By Rui Hu, EDITOR
Treasures of Liangping refer to Lantern opera of Liangshan, New Year pictures, and bamboo curtain that are known as the “wonder works” in eastern Szechuan, and evaluated as one of Bayu folk arts in 2000.
Lantern opera of Liangshan also named as Baotou drama, was born and developed in Liangping. The lantern opera originates from traditional Chinese dramas and features beautiful arrangements of lanterns. It has spread all over the country and towns especially during the festivals and events.
Lantern opera of Liangshan
New Year pictures of Liangping County have a history of three hundred years. The New Year pictures are made by wood-carving and it has three main categories; the Door God, fairy tales, and drama stories. The Door God indicates the god that protects homes -people have pasted the picture of Door God to protect their homes. There are works such as Picture of Generals, Knife and Axes, Promotion Knighted, and etc . the fairy tale carve figures including Kirin (Chinese unicorn) appearances with offspring, and the dramatic stories that are renowned in folk culture.Compared to New Years pictures in other parts of China, theNew Year pictures of Liangping have strong color contrast and a bold look, which impresses collectors and visitors.
New year picture of Liangping
According to records, they were sent as tributes directly to the emperor due to their outstanding quality, which was said to be “the best under heaven”. Liang Ping bamboo curtains combine a number of different art-forms including traditional painting, needle-work and flocking to produce many different kinds of bamboo curtains that show of the color of local culture in an uniquely elegant way and refined way.
Liangping's bamboo curtain