Author: Dan Yan Editor: Li Jin
Source: Marriage & Family Magazine
Danqing hundreds of thousands of scenes, all on the New Year's wall.
Tianjin Yangliu Youth Painting has a history of more than 400 years. Because of its bright colors, vivid and lively workmanship, it is known as the first of China's four major New Year paintings and the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
The engraving is the essence of Yangliu Youth Painting, such as the rhythm in the poem and the melody in the song, which is timeless and deep. The texture of the wood seems to tell the story of a thousand years, and the soft and powerful lines seem to depict the various states of life.
Every trace on the engraving plate of Yangliu Youth Painting embodies the painstaking efforts and wisdom of the craftsman, and they are like ancient musical notes, composing the gorgeous movement of Yangliu Youth Painting. Engraving is not only a display of skills, but also an emotional sustenance. It is engraved with the traces of time, carries the memory of history, and also conveys people's yearning and pursuit of a better life.
When it comes to the ancient art of New Year's paintings, we have to mention its inheritors. In the inheritance and improvement of the sixth generation inheritor Huo Qingshun and daughter-in-law Zhang Hong and granddaughter Huo Yuying, Yangliu Youth Painting has been recognized and loved by more people, and new artistic sparks have been continuously burst out, and the engraving passed down from generation to generation has also become the heirloom token of the Huo family.
Green bricks and tiles, deep ancient alleys. Along the alley, walking into Tianjin Yangliuqing Ancient Town, it is like walking into a long time. At the end of the alley, the moon gate opened, and a jujube red guise was picked out, and the "Yucheng Painting Village" came into view.
Huo Qingshun told the author: "During the Qianlong period, Yang Liuqing had more than 300 New Year painting workshops, and during the Anti-Japanese War, there was only one Yuchenghao left. In the turbulent era, the people were struggling to make a living, and the people couldn't eat enough, and they had no ability to protect the New Year's paintings. When the Japanese entered Tianjin, there were no roads, the streets were full of mud in the rainy season, and the wheels of the cars were slippery, so the Japanese soldiers went door to door to find wooden planks to pad the road, many of which were precious engravings, so the exquisite works of art were ruined in this way, which was a devastating blow to the engravings.
Now, we only have some old versions in our hands, and we must protect them. For example, there is an old version of the Eight Immortals, my father told me that this version is for the people of old Beijing, printed New Year's pictures and pasted on the hanging money, very novel, welcomed by the people, so this version has been left until now. ”
Zhang Hong, Huo Qingshun's daughter-in-law and the seventh-generation inheritor of "Yuchenghao", said: "These old objects are very handy to use, each one is a very valuable treasure, and at the same time, it is also a kind of spiritual encouragement, spurring me not to forget my roots, encouraging me to continue to pass on the Yangliu Youth Painting." ”
Huo Qingshun said: "Over the past few hundred years, the subject matter and content of Yangliu Youth Painting have been continuously enriched, but no matter how they evolve, they always contain the original intention of the people, that is, the ardent expectation for a better life!" ”
What Zhang Hong's family wants to inherit and carry forward is such a beautiful and original intention. For this reason, in May 2023, Zhang Hong's family won the title of "The Most Beautiful Family" in the country.
01
New Year's paintings are matchmakers, and classmates are united
In the small courtyard of "Yucheng Painting Village", Zhang Hong is busy, with short hair to his ears, and a autumn-colored cardigan, which is as elegant as a chrysanthemum. Zhang Hong's skills are skillful, the pen is dipped in pink paint, the wrist is relaxed, and the "menzi" (a special tool for the printing ink blank to be easily painted) is evenly turned, and the doll's pink and lovely red face jumps on the paper.
Hearing the author's praise, Zhang Hong put down the pen with a smile: "My skills are far worse than the old man, and he is a national-level inheritor." The "old man" in Zhang Hong's mouth is his father-in-law, Huo Qingshun, the sixth-generation inheritor of Yangliu Youth Painting "Yucheng Painting Village".
The father-in-law passed on the old skills to his daughter-in-law, and one person was inseparable: Huo Qingshun's son and Zhang Hong's husband Huo Shuwei. "Speaking of which, New Year's pictures are still a big matchmaker for me and my husband."
