Relationship between Jinnan Opera New Year Paintings and Local Opera Performances in the Qing Dynasty

Abstract

As a typical representative of traditional folk art forms in China, woodblock New Year pictures are not only decorations during festive seasons but also an encyclopedia reflecting the folk social life in our country. The woodblock New Year pictures in southern Shanxi Province, which combine painting, engraving and printing, are also a product of the "New Year culture". Among them, the opera-themed New Year pictures are abundant in quantity, wide in subject matter and exquisite in craftsmanship, providing us with numerous historical information about opera performances. Meanwhile, they also offer new materials for understanding the appearance of opera at that time and its social functions.