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Wood Block Print – Madame White Snake

03/10/2015 //
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 W550 X H390mm, China

 A famous scene from the opera Madame White Snake.  The story was set at the West Lake in Sung dynasty, one day in the rain the young gentleman Xu Xian (left figure) saw two pretty girl at the pier and offered the umbrella to them leading to the romance of the story.  Earlier on, Xu Xian rescued a white snake, it was moved and fell in love with Xu.  The white snake transformed herself into Bai (white – right figure) Su Zhen and together with her friend Qing Qing (green – middle figure) appeared at the pier.  Under her magical spell, Xu fell in love with Bai.  As time goes by, many strange incident happened because of Bai and Qing.  Xu Xian was approached by monk Fa Hai who told him the truth about his wife being a serpent spirit and gave him a monk’s bowl.  As Xu Xian place the bowl over his wife’s head, Bai and Qing returned to their original selves.  Monk Fa Hai took the bowl with the two spirits and build a Lei Feng pagoda on top of them.

Click here to see other craft items featuring decoration on the story of Madame White Snake.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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Wood Block Print – Door Gods

03/09/2015 //
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W460 X H420mm, China

This pair of Door Gods are Qin Qiong (left) and Wei Chi Gong (right).

Do you know how this famous pair got to become the Door Gods?
Here is how the story goes; one fine day during the Tang dynasty an old dragon made a bet with a fortune teller and for this he violated the law of the heaven.  As a punishment ,the supreme god Jade Emperor ordered Wei Zheng to have it killed at noon the next day.   Hearing the news, the old dragon went to see the Tang Emperor and begged him to help him, the Tang Emperor agreed.  The next day the Tang Emperor summon Wei Zheng to court and asked him to play a game of Chinese chess with him, hoping that if the game is long enough he will miss the noon execution.  During the long game Wei Zheng dosed off and in his dream he went to kill the dragon.  Not knowing the whole story,  the ghost of the dragon felt bitter that the Tang Emperor did not keep his words and came to haunt the court everyday.  Wei Zheng found out and send 2 generals, Qin Qiong and Wei Chi Gong, to guard the gate of the palace and this scared off the dragon.  The Tang Emperor felt bad that the 2 generals do not get a break and asked artists to make a painting of them to be put on the doors, and this seems to have the same effects, the rumor spread and now the door gods are all over China.

This print is from the Tao Hua Wu school which specializes in book illustration since the Sung dynasty, it has very fine lines and spectrum of colour (each colour would require an additional printing block).  Click here to see another print of the same two character by a different print maker, school of Zhuxian, which are characterized by bolder lines, vivid colours and more dramatic composition.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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Wood Block Print – Votive Offering in Xianshang

03/06/2015 //
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W600 X H170mm, China

A opera theme wood block print – Votive Offering in Xianshang.

The story is about princess Miao Shang, the youngest daughter of ruler of the Miao kingdom.  Miao Shang had an unhappy marriage and decided to become a nun.  The ruler hated this idea of his own daughter, the royal princess, becoming a nun. He struck a deal with her, if the flowers she planted on a rocky cliff in chilly October could blossom she would be allowed to start her training.  Miraculously the cliff was blooming with flowers that October, Miao Shang departed for her journey of Buddhism.  The ruler was not at all happy and summoned for her returned, she ignored all his requests.  Years later, the ruler got very sick, the doctors prescribed a odd dose of medicine which required a close relative’s eye and hand to be added the mixture.  The two elder sisters refused, when Miao Shang heard about the news she rushed back and sacrificed an eye and a hand for her father.  Soon after the ruler recovered she left for her training again.  Unable to see his beloved daughter, the ruler ordered for the monastery to be burnt.  On her escape, Miao Shang’s route was blocked by a tiger while the army was just behind her, unwilling to abandon her training she gave herself up to the tiger which swallowed her in one gulp.  Miao Shang woke up inside a cave in Xianshang, there she started meditating.  When the ruler finally found her in the cave she has already turned into the Avalokitsevara (the bodhisattva with a thousand hands and a thousand eye).  Since then, the ruler would bring votive offering to Xianshang every year.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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Wood Block Print for Window Decoration

03/05/2015 //
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAW410 X H770mm, China

This is a wood block print is a special type of wood block print that is used to decorate the window.

