Fu Zhaoe

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Fu Zhaoe, Female, Han, from Ningxia, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Paper-cutting (Ⅶ-16). The tradition is documented in Ningxia. Within the regional tradition and school record of Paper-cutting in Ningxia: Hui paper cutting in the Ningxia region is an important means by which Hui women record folk customs, reflect their own aesthetic ideas, and express their emotional attachments. It both inherits the essence of traditional paper cutting and embodies ethnic and regional cultural elements, enriching the variety of folk paper cutting in China. The emergence of Hui paper cutting in Ningxia is tied to the everyday needlework of Hui women. From childhood, at the head of the kang (the heated brick bed) and by the window, they learned paper cutting and embroidery from their mothers and mothers-in-law. For a long time paper cutting served as the base pattern for embroidered articles such as shoes and socks, garments and trousers, pillow ends, and fragrant pouches, while window flowers, festive flowers, and appliqué paper cuttings covered the doors, windows, kang platforms, and walls of the home.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Female, Han ethnicity, born in May 1960 in Haiyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. From the age of five she learned paper-cutting from her mother, and decades of sustained creative practice have given her the special skill of cutting portraits rapidly. Her works combine the plainness and vigor of New Year prints and peasant paintings with the exaggeration, distortion and symbolism of caricature. She held solo exhibitions of her paper-cuts in 1997 and again in 2016, and has published collections including Fu Zhaoe Paper-cuts, How to Learn Paper-cutting and Fu Zhaoe Paper-cuts in the Masters of Contemporary Chinese Paper-cutting Transmission series. Within the documented technical tradition of Paper-cutting in Ningxia: Hui paper cutting in the Ningxia region is a folk art that arose alongside Hui embroidery and costume. In traditional society, local Hui women learned needlework such as paper cutting and embroidery from childhood. At the head of the kang and by the window, mothers taught daughters and mothers-in-law passed the skill on to daughters-in-law; paper cutting was transmitted from generation to generation and spread widely through mutual teaching and learning among neighbors, fellow villagers, and sisters. Hui paper cutting in the Ningxia region is commonly used as the embroidery base patterns for shoes and socks, garments and trousers, pillow ends, and pouches; decorative paper cuttings such as window flowers, festive flowers, and appliqué flowers can be seen everywhere; Hui women also like to give their own paper cuttings as gifts to relatives and friends at festivals and on happy occasions. They mostly choose flowers, birds, and plants; gentle animals closely tied to Hui life such as cattle, sheep, and chickens; and everyday objects such as the ablution kettle (tangping) and the covered tea bowl (gaiwan), cutting out the mountains, rivers, and plants of their homeland to express their inner feelings and pin their longing for a better life. Influenced by Islamic belief and custom, Hui paper cutting in the Ningxia region does not cut ugly or fierce animals, and treats the eyes of human figures in a restrained, understated manner. Hui paper cutting in the Ningxia region emphasizes a realist approach that cuts out the true, objective appearance of things, combined with clever composition and delicate decoration; Arabic-script patterns are often ingeniously worked into the designs. Red is the dominant color of the paper cutting, but Muslim-associated colors such as green and white are also used, reflecting the plain, restrained, and quiet national character of the Hui people and expressing Hui women's understanding of their own ethnic culture and their appreciation of and pursuit of beauty. The younger generation of Hui women also keeps pace with contemporary needs, combining traditional paper-cutting technique with modern expressive methods to create paper-cutting works with distinct folk characteristics. Hui paper cutting in the Ningxia region is relatively widespread and in a comparatively good state of survival. As paper-cutting artists compare notes and exchange techniques, paper cutting has become a bond of exchange and harmonious coexistence among ethnic groups, and a vivid practice of cultural integration and of fostering a strong sense of community among the Chinese nation. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Ewers, covered bowls, cattle and sheep": Hui cutting favours flowers and plants, gentle animals such as cattle, sheep and fowl, and everyday objects like the washing ewer and covered bowl. "Avoiding fierce beasts and softening eyes": Under Islamic belief and custom, Ningxia Hui cutting avoids ugly or fierce animals and treats the eyes of human figures with restraint. "Arabic script woven into the design": Hui work favours realistic rendering with ingenious layout and fine ornament, often working Arabic script into the composition. "Red, green and white": Red predominates, but green and white also appear, matching a plain, restrained and quiet temperament.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

A national representative bearer of Paper-cutting (Hui paper-cutting), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. She has opened the Fu Zhaoe Paper-cutting Studio at the Zhenbeibao Western Film Studio, cutting paper for visitors on site, publicizing Ningxia folk paper-cutting and training successors.

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. Fu Zhaoe · National Representative Bearer Archive