Zhang Hong and Huo Shuwei were junior high school classmates. In 1995, Zhang Hong went to Huo's house to visit the door, and as soon as he entered the door, he was shocked by the exquisite and atmospheric woodblock New Year paintings in the room. In the previous impression, the New Year's picture was a simple decoration pasted on the wall, or pasted on the door yellowing door god, she did not expect that the New Year's picture can also be so delicate, elegant in color, rich in connotation. Coming out of Huo's house, a dazzling array of New Year's pictures lingered in her mind. Since then, Zhang Hong and Huo Shuwei have had more topics, and she especially likes to listen to Huo Shuwei tell stories about New Year paintings.
"Yucheng Painting Village" was founded in 1926 by Huo Shuwei's grandfather Huo Yutang, and Mr. Lao was one of the only six veteran craftsmen in Yangliuqing Town after the founding of New China. Since the end of the 80s of the 20th century, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth of the first lunar month every year, a special family New Year painting exhibition will be held in the old courtyard of Huo Shuwei's family. It's a real family mobilization. The grandfather was responsible for plate making, printing, and mounting, the aunts were responsible for sketching and painting, and the uncle and father worked as carpenters and oilers, one making frames and the other lacquering.
At first, it was a family New Year painting exhibition, and then it spread ten, ten and hundred, and most of the people in the town would come, and the Huo family simply opened the door for everyone to have a good time. Adults look at paintings, and children carry lamps in their hands, burrowing through the crowd. When the others dispersed, Huo Qingshun told Huo Shuwei and the brothers about the New Year's painting under the lamp: "The lotus flower of the 'Lotus Year is more than enough' represents harmony and beauty, the fish represents wealth, the fish in the doll's hand is the carp head, crucian carp body, and goldfish tail, and the flower arrangement on the left side of the doll represents the girl, and the pigtail on the right represents the boy, and there are many sons and many blessings......"
Listening to Huo Shuwei's narration, a lively scene appeared in Zhang Hong's mind: rows of lanterns hung in the old courtyard, "more than the Lotus Year", "Spring Greeting", "Wind and rain", "Harvest of Grains"...... The red light reflects the smiling faces of the children, lively and festive, and the New Year's paintings are displayed in the courtyard, each with a colorful story, and each with an auspicious and beautiful meaning.
As he grew older, Zhang Hong's love for New Year's paintings continued unabated, and after graduation and work, he still often went to Huo Shuwei's house to see New Year's paintings, and the two young hearts gradually got closer. Seeing Uncle Huo concentrating on painting and sketching, Zhang Hong gradually had an idea in his heart: It would be great if he could learn to make New Year's pictures from his uncle. But the old craft pays attention to "passing on the inside but not the outside", will he agree?
Zhang Hong told Huo Shuwei his thoughts and concerns. Huo Shuwei frowned and sighed, "It's really a little difficult, but it's not impossible......" "What's the solution, say it quickly!" ”
"If you treat the old man as a daughter, you are not an outsider." Zhang Hong was stunned for a moment, and then looked at Huo Shuwei's narrow expression, and his face turned red.
02
The father-in-law taught with his heart, and the daughter-in-law studied seriously
Yangliu youth painting is divided into "hooking, engraving, printing, painting, mounting" 5 major processes, in order to ensure quality, producers often only engage in one in their lives, painting is Zhang Hong's strength, won the old man's true biography.
Huo Qingshun told Zhang Hong that in his heyday, Yang Liuqing had more than 300 painting houses, and more than 3,000 people were engaged in related work. "Our craftsmanship is not conservative, as long as it can endure hardships and truly love this skill, we welcome it."
In 1998, Zhang Hong officially worshipped Huo Qingshun as his teacher. Every holiday or work leisure, Zhang Hong went to learn from the old man. Zhang Hong is a very down-to-earth person who can sit still, and often forgets the time when he paints. While learning, love is also ripe. In 1999, Zhang Hong and Huo Shuwei tied the knot and soon gave birth to their daughter Huo Yuying.
When he was on maternity leave, Zhang Hong was not idle, studying while taking the baby. Huo Qingshun gave her an idea to paste a wall in her bedroom with newspapers and paste the sketch on it to practice painting. One of the masters and apprentices taught with heart, the other concentrated on learning, and the mother-in-law cooked the meal, and no one came to eat it several times. At four or five o'clock in the morning, Huo Shuwei woke up and saw Zhang Hong still sketching against the wall. Seeing his wife's hard work, Huo Shuwei took the initiative to take on most of the housework.
