Various kinship terms of zu and zong used by Wang Xingru in reference to his position in

the Wang family workshop. When asked if he will pass on his skills to his children, Li

replies:

My sons and daughter have learned these skills, but my grandson is in school and

will need money, that is our first priority. To make these pictures, one must have a

calm heart, otherwise the pictures won’t be done right. In this line of work, we

must keep the perspective of a whole lifetime; we must cultivate our hearts, take

care of our bodies, and try to make the best pictures. How can we make works

that communicate something significant? We want to leave these for our future

generations. That is our purpose. People survive [􀴳􀕩] in society, but what does it

202 Ibid.

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mean to live [􀴳] and to survive [􀕩]? To live is to preserve our fragile bodies. To

survive is more difficult. Why? Because we must attain worthwhile skills and

achievements that can be passed on to our future generations.203

Li’s comments here echo the auspicious phrases written on Wang’s genealogy chart,

which also warned of the difficult problem of “sustaining one’s achievements” from one

generation to the next. The family lineage and profession merge together as one entity.

As Li states here, to “survive” is to attain worthwhile skills that can be passed to future

generations. Although Li has trained his children to paint, he hints here that they are

occupied with school and other forms of employment due to the need for money. If his

children decide to carry on his work professionally however, they will be able to claim

position in a familial line under their father and the so-called Northern School. They will

also be the first to inherit their father’s paintings as lineage documents, the valuable

traces of his brushwork and his lifelong dedication to the profession.

The Southern School of Mianzhu Nianhua

In contrast to Li’s small-scale workshop, the Chen family workshop has grown

into a rather large operation involving dozens of artisans and apprentices. With the

financial support of the local and provincial government, the Chen workshop has

expanded its repertoire of works and moved into a much larger workshop complex

known as the Nianhua Village 􀭍􀟂􀕨. The Nianhua Village is located just south of

Mianzhu near Qingdao township 􀱢􀖡􁆓, where Chen Xingcai 􀓧􀾖􀒌was born and raised

(fig. 38). The Chen family has been established in this area for several generations.

203 Ibid.

120

According to Chen Xingcai, the elder patriarch of the Southern School, “Here in

Qingdao, there were dozens of [printmaking] families and the West Road had over a

hundred families making pictures. Now nobody is painting anymore.”204 As the last

family workshop making woodblock prints in Qingdao, Chen’s workshop has made its

territorial claim over the entire neighborhood by taking on the title of the “Southern

School.” When asked about the primary characteristics of the two schools, Chen replies:

The Northern School is actually from the West Road. So you know, it was only

after the land reforms that they moved to Gong County 􁠦􀽅. Gong county was

under the jurisdiction of the North Road 􀐚􀩞, so you know, when people talk

about it, they don’t realize that their actual origins don’t match the name.205

Chen’s response clearly undermines the status of the Northern School by drawing

attention to how the Li family moved from one region to another. In his later comments,

he refers to the North Road as West Road, a choice of terms that further underscores this

discrepancy in origins. This is contrasted by his family’s long-standing connection to

Qingdao village where they have thrived for at least four generations. According to Chen,

“Qingdao is the Southern School.”206

When asked to elaborate on the unique characteristics of the Southern School,

Chen comments on the school’s production of ink:

It is the ink… I made this ink here. Other than my workshop, no one else makes

this ink. There’s lots of ink to buy in Beijing, but my ink here is unique. The

Southern School makes works on a flat surface. Those from the West Road stick

their works up on a wall and paint upright. They only take them down when the

works are just about finished. That’s the main difference.207

204 Chen Xingcai, in interview with the author, Mianzhu, Sichuan, January 2007.

205 Ibid.

206 Ibid.

207 Ibid.

121

In a published interview with nianhua researcher Shen Hong 􀴫􁚼, Chen also describes

the Southern School in terms of its methods of production:

Mianzhu’s Southern School has two main characteristics. Firstly, the painting is

done on a table. The works are half printed and half painted. A woodblock is

carved with the outline and printed, and then the color is applied. Secondly, the

approach here is rigorous and strict. The colors must be clear and elegant 􀱢􀧡

and harmoniously matched.208

While Li focused on brushwork in discussing the strengths of the Northern School, Chen

focuses on the Southern School’s use of ink and colors to create auspicious works.

According to Chen, "Doing the coloring is the time when an artist is able to make full use

of his imagination and experience. As a result, the same printing block will produce

prints with diverse colors. That is what distinguishes Mianzhu nianhua from other

nianhua schools.”209

Whereas Li’s studio was covered in hanging works, Chen’s works are produced

and displayed on flat surfaces. With more space to work at the Nianhua Village, the Chen

workshop uses different rooms for the different stages of printmaking and painting,

including a carving room, a printing and drying room, and several painting rooms (fig.

