Jinshan farmers' paintings，which have borrowed the essence of other folk arts 2 indigo print，furniture carving，kitchen mural，lantern，paper-cut，embroidery and weaving．Represented by the farmer painters in Fengjing，Jinshan farmers 3 the unique art of Jinshan farmers'paintings with dense folk elements，which have made great influence at home and 4 ．On Heping Street stands the ancestral home of Cheng Shifa，a master of traditional Chinese painting．And on the North Street is the cartoonist Ding Cong's works exhibition hall．In Fengjing Town，you can 5 farmers'paintings，Ding Cong's cartoons，Cheng Shifa's Chinese paintings and famous go-player Gu Shuiru's．These international influencing arts and works can be seen in a town，which is really a 6 regional culture phenomenon in China．
Huxian Peasant Paintings originated in the late 50s．Jinshan County style 7 in the late 70s．Both styles show the ordinary aspects of 8 life．The paintings explore all parts of daily life．Festivals，parades，harvest，weddings，village traditions，farm animals，and children are all depicted in their paintings．The style can be described as 9 ，with child-like figures and 10 colors which are often exaggerated．
※Study without contemplation leads to confusion.Contemplation without study is dangerous.
From Analects of Confucius
(学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。)
——《论语》