The master is also a father-in-law, but the original relationship between relatives and relatives also needs to be run-in. The old man is rigorous, quick-tempered, and straight-talking, and Zhang Hong is a little unaccustomed to it at first. Once, after Huo Qingshun saw Zhang Hong busy in the painting village alone, he framed dozens of New Year's paintings and reprimanded her. Zhang Hong was a little aggrieved and couldn't help but complain to his mother-in-law. The mother-in-law explained with a smile: "Your father is looking at you doing it alone, no one helps, and he is anxious, but he actually feels sorry for you." The old guy can't speak, and has been in this temper all his life. Zhang Hong understood at once.
Usually, Zhang Hong has a softer temperament, but as long as it involves the creation of New Year paintings, she will insist on expressing her ideas, and when she disagrees, she will argue with the old man. Huo Shuwei persuaded his wife: "Whatever the old man says, you should do it." "You are stupid and filial, fooling the old man." "Be flexible, listen to what you think makes sense, and ignore the rest." Zhang Hong thought about it and smiled.
Gradually, the master and apprentice got along more and more harmoniously, Huo Qingshun found that Zhang Hong had his own ideas and opinions, and some new design concepts were more in line with the aesthetics of modern people, and he praised them whenever he met people.
In 2016, Zhang Hong and Huo Qingshun participated in the national New Year painting seminar as the inheritors of Yangliu Youth Painting, in Zhang Hong's past cognition, New Year paintings were limited to Yang Liuqing, when she saw the New Year paintings in Mianzhu in Sichuan, Taohuawu in Suzhou and Weifang in Shandong, she found that New Year paintings are not only an old craft, but also a simple and vivid folk art. Zhang Hong had a new idea and set up a studio to let more people know about New Year paintings.
Zhang Hong discussed with Huo Shuwei: "If I set up a studio, I will have to resign...... Huo Shuwei was particularly supportive: "If you think about it, let it go." The studio was established, and Huo Qingshun personally hung up the time-honored brand of "Yucheng Painting Village". Looking at the heavy plaque, Zhang Hong suddenly felt the responsibility on his body. In September 2019, the studio was officially opened to the public, and Zhang Hong became the seventh generation of the "Yucheng Painting Village".
03
The family relays, and the skills are passed on forever
A hobby has become a career, and Zhang Hong is full of energy. One year before the Spring Festival, Zhang Hong received an order of 10,000 pairs of door gods, and the time was tight and the task was heavy. In the dead of night, all that was left was the rustling of the paper and the rustle of the tip of the pen on the paper. The ink fragrance is slow, and the sandalwood is curling, which makes people settle down physically and mentally. This is clearly a kind of enjoyment, Huo Shuwei understands Zhang Hong more and more.
Since then, he has come to the small courtyard from time to time to help, and he has taken over almost all the printing work in the studio. Zhang Hong praised him: "The old craftsmanship of the family has not only not been left behind, but has also become more and more sophisticated." ”
New Year's paintings should not only be inherited, but also new. In 2019, Zhang Hong took his first New Year painting "Fu" to participate in the exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Xiqing District, Tianjin. On the picture of the foundation red blessing, the bats connected with the four corners constitute the "five blessings and auspiciousness", which means praying for blessings and auspiciousness, and the four seasons flower pattern blesses the prosperity of the motherland. Among the many outstanding works, Zhang Hong's "Fu" stood out and won the highest award, the "Tianjin Fourth Arts and Crafts Award".
After winning the first battle, Zhang Hong's creation became more passionate. She has created a series of works such as "Welcoming the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China", "Chinese Mazu Love, a Family on Both Sides of the Strait", "Adding 100 Million Dollars to the Tiger", "Banknote" Level Rabbit", etc., and also tried cross-border design, combined with Tianjin's traditional hanging money to make New Year's paintings, and painted New Year's pictures from paper to fans......
Zhang Hong's creation is inseparable from the support and help of his family. From the beginning of each work to the idea, Zhang Hong first sought the master's opinion. The old man told her: "The skills of the ancestors cannot be lost, this is the bottom line, and for the rest, you can do it boldly." The two lines of the poem in the New Year's painting "Welcome to the 20th National Congress" "The people jointly build the Great Wall, and the dragon and tiger leap into the prosperous year" were contributed by Zhang Hong's father. The inspiration for the work "Like a Tiger Adds "100 Million" comes from her daughter's proposal, "100 million" is homophonic with "wings", and the little tiger with wings is majestic.
