The Last Master Of Chinese Folk Art

Chinese folk wood new year painting, a precious part of Chinese traditional art heritages, plays an irreplaceable role in satisfying Chinese people's daily spiritual life. Historically, culturally, and socially speaking, it makes tremendous contribution and values greatly, which enables it to become a special traditional representation of Chinese folk culture. In recent decades, the process of social modernization and informationization is accelerating, and moreover, various abroad art trends influence and impact Chinese traditional culture severally, both of which makes the survival of Chinese folk arts worrying. As a result, actions in saving, protecting and inheriting Chinese folk wood new year paintings are taken on a large scale. Because of its comparatively value and high popularity in the category of Chinese folk arts, the Chinese folk wood new year paintings are of highlighted importance for China's intangible cultural heritages. Thus they are the first type of Chinese folk arts among all the activated China folk cultural heritage rescue project. Up to now, a large amount of pilot studies have been carried out by scholars both at home and abroad, and research findings have been achieved at a certain stage. However, based on the literature review and other relevant references, it is observed that most of the former researches are studies of object. They limited themselves in the study of the objective paintings,and few focus on the folk artists. Therefore, the presence research is of important significance and academic value. Feng Jicai, a famous Chinese writer, once stated, "Things once represented the realistic condition of our nation have gone by.Countless elder folk artists passed away without being noticed." These artists are carriers of Chinese traditional culture. Their pass-away cuts off the inheritance of Chinese folk arts. For now, most of the old folk artists alive in China, on a national scale, are in their 70s, or much elder. Because of their advanced ages, although these artists are rich in experience, yet they are lacking in energy, which leads to their leave-off from art creation. What is worse, the young generation, for the most part, are not willing to inherit or to learn the traditional folk arts which they think dulling and boring. Thus most kinds of folk arts are facing the danger of extinction. Therefore, it is more important and more urgent, for the better inheritance and protection of the traditional folk ares, to carry out researches in the folk artists than merely save and protect the folk artworks.The present study is a in depth and systematic research Yang Luoshu,a folk artisan of Chinese folk wood new year painting in Yangjiabu, Shandong, which composes of five chapters and in which the research methods of survey, observation, and documentary research are involved. The first chapter discusses Yang's growing up environment and historical background from the perspectives of historical origins of Shunde Paint Shop and the Yang's art life. The second chapter reviews the current living conditions of Yang's new year paintings based on the researcher's field investigation of Yangjiabu Village. The third chapter explores the artistic origin of Yang's paintings based on the discussion of the history and the cultural adhesion of the village's wood new year paintings, the local historical figures' influence on these paintings, and Yang's wood new year paintings' aesthetic characteristics in form and color. The fourth chapter talks over Yang's collection of paintings, his engraving skills, the inheriting value of the new year paintings, and how to realize this kind of value. Moreover, this chapter introduces Yang's contribution to the inheriting and protecting of Chinese traditional culture, his contribution to the preserving and propagating of local cultural characters, and that to the masses' spiritual wellness and to the satisfaction of their daily life, as well as his contribution to the social culture. The fifth chapter sets forth the inspiration countermeasures of the current research from the points of cultural globalization and its influence on folk culture, the living conditions of folk new year paintings , and the realization of the folk artists' harmonious development in future cultural society. This paper pays attention to the diversity of culture under the background of globalization and the social and economic transform, and proposes the solution to the severe losses of intangible cultural heritage and folk artists. During the last two decades, great progress has been achieved. Although facing a severe challenge in the worldwide competition, yet the protection of the folk artists and the inheritance of the folk arts should be taken as the foundation of local folk cultural industry so as to improve the inheriting and protecting of the folk artists. Moreover, vigorous propaganda should be conducted to promote native culture and local folk culture and art, a cultural industry with competitiveness in domestic market be set up, and characteristic cultural tourism products be developed, so as to better protect the folk artists. Thus, not only the value and contributions of these folk artists will be publicized and approved, but the traditional folk cultural industry, as a whole, will preserve resource and strength. And for the masses, they should have the consciousness of protecting the national folk arts consciously, as well as gain the confidence and resolution to protect, develop and cherish Chinese national folk arts. It is the only way the the succession and protection of the folk artists, even the whole Chinese national folk arts can develop healthily and harmoniously, and can find its inheritance for years of hundreds.