APPENDIX 1

Mianzhu Nianhua Timeline, 1912-2011

The Republic of China is established, with Sun Yat-sen as the provisional president. The

modern Gregorian calendar is adopted and the term nianhua is widely popularized with

the mass printing of the first state calendar.

In north China, intellectual and state-led campaigns to reform theater, popular literature,

and woodblock printing lead to the confiscation of 6,000 nianhua. Fifty forms of

“reformed nianhua ” are circulated.􀀁These events do not greatly affect Mianzhu’s

flourishing print trade, which reaches a height of development at this time.

1927-1938

Sichuan passes through the hands of five warlords. Intense fighting and economic decline

severely damage the region’s print trade. Many printshops and paper-making shops close

down in Mianzhu.

The arts journal Yifeng publishes a special edition on folk art, marking the inception of

folk art studies in China.

1937-1945

The Second Sino-Japanese War ensues and the wartime capital is relocated to

Chongqing, Sichuan. The influx of people to the region gives a boost to Mianzhu’s print

trade.

Communist leader Mao Zedong delivers the Yan’an directive on arts and literature,

setting the stage for over twenty years of nianhua reform to come.

The “Sichuan Farmers’ Art Exhibition” is held at the Sichuan Provincial Exhibition Hall

in Chengdu, initiating the Communists’ mobilization of rural printmakers in the region.

Chengdu-based state researcher Wei Chuanyi publishes a report of his interviews with

Mianzhu’s elderly printmakers, providing key summaries of Mianzhu’s historic print

trade based on oral history.

1958-1961

The Great Leap Forward implements reforms that lead to economic downturn and mass

famine in Sichuan.

Sichuan’s Cultural Affairs Bureau launches a provincial directive to “rescue Mianzhu’s

nianhua heritage.” A major effort to collect historic nianhua is led by Shi Weian and Fu

Wenshu, state researchers at the Sichuan People’s Arts Museum.

The “Chinese Folk Art Exhibition” is held in Beijing, including many woodblock prints

from Mianzhu. Upon viewing the exhibition, poet Guo Moruo writes a verse in

commemoration of Mianzhu nianhua.

1966-1976

The Cultural Revolution leads to a nationwide attack on traditional arts and culture,

including an outright ban on nianhua.

The 11th National Congress convenes, launching reforms that encourage rural autonomy

and economic liberalization. The relaxed policies towards cultural production coincide

with a resurgence of nianhua street markets in Mianzhu. A state-led nianhua revival is

launched in Mianzhu and nianhua production teams are immediately put to work.

The Mianzhu Nianhua Society convenes and releases the first volume of the Mianzhu

Nianhua Research Materials Anthology, an annual publication that lasts until 1996. The

China Exhibition Company organizes a global traveling exhibition of Mianzhu nianhua,

destined to reach Hong Kong, France, United States, Japan, Upper Volta, Mali, Burkina

Faso, and Chile.

The construction of a Chinese Folk Art Museum in Beijing is announced, sparking a

nationwide effort to collect nianhua to be sent to the capital. In Sichuan, eighteen

counties are mobilized to collect nianhua from local households.

The groundbreaking “Sichuan Folk Arts Exhibition” opens in Chengdu, funded by the

province and organized by the Sichuan People’s Art Museum. Works are selected from

across the province, with many examples of Mianzhu nianhua included.

Shi Weian publishes his “Lecture for the Sichuan Cultural Affairs Directors'

Training,” a detailed roadmap for provincial officials leading the folk art revival

movement. His focus on “local flavor” sends researchers into remote rural areas to collect

folk art.

Gao Wen, Ning Zhiqi, Hou Shiwu publish Mianzhu Nianhua, a definitive volume on the

history of Mianzhu nianhua that includes excerpts of interviews and color plates of the

state nianhua collection.

Mianzhu receives official status as a national “Folk Art Hometown,” drawing in large

sums of state funds for revitalizing the nianhua industry and local tourism.

1995-1996

Private investment and government funds are allocated to build the Mianzhu Nianhua

Museum to house the state’s growing nianhua collection. The museum opened in 1996

with a storage room, exhibition halls, production workshops, and a gift shop.

The first annual state-organized Nianhua Festival is inaugurated in Mianzhu to “protect

folk arts, develop folk tourism.”

Mianzhu nianhua is officially included on China’s “First List of Intangible Cultural

Heritage,” issued by the State Council. The list includes 501 items, including 12 nianhua

centers across China.􀀁

􀀁

A highly anticipated Mianzhu nianhua stamp collection is released across the nation,

attracting widespread attention to Mianzhu’s folk art tourism industry.

On May 12, the Great Sichuan Earthquake strikes at the epicenter of Wenchuan, registers

8.0 on the Richter scale, and leaves an estimated 69,000 dead. Less than 100 kilometers

away, Mianzhu is severely damaged by the earthquake. Many structures at the Nianhua

Village are leveled to the ground. Artifacts from Mianzhu’s Cultural Relics Bureau are

relocated to emergency storage facilities at the San Xingdui Museum. Reconstruction

efforts get underway to rebuild Mianzhu’s damaged nianhua sites.

Mianzhu’s Nianhua Village is categorized as a high level “AAAA” tourist attraction

under the revised rating system of the China National Tourism Administration.

Mianzhu’s city government announces 16 billion yuan in investment funds for the

immediate reconstruction and development of the Nianhua Village, including an “ancient

street of Chinese nianhua,” and three additional heritage museums based on different

themes.__

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