◎Wuqiang New Year Picture

Wuqiang is the well-known hometown of the well-known folk woodcut art.Wuqiang New Year picture originated in the Song and Yuan dynasties,emerged in the Ming Dynasty,and flourished in the Qing Dynasty.In the long history of more than 1,000 years,it has formed its strong local characteristics and become the symbol of the Yan-Zhao culture.Wuqiang New Year pictures are bold,rough but also fine in lines,vivid in figures,full and generous in composition,and bright and gorgeous in color.They involve a wide range of subjects,rich content and various forms.Known as the “diagram of an oriental Bible,” they constitute the epitome of the farming society.(https://www.daowen.com)

According to the statistics of the Commodity Survey Report of Zhili Province in the early years of the Republic of China,the annual sales of Wuqiang New Year pictures reached 100 million,which were sold to 18 provinces and regions in China,as well as Hyesan and other places in North Korea.In the early years,most of Wuqiang New Year pictures used figures of divinities to pray for good fortune and show people’s yearning for a better life.Since the reform and opening up,Wuqiang New Year pictures have kept pace with the times by protecting traditions and promoting innovation.It has been designated as one of the first batch of ten pilot projects of the Chinese National Folk Culture Protection Project by the Ministry of Culture,and included in the Protection List of National Intangible Cultural Heritages of China.Feng Jicai,Chairman of the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association,wrote an inscription happily after visiting Wuqiang New Year pictures,“It should be said that Wuqiang New Year pictures are the best among a hundred good New Year pictures.”