——"Paper-cutting is a kind of hollow art and the most popular folk art, which visually gives people a hollow feeling and artistic enjoyment. Its carrier can be paper, gold and silver foil, bark, Leaf, cloth, leather, leather and other sheet materials”

Edit this paragraph’s introduction to paper-cutting

Paper-cutting is one of the most popular traditional folk decorative arts in China and has a long history. . It is generally popular probably because of its easily available materials, low cost, immediate effect, and wide adaptability. It is also most suitable for rural women to make in their spare time. It can be used as a practical object and beautify their lives. Paper-cutting can be seen all over the country, and even different local styles have been formed. Paper-cutting not only expresses the aesthetic preferences of the masses, but also contains the deep social psychology of the nation. It is also one of the most distinctive folk arts in China, and its modeling characteristics are particularly worthy of study. As the embodiment of the original philosophy of China, folk paper-cutting has comprehensive, beautifying and auspicious characteristics in its form of expression. At the same time, folk paper-cutting uses its own specific expression language to convey the connotation and essence of traditional culture.

On May 20, 2006, the art heritage of paper-cutting was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. On June 8, 2007, Shanghai Li Shoubai Paper-cutting Master Studio won the first Cultural Heritage Day Award issued by the Ministry of Culture.

Edit the history of paper-cutting in this paragraph

my country's folk paper-cut handicraft art has its own formation and development process. The invention of paper in my country was in the Western Han Dynasty BC (6 BC century), it was impossible for the art of paper-cutting to appear before that. However, at that time, people used thin sheet materials to make handicrafts through hollow carving techniques. However, they had been popular long before paper appeared, that is, carving, engraving, and carving The techniques of cutting, engraving, and cutting are used to cut and carve patterns on gold foil, leather, silk, and even leaves. "Historical Records" records that in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, King Cheng cut sycamore leaves into "Gui" as a gift to his younger brother, and granted Ji Yu the title of Marquis in the Tang Dynasty. During the Warring States Period, leather carvings were used (one of the cultural relics unearthed from Chu Tomb No. 1 in Jianglingwangshan, Hubei), and silver foil hollow carvings (one of the cultural relics unearthed from the Warring States site in Guwei Village, Huixian County, Henan) were both produced together with paper-cutting. Their emergence laid a certain foundation for the formation of folk paper-cutting. The earliest paper-cut works discovered in my country were found in 1967 by Chinese archaeologists in the Astana Ancient Northern Dynasty Curtain Group near the Gaochang site in Turpan Basin, Xinjiang. They used linen paper, both of which were folded. Their discovery provides physical evidence for the formation of paper-cutting in my country.

The history of the handicraft art of paper-cutting, that is, paper-cutting in the true sense, should start with the emergence of paper. The invention of paper in the Han Dynasty promoted the emergence, development and popularization of paper-cutting. Paper is a material that is easy to get moldy. The climate in southeastern my country is humid, and the local rainy days in May and June every year make paper products moldy over time. And folk paper-cutting is a popular thing. People don't keep them like treasures, and if they break them, they can cut them again. In the northwestern region of my country, there is little rain and a dry climate, so paper is not prone to mildew. This may also be one of the important reasons why Northern Dynasties paper-cutting was discovered in Turpan, Xinjiang.

Paper-cutting in the Tang Dynasty - Paper Flowers Paper-cutting in the Tang Dynasty was in a period of great development. There is a sentence in Du Fu's poem "Warm water washes my feet, and paper-cutting summons my soul." The custom of using paper-cutting to summon souls was already in existence at that time. Spread among the people. From the Tang Dynasty paper-cuttings now in the British Museum, it can be seen that the level of paper-cutting craftsmanship at that time was extremely high, and the composition of the picture was complete, expressing an ideal state of heaven and earth. Jie was popular in the Tang Dynasty, and its carved woodblock patterns had the characteristics of paper-cutting. For example, the "Duoyang" in Shosoin, Japan, whose sheep pattern is a typical expression technique of paper-cutting handmade art. In the Tang Dynasty, people also used paper-cut stencil printing boards. People carved patterns out of thick paper and printed dye onto cloth to form beautiful patterns.

