Theatrical scene

Chinese operas are very long and feature complex narratives with a large number of characters. Keeping track of who is who is a challenge even for the most dedicated fan. Most popular print depictions of Chinese opera fall into one of two categories: either showing the actors in full stage costume in a landscape or architectural setting or as they would appear on a stage traditionally set with minimal props. As the popularity of the theater grew beginning in the early 1800s, production of theatrical prints also surged.

Popular prints became an important part of folk tradition nearly a thousand years ago, and they remain so today. These prints are used for residential decoration and viewing pleasure, and can be purchased throughout the year. Varied in subject, color, and format, the prints are often glued on doors, windows, walls, pillars, furniture, and any place outdoors around the house. Celebratory themes and images pictured on the prints bear wishes for a happy New Year, a long life, health, fortune, continuation of the family line, and protections against evil-many of the prominent themes embedded in symbols on Chinese art.

Popular prints were made either using woodblock printing or using offset lithography, a technique that largely replaced woodblock printing from the early twentieth century onward. Derived from lithography, the offset process involves three cylinders:
1. The artist creates the image on the plate cylinder as he or she would like it to appear in print (that is, a positive image).
2. The image is transferred to the rubber offset cylinder as a negative.
3. Paper is fed between the offset cylinder and the impression cylinder, which presses the image onto the paper and results in a positive print.