China News Agency, Xingtai, September 24th telegram: From "training booth" to e-commerce Ningjin peasant's fine strokes are small and huge
Author Zhao Danmei Zhang Pengxiang Li Tiehui
In Ningjin County, Hebei Province, nearly 6,000 farmers have become meticulous painting practitioners, creating more than 100,000 works of meticulous painting every year, and their works are exported to Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other countries and regions.
The picture shows on April 7, 2022, a painter is painting in a meticulous painting studio in Chujiazhuang Village, Hequ Town.
Photo by Hu Panling issued by China News Agency
Ningjin meticulous painting is known for its figure paintings, and enjoys the reputation of "Chinese meticulous painting industry in Ningjin" in the industry.
Chujiazhuang Village in Hequ Town is the village with the most concentrated peasant studios in the county, and it is also the leading village in the meticulous painting industry.
"Ningjinbo at the bottom of the Nine Rivers", Ningjin County is flat and low-lying.
The picture shows on September 19, 2022, in the Gongbi Painting Cultural Compound of Chujiazhuang Village, Hequ Town, painter Zhao Yanfei is painting with reference to real objects.
Photo by Zhao Yijie issued by China News Agency
Zhao Yanfei, a 43-year-old peasant painter who pioneered the meticulous painting industry in Chujiazhuang Village with his father, recalled that after graduating from junior high school, he had studied with his father, who was a teacher, and tried to copy meticulous painting.
"I heard from folks who came back from work that the Beijing painting and calligraphy market is very active. In 1996, I brought my copied works to Panjiayuan to set up a stall.
The picture shows the gongbi painting cultural street in Chujiazhuang Village, Hequ Town on April 7, 2022. The gongbi painting attracts parents and children.
Photo by Hu Panling issued by China News Agency
Zhao's father and son became rich by copying meticulous painting, and built a small building in the village, attracting more and more villagers to learn to copy meticulous painting.
Zhao Yanfei's family teaches an average of 60 or 70 students free of charge every year. Many disabled people, left-behind women, and poor households who have registered and registered have acquired a skill through painting.
There are also foreigners who come here to learn painting.
"I was impressed by an Indonesian student named Lin Lin. He stayed here for nearly a year to learn painting. He said that the development of our cultural industry can bring inspiration to his hometown, which also strengthened me. Confidence in developing the gongbi painting industry." Zhao Yanfei said.
The picture shows on September 19, 2022, in the meticulous painting cultural compound of Chujiazhuang Village, Hequ Town, painter Zhao Yanfei is instructing students to paint.
Photo by Zhao Yijie issued by China News Agency
In October 2018, Zhao Yanfei's cultural compound was awarded the "Hebei Province Skilled Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Base" by the Hebei Women's Federation.
At present, Chujiazhuang Village has more than 800 households, more than 20 professional studios, and more than 400 meticulous painting practitioners. The meticulous painting industry has become one of the main economic pillars of the village, and many villagers have increased their incomes and become rich.
According to Li Fengjie, chairman of the Ningjin County Political Consultative Conference, people in Ningjin have a strong sense of business. Because of their willingness to work and work, Ningjin's meticulous painting was once the best-selling meticulous painting in Panjiayuan and Liulichang.
The unique "Ningshang culture", coupled with the ever-expanding gongbi painting market, has become a huge boost to the development of the Ningjin gongbi painting industry.
The picture shows on April 7, 2022, children are playing under a meticulous painting wall in Chujiazhuang Village, Hequ Town.
Photo by Hu Panling issued by China News Agency
With the rise of Ningjin's meticulous painting, the villagers are no longer satisfied with copying the works of famous masters, and pay more attention to personal creation.
Since 2014, the county has successively invited more than 40 teachers from institutions and colleges such as the China National Academy of Painting and the Central Academy of Fine Arts to teach the villagers.
"After professional training, Ning Jin's meticulous painting has transformed from copying to creation. Many original works have participated in exhibitions such as the Beijing Cultural Expo, and some works have won gold medals in the National Meticulous Painting Exhibition." Li Fengjie said.
Five or six years ago, new marketing models such as e-commerce, live streaming, and knowledge payment developed locally.
"In our Chujiazhuang Village, the studios in the village can generate millions of sales a year through online sales and agency contracts," Zhao Yanfei said.
At the same time, in order to fully tap the local "cultural resources" that cannot be copied, since 2021, Ningjin County will rely on Chujiazhuang Village to build a "Meticulous Painting Town", including the construction of a Meticulous Painting Service Center and a Meticulous Painting Experience Hall , sketching park and other supporting facilities.
Some villagers who do not know how to paint also eat the "tourism meal" brought about by the development of meticulous painting by opening homestays and restaurants.
Today, Ningjin has nearly 6,000 meticulous painting practitioners, creating more than 100,000 meticulous painting works annually, with an annual sales of about 500 million yuan. The works are exported to Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other countries and regions.
From "training stalls" to e-commerce, from food and clothing to rural revitalization, the Ningjin peasant fine brushwork industry is small and huge.
In the future, this northern Chinese village will continue to draw a new chapter of its own ink painting.
(Finish)