Lunar New Year's Eve, a cherished traditional festival of the Chinese people, marks the final day of the lunar calendar year and the night before the Spring Festival. Commonly referred to as "Year's Thirty" or "Great Year Thirty," it is steeped in rich traditions. As recorded in Meng Liang Lu, “On the final day of the twelfth month, referred to as ‘the day of the year's end,’ households, regardless of size, clean their premises, replace door gods, hang images of Zhong Kui, affix peachwood charms, and honor ancestors with offerings.” Today, the most important customs include the reunion dinner and staying awake to see in the new year.

Traditions of Lunar New Year's Eve

The reunion dinner varies significantly across regions and ethnic groups. In northern China, families enjoy dumplings symbolizing the transition from one year to the next. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, dishes like fish, pork, radish, spinach, vermicelli, and peanuts are served, symbolizing abundance (nian nian you yu). In Yan’an, people eat tofu and jujube cakes, while in southern Fujian, meatballs and fish balls signify reunion and prosperity. For Mongolians, lamb shank and dumplings are traditional, and Manchu households serve dishes like blood sausage, boiled pork, and sauerkraut. The Zhuang people prepare white-cut chicken, stuffed tofu, and glutinous rice cakes, while Tibetan families enjoy barley wine, butter tea, and fried dough pastries.

The custom of staying awake to welcome the new year is thought to date back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties. A poem by Xu Junqian captures this tradition:

"With joy abounding, cups are raised without pause.
Among the dumplings and wine, the festive spirit soars.
As the curtains sway, the embers burn away.
In anticipation of dawn, let the night extend."

In different regions, this tradition takes unique forms. In Shandong, families gather on heated brick beds to make dumplings, eating them after midnight. In southern Fujian, families sit around hotpots at round tables, with dishes bearing symbolic meanings: fish balls and meatballs for "three rounds" (a homophone for reunion), radish for "good fortune," and fried foods to signify prosperity.

Chung Chen Sun's Year of the Tiger

Amid the festive atmosphere, we turn to Chung Chen Sun’s Year of the Tiger (1974), a masterpiece imbued with vitality and majesty. The tiger has been a motif in Chinese art for millennia, as evidenced by artifacts such as tiger-patterned pottery from over 4,000 years ago in Northwestern China, and the bronze tiger tokens from the Spring and Autumn period. As noted in the Xuanhe Huapu of the Song Dynasty, “The tiger paintings of the Tang Dynasty’s Li Jian and the Song Dynasty’s Zhao Miaochu are famous, yet those of Bao Ding and Pei Wenxian’s cows, though not without renown, exhibit a raw, wild nature." Unfortunately, the works of renowned Tang and Song tiger painters have not survived, and today we can only see representations like the exaggerated, anthropomorphic tiger images found in the murals of Dunhuang’s Cave 428.

In pre-industrial society, people lacked the means to domesticate tigers, and their understanding of these majestic beasts was largely conceptual, leading to inaccurate depictions by artists. These images, influenced by myths and artistic canons, strayed significantly from the real-life tiger.

By the 20th century, artists like He Xiangning, Zhang Shanmeng, and Xu Beihong elevated the portrayal of tigers to an unprecedented level of realism. These artists, many of whom studied abroad and incorporated photographic and printing techniques into their work, shifted the focus of the tiger from a mythical "auspicious creature" to a symbol of strength, urging the nation to resist foreign threats and build a powerful country.

Chung Chen Sun, benefiting from modern art education, captures the essence of the tiger in his Year of the Tiger painting, blending both form and spirit with great force. The tiger is depicted with bold ink strokes that define its body and pattern, complemented by touches of reddish-brown. The whiskers are rendered with strong, erect lines, and the eyes are meticulously detailed, bringing life to the creature. Chung’s skillful use of varied brushstrokes—dragging, pushing, reversing, and combining side and center strokes—accurately portrays the tense moment just before the tiger leaps, reflecting his deep understanding of its anatomy and his exceptional ability to render life-like motion. The painting exudes vitality, capturing the unbridled energy of this magnificent creature.

As the Year of the Tiger approaches, we celebrate the festive season with Chung Chen Sun’s work, wishing everyone a Happy New Year and good health!