The papermaking industry in the Song Dynasty was mature and there were many types of paper products, which provided conditions for the popularization of paper-cutting. For example, they become "fireworks" for folk gifts, "window flowers" affixed to windows, or used for decoration of lanterns and tea cups.

The exaggeration of zigzag paper-cutting in folk paper-cutting not only reflects the characteristics of objects, but also requires the purpose of decorative beauty, and in the effect of decorative beauty, it expresses the creator's spiritual pursuit of life ideals and wishes. In order to make the highlighted parts clearer, more concentrated and more eye-catching, some patterns are often added to the objects to achieve the perfect decorative purpose. The desire for beauty has also become one of the exaggerated contents. When representing characters, the clothes of the characters are covered with flowers; when depicting animals, the fur on the animals is exaggerated into a swirl shape, or patterns are directly added to their bodies. This makes the original ordinary image transparent and reflects a strong decorative. Zigzag and crescent shapes are commonly used decorative patterns in folk paper-cutting.

The creative process of folk paper-cutting is a process of evolution and deepening from the "truth" of real life to the "beauty" of art through exaggerated techniques. It is a reflection of the creator's thoughts and feelings, aesthetic psychology and understanding of beauty. The process of pursuit and manifestation. Through long-term observation and understanding of life, and after long-term practice, the creator is well versed in the rules of paper-cutting, and can freely combine balanced, uneven, dense and irregular lines to form wonderful movements and rhythms, adding interest. It enriches the appeal of the image.

3. Paper-cutting tools and instructions:

Paper-cutting is not made by machine but by hand. There are two commonly used methods: scissors and knife. As the name suggests, scissor cutting uses scissors. After cutting, several pieces (generally no more than 8 pieces of paper cutting) are pasted together, and finally sharp scissors are used to process the pattern. Knife cutting involves folding the paper into several stacks first and placing them on the paper. On the soft mixture composed of ash and animal fat, the paper-cut artist usually holds the knife vertically and processes the paper into the desired pattern according to a certain model. Compared with scissors, the knife cuts. One of the advantages is that it can be processed into multiple paper-cut patterns at one time.

Edit the styles of paper-cutting in this section

1. The southern style is represented by Guangdong Foshan paper-cutting and Fujian folk paper-cutting. p>

Paper-cutting in Foshan, Guangdong

Southern style paper-cutting - Foshan paper-cutting

Paper-cutting in Foshan, Guangdong has a long history, originating from the Song Dynasty and flourishing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Foshan paper-cutting has been around since the Ming Dynasty. Specialized in large-scale production, the products are sold to the province, central and southwestern provinces, and exported to Southeast Asian countries.

Foshan paper-cutting is divided into copper lining, paper lining, copper writing and silver writing according to its production raw materials and methods. , woodcut overprinting, copper chisel, solid color and other major categories. It uses local specialty copper foil and silver foil, and uses cutting, carving, chiseling and other techniques to lining various colored papers and painting and printing various patterns to form strong colors and brilliant colors. , paper-cutting with southern characteristics. Foshan paper-cutting has both delicate and elegant expressions, and the techniques are selected according to the needs of use.

In ancient times, paper-cutting was mainly used for decoration of festival gifts and sacrifices. Decoration, embroidery and engraving patterns, product trademarks, etc. With the development of society, Foshan paper-cutting, on the basis of tradition, is characterized by rigorous composition, strong decorativeness, elegance, and splendor, and is often characterized by reflecting the life themes of the times. It has pioneered the innovation of traditional art and is more representative in the art of paper-cutting in my country.

