An Introduction to the Traditional New Year Pictures and the Appearance of the Improved New Year Pictures in the Late Qing Dynasty

The immaterial culture of Chinese fork arts is a very important part of the national cultural heritage. A national culture does not take its complete shape until both the immaterial part and material part are perfectly combined together into one unit. China has a long history and rich resources in fork arts, and in the civilian storage there exist many colorful folk arts, one of which is the brilliant traditional new-year picture. In the late Qing Dynasty, the New-Year Picture was improved due to the great social reform. A study of the traditional New-Year Picture and the improved New-Year Picture in this period can provide useful information for the research of Chinese cultural heritage.