Taohuawu New Year Wood-block Prints 桃花坞木版年画

时间：2006年
Time: 2006
类别：民间美术
Category: Folk Arts
地区：江苏
Region: Jiangsu Province
编号：Ⅶ—3
Ref. No.: Ⅶ-3
申报地区或单位：江苏省苏州市
Nominating unit[s]: Suzhou city, Jiangsu Province
桃花坞木版年画产生于明代，当时在苏州七里山塘和阊门内桃花坞一带有数十家画铺，年产量多达数百万张，故以桃花坞为名。
Originating in the Ming Dynasty, Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints yielded millions of pieces each year in the scores of workshops around the area of Qilishantang and Taohuawu Street inside the Changmen Gate of Suzhou City, giving this art its’ name of Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints .
桃花坞木版年画盛于清代雍正、乾隆年间，最繁盛时期有张星聚、张文聚、魏宏泰、吕云林、陆福顺、陆嘉顺、墨香斋、张在、泰源、张临、季祥吉等画铺，稍后出现的王荣兴、陈同盛、陈同兴、吴锦增、吴太元、鸿云阁等画铺在当时亦有不小的影响。桃花坞木版年画曾流行江苏、上海、浙江等处，远销湖北、河南、山东各地，并流传到国外，日本的浮士绘等版画艺术受其影响甚大，英国、法国、俄罗斯、德国等亦有桃花坞木版年画作品收藏。
Flourishing most during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns of Qing Dynasty, Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints gave birth to a substantial sum of workshops in its peak period, such as the workshops of Zhang Xingju, Zhang Wenju, Wei Hongtai, Lv Yunlin, Lu Fushun, Lu Jiashun, Mo Xiang Zhai (Inky Studio), Zhang Zai, Tai Yuan, Zhang Lin and Ji Xiangji. In addition, other workshops founded several years later, such as Wang Rongxing, Chen Tongsheng, Chen Tongxing, Wu Jinzeng, Wu Taiyuan, Hong Yun Ge (Cloud Studio), also established their fame at the time. Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints were once popular in Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang, selling well as far as to Hubei Province, Henan Province and Shandong Province. They were also exported to other countries such as the UK, France, Russia and Germany wher Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints were collected. In addition, Japanese Wood-block prints such as ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) also benefited from the technologies used in the Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints.
桃花坞木版年画的画、刻、印分为三大谱系，在长期的创作、生产实践中，身怀绝技的老艺人各自摸索出了独特的经验，形成了一整套特殊的工艺制作程序。
Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints’ three pedigrees of working group, namely, painters, engravers and printers, over a long period of time, formed complete work flows with unique style through the old artisans’ design and production practices.
桃花坞木版年画制作一般分为画稿、刻版、印刷、装裱和开相五道工序，其中刻版工序又分上样、刻版、敲底和修改四部分，其主要工具为“拳刀”，同时以弯凿（剔空）、扁凿、韭菜边、针凿、修根凿、扦凿、水钵、铁尺、小棕帚等工具配合使用。套色印刷亦有一套程序，主要包括看版、冲色配胶、选纸上料（夹纸）、摸版、扦纸、印刷、夹水等步骤。
The making of Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints can be divided into five steps, namely, drawing the picture, engraving, printing, picture mounting and face coloring. The Wood-block engraving process includes pattern loading, line cutting, digging, and polishing. The key tools for these processes are the sloyd knife, and other instruments such as the bent chisel (for extraction), flat chisel, edge chisel, pointed chisel, pruning chisel, conical chisel, water bowl, iron ruler and coir brush are also used. The chromatic printing process is also divided into different steps, including block checking, mixing colors and clays, paper selecion and feeding, Wood-block feeling, paper-leading, printing, and absorbing excess water.
桃花坞木版年画继承了宋代的雕版印刷工艺，兼用人工着色和彩色套版，以门画、中堂、条屏为主要形式，题材多为祈福迎祥、驱凶避邪、时事风俗、戏曲故事等。
Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints inherited the craft of block printing from the Song Dynasty, and used artificial coloring and color chromatic printing at the same time. There are many varieties of these prints, including door-god pictures, central scrolls and hanging scrolls, and the themes are mainly about driving out evil spirits, praying and welcoming good luck, local customs, operas and legends, etc.
近三十年来，随着人们生活方式的改变，桃花坞木版年画的实用功能大大减弱，而纯粹的观赏功能反倒有所提高。市场的变化影响到桃花坞木版年画中传统技艺的留存，现代印刷技术的发展给传统木版年画的手工制版和印刷技巧造成巨大冲击。在此情势下，桃花坞木版年画的画铺越来越少，传统雕版技艺和染色印刷技术的传承也越来越困难，急需抢救、保护。
During the past three decades, with the changes in people’s lifestyle, the practical functions of Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints have greatly weakened, and its ornamental functions have been enhanced comparatively. The changes in market demand have influenced the survival of traditional crafts such as Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints, and the development of modern printing technology has brought challenges to the manual skills of block making and printing. Under these circumstances, existing workshops that make Taohuawu New Year wood-block prints have become fewer and fewer, and it has become more and more difficult to preserve the traditional techniques of block engraving and dyeing printing. Facing the potential loss of this art, many are calling for immediate rescue work, protective measures, and support policies from the government.