Fujian Folk Paper-cutting

Southern Paper-cutting - Fujian Zhangpu Paper-cutting

Paper-cuts in various parts of Fujian have different characteristics. In the mountainous areas such as Nanping and Hua'an, there are many works depicting mountain poultry and domestic animals, which are more robust, honest and simple; in some coastal areas such as southern Fujian and Zhangpu, aquatic animals are often used in the paintings. , the style is delicate and vivid; Putian and Xianyou areas are mainly gift flowers, which tend to be gorgeous and delicate.

Paper-cutting also has a wide range of uses: window grilles, door signs, lanterns, etc. for annual festivals. The manuscripts of ceremonial flowers and embroidery are also used by Quanzhou artists on furniture in buildings to make copies of lacquer paintings.

The most distinctive style should be called Putian's gift flowers. To celebrate birthdays, worship gods, ghosts, and ancestors. No matter it is a gift or an offering, no matter whether the gift is light or heavy, a bright red paper-cut flower must be given, including pig's head, pig's feet, pig's belly, and chicken feet. This is also true.

There is a Chinese proverb that goes, "It is not worth mentioning people's intentions." Gifts must be symbolic behaviors, and the flowers on the gifts should be the symbol of people's feelings, right?

The shape of gift flowers is also interesting. The paper-cut on a chicken foot is called "phoenix claw flower", and the originally unattractive thing suddenly becomes a phoenix foot with phoenix feet and phoenix toes, decorated with the pattern of "playing peonies". It is more beautiful. The pig's belly is also ugly. The author cut the flower into a fat and oily piglet, which perfectly perfected this gift that is not only "delicious but not beautiful". It is even more strange that the words "a mass of color" instead of "a mass of harmony" are written in it, because the garden is filled with visible auspicious clouds.

2. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang schools are represented by Yangzhou paper-cutting in Jiangsu and folk paper-cutting in Zhejiang.

Jiangsu Yangzhou Paper-cutting

Jiangsu and Zhejiang school paper-cutting - Yangzhou paper-cutting "Flowers of the Four Seasons" cut out in various variations Yangzhou is one of the earliest areas where paper-cutting became popular in my country. Yangzhou paper-cutting has a long history. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty visited Yangzhou three times, built a villa in the palace, and enjoyed himself as much as he wanted. Every winter, when the flowers and trees in the garden withered and the pond water froze, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty continued to enjoy the tours. He ordered the maids to imitate folk paper-cutting, cut flowers and leaves with colorful brocade, decorate the branches, hang them on the trees, and cut them into lotus flowers, Water chestnuts, lotus root and other items are removed from the ice in the pool and placed on the water one by one, just like the gorgeous scenery at the turn of spring and summer, which is pleasing to the eye. In the Tang Dynasty, Yangzhou already had the custom of paper-cutting to welcome the spring. On the day of the beginning of spring, folk people cut paper into flowers, or into spring butterflies, spring coins, or spring flowers, which are hung on the heads of beauties or placed under flowers, and they are joyful to watch. Paper-cuts also have some special uses, such as folk paper-cut figures, paper horses and paper money, etc., which are used to pay homage to ghosts and gods. The great poet Du Fu wrote the poem "Warm soup washes my feet, paper cutting attracts my soul", which refers to this use.

In the spring of 1980, people from all walks of life in Yangzhou welcomed the statue of Master Jianzhen back to his hometown to visit relatives. Paper-cutting artists made paper-cuts of "Master Jianzhen", and Mr. Zhao Puchu wrote a poem "Recalling Jiangnan" for it, which has the words "Mingmu" The whole city sings across the sea, and the divine craftsmanship of paper-cutting and soul-calling" is a line. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yangzhou paper-cutting enhanced its decorative nature and combined appreciation with practicality. It was used not only for the decoration of women and children, as a base for embroidery, to cut shoe flowers, pillow flowers, tablecloth flowers, bedsheet flowers, etc.; it was also used in folk customs. Decorations, such as New Year patterns, festive patterns, front door floral decorations, lantern flowers, dragon boat flowers, fighting incense flowers, etc. With a pair of scissors and a few pieces of rice paper, folk paper-cutting artists can create patterns that symbolize good luck, good luck, longevity, wealth, etc. in various ways and with various meanings. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were still many folk artists in Yangzhou making a living by paper-cutting.

