Heze, located in east China's Shandong, is known as the "Peony Capital of China." It is renowned for its tourist sites and products related to this star flower, as well as for how peony blossoms have been enshrined in various art forms there.
In particular, the meticulous painting style known as "gongbi" or claborate-style painting has become a profitable industry supplementing the incomes of many farm workers during the off-season in rural areas of Shandong, especially those in close proximity to Heze.
The gongbi painting technique employs intricate brushstrokes to outline details with the utmost precision. It often incorporates vivid colors and typically portrays figures or narrative scenes.
According to Dong Zhanjun, deputy dean of Shandong University of Art & Design, gongbi is one of the oldest types of painting in China. The existing landscape, figure, and flower-and-bird paintings of the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties often employed this meticulous style. It retained its high social status during the later Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties when art flourished.
Juye County in Heze is hailed as the home of Chinese gongbi painting. Some 20,000 artists and employees work in the fine art filed in the county. In recent years, the local government has attached great importance to develop the painting industry, aiming to boost its rural vitalization strategy.
Peonies are a prominent theme of gongbi paintings in Heze and a crucial source of income for local people, according to Dong Zhanjun. Most of the peony paintings there are created by farmers who combine modern craftsmanship with traditional fine brushwork techniques, changing the lives of many rural residents.
The Juye County Painting and Calligraphy Institute is representative of this burgeoning industry in Heze, with members ranging from teenagers and housewives to people in their 60s. Gongbi painter Sun Xiaoyan said painting not only serves as a hobby but can also subsidize her income, providing her with flexible hours to take care of her family.
Official figures show that eighty percent of the peony paintings sold across China come from Juye, with the county selling 1.2 million paintings last year, generating over 1 billion yuan (about $153 million U.S. dollars) in revenue. The paintings are also popular overseas, with buyers from 40 countries and regions, including the U.S., France, and Australia. Currently, Juye has 44 grass-root painting institutes and more than 160 calligraphy and painting schools.
Inspired by the colorful flowers blooming in the fields of Heze, Chinese artists have developed the peony into an important cultural symbol that has now entered the international stage.
Large-scale peony painting masterpieces, such as "Blossom in Prosperity" and "Splendid Spring," have appeared at major events like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Qingdao Summit and the China International Import Expo.