42). These rooms surround a center square courtyard on all sides, in a traditional siheyuan

􀶹􀞆􁃽 formation. As I was led through each space by Chen’s grandson Chen Gang 􀓧􀛐,

I observed how each step in the printmaking process contributes creatively to the final

product. In particular, I noted how the team of carvers had much liberty in creating a

208 Shen, Touring Mianzhu Nianhua,165.

209 Chen Xingcai, in interview with the author, Mianzhu, Sichuan, January 2007.

122

wide variety of small-scale stamps that were then passed to the painters who applied them

as finishing touches to the painted works.

In contrast to the patrilineal structure of the Wang family workshop, Chen has

been training both the men and women in the family, including distant relatives and

friends. However it is Chen’s sons and grandson who have taken on the leadership roles

thus far. Chen’s two grandsons have been particularly innovative in approaching the

family profession. For instance, his eldest grandson Chen Gang recently contributed new

designs to the family repertoire such as a set of seven prints depicting young boys playing

outdoor games (fig. 43). While most of the games are traditional ones, such as “dragon

dancing” or “frolicking in the garden,” there are also completely new themes such as

“boys making a snowman.” These works use the signature methods of the Southern

School, including the flat application of bold colors and stamping. Yet Chen Gang takes

the auspicious imagery of young boys and experiments with them in different settings

and engaged in contemporary activities. These new designs thus embody fresh

approaches to constructing ritually efficacious prints to pursue male progeny and fertility.

These examples exemplify the drive to innovate within an established tradition, where

new designs may be introduced and tested in the marketplace alongside well-established

ones.

By exploiting different production methods, the Northern and Southern schools

claim authority over certain techniques and thus construct their lineage identities along

those lines. In doing so, they also provide different emphasis on how to best produce a

ritually efficacious image. Their strategies allow for each school to boost their status by

reproducing prestigious works while carving out a unique niche in the marketplace. It is

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also a strategy that sheds light on how diverse works may emerge from the same print

center, offering a microcosmic view of how regional differences evolve in tandem with a

changing marketplace.

Local records from the early twentieth century reveal how professional lineages in

Mianzhu similarly developed unique lineage-making practices to protect the skilled

knowledge within a family. These include skills in highly developed technologies such as

papermaking, metalwork, printing, carpentry, liquor production, and the procurement and

production of herbal medicines. The close relationship between lineage and livelihood is

perhaps most pronounced when families manipulate or transgress the accepted norms of

lineage formation in the print trade in order to advance their workshop’s interests. For

example, in the early twentieth century, the rural Yao family workshop collectively

decided to allow one of their daughters to carry out lineage practices normally reserved

for male offspring. Having recognized her natural talents at an early age, the family

allowed their daughter Yao Chunrong 􁀭􀔽􀲴 (1899-1995) to be trained in print design

and brushwork, essential skills for her to take a leading role in the workshop. According

to Yao, when she saw two other women selling prints in the streets, she grew determined

to set up her own stall in the winter print market, an environment that was primarily

reserved for male traders. Overcoming many obstacles, she assumed the leadership role

in a small-scale operation where she hired male artisans to reproduce and distribute her

designs in larger quantities. These works sold quickly and as the operation grew, she led

her family workshop to prosperity and widespread acclaim.210 Yao Chunrong went on to

210 Liu Zhumei, 􀨾􁇰􀪼, “Mianzhu nianhua laoyiren Yao Chunrong” 􀫥􁇰􀭍􀟂􀦺􁁜􀲦􁀭􀔽􀲴􀀁[Mianzhu

nianhua elder Yao Chunrong] in Mianzhu nianhua ziliao xuanbian 􀫥􁇰􀭍􀟂􁈧􀨘􀿊􀑉􀶹 [Mianzhu

Nianhua Selected Research Documents Vol. 4] (Mianzhu: Mianzhu Nianhua Society 􀫥􁇰􀭍􀟂􀴠, 1982), 7-

11.

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an illustrious career in printmaking, as she participated in the nianhua reform campaigns

of the 1950s as well as the resurgent nianhua industry of the 1980s and 1990s before her

death in 1995 at the age of ninety-six (fig. 44).

Yao’s story speaks to the power of lineage discourse to straddle both continuity

and change in the development of a workshop over time. Under the training and support

of her family workshop, she was able to legitimize her activities as part of an established

lineage. At the same time, she was able to leverage this support to strike out a new path in

the marketplace, ultimately subverting the patrilineal forms of lineage transmission that

dominated the industry. In the end, the Yao family workshop worked together to

recalibrate and manipulate existing lineage practices to advance their livelihood in the

marketplace. Their risks paid off in terms of profit as well as reputation, further

illustrating how the pressures of the marketplace may outweigh or influence the ritual

protocols of lineage transmission. In this sense, ritualized lineage practices can be

understood as performative rather than prescriptive; they evolve in tandem with the

immediate needs and demands of livelihood.