Huangzhong peasant painting (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Master Dang Minghan shows the charm of peasant life and rural scenery to the world through peasant painting, a national intangible cultural heritage.

58-year-old artist Dang Minghan was born into a peasant’s family in northwest China’s Huangzhong county, Qinghai province. He started his career in art 35 years ago.

“I’m an inheritor of peasant painting; it doesn’t belong to me alone. It belongs to all peasants. My mission is to pass on the cultural legacy of our ancestors’ love for their hometown,” Dang said.

Huangzhong peasant painting is a modern folk art featuring Han and Tibetan cultures, traced back to the 1970s. “Themes are based on life in rural areas. The techniques stem from traditional art forms like paper cutting, shadow puppet art and embroidery,” he explained.

Dang Minghan and a peasant painter are exchanging views on peasant painting. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

In 2010, Dang and his son Dang Wanxiao visited a village near Shanghai, where they communicated with and learned from folk artists from nine communities that are famous for peasant painting throughout China. After three years of learning, Dang was determined to carry forward Huangzhong peasant painting, as it is very different from other types of peasant painting.

“Most areas of Qinghai province are pastoral. We live in the mountains or on grasslands. Therefore, we have many ethnic-minority themes,” he added.

Dang's son has shown peasant painting to the world. Thanks to the internet, Huangzhong peasant painting is now going global, with tourists from countries such as Japan, Bolivia and Germany visiting Huangzhong county to see this folk art.

Dang Minghan is teaching her son painting skills. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Although popular, the development of Huangzhong peasant painting is facing certain obstacles. Very few young people are willing to learn the skill as it is still a small-scale industry, and is not particularly lucrative.

To carry forward peasant painting, Dang Minghan and his son are now teaching young people this folk art for free. They also plan to print the paintings on souvenirs such as fans and cups, so more people can learn about the art form as well as bring in more profits for the artists.

“We need to protect this traditional art form, and inject vitality into it through innovation,” Dang Wanxiao noted.