Qi Baishi's "New Year's Painting"

Inputtime:2022-02-15 08:34:09

“Sui Hua” refers to paintings created to welcome the spring each year. It is not only a traditional school of Chinese painting but also an important component of Chinese traditional customs and civilization. Since its inception during the Sui Dynasty, it has been widely prevalent in royal courts and among literati, with subject matter often consisting of flowers, trees, and rocks, reflecting the virtues of the aristocratic era or scholars. However, Qi Baishi’s New Year paintings differ from those of his predecessors. In winter, he gathered common objects seen by ordinary people during the New Year—firecrackers, red lanterns, and auspicious fruits—where red symbolizes good fortune and happiness, greatly extending the depiction of the New Year scene into the daily lives of common people. Qi Baishi’s Sui paintings, along with a group of calligraphic and painting works imbued with auspicious meanings, not only express the elder’s blessings for a prosperous year and favorable scenes but also create a strong sense of spring for a wide audience.