Art Around the World: Puhui Chinese New Year Posters

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Here in the Netherlands, the celebration of Chinese New year is not so common. When I asked my children what Chinese around the globe celebrate at this time of the year they were clueless and I was glad I had this activity in mind to introduce to them the Chinese New Year celebration.

I presented to them the different activities that was featured in the MKB Chinese New Year Series. However, being the art buff that I was, I wanted to show to them something I learned about Chinese New Year Posters.

Chinese New Year posters share such a long history in Chinese culture. From as early as the 16th century, new year posters are made using wood blocks and carvings and depicted historic stories, landscapes, folk customs, good wishes and thoughts of ideal life.

One interesting form of Chinese New year poster that I shared with the children is the Gaomi puhui (ash-patting) painting. This form of new year poster found in Gaomi is included in the intangible cultural heritages.

But before explaining what Puhui painting is,  I first showed them a sample of Shi Jianting’s work:

Using the thinking routine See-Think-Wonder. I asked the children the following questions:

What do you see? What do you think? What do you wonder?

The following were the responses I got from our 6 and 7 year old:

After the thinking routine, I proceeded to share with them the importance of New Year Posters and how it has been present since a long time ago. I told them how the specific poster was made by an artist named Shi Jianting and the video below shows how the process is done.

Now the kids are enthusiastic in knowing more about Chinese New Year celebrations and are getting ready to make their year of the goat Chinese New year poster!

This post is part of the Chinese New Year series and giveaway on Multicultural Kid Blogs. Enter our giveaway to win one of these great prize packages, and don’t forget to link up your own posts about Chinese New Year on our main page!

Giveaway begins Jan. 21 and goes through midnight ET on March 5, 2015. Enter below for a chance to win! Remember you can make a comment on the blog post of a different co-host each day for an additional entry.

First Prize Package

From Tuttle Publishing, All About China: Take the whole family on a whirlwind tour of Chinese history and culture with this delightfully illustrated book that is packed with stories, activities and games. Travel from the stone age through the dynasties to the present day with songs and crafts for kids that will teach them about Chinese language and the Chinese way of life.

Also from Tuttle Publishing, Long-Long’s New Year, a beautifully illustrated picture book about a little Chinese boy named Long-Long, who accompanies his grandfather into the city to sell cabbages in order to buy food and decorations for the New Year. Selling cabbages is harder than Long-Long expects, and he encounters many adventures before he finds a way to help his grandfather, and earn New Year’s treats for his mother and little cousin.

From A Little Mandarin, a CD featuring a collection of Chinese children’s classics – songs loved by families in China for generations – given new life with a contemporary sound and voice. The 15 tracks fuse rock, pop, dance, ska, and hip hop influences with playful lyrics to make it a unique and fun learning companion for all ages. Featured on Putumayo Kids Presents World Sing-Along.

Second Prize Package

US shipping only

From Tuttle Publishing, Celebrating the Chinese New Year, in which Little Mei’s grandfather tells her the stories of Nian and the monster Xi for Chinese New Year.

Also from Tuttle Publishing, The Sheep Beauty, which brings to life the kindness and generosity of those born under the sign of the sheep in the Chinese zodiac.

Also from Tuttle Publishing, Chinese Zodiac Animals, a fun and informative way to learn about the ancient Chinese Zodiac, explaining the traits of each animal sign and what luck the future might hold for the person born under that sign.

From Tiny Tapping Toes, a monkey drum, plus a free pdf of a craft version. World Music children’s performer DARIA has spent the last two decades performing in the USA and around the world, creating music to inspire all the world’s children and allowing children to become a part of the celebration and the fun of exploring world cultures.

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Lana Jelenjev

Lana Jelenjev is a freelance educational consultant who recently got diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37. She blogs about her activities with her children at Smart Tinker (http://www.smarttinker.com/). Lana recently started writing about her musings on parenting at Goodness, Grace and Gratitude (http://www.goodnessgraceandgratitude.com/), as she navigates through a new territory of hospital visits, a whirlwind of feelings and in finding compassion as she battles breast cancer, a disease that her mom succumbed to at age 49.

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