Zhang Tingxu
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Zhang Tingxu, Male, Han, from Kaifeng, Henan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Zhuxianzhen Woodblock New Year Pictures (Ⅶ-7). The tradition is documented in Kaifeng, Henan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Zhuxianzhen Woodblock New Year Pictures in Kaifeng, Henan: Zhuxian Town woodblock New Year prints are produced and sold mainly at Zhuxian Town south of Kaifeng city and at the time-honored print workshops within Kaifeng. According to the Dongjing Meng Hua Lu (Dreams of Splendor of the Eastern Capital), Zhuxian Town, more than twenty kilometers south of Kaifeng city, already had woodblock New Year prints in the Northern Song dynasty. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the woodblock New Year prints of Zhuxian Town were extremely prosperous, with workshops numbering more than three hundred at their peak. In the late Qing and early Republican period, Zhuxian Town woodblock New Year prints began to decline, and most workshops moved back into the city of Kaifeng, which thus once again became the center of production and sale of Zhuxian Town woodblock New Year prints; within the city appeared the celebrated time-honored New Year print workshops "Tiancheng", "Yunji", and "Huichuan". After 1949, Kaifeng City successively established such organizations as the Kaifeng New Year Print Society and the Henan Zhuxian Town Woodblock New Year Print Society to excavate and organize the traditional craft of woodblock New Year prints. The subjects of the prints are mostly drawn from popular folk tales, myths and legends, and traditional opera; they are numerous and varied, with vivid images.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Zhang Tingxu is anchored in the documented technical standards of Zhuxianzhen Woodblock New Year Pictures in Kaifeng, Henan. Within the documented technical tradition of Zhuxianzhen Woodblock New Year Pictures in Kaifeng, Henan: Kaifeng City, Henan Province, lies on the eastern Henan plain. Zhuxian Town woodblock New Year prints are meticulous in their use of color: mineral and plant materials serve as the basis for pigments, which the artisans grind by hand themselves. The pigments thus ground are remarkably pure, and the prints made with them are bright and vivid and do not fade over time; the compositions are full and well balanced, the lines succinct and bold, and the forms plain and exaggerated — a unique artistic style. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The Zhuxianzhen prints recorded in the Dongjing Menghua Lu": The Dongjing Menghua Lu records woodblock prints at Zhuxianzhen, some twenty kilometres south of Kaifeng, as early as the Northern Song; in Ming and Qing times the trade peaked at more than three hundred workshops. "Hand-ground mineral and vegetable pigments": Colour is taken seriously: pigments are hand-ground from minerals and plants to great purity, giving bright prints that do not fade, but the traditional grinding method is now little known. "The old shops Tiancheng, Yunji and Huichuan": As workshops moved back into Kaifeng city around 1900, the shops Tiancheng, Yunji and Huichuan became famous; Guo Taiyun was apprenticed at Yunji at thirteen and opened his own Taisheng shop after three years. "Ren Helin and the revived stencil printing method": Ren Helin helped prepare the Kaifeng press in 1978 and joined it in 1984; he recovered the lost stencil printing technique in 2010, founded the Kaifeng woodblock print museum in 2007 and led the Henan University institute in 2014.
The Zhuxianzhen prints recorded in the Dongjing Menghua Lu
The Dongjing Menghua Lu records woodblock prints at Zhuxianzhen, some twenty kilometres south of Kaifeng, as early as the Northern Song; in Ming and Qing times the trade peaked at more than three hundred workshops.
Hand-ground mineral and vegetable pigments
Colour is taken seriously: pigments are hand-ground from minerals and plants to great purity, giving bright prints that do not fade, but the traditional grinding method is now little known.
The old shops Tiancheng, Yunji and Huichuan
As workshops moved back into Kaifeng city around 1900, the shops Tiancheng, Yunji and Huichuan became famous; Guo Taiyun was apprenticed at Yunji at thirteen and opened his own Taisheng shop after three years.
Ren Helin and the revived stencil printing method
Ren Helin helped prepare the Kaifeng press in 1978 and joined it in 1984; he recovered the lost stencil printing technique in 2010, founded the Kaifeng woodblock print museum in 2007 and led the Henan University institute in 2014.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Zhang Tingxu was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Zhuxianzhen Woodblock New Year Pictures, with Kaifeng, Henan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Zhuxianzhen Woodblock New Year Pictures in Kaifeng, Henan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Kaifeng, Henan as its declared area, and Kaifeng Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
According to the Dongjing Meng Hua Lu (Dreams of Splendor of the Eastern Capital), Zhuxian Town, more than twenty kilometers south of Kaifeng city, already had woodblock New Year prints in the Northern Song dynasty. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the woodblock New Year prints of Zhuxian Town were extremely prosperous, with workshops numbering more than three hundred at their peak.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guo Taiyun | Kaifeng, Henan | 01-0055 | Same declared area |
| Ren Helin | Kaifeng, Henan | 05-2575 | Same declared area |
| Zhang Tingxu | Kaifeng, Henan | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。