In China, there is a special kind of painting — Spring Festival pictures, or New Year pictures. Traditionally, people put up these colorful pictures in their homes and on their doors during the Spring Festival. They came into being with the activities for celebrating the traditional Chinese New Year, saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new, wishing for good luck, and keeping away bad things.
In the early days, New Year pictures often describe legendary (传说的) characters to keep away bad luck and bring good fortune. Since these pictures were placed on doors, they were sometimes called door-god pictures. During the Tang Dynasty, two famous generals, Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong, were popular subjects for these pictures as door gods. Another common figure was Zhong Kui, who was believed to be able to fight against monsters (怪物) and keep away from bad luck. No matter what the characters shown in the pictures, these pictures were all used to protect against evil spirits and to keep the family safe and healthy.
By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there were more themes for the New Year pictures. Many new themes showed the hopes and wishes of common people, such as “the kylin bringing a new birth to the family”, “prosperity year after year”, “an abundant harvest of all crops (五谷丰登)”, and “thriving livestock (六畜兴旺)”.
Today, the tradition continues as Chinese people still put up Spring Festival pictures on their doors to welcome the new year and wish for good luck.
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