| By studying the evolution of the Chinese New Year picture, this thesis aims to explorethe uniqueness of the folk culture and the value and function of spontaneity in the folkculture. This thesis consists of four parts, which are introduction, text, conclusion andappendix. The text of the thesis is divided into four chapters, one of whichcorresponds to one of four phases in the development of the New Year picture.At the beginning of the20th century, the New Year picture entered into a period oftransformation, which has been discussed in the Chapter One “New Year PicturesTransformed in the Process of External and Internal Interactive”. In this period, theNew Year picture was mainly affected by two factors. One is that the literati wanted tochange the New Year picture, but in fact, it was viewed as a kind of imposition on theNew Year picture; The other is that the common people had a strong demand fortransformation of the New Year picture owing to their own needs. This requirementwas directly related with the enlightenment movement initiated by the middle andlower classes in the society at that time. Basically, relative to the changes in thetraditional New Year picture, the transformation of the New Year picture mainlyoriginated from the spontaneous needs of the common people. Besides, the New Yearpicture producers catered for such needs.The second period (1930s~1940s) was a period of new New Year picture, which hasbeen discussed in the Chapter Two “The Distinctiveness of New New-Year Picture”.In this period, the production and sale of New Year pictures were greatly influencedby external forces. At that time, in order to resist against the Japanese aggression andserve for the revolution, new types of New Year picture were produced in the form ofthe traditional New Year picture in Yan’an and the liberated territory. The identities ofNew Year picture producers in this period were quite different from the past. Scarcelywas there any folk painter or artist, but most of them were professional painters andsoldiers. In this way, New Year pictures were imbued with a new political connotationand a strong national consciousness.The third period (1950s to1970s) was a period of new New Year picture movement,which has been discussed in the Chapter Three “New New-Year Picture Movement”. In this period, the New Year picture was regarded as a propaganda tool and used as apowerful weapon for educating people, uniting people and assaulting enemies. Manypolitical ideas were implanted in this popular folk art for the purpose of guiding andindoctrinating people, which could also be viewed as a kind of imposition on the NewYear picture. At that time, the purpose of producing new New Year pictures was toserve for workers, peasants, soldiers and boost the building of socialism. Despite theintentions were good, the new New Year pictures were mixed with a variety ofpolitical elements, which made it very difficult to be spontaneous.The fourth period is from1980s to the present. As discussed in the Chapter Four“The New Era of New Year Picture”, the New Year picture entered into a new stage.With China’s reform and opening up, the New Year picture, which had been on theedge of extinction, was resuscitated and revalued. But after a transitory revival, it wassoon overwhelmed by the tide of the popular culture. Thanks to a number of nationalpolicies of cultural protection, particularly “Chinese Wood-block New Year PictureSurvey and Protection Project”, the New Year picture producers in many regionswere able to get themselves out of such predicament and pass on their skills to theyoung generation. However, in this period, one of the important features is that NewYear pictures have been commercialized and become commodities. In this way, theNew Year picture tends to be more closer to the market and becomes estranged fromthe common people. In order to cater for the needs of the market rather than the needsof the common people, the New Year picture has to be modified, which results in thechange of its function. |
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