Background

Yangjiabu Woodcuts represent a famous style of Chinese New Year pictures. They originated from the Yangjiabu Village to the northeast of Weifang, Shandong Province at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and thrived in the Qing Dynasty, when there were over 100 workshops producing copies of more than 1,000 pictures. Almost all households in the village were engaged in the production. Mainly produced by block printing in red, green, yellow and purple, Yangjiabu New Year pictures combine the lively and simple style of the northern art and the elegance of the southern art. The myriad of subjects, ranging from images of immortals to flowers, birds and operas, are from the everyday life of the people. They have been popular among the Chinese people for over 400 years for the unaffected portraits, auspicious implications, festive colors and a local flavor.

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