Jiangzhou woodblock New Year pictures have a wide range of themes and can be divided into eight categories: door gods, gods, ladies, opera stories, education, practicality, blessings and box bottoms.
There are about a dozen categories of door gods, such as "Qin Qiong Jingde", "Zhao Yun Protects His Son", "Zhang Xian Protects His Son", posted in different locations according to different contents, such as Zhong Kui's On both sides of the gate.
The gods are mainly Kitchen God, heaven and earth, land, ancestors, Zhong Kui, industry founders and gods of life. In this category, the worship of Guan Gong is also an important content, mainly focusing on reading "Spring and Autumn" at night and promoting officials and distributing wealth. There is a picture of Guan Gong engraved by the "Du Wu Liu" painting shop. The carving method is neat and can be called a fine product.
In addition, there are also wealth horses and mythical beasts. The money horse evolved from the paper horse and is the most widely used category of Jiangzhou woodblock New Year pictures. It is posted in all aspects of the home during the New Year, taking the meaning of good luck
. The contents are mostly based on "The First Grade to the Dynasty", "Blessing from the Heavenly Official", "Liu Hai Playing with Toad", "Harmony of Two Immortals", etc. The mythical beasts evolved from totem worship, mainly including "Spring Ox" and "Sacred Tiger".
Pictures of ladies are not only the content of traditional paintings, but also an important theme in Jiangzhou woodblock New Year pictures. They have developed from ancient costumes to pictures of ladies in modern cheongsam. Among them, there are a large number of pictures of sending children, most of which express people's desire to have children and have descendants, mainly "Qilin Sending Children" and "Celestial Immortals Sending Children".
The opera stories are mostly based on opera. In terms of expression form, they are mostly small, with four pictures in a couplet. Some are captures of interesting things in life, such as "Monkey Grabbing a Hat". According to legend, an old man pushed a cart of straw hats and passed by Monkey Mountain. The straw hats were snatched away by a group of monkeys. The old man was quick to wit, and lured the monkeys with wine. , and finally the monkey got drunk and took back the straw hat.
The education category mainly focuses on "Twenty-Four Filial Piety" and encouragement to learn. Among them, "Twenty-Four Filial Piety" later existed in two sets, the late Ming and early Qing editions and the late Qing edition. In the category of encouraging learning, there are mainly more than 20 paintings such as "Pictures of Famous Virtues" and "Teaching Children in the Boudoir".
Practical ones mainly include window paintings, lamp paintings and ancient books. The contents are mostly opera characters, flowers and birds, etc. The small and erudite ones are mainly seals and seal cuttings, and are mostly used for decoration in gentleman's study rooms. At the same time, there are also couplets, ghost coins, playing cards, advertising trademarks, etc.
Blessing-type New Year pictures reflect the people’s ideals and pursuit of beautiful things. They often use seasonal flowers and various fruits to express good luck and peace in the four seasons.
The bottom of the box is an erotic painting. In the old days, it was used as a sexual enlightenment teaching material for young women when they got married. After use, it was pressed at the bottom of a box or hidden in a beam to ward off evil spirits.
The genre and format of Jiangzhou New Year pictures are mostly based on the appreciation and practical needs of the local people, and are "tailor-made" and classified into categories according to the requirements and format of folk houses. The door gods are divided into the main door, the second door, and the house door. Different New Year pictures are posted according to the different owners; Cai Ma can be posted on all appliances in production and life; Kui Tou is usually posted above the screen wall and in the middle of the door; Zhong Kui is posted in the middle hall Or on the door.