Fine art. Urban folklore, lantern festivals

Author: Lu Zhongmin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Directly reflects the folk life of the streets, which can be said to be a prominent feature of folk paintings. It targets the vast common people and strives to make both its form and content accessible to those with low education levels, thus becoming a carrier of urban folk culture. The section of folk paintings titled "Lantern Festival" records the styles of paper-cut lanterns, which are rare folk cultural artifacts today. The back also prints riddles, adding to the enjoyment of collecting folk paintings. In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, China's weak national industry flourished, urban populations rapidly increased, and various trades and small merchants flocked to cities, promoting the prosperity of urban market economies. "Mountain people gather, city folk play" – games and entertainment were not only an important part of urban life but also opportunities for merchants, business owners, and people from all walks of life to make a living. Directly reflecting the folk life of the streets can be said to be a prominent feature of folk paintings. Among the folk paintings we selected, there are sets like "Three Hundred and Sixty Trades," "Seventy-Two Trades," "Urban Folk Culture," "Small Merchants," "New Industries," and "Vagabond Arts." The term "urban folk" originally referred to the markets within cities, where people gathered to trade. The Book of Changes states: "When the sun rises, the market opens, bringing together the people of the land and gathering its goods, exchanging and returning, each finding what they need." The Guanzi says: "Merchants must be near the market." The urban folk culture of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China depicted in folk paintings is like pieces of glass being placed into a kaleidoscope, dazzling to the eye. In folk paintings, in addition to depicting urban trades, there are also rich portrayals of urban and rural folk life, such as: celebratory themes like temple fairs, dragon dances, firecrackers and kites, weddings, and birthday celebrations; Buddhist themes like the Ghost Festival, the Jingwang Temple, and the Tianhou Palace; and daily life and production scenes like singing folk songs, drawing water with a water wheel, tying ropes, washing clothes, and washing fish. These are all part of the kaleidoscope of urban folk life, from which we seem to return to a bygone, humanistic era, seeing a real past experienced by our ancestors.