Linfen, Fushan and Jiangzhou are the the main regions for woodblock printing production in Shanxi. The creative New Year prints from these counties are known as Pingyang folk prints because the county of Linfen was formally named Pingyang.
Pingyang New Year woodblock prints are classed as the ancestor of Chinese New Year posters. They originated in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and were quickly distributed through the Shanxi province in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). They become popular throughout the province in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) Dynasties with the industry strong in the Linfen, Fushan and Jiangzhou areas. There were more than one hundred workshops producing more than one hundred million New Year prints annually.
Unfortunately during the Japanese invasion, many New Year original posters and prints were destroyed with the folk art on the verge of extinction in areas such as Xiangfen and Xinjiang. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949), Pingyang New Year woodblock posters began to be revived within Linfen and its neighbouring areas.
In 2002, The Pingyang woodblock New Year Posters Museum was opened in Linfen by Mr. Zhao Dayong with the authorization of the Shanxi Bureau of Cultural Relics.
Pingyang New Year woodblock posters combine the skills of carving, painting and printing to produce bold and colourful images and designs appreciated by many. Pingyang New Year woodblock posters remain a cherished tradition during Chinese New Year and can be seen throughout towns and villages in China all year round.
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