Chen Qiuri

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Chen Qiuri, Female, Unspecified, from Zhangpu, Fujian, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Paper-cutting (Ⅶ-16). The tradition is documented in Zhangpu, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Paper-cutting in Zhangpu, Fujian: Zhangpu paper cutting primarily uses positive cutting, with negative cutting as a supplement; its compositions are full and balanced, its lines simple, its connections natural, and its style fine and elegant. Several generations of artists have emerged in the locality, including Chen Jin, Lin Tao, and Chen Qiuri; today four creative tiers — old, middle-aged, young, and juvenile — have taken shape, and the styles of the works are tending toward diversity. Zhangpu, which in ancient times belonged to Zhangzhou, lies on the coast of southern Fujian. Folk paper cutting has been transmitted along with customs and rituals such as seasonal festivals, weddings and childbirth, and sacrificial celebrations, handed down from generation to generation since the Tang and Song dynasties, with styles constantly renewed. At weddings, paper-cut flowers were pasted onto dowries and gifts as decoration, and paper cutting thus became a craft by which a woman's needlework skill was measured.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Female, of the Han ethnic group, born in October 1948, a native of Zhangpu County, Fujian Province. At the age of fourteen she joined the county's paper-cutting training class, and went on to study under such older-generation paper-cutting artists as Chen Jin and Lin Tao. Her work is known for full and well-balanced composition, concise lines, natural joins, and a refined, elegant quality. She has laid stress on transmitting the craft, holding several training classes in Zhangpu County that have taught more than a thousand paper-cutting enthusiasts of all ages. Within the documented technical tradition of Paper-cutting in Zhangpu, Fujian: Zhangpu in Fujian faces the Taiwan Strait to the east, looks toward Dongshan and Shantou to the south, and adjoins Zhangzhou and Xiamen to the north. Its folk paper cutting has a long history and a distinctive character, earning Zhangpu the title of "home of paper cutting". Since the Tang and Song dynasties, paper cutting has been very popular among the people of Zhangpu, passed down from generation to generation, with styles emerging in endless variety. Zhangpu paper cutting primarily uses positive cutting, with negative cutting as a supplement; its compositions are full and rich, and its style is fine and elegant. In the connectedness of its compositions, the refinement of its technique, the variety of its styles, and its adaptability to changing circumstances, Zhangpu paper cutting displays characteristics unlike those of any other school. Paper-cutting artists are frequently invited to lecture and demonstrate in various parts of the world, contributing to the promotion of cultural exchange between China and other countries. The patterns of Zhangpu paper cutting draw mostly on flowers, birds, fish, insects, and figures: where there is a bird there must be flowers, and where there is a fish there must be water. The picture stresses that every line be joined to the next, avoiding broken lines and scattered forms; a slightly larger work often takes several days to cut. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Positive cutting with negative support": Zhangpu cutting is mainly positive cut with negative support, full in composition and delicate in style, with a distinctive feel for connection and adaptability. "The connectedness of the composition": Lines must join without breaks, so the cutter plans the whole before the first snip; connectedness is the measure of skill. "Chen Qiuri and works such as A Rabbit Year": Chen Qiuri's works such as A Rabbit Year and Mouse Wedding have won prizes, noted for full, even composition and natural connections. "Teaching abroad in Japan and Fiji": Zhangpu cutters are regularly invited abroad to lecture and demonstrate, with Chen Qiuri sent by the Ministry of Culture to Fiji and Japan.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

A national representative bearer of Paper-cutting (Zhangpu paper-cutting), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. Such representative works as Tu Nian Ru Yi (All Goes as Wished in the Year of the Rabbit) and Lao Shu Qu Qin (The Mouse Takes a Bride) have been exhibited and have won awards on numerous occasions. She has several times been selected by the Ministry of Culture to teach paper-cutting in countries including Fiji and Japan.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Chen Qiuri · National Representative Bearer Archive