The tradition of New Year prints: Auspicious art

MANILA, Philippines - Closely tied to the celebration of the Lunar New Year in Chinese communities is the display of colorful pictures called nian hua. This traditional art form highlights auspicious symbols in Chinese culture as well as meaningful Chinese words and idioms, summing up in this way the wishes for good fortune, prosperity, longevity as well as peace and harmony throughout the year.

Tradition, however, gets combined conveniently with innovation to keep alive the story of a Chinese folk art said to have a history of more than 300 years. The earliest woodblock prints in China were of religious and even particularly Buddhist origin. The beginnings of New Year woodblock prints could be traced to the Southern Sung period (12th to 13th century or 1127-1279). These went on to flourish as an essential part of the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival scene in Chinese households in the middle years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

A few localities in China became famous for producing New Year prints. These included Yangliuqing in Tianjin, Hebei; T’aohuawu in Suzhou, Jiangsu; Yangjiapu in Weixian, Shandong; Mienchu, Sichuan; Foshan, Guangdong; as well as Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, Fujian.

There in these places emerged and flourished the centers for the production and sale of New Year prints. Entire populations in towns and villages were involved in the making of the New Year prints. In Yangliuqing, for example, most of the residents participated in tracing and copying the popular images in New Year prints for the dealers.

During the Taokuang period from 1821 to 1850 in the Qing Dynasty, NewYear picture production got introduced in Taiwan. Pioneering immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong provinces brought the folk art to Taiwan.

Since 1985, the Taiwan Ministry of Culture has been encouraging artists to work on original Lunar New Year print designs to enter in a yearly competition. Entries like those featured in the “Auspicious Art” exhibit to run until March 8 at the Bahay Tsinoy in Intramuros have primarily taken the Chinese zodiac as theme.

A remarkable diversity of creative art styles and contents has surfaced over the years. Whether by renowned Taiwanese artists or upcoming talents, the prints have always expressed the joy of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Firecrackers, which are always lighted to drive away the evil spirits during the Chinese New Year festivities, conveniently find their way into New Year prints. One inspired artist’s masterpiece transforms an exploding string of pyrotechnic device into what resembles an animated dragon.

 Chubby babies and cheerful children playing traditional Chinese percussion instruments grace New Year prints to spread the happiness of greeting the start of another 12 months.

Traditional Chinese values are reflected in the decorative pictures. The New Year’s Eve family reunion is considered extremely important during the celebration to usher in the New Year. And so a print artist depicts a typical feast with hares gathered around a big circular table for a sumptuous dinner in a work of art created for the Year of the Rabbit.

Just like in ancient New Year pictures, a modern-day print sometimes features a pair of door gods. Whether presented in civil or military style, these paintings were once believed to be protectors of the imperial palace. The pair of military deities can come nowadays in full armor and even strike the familiar intimidating posture of Chung Kuei, the guardian of man against evil spirits and influences.

Such images serving as doorway talismans evolve with the changing times. An unforgettable version dating back to 2003, the year of the SARS epidemic in Taiwan, shows door gods wearing protective health masks and holding up not swords but thermometer for ear and underarm use.

Chinese classics like “Journey to the West” inspire the art of New Year prints. A Year of the Monkey design, for example, shows the Monkey King attaining immortality on a visit to the Garden of Heavenly Peaches. The wishes for happiness and longevity are repeated in words on the two sides of the New Year picture.

The God of Longevity in New Year prints is portrayed usually as an old man holding in one hand a cane and in the other a peach. The mythical peach is said to come from a fabulous tree which blossoms only once every three thousand years and yields fruits three thousand years after.

Meanwhile, the Eight Propitious Objects of the Eight Immortals of Chinese lore and legend are sometimes at the center of a New Year print. The story of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid, too, is told, complete with magpies in the Year of the Ox.

