Woodcutting is a kind of printmaking art that carves a negative image on a wooden board and then prints it on paper for appreciation. Printmaking is also an important category of China fine arts. Ancient prints mainly refer to woodcuts, but a few copperplate prints and overprinting are not allowed. The unique taste of knife wood makes it have independent artistic value and position in the history of China culture and art.

Where did woodcut originate?

Woodcut originated in Zhuxian Town, Henan Province. Zhuxian Town belongs to Xiangfu District, Kaifeng City, Henan Province, and is located in the southwest of Kaifeng City. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was one of the "Four Famous Towns" in China, together with Foshan Town in Guangdong, Jingdezhen Town in Jiangxi and Hankou Town in Hubei. There was a famous battle in Zhuxian Town. Yue Fei led Yue Jiajun to break the Jin Army. There is a Yuefei Temple in the town, which is one of the three Wang Yue temples in China. Yuefei Temple was built in the 14th year of Chenghua in Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1476), and now the mountain gate, front wall and the statue of "five traitors kneeling and loyal" have been restored.

wood engraving

Emerging prints and ancient copying prints are not only very different in production technology, but also qualitatively different in artistic function and practical significance. Since its birth, emerging printmaking has been closely related to the liberation of the Chinese nation and the fate of the broad masses of people. It is an important part of China's revolutionary literature and art and the main force of left-wing art in 1930s.

Before the rise of modern printing, woodcut was the only form of art communication that could be copied in large quantities by block printing; After modern printing and even modern printing, the social function of woodcut has obviously shrunk, but it has not completely withdrawn from the historical stage.

Yangliuqing Woodblock New Year Pictures Museum

Yangliuqing Woodblock New Year Pictures Museum ranks first in China in terms of architectural specifications, number of exhibits and richness of collections. The exhibition hall is divided into seven exhibition halls: Historical Inheritance, Drama Stories, Antique Treasures, Lady Dolls, Secular Life, Dai Qi Painting Workshop-Protection and Development, and New Year Pictures Collection. According to the theme of the New Year pictures, the exhibition halls in the museum designed the physical landscape corresponding to the New Year pictures, which restored the folk customs of the New Year pictures culture and made the exhibition content three-dimensional and vivid.