菏泽巨野县洪庙村的画室里，十几名农民画师俯身案前，笔尖轻点宣纸，一朵朵国色天香的工笔牡丹渐次绽放。巨野县洪庙农民绘画专业合作社理事长姚树昭穿梭其间，时而俯身指导技法，时而接起订单电话。“唯有牡丹真国色，花开时节动京城”，在姚树昭的带动下，乡亲们通过画牡丹“执笔致富”，工笔牡丹画也登上了更广阔的舞台。

　　农忙扛锄头，农闲拿画笔，这是“中国工笔画之乡”巨野县的真实写照。全国每10张手绘工笔牡丹画当中，就有8张出自巨野县。2009年，全国第一个以农民绘画为专业的合作社——巨野县洪庙农民绘画专业合作社创立，截至目前，社员已发展到500余人，创立人正是姚树昭的父亲姚桂元。

　　姚树昭翻开一张张泛黄的照片——1973年、1977年的画师合影，记录着洪庙村最早的绘画岁月。自幼深受家庭熏陶的姚树昭，在西安美术学院求学期间师从山水画家杨建兮教授，不仅继承了精湛技艺，更拓宽了艺术视野。学成归来后，他思考的是如何将传统工笔画与新时代融合，如何让这支画笔为乡村振兴注入新活力。

　　这些年，巨野工笔牡丹画发展渐成东风之势，一次次向世界展示中国传统绘画的艺术魅力，最具代表性的就是大幅作品《盛世长虹》的创作。“怎样把黄河文化和牡丹文化融合？我从立意上创新，配合黄河的黄色，将牡丹的红花绿叶改为红花黄叶。”姚树昭选择延安段黄河作为表现对象，融入红色革命文化元素，使作品兼具地域特色与时代精神。2022年，在中国农民书画研究会的推荐下，《盛世长虹》登上了美国纽约时代广场的大屏幕，连续播放四天。“巨野的工笔牡丹花正式绽放于世界舞台。”姚树昭的语气中充满自豪。

　　如今，姚树昭的女儿姚明月也在为工笔画的推广探索新路。她正尝试通过AI等技术为客户提供“沉浸式体验”，“传统的售卖方式只能让客户看到成品，我们要让他们提前看到画作在自己家中的展示效果。这是工笔画未来销售的方向。”

　　在合作社画室里有一位特殊的画师——一身汉服装扮的桂怀芳正在作画，享受着独属于她的“仪式感”。作为合作社的第一批画师，她一边细心勾勒花瓣，一边笑着说：“我喜欢古风文化，喜欢画我们的牡丹。选择这个工作，上班时间比较灵活，画画的同时能接送孩子上学，能照顾老人还能兼顾农忙。”

　　姚树昭免费培训书画学员的政策，让更多人实现了家门口就业。绘画零基础、不识字的学员也可以免费进入合作社学习，三个月的时间就能出产品。在合作社里，有身体残疾的留守家庭妇女，她们都通过一支画笔改变了生活。姚树昭特别提到村里的纪东丽，“她是右手残疾，左手可以画。别人三个月能学会的东西她用了三年，但会了这一门手艺，一辈子就可吃这碗饭。”据透露，当地农民画师通过绘制工笔牡丹画，年收入能增加4万到8万不等，通过挥动画笔实现了增收致富。

　　“如今的洪庙农民绘画专业合作社，人人都能画，人人都有活干，蒸蒸日上，订单不断，销售很可观。”姚树昭介绍。据了解，到2024年，巨野县工笔牡丹画已形成可实现综合年产值45亿元的文创产业，入选山东省赋能乡村振兴典型案例。“推动巨野工笔牡丹画等做强品牌、拓展市场……”2025年初，巨野工笔牡丹画被写入山东省政府工作报告。姚树昭和书画院既是这股产业“东风”的受益者，也是参与者、推动者。

　　暮色中，洪庙村的画室灯光亮起，远处的农田沉入黑暗，而宣纸上的牡丹永葆盛开。一支画笔的重量不过几十克，但五百支画笔共同挥毫时，却描绘出了乡村振兴的新图景。

　　In the painting studio of Hongmiao Village, Juye County, Heze, more than a dozen farmer-painters bend over their desks, their brushes lightly touching the painting paper. One by one, exquisite peonies in the meticulous painting style gradually bloom. Yao Shuzhao, director of the Hongmiao Farmer Painting Cooperative in Juye County, moves among them, sometimes leaning over to offer technical guidance, other times answering order calls. As the ancient verse goes, “Only the peony stands as true national beauty, its blossoms overwhelming the capital in full bloom.“ Inspired by Yao, fellow villagers have “picked up brushes to prosper“ by painting peonies, and the meticulous peony paintings have also stepped onto a broader stage.

