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Woodcut Book

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The Woodcut Artists The Woodcut Artists The Woodcut Artists The Woodcut Artists

Woodcut Artists interviewed in Weifang, Shandong: Yang Fu-yuan and Yang Hai-jun

Yangjiabu in Shandong Province is also famous for its woodcut New Year pictures, which are made for the Spring Festival. They feature beautiful designs with bright, delightful colors. They fit the mood of people hoping for a happy life, a fresh start at the beginning of a year, and a new cycle of perpetual life. Popular themes for New Year pictures include the home, family blessings, the harvest, longevity, safety, and prosperity. The making of woodcut pictures involves many steps, from the initial drafting of the design to engraving the woodcut, printing with black and color inks, and finishing with detailed touch-ups.

This book is a woodcut picture collection featuring twenty-four stories about xiao, or filial piety, a love and respect for parents and ancestors, which is one of the most important virtues in Confucian thought. For example, the fifth story of the book is about a son so anxious to get deer milk to cure his parents’ eye disease that he wore a deerskin and ventured into the deer herd, where he was almost killed by hunters.


This Chinese book reads right to left
[To read the book, turn the pages at the bottom corners]


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