Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 23. (Budapest, 2004)

Mária FERENCZY: Door Gods. Art and Craftsmanship in the various styles of Chinese New Year Pictures

Standing on the back of a dragon, wearing metalworker's clothes, gloves and an eye-guard and holding a hook. He is holding a steel-cast in his hand which is surrounded by bursts of flames and thereby bears similarity to the flaming pearl in the earlier depictions. Just as the flaming pearl, it represents magical value, since the most important tools are made of it. On the bottom part of the picture, in place of the waves of the sea, the waves of molten steel can be seen. In picture No. 22/a the young woman standing on the back of a phoenix is wearing her best skirt and a mantelet; she is raising high silk cocoons in a basket (?) and holding a hoe in her right hand. On the bottom part of the picture, ears of corn are swaying. In both pictures, colourful clouds are floating.

49 That is, this pair of pictures wish and promise abundant harvest, fruitful work, wealth and further growth with traditional means or, rather, elements. The figures are placed on the back of a dragon and a phoenix, and thus elevated above the level of conventional reality; they are, however, no longer depicted as gods. An important political programme is formulated by the picture (without words), namely, that continuous growth requires the cooperation of the city and the country.

50 Though I have selected but a small section of the world of New Year pictures, and did not have the opportunity to analyse a large number of examples, these examples were sufficient to give an insight into this rich tradition. It pointed out the fact that in order to perform the same function (to keep off demons), the figures of gods were represented in variegated forms and were given various names. In many respects, the naming is connected with the culture of the literate, while the representation is in connection with the "high" art and yet conveys a peculiar quality. We had the opportunity to observe the local variations of the style (mainly the styles of Yangliuqing, Weixian and Mianzhu, and those of the other North Chinese centres) and to draw conclusions concerning the users' social status (our examples range from pieces worthy of belonging to the imperial collection to pictures of rustic style yet of complex content). We could observe the graceful and variegated composition of various elements of the system of beliefs as well as the flexibility of living folklore. Maybe even these few examples were suffice to illustrate the way New Year pictures embrace modern elements with the naturalness characteristic of folklore - this is how it can be transformed from a natural medium of handing down traditions to a means of political propaganda. The selected pictures, though lacking detailed documentation, imply a weakening tradition as well as the attempt to recreate elements of traditional culture. In the second half of the 20"

1 century we could see pictures of traditional subject matter and style, where the artists' programme is to revive ancient subject matters and styles. Presently, special literature records several artists and there are many noteworthy pictures produced. However, as they too make use of the tradition creatively (just as the artists of the past did!), it is not uncommon for the styles and motifs to blend and, in the course of the disintegration of the old way of life, certain elements of the tradition lose their meaning. On the basis of the above examples, we can well raise the question: What changes will this branch of (folk) art undergo? Which values can be preserved by enthusiastic keepers of the tradition, when the old way of life is getting transformed, regional isolation is decreasing, the genre have already been devoured by political propaganda and the construction of a national identity is rising new interest in and demand for some of the traditional values? Answering these questions, however, requires further essays. (Translated by Zsuzsanna Tóth)