The saying "Caozhou peonies are the finest under heaven" is known to all; Caozhou is the ancient name of Heze. During the Grain Rain solar term, stepping into Heze, Shandong, the "Capital of Chinese Peonies," peonies of every color bloom in competition as the peak viewing season arrives. Juye County, a small town in eastern Heze, has gained fame for its "never-fading peony"—gongbi peony paintings.

Juye County held a fashion show of gongbi peony painting artworks and a new product launch for "Peony Chinese-style Costumes." Photo courtesy of Juye County Converged Media Center

Recently, the gongbi peony painting fashion show drew widespread attention from "guochao" (China-chic) enthusiasts, focusing more eyes on this small town in southwestern Shandong. Many were surprised to learn that this county has 11,000 painters, the vast majority of them farmers.

Even more surprising is that Juye gongbi peony paintings not only hold 80% of the domestic market but are also exported to about 40 countries and regions, including the United States, France, and Singapore.

　　Here lies the industrial soil that nourishes gongbi peony painting

"To trace the history of Juye gongbi peony painting, one must mention the Juye County Art Factory," recalled Gao Guanling, president of the Juye Gongbi Peony Painting Association and art consultant to the Juye County Painting and Calligraphy Academy. In the 1970s, the Juye County Art Factory, established to earn foreign exchange through exports, became one of the foundations that later nourished the Juye gongbi peony painting industry.

"At the time, the art factory's main product was painted eggs, which brought a group of farmers into the creation of egg paintings," Gao said. Besides painted eggs, factory workers also produced screens and other products, with gongbi peonies as the main subject. "As the factory's workforce grew, gongbi painting spread further among the people of Juye."

The process of creating painted eggs. Photo by Zang Dongming

"The many gongbi painting practitioners trained at the art factory became an important force in the later development of the Juye gongbi peony painting industry, including the seven 'founding elders' at the time of its establishment," Gao said. As one of them, he witnessed the development of Juye gongbi peony painting.

"At the beginning, order volumes were heavy, and to cultivate talent, the art factory organized four painting training sessions, mainly in gongbi peonies, each lasting three months. The first session had 65 people, and the following three sessions grew to more than 80 each," Gao introduced.

As more and more people painted gongbi peonies, the number of artworks increased, and someone was needed to sell them. Gao recalled that in the 1980s, Yao Guiyuan of the art factory began carrying paintings around to sell. Inspired by him, dozens of people in the county began carrying paintings to art markets and galleries in major cities across the country, and Juye gongbi peony paintings gradually opened up the market.

Painters rushing to complete artworks. Photo courtesy of Juye County Converged Media Center

Today, gongbi peony painting has "filled" this small town. According to statistics, Juye County now has 66 national-level calligraphers and painters and 154 provincial-level ones, with more than 20,000 people employed in the painting and calligraphy industry. It has established more than 1,000 sales outlets nationwide, producing more than 1.2 million works annually, with an annual comprehensive output value exceeding 2 billion yuan.

　　Living a life inside and outside the painting

Outlining, partial dyeing, overall dyeing, dotting the flower stamens... as the brush tip dances and outlines and colors are applied, a peony blossoms on the paper. Entering the Hongmiao Farmers' Painting Cooperative in Juye County, painter Gui Huaifang, who has nearly 20 years of painting experience, is dressed in hanfu creating a gongbi peony painting.

Gui Huaifang can paint two gongbi peony paintings measuring 12 meters long and 0.8 meters wide per month, each earning her 4,000 yuan. "Working here is very free; I can pick up my child on time without neglecting family care, and it also adds to the household income."

Gui Huaifang is painting a gongbi peony artwork. Photo by Li Mingrui

In Juye County, painting gongbi peonies has become a career choice for more and more people. As Yao Shuzhao, head of the Hongmiao Farmers' Painting Cooperative in Juye County, puts it, "Pick up the hoe and you're a farmer; put it down and you're a painter"—this scene is a true portrayal of many locals' daily lives. "For them, this is not just a job but a way of life."