They are divided into 3 categories;
– on the side of the window
– on top of the window
– on the window lattice

Those for the side of the window are generally long, like this one (which is to be cut into 2 long strips).  The theme are mostly of the flower with traditional flower vases.  This particular print features the peony and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

The one that are placed over the window are horizontal and long, an example of this will be featured in tomorrow’s post.

Those placed on the window lattice resembles paper cutouts for the same purpose.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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Wood Block Print – Kirin Boy

03/03/2015 //
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W320 X H490mm, China

If you notice from yesterday’s post, The 5 Blesssings, on either side of the print is a mother holding a baby riding on a monster looking creature.

This is no monster but a mythical kind creature known as the Kirin, Ki refers to the male creature and Rin the female.  It has  the head of a dragon, horns of a deer, eyes of a lion, the body of a tiger, the scale of fish.  Apart from its ability to offer protection to the family, it also has a special task and that is in delivering babies.  A bit like the stork’s role in the western world.  It is believe that the kirin delivered Confucius 2500 years ago.

Click here to see our items featuring the Kirin Boy.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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Wood Block Print – The 5 Blessings

03/02/2015 //
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W400 X H280mm, China

The phrase 五福同堂 (5 Blessings within the Family) is a common Chinese well wishes.  Do you know that the 5 blessings are?

The 5 blessings are;
– longevity
– wealth
– health
– humanity
– a dignify death

As the word “blessing” 福 has the same sound as the word “bat” 蝠.  One could often found bats as a decorative elements and most of the time, 5 of them.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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New Year Print Exhibition

02/27/2015 //
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New Year Prints are traditional decorations for the Chinese New Year, the theme of these wood block prints are most often blessings and well wishes.

This year to celebrate the Year of the Ram, over 100 prints we have collected over the years will be on show and available for sale.

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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Wood Block Print – Return to Jing Zhou

02/26/2015 //
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W270 X H400mm, China

This pair of wood block print is not about blessings but scene from a opera story “Return to Jing Zhou”, set in the 3 Kingdom Period.
Click here for the full story about Return to Jing Zhou and a print from the Yangliuqing school of the same theme.

What is interesting about this print is the carving, 明正德九年雍山老人藏板 (stamp collected by old man of Yongshan in the year 1515 of the Ming dynasty) on the stamp.  It is unlikely that the prints were made by the stamp collected in Ming dynasty but from a duplication of it.  What these prints offer is a glimpse of the opera in the Ming dynasty and are often refer to in the historical theater research.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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Wood Block Print – Fu Shou Xi

02/25/2015 //
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W260 X H350mm, China

After the description from yesterday’s post, would you be able to tell whom these Gods are?

The two prints are of the same theme, Fu shou and Xi (Blessing, longevity and happiness).  This particular print is from the school of Zhuxian which are characterized by bolder lines, vivid colours and more dramatic composition.  The school of Zhuxian is recognized as one of the 4 main schools of Chinese wood block printing.  The print from yesterday’s post with finer lines, more detail description and paler colours are from Yangjiabu school, one of the most popular school in the Ming and Qing dynasty.

It is interesting to compare two prints of the same theme and see how the artisan depicts the prints, almost like saying the same phrase with two different dialect.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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Wood Block Print – Fu Shou Xi

02/24/2015 //
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W370 X H650mm, China

The recent generations of the Chinese are familiar with the Gods – Fu Lu Shou, the trio that stood in the prime location of the living room almost like an alter piece.  Its only recently that I discovered that they are no a trio but a group of five!  Nowadays rarely seen together, the five are made up of Fu, Lu, Shou, Xi and Cai.

Fu – God of Blessing – dressed in red robe holding large “ru yi” scepter
Lu – God of Fortune – holding a decree from the Emperor
Shou – God of Longevity – old man holding cane and peach
Xi – God of Happiness – holding a kid
Cai – God of Wealth – holding golden ingot

In this print, the trio are Fu in the middle with Shou on the right and Xi on the left.

Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition

MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION

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