Zhao Guoqi
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Zhao Guoqi, Male, Han, from Linfen, Shanxi, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Woodblock New Year Pictures (Ⅶ-65). The tradition is documented in Linfen, Shanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Woodblock New Year Pictures in Linfen, Shanxi: Pingyang woodblock New Year prints are a folk art form transmitted in the Linfen region of Shanxi Province; they began in the Song and Jin periods, flourished in the Yuan dynasty, and entered a golden age of development in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The earliest surviving treasures of Chinese pasted pictures (prints) — the Song-Jin period works “The Bewitching Beauty of the Sui Dynasty” (《suiChaoyao tiaoChengqingGuoZhiFangRong》) and “The Seat of the Righteous and Valiant Martial King” (《YiYongWuAnWangWei》) — are representative works of ancient Pingyang woodblock New Year prints, and were praised by Mr. Zheng Zhenduo as “the essence of world printmaking.” Pingyang woodblock New Year prints were once lost; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, art workers in southern Shanxi widely collected surviving old blocks and New Year prints in the countryside, reorganizing and restoring the craft in the 1950s. Woodblock New Year prints have a long history; according to legend they first appeared in the Han dynasty. In the Song dynasty they were called “paper pictures,” in the Ming dynasty “picture sheets,” and it was not until the Qing dynasty that the name “New Year prints” was formally established. Pingyang woodblock New Year prints are a folk art form transmitted in the Linfen region of Shanxi Province; they began in the Song and Jin periods, flourished in the Yuan dynasty, and entered a golden age of development in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The earliest surviving treasures of Chinese pasted pictures (prints) — the Song-Jin period works “The Bewitching Beauty of the Sui Dynasty” (《suiChaoyao tiaoChengqingGuoZhiFangRong》) and “The Seat of the Righteous and Valiant Martial King” (《YiYongWuAnWangWei》) — are representative works of ancient Pingyang woodblock New Year prints, and were praised by Mr. Zheng Zhenduo as “the essence of world printmaking.” Pingyang woodblock New Year prints were once lost. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, art workers in southern Shanxi widely collected surviving old blocks and New Year prints in the countryside, and in the 1950s planned and established a factory to restore the production of Pingyang woodblock New Year prints.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Zhao Guoqi is anchored in the documented technical standards of Woodblock New Year Pictures in Linfen, Shanxi. Within the documented technical tradition of Woodblock New Year Pictures in Linfen, Shanxi: Woodblock New Year prints are a popular traditional art form used by the Chinese people at New Year time to welcome the new year and receive blessings. They convey the life ideals of the common people, reflect many characteristics of social life and folk culture, and have become an important component of Chinese folk art. Woodblock New Year prints are printed with the traditional woodblock water-printing method; their emergence is closely bound up with the art of woodblock engraving and printing. Over the course of a thousand years of development, a number of relatively concentrated production centers for woodblock New Year prints gradually took shape; each center maintained technical exchange with other regions while preserving its own originality in subject matter and form. By subject matter, woodblock New Year prints fall into five major categories: driving away evil, praying for blessings and auspiciousness, opera stories and legends, festive decoration, and scenes of daily life and custom. Their principal formats include gongjian (tribute-slip) sheets, zhongtang (central-hall) scrolls, paired screens (duiping), calendar pictures (lihua), and kang-surround prints (kangwei). Woodblock New Year prints employ a great variety of techniques with fresh, bright colors, and regional differences have given rise to many different styles. They are of high aesthetic quality, with distinctive artistic features and a rich load of information, embodying profound national psychology and traditional humanistic values. The work A History of Printing in Ancient China calls Pingyang woodblock New Year prints the “ancestor” of New Year prints, and A History of Chinese Prints similarly asserts that “printmaking in China began with Pingyang.” Pingyang woodblock New Year prints encompass many categories, including central-hall paintings, door pictures, shadow-wall (back-screen) paintings, doorhead paintings, window paintings, screen paintings, kitchen-shrine paintings, and table drapes. Their subjects are mainly traditional in content; their compositions foreground the central theme, their images are exaggerated and vivid, their colors are bright and gorgeous, and they display strong decorative qualities, giving an impression of boldness and freedom. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "A Beauty of the Sui Court": Among the earliest surviving Chinese printed wall pictures, it and the print of the Martial King of Wuan exemplify what Zheng Zhenduo called the essence of world woodcut. "The Martial King of Wu'an": One of the Jin-period prints from Pingyang, illustrating a legendary martial deity and serving as a model for figure work in the local tradition. "Paper picture, painted album, New Year picture": Called paper picture in the Song, painted album in the Ming and officially New Year picture from the Qing, the naming records its move from book illustration to festival art. "The Pingyang museum's recovery work": The museum founded in recent years has excavated, protected and restored the tradition, rebuilding it from old blocks and returning masters to the craft.
A Beauty of the Sui Court
Among the earliest surviving Chinese printed wall pictures, it and the print of the Martial King of Wuan exemplify what Zheng Zhenduo called the essence of world woodcut.
The Martial King of Wu'an
One of the Jin-period prints from Pingyang, illustrating a legendary martial deity and serving as a model for figure work in the local tradition.
Paper picture, painted album, New Year picture
Called paper picture in the Song, painted album in the Ming and officially New Year picture from the Qing, the naming records its move from book illustration to festival art.
The Pingyang museum's recovery work
The museum founded in recent years has excavated, protected and restored the tradition, rebuilding it from old blocks and returning masters to the craft.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Zhao Guoqi was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Woodblock New Year Pictures, with Linfen, Shanxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Woodblock New Year Pictures in Linfen, Shanxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Linfen, Shanxi as its declared area, and Linfen Pingyang Mubannianhua Museum 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
Woodblock New Year prints have a long history; according to legend they first appeared in the Han dynasty. In the Song dynasty they were called “paper pictures,” in the Ming dynasty “picture sheets,” and it was not until the Qing dynasty that the name “New Year prints” was formally established. Pingyang woodblock New Year prints are a folk art form transmitted in the Linfen region of Shanxi Province; they began in the Song and Jin periods, flourished in the Yuan dynasty, and entered a golden age of development in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Han Jianfeng | Hua, Henan | 04-1808 | Other regional school |
| Chen Yiwen | Laohekou, Hubei | 04-1809 | Other regional school |
| Luan Xikui | Liaocheng, Shandong | 05-2677 | Other regional school |
| Zhao Guoqi | Linfen, Shanxi | — | This page |
| Zhang Rongqiang | Jiajiang, Sichuan | — | Other regional school |
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。