Speaking of his daughter, Zhang Hong was full of smiles. Huo Yuying, who is about to go to work, is the eighth generation inheritor of Yangliu Youth Painting. When Huo Yuying was only a few months old, Zhang Hong took her to her grandfather's painting village to sketch and study. When she was two or three years old, the little girl picked up a paintbrush and scribbled with her hands, and accidentally painted the New Year's pictures that the adults had worked so hard to draw into scrap. Zhang Hong was a little anxious to see the child causing chaos, but Huo Qingshun was very tolerant: "It's okay, how can you paint it?" Let's just practice more. ”
Probably because of the manual skills that can make people quiet, Huo Yuying's temperament has always been very stable. After school, she studied, her mother was sketching lines on the side, and the mother and daughter did not disturb each other. Zhang Hong rarely tells her daughter what she should do, but her dedication to art has had a great impact on Huo Yuying. She has excellent grades, from childhood to adulthood, and has been rated as a "three-good student" every year.
When she graduated from high school, Huo Yuying wanted to give her classmates a special graduation gift. Zhang Hong suggested: "It's better to send our New Year's paintings, but it has to be made by you to make it yourself." With Zhang Hong's help, her daughter spent more than two months presenting her own handmade New Year paintings to the teacher and the whole class.
Every year before the Spring Festival, it is the busiest time at home, and Huo Yuying also takes the initiative to contract some "small jobs" to help with printing, stamping, and packing. There are usually public welfare activities to promote Yangliu Youth Paintings, and Huo Yuying will accompany her grandfather and mother to participate whenever she has time, and the three generations of the old, middle and young people will play together.
As a "post-00s", Huo Yuying is very active in thinking and feels that Yangliu Youth Painting should be more diversified. In her sophomore year, she tried to design a "smoky fisherwoman pattern" cultural shirt based on the production techniques of New Year paintings. Zhang Hong didn't understand a little, and Huo Qingshun said directly: "It's black, is it good-looking?" Huo Yuying explained with a smile: "This is a popular element nowadays. ”
The first batch of 50 cultural shirts was placed in Zhang Hong's studio and quickly sold out. In addition to being gratified, Zhang Hong did not forget to warn his daughter: "Innovation is worth advocating, but you can't throw away old craftsmanship in order to cater to young people." Let's let more people understand and like Yangliu Youth Painting. ”
Zhang Hong hung a lot of lanterns in the small courtyard, and the walls of the exhibition hall were full of New Year paintings, which were open to tourists for free all year round. In order to better introduce the knowledge of New Year paintings, Zhang Hong also did his homework. Yangliu Youth's painting style is delicate, and there are more than 20 processes just to paint the faces of the characters. Zhang Hong said that just like a girl's makeup, the upper face is like foundation, the hooked face is like a highlight nose shadow, the face is like applying blush, and the powder is the makeup. The metaphor is apt and simple, and everyone remembers it at once.
If time permits, visitors can also have a printing experience, using a large palm brush with the thickness of their arms to dip the pigment evenly on the woodblock, covering it with rice paper, and then pressing it with a brown rake, gently uncovering, and a line drawing is completed.
In order to give everyone a better experience, Zhang Hong personally checked each work. Thousands of prints a day, arms and hands are no longer his own, but hearing everyone's cheers, especially looking at the bright smiling faces of the children when they hold up their works, Zhang Hong feels that it is particularly worthwhile.
More and more people fell in love with the Yangliu Youth Painting. Many people came here to book New Year's paintings for the coming year, and colleges and universities invited Huo Qingshun and Zhang Hong to show young people Yangliu Youth Paintings, and Zhang Hong's social account also has more and more fans.
"Carry forward the traditional culture and carry forward the fine family style" is the family motto of the Huo family. Zhang Hong specially asked someone to write it down and hang it in the most conspicuous place in the studio. Inheriting the Yangliu Youth Painting is the common cause of Zhang Hong's family. Convey beauty and always keep the original intention, just like the fat doll in the "Lotus Year", which has always brought joy and hope to people for hundreds of years.