After the founding of New China, Yangzhou paper-cutting, like other traditional handicrafts, has received the attention of the party and the government. In 1955, the Folk Craft Society (now Yangzhou Craft Factory) was established in Yangzhou to organize scattered folk artists and arrange good working conditions, which greatly stimulated their creative enthusiasm. The famous old artist Zhang Yongshou is an outstanding representative of Yangzhou paper-cut art. He began to learn art from his father at the age of 12, experienced more than 70 years of art, and created thousands of paper-cuts. His main works include three paper-cut collections: "A Hundred Flowers Bloom" in the 1950s, "A Hundred Chrysanthemums" in the 1970s, and "A Hundred Butterflies Love Flowers" in the 1980s. When the paper-cut collection "A Hundred Flowers Bloom" was published, Comrade Guo Moruo wrote a poem for it: "Yangzhou artist Zhang Yongshou cut out a hundred flowers blooming. Please see the spring and autumn when he cut out, and the east wind spreads all over Jiugai." In 1979, Zhang Yongshou was awarded the national award. The title of Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts.

Today, there are more than 1,000 varieties of Yangzhou paper-cuts, which are sold to dozens of countries and regions, contributing to cultural and artistic exchanges at home and abroad.

Zhejiang Folk Paper-cut

Jiangsu and Zhejiang School Paper-cut - Zhejiang Paper-cut

"Wulin Fanzhi" records that in the Five Dynasties, "King Wu Yue Jian was traveling on an auspicious day... Hundreds of people outside the city There is no hanging brocade in each household, but people and horses are cut out of colored paper to represent them." This depicts a grand paper-cutting landscape that once appeared in the hometown of Wu and Yue.

The tradition of folk paper-cutting continues to be passed down in the countryside and lasts for a long time.

Before 1953, investigators once recorded: "Window cutouts can be found in various places in Zhejiang Province, with Yongkang, Pujiang, and Pan'an in Jinhua area, and Yueqing, Pingyang and other places in Wenzhou area having many different styles and uses. "

Judging from the items collected, most of them are window flowers and lanterns in Jinhua area, fine-grained paper from Yueqing is mainly used to decorate dragon pan lanterns, and "rings" are placed on gifts when giving gifts in Pingyang area. "Potted flowers" are the most distinctive. Secondly, there are local styles of clothes, shoes and hats available in various places.

The common themes are flowers, fruits, birds, animals and fish, while opera stories are the specialty of Yongkang area. Most of the flower-cut patterns are those of the older generation that the women saved when they were girls; some are made by folk craftsmen who painted Buddhist statues, and are then cut by skilled hands. Of course, some skilled hands can also make their own samples and cut them out. They can even cut out a complete set of scripts after watching the play.

Zhejiang opera window grilles are good at capturing typical scenes and plots in the opera, fully reflecting the beauty of the characters' bodies. What is different from opera is that paper-cutting is matched with a suitable background, showing the advantages of a specific artistic language. Zhejiang paper-cut modeling emphasizes large outlines of images, with thin negative lines cut out of the images. The right shade of the negative line can add color to the image structure and the rhythm of the picture.

3. The northern school is represented by Shanxi paper-cutting, Shaanxi folk paper-cutting and Shandong folk paper-cutting.

