This article**: People's Daily Online.
Yan Ke. 
Printmaking "Jiaolong into the Sea", author Zhu Xiaoning.
In recent years, Changning prints can often be seen in national and provincial art exhibitions. As a cultural business card of Changning, Hunan Province, Changning printmaking has a unique appearance and has endured for a long time.
What is the charm of Changning printmaking?
Walking into the printmaking base of the Nanmen Lake Opera House in Changning City, Hunan Province, a strong artistic atmosphere is blowing in the face. Covering an area of 1,800 square meters, this space integrates printmaking creation, exhibition, training and trading, and printmaking enthusiasts from all over the city often gather here. One of them is Wu Yueli, a native of Changning, who became fascinated by printmaking during a public welfare training. The mountains stretch and the peaks are towering ......Under Wu Yueli's pen and knife, the magnificent and beautiful appearance of Paradise Mountain, a famous scenic spot in Changning City, jumped on the paper. "I want to use prints to engrave the beauty of the mountains and rivers in my hometown, so that life is full of beauty. Wu Yueli said with a smile.
It is the land of Changning, which is deeply rooted in Zhong Lingyuxiu, that has achieved the vigorous vitality of Changning printmaking. Most of the Changning printmakers are natives of Changning, who are immersed in the thick human history and beautiful natural environment, and use knives as pen and board as paper to depict the natural features, folk customs and rural changes of their hometowns from multiple angles. The style of Changning is simple, natural and exquisite, and it is known as the wonder of local art blooming on the land of Huxiang.
When talking about Changning printmaking, the name Wu Guowei is often mentioned. In the 60s of the last century, Mr. Wu Guowei became associated with printmaking, and since then printmaking has become the love of his life. In 1999, he won the Lu Xun Printmaking Award, the highest award in the national printmaking industry, and also continued to hold training courses, organize collective creation, and take the lead in holding exhibitions and ......Under his promotion, the seeds of printmaking took root in the land of Changning, and the creative group developed from "one person" to "a group of people", and Changning printmaking continued to win national honors. In 1983, the second Hunan Provincial Printmaking Exhibition was invited to exhibit Changning prints in a special hall, and since then, the Changning printmaking group has officially entered the public eye. Ou Yunbo, director of Changning Art Museum, studied under Wu Guowei when he was a child, and has a very good understanding of the development process of Changning printmaking.
Thanks to the unremitting efforts of generations of folk creators, Changning printmaking has gradually developed and grown. Due to the large number of creators, many works, and wide influence, Chang Ning has been awarded the "Hometown of Chinese Folk Culture and Art" for 5 consecutive times for his prints.
In the pursuit of the unity of content and form, Changning printmaking has formed a creative tradition of affection for the countryside.
Walking into the printmaking exhibition hall of Changning Printmaking Base, Wu Guowei's red-themed printmaking "Evoking Workers and Peasants" came into view. The theme of the work is distinct, the scene is grand, and it is full of emotion, revealing the author's deep feelings for his family and country and his deep attachment to Hunan and Chu culture. Yin Bogang's "Cow Baby" and a number of other local theme prints reveal a strong pastoral interest, showing a picture of people's happy and beautiful life. Each piece of work is like a regional scroll, which not only outlines the changes of the times, but also highlights the spirit of down-to-earth exploration of generations of printmakers.
The charm of Changning printmaking also lies in its strong artistic appeal from the inside out. "Changning has a rich and colorful folk art, from which the creators have extracted a simple and vibrant artistic language. Ou Yunbo said. Rough lines, exaggerated shapes, and bright colors are all elements that are difficult to reconcile harmoniously in Changning's prints, which is quite visually tense.
In the face of the development of the times, Changning printmaking continues to stimulate "stamina" through diversified development.
Liu Hua, chairman of the Changning Federation of Social Sciences, has been in charge of printmaking work for many years, and believes that "to stimulate stamina, we need to have new ideas for development, keep up with the pulse of the times, and innovate the style of printmaking". Based on the characteristics of Changning printmaking, many printmakers have further improved their artistic level and enriched their ideological connotations, and Xiao Jian's "Old Mine New Look" and other theme creations reflecting the new image of the times have emerged, which has greatly enriched the creative outlook of industrial printmaking. For example, Zhang Zongqiu's "Rise", Ou Yunbo's "Zheng Zheng Centennial", Zhou Jianhua's "Online and Offline" and other industrial prints that show the achievements of construction since the new century have diversified techniques, further enhanced artistic expression, and are quite modern and beautiful.
Keeping up with the times, Changning printmaking continues to expand new space. In recent years, Changning printmaking has been integrated into the overall situation of promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside, not only creating a large number of printmaking works reflecting targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, but also organizing the creation of a number of works with the theme of Changning tea oil, tea, Hunan yellow chicken and other characteristic agricultural products, contributing to the promotion of local economic development.
With the addition of professional art creators, Changning's printmaking techniques have also been continuously enriched. Liu Juan, chairman of the Changning Printmakers Association, is one of the explorers and innovators. Different from the previous creative techniques of Changning printmaking, which were mainly mimeographed, she focuses on watermark printmaking, and explores the fusion of the "softness" of Chinese painting and the "rigidity" of woodcut, so that the picture presents a new beauty. In Changning, there are many explorers and innovators like Liu Juan. Thanks to their efforts, Changning printmaking has now developed into a trend of mimeographing, watermarking, pastel printing, silk screen and other forms coexisting.
The road of Changning printmaking is getting wider and wider. Walked out of Changning to hold exhibitions abroad, entered the China (Guanlan) Original Printmaking Fair, integrated printmaking into the 4A-level scenic spot "China Yinshan", and established the ...... of Changning Printmaking Research GroupThe diversified development path has ignited the creative enthusiasm of Changning printmakers again and again.
I met Liu Juan again in Ping'an Village, Xiling Town, Changning City. In a building surrounded by greenery, there is a studio of Liu Juan. Children from the surrounding elementary schools gathered around her to see how she carved with a knife. One of the important reasons why Changning printmaking has been able to maintain its vigorous vitality over the years is that the deep mass foundation is one of the important reasons. Because of this, Liu Juan will go among the children whenever she has time, "It is our responsibility to inherit and promote Changning printmaking."
In Changning, this sense of responsibility has become a consensus. The teaching of printmaking in Yiyang Primary School in Changning City has been insisted on for decades. In the creative room of the printmaking club, the wooden boards used by the children are crowded with lockers. Zhan Yingchun, the chairman of the school trade union introduced on the side, is also a student of Wu Guowei, who enrolled in the 80s of the last century to teach, and the apprentices he brought out have now become the students' printmaking teachers. "All of the full-time art teachers at the school can teach printmaking. Zhan Yingchun said.
The initiation of printmaking in various forms even begins at the kindergarten level. In Changning No. 2 Kindergarten, printmaking elements can be seen everywhere. From indoor to outdoor, from paper to real objects, a few simple impressions may become a children's printmaking work. Lv Feng, the director of the kindergarten, said: "Printmaking is also a kind of imprint art, adhering to the open mind of 'everything can be printed', children can experience the creativity and fun of printmaking from an early age." ”
In the kindergarten printmaking corner, the children's little hands hold rubbing tools, leaving all kinds of patterns on the wall, and also leaving their first intimate contact with printmaking. Their smearing and printing are also outlining the ...... of tomorrow for Changning's printmaking
People** December 24, 2023 08 edition).