According to Yao Shuzhao, in 2009 his father, Yao Guiyuan, initiated the establishment of the Hongmiao Farmers' Painting Cooperative, the country's first cooperative specializing in farmers' painting. At the time, any student who wanted to learn painting was accepted, taught free of charge, and developed together as a group. "One person drives a family, and one family drives a village. Currently, the cooperative has more than 500 members, and the number of people learning gongbi peony painting continues to grow."

A painter teaching the creation of gongbi peony paintings. Photo courtesy of Juye County Converged Media Center

Asked why gongbi peony painting is easier for farmers to master, Yao Shuzhao explained that Heze, as the "Capital of Peonies," gives villagers a great opportunity to appreciate the charm of peonies. "Depicting peonies is itself depicting Heze culture; this culture is loved by ordinary people and is very down-to-earth. Farmers can master the basic techniques in a short time and complete works independently."

At present, the Hongmiao Farmers' Painting Cooperative has trained more than 200 left-behind women, disabled painters, and impoverished painters, and has recommended and guided outstanding painters to pursue further study elsewhere more than 100 times in total.

Notably, in addition to cooperatives established around painting villages, Juye County also has one county-level painting and calligraphy training base (the County Painting and Calligraphy Academy), eight painting-specialized towns, 56 grassroots painting academies, and more than 50 painting-specialized villages.

Juye gongbi peony painting as intangible cultural heritage enters universities, attracting students to learn. Photo courtesy of Juye County Converged Media Center

Gongbi peony painting moves toward branding and internationalization

The peony is hailed as China's national flower and is one of the important symbols of Chinese culture. Juye gongbi peony painting combines the national flower, national painting, and national gift in one, and is a distinctive cultural calling card representing Heze.

Tourists admiring the huge gongbi peony painting "Prosperous China" at the Juye County Painting and Calligraphy Academy in Heze. Photo by Sha Jianlong

"In recent years, Juye gongbi peony paintings have not only held 80% of the domestic market but have also frequently appeared in international cultural exchanges," said Cheng Junwei, director of the Juye County Painting and Calligraphy Academy. In 2023, Juye gongbi peony paintings were showcased at the United Nations City in Vienna, Austria, and at the Confucius Institute in Munich, Germany. Seven Juye gongbi peony paintings were collected by the United Nations Office at Vienna and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and other international organizations. Juye gongbi peony paintings also shone in Belt and Road partner countries, appearing in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

In May 2023, Juye gongbi peony paintings were showcased at the United Nations City in Vienna, Austria. Photo courtesy of Juye County Converged Media Center

Beyond letting gongbi peony paintings "bloom" overseas, the people of Juye also hope to build a highland for the development of Chinese gongbi peony painting.

To achieve this goal, Juye County has formulated the "Juye Painting and Calligraphy Industry Development Plan" to high standards and established a leading group co-headed by the county party secretary and county magistrate, with three special task forces for brand building, talent cultivation, and market expansion. In 2024, Juye County plans to allocate 5 million yuan for the development of the painting and calligraphy industry.

In Cheng Junwei's view, the vigorous development of Juye County's gongbi peony painting industry is inseparable from scientific top-level design, a strong talent base, and an ever-expanding brand effect. Today, Juye gongbi peony painting is moving toward a standardized, market-oriented "2.0 stage" and ultimately toward a "3.0 stage" with innovation and copyrights, "which requires continuous iterative updating of products and profiting from brand copyrights."

A scene of painting and calligraphy transactions at the Juye County Painting and Calligraphy Trading Market. Photo courtesy of Juye County Converged Media Center

Cheng Junwei said that Juye County has initially taken shape as a brand. Next, how to upgrade the brand of Juye gongbi peony painting and promote its professionalization and industrialization "still has a long way to go."

Today, walking through the streets and alleys of Juye, gongbi peony paintings can be seen everywhere. This "never-fading peony" is blooming all around.