Shanxi Paper-cutting

Folk paper-cutting is a very common mass art in Shanxi. Old ladies over fifty and simple and handsome girls often use a pair of small scissors. Or a carving knife, which curves naturally and moves flexibly to cut out and carve patterns on paper, decorating your life. On the occasion of the New Year, when you walk into a village courtyard in northwestern Shanxi and see the yellow mounds in the distance and the gray cave dwellings in front of you, it seems that the colors here are too monotonous. However, if you look at the colorful grilles and patterns on the windows, the door papers fluttering in the wind, and the colorful paper flowers with auspicious meanings in cupboards, grain stores, stables, etc., you will definitely admire them from the bottom of your heart. It seems to feel the strong breath of life. Yes, paper-cutting is such a folk art form that takes root among the people, is closely related to people's lives, and adds color and joy to thousands of households. In rural areas in the old days, people often regarded paper-cutting skills as a sign of their daughter-in-law's dexterity or clumsiness. Rural women naturally became the folk inheritors of paper-cutting craftsmanship.

Paper-cutting is an important folk activity, and the rich folklore phenomena provide a broad world for paper-cutting to run freely. Folk paper-cutting is closely integrated with local customs and habits, contains the basic qualities of national spirit and national psychology, and is an integral part of traditional national culture. Jufan's seasons, residence, clothing, birth and adulthood, weddings, funerals, and birthday feasts are all reflected in the paper-cutting.

Take the seasons of the year as an example. At the beginning of the first lunar month, every family hangs spring streamers and puts up window grilles, creating a festive atmosphere. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, lanterns are held, and paper cuttings are put on the lanterns to make them more colorful and attractive. During the Qingming Festival in March, paper cuts should be placed on the offerings to express feelings of respect for the ancestors. During the Dragon Boat Festival in May, cut and paste the "Five Poisons" to avoid the epidemic. On July 7th, the Qiao Qiao Festival, girls gather together to cut patterns and compete in wisdom. On September 9th, the Double Ninth Festival, the Double Ninth Flag is cut and engraved to symbolize climbing higher step by step. On October 1st, the Cold Farm Festival, people in northern Shanxi use five-color paper to cut into cold clothes, or make them into garments, hats, shoes, and quilts in various styles, and burn them in front of the door or in the cemetery to express the living's grief for the deceased.

Let’s look at weddings and funerals. When getting married, red words "Double Happiness" are affixed on both sides of the door. In southern Shanxi, large-scale paper-cuts such as "Fish Popping Lotus", "Kilin Sending Son", "Mandarin Duck Playing in the Water" and other dowries are also used to decorate the dowry. The embroidery on pillows and handkerchiefs is also made from paper-cut patterns. The paper flags, money trees, gold and silver mountains, cars and horses used in the funeral procession are all made of paper cut and paste. Although these very ordinary paper-cut works are not as luxurious and brilliant as pearls and jade, they involve everyone's heart and accompany the lives of thousands of households, and have a heart-stirring artistic charm.

Most of the themes of folk paper-cutting are characters, animals, plants and flowers. What is valuable is that it can use common things in life to form allegorical artistic pictures through homophony, symbolism and other techniques.

For example, "Dragon and Phoenix Presenting Auspiciousness" and "Phoenix Playing with Peonies" symbolize the happiness and sanctity of marriage. "Bangs Playing with Golden Toad" symbolizes the sincerity of love. "Persimmon and Ruyi" means good luck, peace and happiness in all seasons. "The Magpie Climbs the Branch" means that joy will bloom on the brows and happy events will fill the door. The decorative pattern on the fat pig's body is composed of a group of piglets, which is a metaphor for "having many children". A new daughter-in-law holds a baby in her arms, which means "getting a child" and so on. In the world of paper-cutting art, skilled folk craftsmen can use their imagination to depict ideal things, conveying the spirit through form, expressing cleverness, novelty and beauty.

