The Images of the 20th-21st Centuries in the Folk Prints Zhima of Yunnan Province

The article is dedicated to the problem of how the phenomenon of contemporaneity influences the traditional Chinese art and the imagery of the Yunnan religious woodprints zhima in particular. The author describes the changes that have happened to the Yunnan deities’ iconography in the 20th and the 21st centuries. The article explains the reasons why the images from the everyday life and environment have begun to appear in the pieces of religious graphic art. The author gives a brief review of the household items depicted on the woodprints burnt as a sacrifice to the ancestors. The images of immortals wearing clothes of the 20th century are also described. As an example of the imagery influenced by the contemporary society, the deity Che Shen’s iconography is examined. Che Shen used to be the deity of cart, but by now all the kinds of the modern wheel transport have come under his patronage. The article touches upon the problem of the zhima artistic style modification, caused by the fact that sometimes the countryside craftsmen presently copy contemporary magazine illustrations. Based on the folk pictures of Jiu Shen, the spirit of stables, and the deities of cattle, the author also provides examples of how the traditional style of zhima is being transformed. Particular attention is drawn to the cases of creating new iconographic types by replacing the deities’ images with their attributes.

zhima, Chinese folk prints, iconography, images of the 20th century

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