The God of Happiness, who is surrounded usually by little children, and the God of Prosperity, who is identified through the ancient Chinese official’s hat he wears, appear sometimes side by side with the God of Longevity to form a classic triumvirate in the pantheon of deities.

There are many symbols which play a big part in the auspicious messages carried by New Year prints. Fish, which was associated with the domestic economy in ancient China, consistently means abundance in the prints. The word “fish” in Chinese is a homonym for “surplus.” The image of a child riding on a fish to greet the New Year, therefore, is easy to interpret in meaning.

In another print, a fish is bulging with fruits like apples, persimmons, pineapple, banana, wax apple and custard apple. The added Chinese character for “fullness” says it all about the bounty for the year ahead. As for the picture of fish swimming in a lotus pond, the wish is for affluence and prosperity year after year.

The lotus flower, which rises pristine and pure from the murky water, is a symbol of the gentleman. And the lotus pod with seeds in a Chinese painting is an emblem of summer and fruitfulness. Seeds, in fact, suggest offspring to perpetuate the family tree very much valued in Chinese culture.

Ancient currencies such as the gold ingot and coins in the prints emphasize a craving for material wealth. For example, an artist gives a backward-horned animal a body resembling an ingot in shape in the Year of the Goat. In another instance, a cute money pouch in the Year of the Tiger appears filled with gold ingots. The peony flower – a symbol of riches, honor and success – adorns the money bag, too.

A Year of the Horse design sees ancient coins thrown in every direction as an excited stallion gallops into view. The arrival of the horse means that a mission has been accomplished, goes a Chinese saying. Thus, the equine subject is associated with immediate success. Golden oranges also frame this picture to convey the wish for abundant happiness and prosperity in the ensuing 12 months.

Prosperity arrives, says another Year of the Horse picture. A horse catches on its belly a big and golden pineapple, a fruit associated with wealth and prosperity. One hoof holds high a gold ingot. The animal loses its bearing because the Chinese verb “to arrive” is a homonym for “to fall.” The four Chinese words below the upturned animal express a greeting and wish for success.

 In Taiwan, a fondness for homonyms is indicated in the frequent use of the Chinese word for “spring.” This is pronounced in Mandarin like the Taiwanese translation for “surplus.” In fact, this Chinese character is written upside down to mean the coming of a year of prosperity. There is again a play of homonyms here.

A self-congratulatory four-word Chinese idiom meaning to bring in wealth and riches frequently dominates a picture. The characters are arranged so as to strike onlookers as just a single word with many strokes.

Ten is a number indicating perfection. And so 10 piglets with pearls in their mouths climb all over an antique “wu chu” coin from the Tang Dynasty, thereby summoning wealth and prosperity. The round coin with a square hole is regarded as an amulet. Children wear a red string with such cash to keep away evil influences.

“Square within and round without” in Chinese thinking also points to a person’s internal rectitude as well as external suavity and accommodation. There are no annoying rugged corners.

Chinese zodiac animals lend different symbolic meanings to the creative efforts of printmakers. The Rat in a New Year print represents prosperity because of its ability to find, acquire and hoard supplies. In short, where you find the rodent, there you will find treasures.

The Ox is associated with spring, a season full of promise and hope. The Tiger is a metaphor for magisterial dignity and sternness. It is also a model for fierceness and courage. The Rabbit is an emblem of longevity because of its role as servitor in pounding the elixir of life in Chinese legend. It also signifies peace, health, birth and exuberance.

The Rooster safeguards the home, says one New Year picture. The Dog in another work of art stands out valued for its fidelity and for its role as guardian. He “keeps away anyone who is not what he should be,” according to a Chinese saying.

The Chinese character for “auspicious” or “favorable” has a sheep or goat radical on the right side. The Goat belongs in a New Year print which shows a festive and truly happy atmosphere at an aboriginal wedding. The greeting in this case is for double happiness.

The as-you-wish scepter in colorful New Year prints somehow consolidates all possible human yearnings worth including in the greeting for the year just beginning. In short, may all wishes be granted.