The genre and format of Shanxi folk paper-cutting are adapted to the local folk customs and practical needs. The most common one is window grille, its size is determined according to the shape of the window pane. For example, the window formats in northern Shanxi include diamond, round, polygonal and other styles, and the window grilles also vary with the windows. The smaller ones are delicate and clever, full of childishness; the larger ones have four-corner, hexagonal, and octagonal "round flowers" that echo each other. Simple and elegant. In Xinzhou area, when celebrating the Spring Festival or planning a wedding, "window decorations" must be posted, that is, cut out persimmons, Ruyi, peonies, bergamot, lotus, osmanthus, sheng, etc., to wish the new daughter-in-law to be good at female beauty, have a child soon, and be happy.

Generally speaking, the style of Shanxi folk paper-cutting has the characteristics of rough expansion, majestic, concise and simple in the northern region. However, due to differences in regional environment, living customs, and aesthetic concepts, paper-cutting varies from place to place. For example, the paper-cuts in southern Shanxi, central Shanxi, southeastern Shanxi, northwestern Shanxi, and Luliang mountainous areas are mostly monochrome paper-cuts with a simple and rough style. The dyed paper-cutting popular in Yanbei area is graceful, elegant and magnificent, especially represented by "Guangling Window Decoration". Jincheng Magnetic Paper-cutting adds scientific and technological elements to my country's 1,500-year-old paper-cutting culture, making it more fashionable and widely used, embodying the value of scientific and technological progress.

People compare life to an evergreen tree. Then, we say that the art under the scissors is the flowers and fruits on the evergreen tree. Folk paper-cutting is rooted in and spread among the people. It is native to the country, has an earthy fragrance and earthy color, and always exudes the fragrance of art.

——Guangling paper-cutting

"Guangling window flowers" are famous for their realistic shapes, exquisite carvings and bright colors. Its raw material is a single snow-white rice paper, and its tools are several carving knives of varying sizes with oblique blades. The procedure is to carve out the finished paper-cut product with a knife, and then dot and color it. Folk craftsmen pay great attention to knife carving and coloring techniques. They use simple tools and mainly use negative carving, supplemented by positive carving. They can carve many finished products in just a few minutes. When coloring, use good white wine to mix the color. For darker colors, add a small amount of alum. This will not only make the color bright and watery, but also ensure that the paper-cut can be stored for a long time. Guangling paper-cutting has won a reputation for its exquisite skills. It has been sold to France, the United States, Japan, Poland and other countries, and has become a cherished work of art by overseas friends.

——MAGNETIC PAPER-CUT

Jincheng paper-cutting is represented by magnetic paper-cutting, which is unique in the country.

Magnetic paper-cutting can be adsorbed to magnetic photo frames, magnetic scrolls, magnetic writing boards by its own magnetism, and can also be adsorbed to iron objects such as refrigerators, security doors, cars, filing cabinets, and pencil boxes. Spray a little water or wash it clean and attach it to glass or other smooth surfaces. Magnetic paper-cutting can more fully reflect the open-carving characteristics of paper-cutting and the air-permeable effect of paper-cutting.

Magnetic paper-cutting is the inheritance and development of the art of paper-cutting. The contribution of magnetic paper-cutting to paper-cutting is reflected in: 1. Magnetic paper-cutting expands the paper-cutting market; 2. Magnetic paper-cutting enriches the theory of paper-cutting; 3. Magnetic paper-cutting enhances the artistic expression of paper-cutting, with innovations in artistic creation techniques and artistic expression techniques. More diversity.

Magnetic paper-cutting is a utility model patent (Patent No.: ZL 200420067151.0), which was granted by the People's Republic of China and the State Intellectual Property Office on August 17, 2005.

The magnetic paper-cutting patent adds technological elements to my country's 1,500-year-old paper-cutting culture, making it more fashionable and widely used, embodying the value of scientific and technological progress.

Shaanxi Folk Paper-cutting

From south to north in Shaanxi, especially the Loess Plateau and the 800-mile Qinchuan River, red and green paper-cutting can be seen everywhere. That ancient shape, rough style, there