Changes Of Chinese New Year Picture From The Perspective Of Printing Techniques

As a unique ancient form of folk art in China, New Year Picture stands for New Year's coming and good fortune. Since the invention of printing, New Year Picture has been developed into a movable type printing from its primitive patterns as wood engraving and painting.New Year Picture is the most popular kind of pictures in the world, which once could be seen throughout China. So no other artistic forms can be compared to its wide spreading, profound influence and long history. In recent years, with the fast paces of globalization, the ancient oriental culture has been strongly impacted by the modern civilization. Thus New Year Picture is no longer as popular as before. Many other folk arts are facing the same destiny as New Year Pictures. Owing to this huge impact, the non-substantial culture has been gradually losing its social environments and confronted with the danger of annihilation.Based on a series of practical investigations in New Year Picture producing areas and further studies of New Year Picture, the writer holds that the destiny of New Year Picture is caused by both internal and external factors. For instance, the advanced technology in lithography and offset printing has given a death warrant to the traditional handmade New Year Pictures;the change of people's living environments and habits has left nowhere for New Year Picture to be put up;the indifference towards local festivals and the popularity of western festivals lead to the unpopularity of the new year culture;the failure in the teaching methods of New Year Pictures' techniques has brought the faultage of thetechniques. Among them, the fundamental cause of the decline of New Year Picture is that the content and form of New Year Picture cannot keep pace with the development of society. Therefore, the most important step we should take now is to make some efficient investigations and protections of New Year Pictures before its annihilation. And on this basis, we should explore the ways of developing and creating New Year Pictures. The destiny of New Year Picture gives some valuable guidance to the prospect of other folk arts and the development of modern publication business.