Paper-cut
is a very distinctive visual art of Chinese handicrafts. It originated from the
6th century when women used to paste golden and silver foil cuttings onto their
hair at the temples, and men used them in sacred rituals. Later, they were used
during festivals to decorate gates and windows. After hundreds of years'
development, now they have become a very popular means of decoration among
country folk, especially women.
The
main cutting tools are simple: paper and scissors or an engraving knife, but
clever and deft craftspeople are remarkably good at cutting in the theme of
daily life. When you look at items made in this method carefully, you will be
amazed by the true to life expressions of the figure's sentiment and
appearance, or portrayal of natural plants and animals' diverse gestures.
Patterns of chrysanthemum display the curling petals, pied magpies show their
tiny feathers and others such as a married daughter returning to her parents'
home, or young people paying a New Year call to their grandparents.
Although
other art forms, like painting, can also show similar scenes, paper cutting
still stands out for its charm - exacting lines and ingenious patterns which are
all hand-made. To make the three-dimensional scenes pop out visually from the
paper, as they are usually in monochrome, engravers must exert their
imagination. They must delete secondary parts and compose the main body
properly, abstractly and boldly. Though simple, the color then appears
charmingly bright.
The
image of an ethnic minority girl cut with paper It is easy to learn about
cutting a piece of paper but very difficult to master it with perfection. One
must grasp the knife in an upright fashion and press evenly on the paper with
some strength. Flexibility is required but any hesitation or wiggling will lead
to imprecision or damage the whole image. Engravers stress the cutting lines in
several styles. They attempt to carve a circle like the moon, a straight line
like a stem of wheat, a square like a brick, and jaggedly like the beard.
People
find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper cuttings. For example:
for a wedding ceremony, red paper cuttings are a traditional and required
decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and on other furniture. A
big red paper character 'Xi' (happiness) is a traditional must on the
newlywed's door. Upon the birthday party of a senior, the character 'Shou'
represents longevity and will add delight to the whole celebration; while a
pattern of plump children cuddling fish signifies that every year they will be
abundant in wealth.
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