A Study Of The History And Folklore Of The New Year's Picture In Zhuxian Town Of Kaifeng City

The New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city, which has a long history of more than 900 years, is considered as the precedent and origin of Chinese New Year's picture. In the long agricultural society, what people praised highly was farming culture and they created and preserved rich intangible cultural heritages. The New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city, which has a unique art style, is one of them. It is not only the spiritual sustenance of people, but also the important medium of the dissemination of cultures. The New Year's picture, created in line with the folkloristic activities, reflects the life of people and embodies the culture of the nation. It conveys the traditional religion, aesthetics and values in China. This thesis will introduce the formation and development of the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city, analyze its production processes and elements from the perspective of folkloristics and explore its importance to the traditional culture in the society with rapid-developing economy and multiple cultures.The thesis is divided into five chapters.Chapter One is the introduction which consists of the motivation and the concerns of the study. The New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city not only has a long history, but also is the base of the traditional culture. It needs to be developed and carried forward.Chapter Two introduces the formation and development of the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city. In the ancient times, people believed that everything had a soul and they worshiped the Gods. The New Year's picture was derived from the sacrifice for gates and hanging of peach branches. In the Song Dynasty, because of the development of economy, the prosperity of culture and the invention of wooden-block, the New Year's picture was created in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the opening of the channel on Jialu River made Zhuxian town an important commercial and trade town. Before the foundation of People's Republic of China, though the development of the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city was destroyed, the relation between the New Year's picture and folk life was not broken off. In Cultural Revolution, the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city was almost subjected to extinction. After the Reform and Opening Up, the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city was newborn for better.Chapter Three concerns the wisdoms of people embodied in the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city. Firstly, the author talks about the features of the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city. It is created by the wisdom of millions of artists. It inherits the styles of the pictures in the Han and Tang dynasties and forms its unique art style. It has compact pictures, rough lines, bright colors and exaggerated images. It uses hand-carved wooden printing blocks and chromatographic method. Every production process is rigorous and complex with special requirements and skills. Secondly, the author believes that the folk crafts embody the folk culture. The author analyzes the folk crafts from the perspective of folk culture in five aspects.Chapter Four is about the folk culture embodied in the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city. This chapter consists of two aspects. The first is the form and element of the New Year's picture. No matter what kind of form and element the New Year's picture uses, the folk culture is the kernel of it. The second is the influence of the New Year's picture on people. Most of the elements of the New Year's picture are from the heroes of popular legends, novels and traditional operas. These characters reveal average people's pursuit of good life and harvest, their faith for the Gods, their desire to live safely and happily and their purpose of driving evils out. The New Year's picture also has educational and social functions. Chapter Five is the conclusion. In this chapter, the author gives us an example of a local artist Guo Taiyun. He contributes himself to spreading and developing the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city. Through the deeds of Guo Taiyun and the significance of the New Year's picture in Spring Festival, the author stresses the importance to develop the New Year's picture in Zhuxian town of Kaifeng city under the situation of multiple cultures at present.