People across China have been flooded with one of the most cherished traditions of the Chinese New Year—bainian (拜年) messages, or New Year greetings, over the past few days. From simple wishes like “新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè, Happy New Year)” to mass-forwarded group chat greetings and heartfelt reflections on life’s progress over the past year, the exchange of bainian messages has become as emblematic of the New Year as crowded train platforms, pork curing in the open air, and joyous family dinners. While this year’s trend sees people using AI platforms to generate clever bainian messages, the tradition of New Year greetings dates back thousands of years. Its history reflects a fascinating journey of technological innovation, societal change, and cultural adaptation.

A starting place for this tradition is the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), when visitors would present each other with small strips of bamboo or wood inscribed with their name, place of origin, and status. The historian Zhao Yi (赵翼) noted in his work Reading Notes While Looking After Parents (《陔余丛考》): “In ancient times, people communicated their names by carving characters on wood. In the early Han dynasty, this practice was called ye [谒, calling on], while in the late Han dynasty, it was referred to as ci [刺, visiting].”

The invention of the papermaking industry during the Han rule provided a new medium for New Year’s greetings. Literati began drawing auspicious symbols, such as flowers and figures, on paper, signing them, and dedicating them to family and friends. But it was not all holiday cheer, as some messages involved tales of woe that would not seem out of place among the sad corners of today’s web. During the war-ridden period from the Three Kingdoms (220 – 280) to the Southern and Northern dynasties (420 – 589), ongoing conflicts, famine, and death made intellectuals especially attuned to the fleeting nature of life. Self-pity and introspection became fashionable, as people embraced melancholy and sorrow to mark the transition from the old year to the new.

A clear example of this shift can be found in the writings of third and fourth-century General Wang Dun (王敦), who expressed his emotions in his calligraphy work “Lajie Letter (《蜡节帖》)”: “No sooner had the lajie [usually refers to the New Year] swiftly passed than the year drew to an end. I couldn’t help but be caught in such feelings of sorrow and lamentation... Speaking of bitterness, the pain in my waist is hard to endure (蜡节忽过，岁暮感悼，伤悲邑邑 ...比苦腰痛，愦愦).”

It was during the Tang dynasty (618 – 907), a period famed for its economic prosperity, that the custom of New Year’s letters and making in-person visits became more structured and ritualized. With the widespread use of paper, the “Four Treasures of the Study (文房四宝)”—the writing brush, ink stick, ink slab, and paper—became essential items for the elite, creating the necessary conditions for the growing popularity of written greetings.

The imperial examination system also thrived during this period, making it essential for students to maintain good relationships with their teachers. Similarly, officials needed to foster connections with their colleagues and superiors. After all, having the right “guanxi (关系, relationships)” has always been crucial for getting things done in China.

Come the Song dynasty (960 – 1279), bainian traditions had become deeply ingrained in society, thriving alongside the period’s booming commercial scene. Meng Yuanlao (孟元老), a Song scholar, detailed the New Year’s customs in the capital of Kaifeng in his work The Eastern Capital: A Dream of Splendor (《东京梦华录》): “On the first day of the New Year, Kaifeng prefecture made an exception by allowing people to indulge in the gambling game of “guanpu (关扑)” for three days. Both officials and commoners left their homes early in the morning to exchange New Year’s greetings.”

One can also observe during this time, the residents of Kaifeng, numbering over 1 million, from scholars and officials to business people and laborers, mastering the craft of multitasking and time management. Households would affix red paper bags to their doors to receive greeting cards known as “feitie (飞帖),” literally “flying cards,” allowing the host to avoid personally greeting each guest. As described by Zhou Hui (周辉) in the Miscellaneous Records of Qingbo (《清波杂志》), it was then customary for socially active literati and officials to have servants deliver these greeting cards. The words on the New Year cards could be very few, which is also part of the aesthetic of time thriftiness.

The first recorded New Year card was created by the Northern Song dynasty scholar Qin Guan (秦观), who wrote a brief 17-character message: “Respectfully sending New Year wishes to esteemed Brother Ziyun, on the first day of the first lunar month, from Qin Guan of Gaoyou. (观，敬贺子允学士尊兄，正旦，高邮秦观手状。)”

By the Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing (1616 – 1911) dynasties, New Year cards had become commonplace in ordinary households. In the capital, it became customary for people to send greeting cards, whether they knew the recipients or not, often delivering them to any mansion they encountered. The poem “New Year’s Greetings (《拜年》)” by the Ming scholar Wen Zhengming (文征明) spoke for the busy scene itself:

By the high mark of the Qing dynasty, the New Year scene in Beijing was a verifiable bustle. As recorded in the Qing poem “Monthly Records of the Government Office (《燕台月令》)”: “In this month, snowflakes of letters fly into households, and empty carts rush the street (是月也，片子飞，空车走).” The tradition of feitie also persisted. The servants dispatched to deliver the letter could simply place the master’s letter in the recipient’s paper bag and then leave without necessarily meeting the friend, whom the master might not even know. The Qing dynasty book Collection of Explanation of Genzhai (《艮斋杂记》) described it as such: “Whether one knows the person or not, when paying a New Year’s visit, one just needs to approach the door, deliver the letter, and write down the name of the sender on the register book (登簿).”

The register book left fertile ground for creativity. Some refined literati would list four fictional guests on the first page of their door register: Senior One-Hundred Years Old, residing on Longevity Street; Master Wealth Excess, on Yuanbao (meaning gold or silver ingot) Street; Noble the Powerful, on Grand Scholar Archway; and Master Fortune and Felicity, residing in Wufu (meaning many fortune) Building. By writing down these names as if these visitors had come in person, the owners of the house hoped to invite blessings and good fortune for the coming year.

Looking back on this history, today’s digital bainian follows the same path of cultural adaptation to new technologies and trends. But the same individual imagination can still find home in these age-old traditions and timeless inspirations. In the Year of the Snake, people still hope to cultivate prosperity, happiness, and enduring vitality drawn from the wisdom of our ancestors.