Foshan New Year Posters

Foshan is famously known as one of the ancient folk art cities dedicated to preserving the tradition of Chinese New Year posters. The posters are classed as one of the “four famous woodblock New Year posters” along with Tianjin’s Yangliuqing, Suzhou’s Taohuawu and Shandong’s Weifang posters.

Situated in the south of China in the Guangdong Province, Foshan has a rich culture in folk arts which it continues to protect and preserve today. It is dedicated to preserving its unique artistic heritage and supports its local artisans in their traditional crafts.

The history of Foshan New Year posters can be traced back to the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties when people used to carve images of gods on their door to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck in the year to come. This custom was extremely popular in the Guangdong province and other southern provinces in China.

Over time, the carvings gradually developed into prints and paintings made for the New Year celebrations. It was during the Yongle period (1403-1425) in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) that this tradition was adopted by Foshan and New Year posters started to feature on walls, doors and windows throughout the city.

There are three main types of New Year posters available in Foshan. Shouhui are original paintings, muyin are wood printings and Muyintianse incorporates both painting and wood prints.

Themes and subjects of New Year posters in Foshan are wide and limitless. Many posters have images of gods and spirits while others feature historical figures or stories from the local classical opera. All posters include an essence of the local area and represent the area’s culture and heritage.

Foshan New Year posters are distinguished by the simple colours used in most posters. Red, yellow and green dominate the colour palette within Foshan folk art. Orange backgrounds are also a distinguishable feature of Foshan New Year posters. Gold and silver linings are often added to belts, armour and gowns of images to add a touch of sophistication to the playful designs.

There is only one workshop left in Foshan which is dedicated to creating imaginative New Year woodblock posters. Opened by the craftsman Feng Jun, the workshop is called “Feng Jun Ji” and is affectionately known as “door god jun”. Feng Jun Ji was known throughout China as the representative of Foshan woodblock New Year posters during the Republic of China (1912-1949). Feng Jun’s son and grandson continue to create new, innovational New Year posters.

The Foshan Folk Arts Research Association was established in 1956 to research, preserve and promote local folk art. The association has played a vital role in protecting and developing the artistic foundations of Foshan. With their support, hopefully the tradition of New Year posters will be present in Foshan for many Chinese New Years to come.