By Wang Fengjuan

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Traditional Chinese New Year Pictures Find New Life

By Wang Fengjuan

yu Xinghua， a 24-year-old expert on Chinese woodcutting， was an active participant in the Ninth China（Weifang） Culture and Arts Exhibition Fair in Weifang， a city in China’s Eastern Shandong Province. The Exhibition is known as a showcase for traditional forms of Chinese hand drawn artwork， and this year’s edition， held from April 15-19， was no ditherent.

Yu registered the brand “Qi Weifang”（meaning “spectacular Weifang”） before the event， adding a modern twist to traditional Chinese New Year drawings， a type of woodblock print dating back centuries. Though demand among young people for traditional goods is low， Yu’s ability to blend old and new into a unique art form has really taken off.

Once he finishes an item， Yu uploads a photo of it to his Weibo account， a Chinese micro-blog service.

“I am very happy when people like my work，” Yu said.

As a native of Weifang， Yu has been influenced by traditional Chinese art forms since birth. Early on in his childhood， he developed a particular interest in Chinese woodcut New Year pictures. For his final art project before university graduation，Yu incorporated kites， tigers and other traditional Chinese art elements into mock packaging design for Western food chains. His designs became popular quickly.

“Innovation means breaking through the limitations of other people’s ideas，” Yu said. “I feel I am brave to break through.”

A flavor of fashion in Yu’s hand-drawn traditional Chinese New Year Pictures

Yu Xinghua working on a new design

Yu enjoyed drawing from a young age， and carried his interest into adulthood. As a second-year university student， he participated in an event organized by his school to travel to Yangjiabu， a village in northern Shandong Province， the birthplace of Chinese woodcut pictures. There， he and his classmates received practical training. He quickly began integrating modern elements into these traditional art forms，winning first place in his class.

“I wanted to come up with another way to carry forward the traditional culture of my hometown，” he said.

In September 2015， Yu started his own business.

“By printing traditional New Year pictures on postcards， commercial packages and t-shirts， we carry forward a traditional culture by bringing it into the lives of young people，” Yu said. “It’s really quite different from the traditional New Year pictures， and clearly， a lot of changes need to be made to make the products popular among young people.”

Hand-drawn products have remained mostly the same throughout their history in Weifang， with exception to Yu’s company.

During the 2016 Chinese Spring Festival in February， Yu gave his first show. He showcased Qi Weifang hand-drawn cartoon editions of city maps featuring local cultural sites and related activities. Cloth tigers， dragon head kites and town gods holding radishes all featured， giving tourists an entertaining way to learn about local culture， food and sites.

Creating this map took a lot of effort. In order to add a representative building on each street corner， he had to walk through the city himself and record the location of each site. It took him 106 days to finish the map. Upon its completion， however， Yu discovered there is a market for his work.

“By means of my Weibo account， I sold 1，000 maps within a month，” Yu said. That was far beyond his expectations.

“Many people made a special trip all the way up here to purchase unfolded maps，” he added. “They then mounted them as decorations. Most customers have been young people.”

While his success has been relatively modest， Yu is proud to know there is a market for modern twists on traditional culture.

As his reputation has grown， cooperative opportunities have come Yu’s way. He has found himself working with various emerging businesses. Recently， a former classmate named Xu Tong joined his studio.

A desk and a computer in his bedroom was his original studio but with increased production， Yu found he needed more space. Yu and Xu set up a new studio in the local Taihua business district， downtown Weifang’s busiest area. Previously， Yu found it difficult to free his mind at home.

“I could only exchange ideas with my parents，” Yu said. “That was not a good environment for coming up with new and better ideas.”

Currently， Yu and Xu share the 50 square meter space with two other designers. They found the rent to be comparatively cheap shared among four people， so they did not feel much financial pressure. More importantly， this was a meaningful step for Yu. the four designers named their new space the Bai Lang Youth Artists’ Cooperative. In the local dialect， bai lang means to be down to earth and sensible.

“Looking forward， I feel confident，” Yu said. “I have thought about the potential of failure， and I know the casualty rate of young businesses like mine is very high.”

Still， he is not completely sure about what his future holds. A recent graduate，he is still in the early stages of his career.

“Perhaps I should study，” he said. “I hope to expand my horizons and increase my knowledge.”

In any event， the two partners have not dared to relax since starting the business.

“We need to build our market and after all， we live in a city of nine million people，” Yu said. “What we can do is offer our clients options on the level of detail they require. My hand-drawn designs are characterized by their combination of modern illustrations and traditional New Year woodcut pictures. I hope I will find a particular way to combine them into a successful business model.”