Intangible culture heritage of Tantou woodblock New Year printings revived

Tantou woodblock New Year printings, one of China’s intangible culture heritages, is gradually being revived in Changsha, the provincial capital of central China’s Hunan province, amid the nation’s reminiscence of traditions for the upcoming Spring Festival.

Chinese New Year paintings are a part of Chinese folk culture and the celebratory practice is believed to have originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD). The characters on the paintings often feature immortals or heroes from folklores to pray for guardianship and prosperity in the New Year.

The Tantou woodblock New Year printings from Hunan were included on the list of China’s intangible cultural heritage in 2006. The printings, which originated in Tantou Township of Shaoyang City in Hunan, can be traced back to the late Ming Dynasty. In the early 1900s, the New Year woodblock printings entered a golden age, not only selling well in the northern and southern parts of the country, but also being exported to more than 10 countries and regions in Southeast Asia, with annual sales exceeding 30 million pieces.

However, the traditional skill has gradually faded away as fewer people carry on the tradition of hanging the New Year paintings and because the printing process is complicated. In total, 22 procedures, which start with scratching bamboo, is required, and this long process has lost appeal among some of the younger apprentices.

In 2017, Zhong Xinglin, daughter of Zhong Haixian and Gao Lamei, two inheritors of the tradition, set out to rescue the skill by setting up the first Tantou woodblock New Year printings workshop in Changsha.

As the nation continues to steps up efforts to preserve the intangible cultural heritages of China, more and more people are turning their attention toward traditional skills. Zhong and her workshop not only provide lessons on woodblock New Year printings, but she also hopes to design more products that combine the traditional woodwork with modern products, so as to better preserve the tradition.