About 70% or 800 million of the Chinese population are peasants.  Chinese Peasant Painting or Chinese Folk Painting reflects both styles and scenes of the peasants' lives in the vast countryside of China. 

Chinese Peasant Painting is both ancient and young.  It is ancient because it originates from the thousand year traditions of embroidering, batik, paper cutting and wall painting.  It is young because as a genre of painting it has emerged within the last thirty years with the help of trained artists.  Peasant art is totally free of staleness and has a vigorous artistic impact that is strong, sincere and bold.  Its exaggerated modeling, distortion and surrealistic style can give a feeling of truthfulness and naivete.  The vivid color and composition are very imaginative and cheerfully decorative.  The art posses the simplicity of people who live away from the complexity of big city life.  Throughout China, there are more than forty so-called "Painting Villages."  These villages specialize in various forms and styles of folk art.