New Year pictures originated from the ancient "door god painting", which is a traditional folk art in China.
At the end of the year, many areas in China have the custom of posting New Year pictures, door gods and couplets, which contain the meaning of blessing the New Year and auspiciousness.
Because new works are replaced at the end of each year, they are called "New Year paintings".
Wuqiang County, Hebei Province is known as the "Hometown of New Year Paintings".
Woodblock New Year paintings in Wuqiang began around Song and Yuan Dynasties, and have a history of nearly a thousand years. They are known as "the epitome of Chinese farming society" and "the grand view garden of folk life".
In 2006, Wuqiang New Year Pictures was selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection list, which is an outstanding representative of Chinese folk art.
In the studio of Ma Xiqin, the representative inheritor of Wuqiang woodblock New Year paintings, a national intangible cultural heritage, he is holding a crescent knife to carve the representative Wuqiang woodblock New Year paintings "Six Sons Playing Picture".
As the Spring Festival is approaching, New Year pictures that symbolize auspiciousness such as "Flowers Bloom Wealth", "More Than Years" and "Lucky Chinese Zodiac" are very popular.
It is Ma Xiqin's efforts over the years to let traditional New Year pictures enter thousands of households.
Ma Xiqin said that with the development of the times, people's cultural needs have also changed. In the creation, new themes and new expressiveness should be given to New Year pictures, and the presentation forms of New Year pictures should also be continuously enriched.
(Xing Lu, Cui Zhiping, Zhu Pengfei)
Responsible editor: [Li Ji]