　　Farming during busy seasons and painting during leisure time—this is the true portrayal of Juye County, known as “the Hometown of Chinese Meticulous Painting.“ Eight out of every ten hand-painted meticulous peony paintings in China come from Juye County. In 2009, the country's first professional farmer painting cooperative—the Hongmiao Farmer Painting Cooperative—was established here. Founded by Yao Shuzhao's father, Yao Guiyuan, it has now grown to over 500 members.

　　Yao Shuzhao flips through yellowed photographs—group photos of painters from 1973 and 1977, documenting the earliest days of painting in Hongmiao Village. Deeply influenced by his family from a young age, Yao Shuzhao studied under landscape painter Professor Yang Jianxi at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. There, he not only refined his skills but also broadened his artistic horizons. After returning home, he pondered how to integrate traditional meticulous painting with the new era and how to use the paintbrush to inject new vitality into rural revitalization.

　　In recent years, the development of Juye’s meticulous peony paintings has gained momentum, repeatedly showcasing the charm of traditional Chinese art to the world. The most representative example is the creation of the large-scale work “Everlasting Prosperity“. “How could I integrate the cultures of the Yellow River and peonies? I conceptualized it by incorporating the yellow of the Yellow River and adapted the peony's red blossoms and green leaves into red blossoms with yellow leaves,“ Yao explained. He chose the Yan'an section of the Yellow River as his subject, incorporating elements of red revolutionary culture to imbue the work with both regional characteristics and the spirit of the times. In 2022, recommended by the Chinese Farmers' Painting and Calligraphy Research Association, “Everlasting Prosperity“ was displayed on the big screen in New York City's Times Square for four consecutive days. “Juye's meticulous peony paintings officially bloomed on the world stage,“ Yao said with pride.

　　Today, Yao Shuzhao's daughter, Yao Mingyue, is also exploring new ways to promote meticulous painting. She is experimenting with technologies like AI to provide clients with an “immersive experience.“ “Traditional sales methods only allow clients to see the finished products. We want them to see in advance how the paintings would look in their homes. This is the future direction of sales for meticulous paintings,“ she said.

　　In the cooperative's studio, there is a special painter—Gui Huaifang, dressed in Hanfu attire, enjoys a sense of ritual unique to her as she paints. As one of the cooperative's first painters, she carefully outlines petals and says with a smile, “I love ancient culture and painting our peonies. This job offers flexible hours, allowing me to paint while taking my children to school, caring for the elderly, and tending to farm work during busy seasons.“

　　Yao Shuzhao's policy of free painting training has enabled more special groups to find employment close to home. Even those with zero painting experience or who are illiterate can join the cooperative for free training and start producing sellable works within three months. The cooperative includes women with disabilities from left-behind families, all of whom have transformed their lives through the paintbrush. Yao Shuzhao especially mentioned Ji Dongli in the village: “She has a disability in her right hand but paints with her left. It took her three years to learn what others could in three months, but with this skill, she can make a lifelong living.“ It is reported that local farmer-painters have increased their annual income by 40,000 to 80,000 yuan through painting meticulous peony artworks, wielding their brushes to boost their earnings and improve their livelihoods.

　　“Today, at the Hongmiao Farmer Painting Cooperative, everyone is able to paint, everyone has a job to do. Business is thriving, orders are constant, and sales are impressive,“ Yao Shuzhao noted. It is knowned that by 2024, Juye County's meticulous peony paintings had become a cultural and creative industry with an annual comprehensive output value of 4.5 billion yuan, selected as a typical case of empowering rural revitalization in Shandong Province. “Promoting brands like Juye's meticulous peony paintings and expanding their market…“—in early 2025, Juye's meticulous peony paintings were included in the Shandong Provincial Government Work Report. Yao Shuzhao and the painting academy are both beneficiaries and participants in this industrial “tailwind.“

　　As dusk falls, the lights in Hongmiao Village's painting studio flicker on. The farmland in the distance sinks into darkness, but the peonies on the rice paper remain forever in bloom. A single paintbrush weighs only tens of grams, but when five hundred paintbrushes wield together, they paint a new picture of rural revitalization.