Old calendar prints: Last glimpse

Author: Deng Ming / Gao Yan (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features:
Monthly calendar prints were a commercial painting popular in urban and rural areas of China before the 1970s, produced in Shanghai. They were named after the inclusion of a lunar calendar on the image. The tradition of posting New Year prints for blessings during Chinese New Year has long been practiced in China. Woodblock prints with the twenty-four solar terms calendar printed on them were often replaced annually in households for convenience in production and daily life. It was this enduring visual style that provided unparalleled promotional opportunities for goods, and for a considerable period, monthly calendar prints were given free with the purchase of goods. Compared to traditional woodblock prints, monthly calendar prints typically had three features:
1. A bilingual lunar-solar calendar, which was a continuation and development of the former;
2. Pleasing aesthetic appeal, which surpassed the former, using modern lithography or offset printing techniques to create rich, realistic color images that were more vivid and emotionally engaging than the single-line flat-tinted woodblock prints;
3. Product advertising, which supplemented the former and became the driving force behind its survival.
With the spread of the commodity economy across the country, monthly calendar prints rapidly became popular in all regions. By the 1920s, they had gained absolute dominance in the calendar print market. Meanwhile, the calendar function faded, while the aesthetic and advertising functions became more prominent, and the name "monthly calendar print" was retained.
The typical technique for creating monthly calendar prints involved a blend of Western dry brush sketches and watercolor. After sketching the figure's outline, the artist would first use the tip of a brush with most of its hairs tied back, dipped in a small amount of charcoal powder, to lightly create a sense of volume. This would then be overlaid with transparent watercolor, producing a rich and luminous skin effect and an almost lifelike texture of clothing. In 1914, this dry brush and watercolor technique was pioneered by Zheng Mantuo, an Anhui artist who had moved to Shanghai. It quickly replaced the old method of line drawing and coloring due to its resemblance to glossy photographs—sweet, tender, and delicate—and became the mainstream technique for monthly calendar prints, highly favored by readers.
The themes of monthly calendar prints were not extensive, mainly including five categories: elegant women, children, historical stories, opera characters, and famous scenic spots. Among these, fashionable and traditional elegant women and children were the most common. Although some works depicting modern subjects like cars and airplanes occasionally appeared, there was little room for men.
The paper used for monthly calendar prints came in two types: cardstock and copperplate paper. Early on, smaller-sized hard cardstock was commonly used, with the calendar printed on the back. Later, large-sized copperplate paper became the mainstream, and some were even wrapped with metal thin sheets at the top for hanging. Hard cardstock continued to be popular in the form of calendar boards, and it was still occasionally seen in the 1980s.
The background of monthly calendar prints was primarily created using dry brush techniques, with watercolor applied directly. The colors were bright, the perspective was accurate, and the overall effect was highly realistic. The edges of the prints were often decorated with patterned borders, either elaborate or simple, and featured advertising text or the names of manufacturers. The product images placed in one corner of the print were usually small but exquisite, with strong texture and inviting detail, serving as the "eye" of the print and its true focal point. These products were mostly cigarettes, but also included kerosene, soap, mosquito coils, fabrics, cosmetics, daily necessities, alcohol, medicines, and even fertilizers, among others, covering a wide range of items.
As the birthplace and main production center of monthly calendar prints, Shanghai was home to a large number of professional artists specializing in this genre. In addition to Zheng Mantuo, other notable artists included Zhou Muqiao, Xu Yongqing, Ding Yunxian, Zhou Baisheng, Ni Gengye, Liang Dingming, Hang Zhiying, Jin Meisheng, Jin Xuanchen, and Li Mubai, among others. They were either employed by domestic and foreign manufacturers or operated their own studios, serving clients with prints and training apprentices, with many works by them in circulation. Among the manufacturers that valued the promotional function of monthly calendar prints were (W), (Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company), (Shangwu Book Company), and (Xinyi Pharmaceutical Factory), which even set up dedicated advertising departments to create various monthly calendar prints for different types of products.
In the 1950s, with the implementation of a planned economy, the promotional function of monthly calendar prints for goods quickly disappeared, while their aesthetic function was preserved due to popular appeal and government support. The new monthly calendar prints made significant progress in both theme and technique, evolving into a pure art form of New Year prints. Some outstanding works even had cumulative print runs of millions.