Zhuxian Town Woodblock New Year Pictures were born in Tang Dynasty, flourished in Song Dynasty and flourished in Ming Dynasty. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Tokyo, the capital, was the political, economic, cultural and commercial center of the whole country, and businessmen from all over the country poured into Beijing in large numbers. The huge consumption of citizens has promoted the development of folk culture, provided fertile soil for the creation of New Year pictures, and promoted the prosperity of engraving and printing industry in China.
Since then, New Year pictures have changed from strokes to block printing. At that time, the printing and sales of Tokyo woodblock New Year pictures were unprecedented. Not only folk workshops spread all over Beijing, but even the imperial court presided over the establishment of New Year pictures workshops. The integration of government-run workshops and folk workshops makes the development of woodblock New Year pictures inevitable.
As an independent kind of painting, New Year pictures can continue to exist and develop because of its wide audience, great social demand, rich content and diverse forms, which is incomparable to any other kind of painting. The expressions of New Year pictures and modelling technique have distinct national characteristics and aesthetic value. The formation of its artistic characteristics is based on social ethics, cultural upbringing and folk life, which truly reflects the social forms, political events and life interests in various historical periods.