1930s Chinese Kitchen God/Zaojun, the Stove God 'Five Blessings' woodblock nianhua (New Year) print, made in Shanghai

Item Details

Shanghai, Unknown, 1930s

This authentic 1930s Chinese nianhua (New Year) woodblock print of Zaojoun the Stove God, also known as a Kitchen God, is in pristine condition. It was purchased by an American businessman in Shanghai in the 1930s, brought back to America in the late '30s -- and essentially left untouched for the last 80 years.
Such prints are not supposed to exist. They are by their very nature ephemeral, meant to hang in the kitchen of a Chinese home from New Year to New Year, and burned at year's end.
Writer David Leffman, author of the upcoming "Paper Horses: Traditional Woodblock Prints of Gods from Northern China," to be published June 1, 2022, by Blacksmith Books (ISBN 9789887554790), describes a print like this on his website (https://www.davidleffman.com/hallocks-gods/):
"... a central figure surrounded by children and served for many deities, from various wealth gods to the “Five Blessings” (Good Fortune, Government Position, Wealth, Children, and Long Life).
"But the tablet (top center) reading “Dingfu Palace” identifies this one as the Stove God, Zaojun, patron deity of the household. Pictures of Zaojun were pasted up in the kitchen so that Zaojun could watch over the family throughout the year, protecting them from harm.
"At New Year, Zaojun returned to heaven and reported to the Jade Emperor on how the household had behaved over the previous twelve months. The man of the house took down Zaojun’s picture, smeared his lips with honey (either to sweeten his words, or to seal his mouth), and set out water and grass for Zaojun’s horse. The print was then burned to send the god on his way, and a fresh image put up a week later."
Measures 5.75 x 10.5 inches. Once again: This is not a photograph or print reproduction, but an original woodblock print made in Shanghai in the early/mid 1930s.
We have several of these prints -- as well as other woodblock prints from 1930s Shanghai -- available; please inquire.