Xiang Liangjing

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Xiang Liangjing, Female, Han, from Yiyangshianhua, Hunan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Paper-cutting (Ⅶ-16). The tradition is documented in Yiyangshianhua, Hunan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Paper-cutting in Yiyangshianhua, Hunan: Today Meishan paper cutting is concentrated in Anhua County, Yiyang City, Hunan Province, and radiates out to the neighboring counties and cities. Anhua County lies in the northern section of the Xuefeng Mountains and the middle reaches of the Zi River, and formerly belonged to the old Meishan dong (cave-land) territory. The villages of Dongping, Xianxi, Jiulong, Lengshi, and other townships in the county still preserve the customs of cutting door-pendant paper at the New Year, cutting double-goose window flowers at weddings, and cutting egg flowers to celebrate births. Jianhua flourished in the Xiang family of Xiangjiaduan in Jiulong Township, and cuohua in the Jiang family of Yaotou Village in Xianxi Town; the craftsmen of the two families each guarded their own skill and did not pass it on to outsiders. Meishan lies in the central-northern part of Hunan Province and was an important relay station in the southwesterly migration of ethnic minorities before the Song dynasty, giving rise to a Meishan culture that is predominantly Han in character while incorporating elements of minority ethnic cultures. Meishan paper cutting has a long history and was already widespread among the people in the Qing dynasty.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Xiang Liangjing is anchored in the documented technical standards of Paper-cutting in Yiyangshianhua, Hunan. Within the documented technical tradition of Paper-cutting in Yiyangshianhua, Hunan: Meishan paper cutting is a traditional paper-cutting art that circulates mainly in the Meishan region of Hunan Province. Meishan paper cutting has two types: jianhua (cut-flower cutting) and cuohua (filed-flower cutting). Jianhua has a naive, simple, and unadorned style; it is made with scissors and locally produced red paper, and 4 to 6 layers can be cut at once. The works are mostly everyday items, including egg flowers, door-pendant paper, double-goose wedding window flowers, covered-bowl (gaiwan) flowers, and birthday flowers. Because their uses differ, the sizes of Meishan paper-cutting works vary considerably: the egg flowers that celebrate childbirth, for example, are less than five centimeters square, exquisite and delicate, while the door-pendant paper used at the New Year can be 138 centimeters long and 34 centimeters wide, grand and exuberant. Cuohua patterns are intricate and exquisite, and come in various forms — flat, three-dimensional, single-color, multi-color overprinted, and color-added. The tools and materials include camphor-wood pads, filing knives, and colored paper of various kinds, and as many as twenty-odd layers can be filed at once. Cuohua works mainly include Nuo dance masks, paper shadow-puppet bodies, and items used in folk rituals such as ceremonial robes, "flower houses," soul-guiding banners, fluttering papers for the mourning hall, and altar-door flags. In the Meishan region paper-cutting artists are called "flower craftsmen" (huajiang), and jianhua and cuohua each have their own groups of practitioners. Meishan paper cutting is rooted in Meishan culture and is widely applied in the various rites of life — birth, aging, illness, and death, weddings and funerals, and sacrifices. It reflects the ways of thinking, modes of behavior, spiritual pursuits, and thoughts and feelings of the people of the Meishan region, and is an important resource for the study of Meishan history and culture. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The two branches: cut and carved paper": Meishan paper-cutting has two branches: scissors-cut work on local red paper, four to six layers at a time, and knife-carved work on camphor pads and coloured paper, up to twenty layers. "Sizes of egg flowers and door strips": Sizes vary with use: a birth-egg flower is under five centimetres square, while the New Year door strip measures 138 by 34 centimetres. "Nuo masks and shadow-puppet figures": Carved work supplies Nuo dance masks and shadow-play figures, as well as ritual items such as soul garments, paper houses, guiding banners and altar flags. "The 'flower artisans' and family transmission": Paper-cutters are called 'flower artisans'; scissors work passed through the Xiang clan of Jiulong township, knife work through the Jiang clan of Yaotou village.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Xiang Liangjing was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Paper-cutting, with Yiyangshianhua, Hunan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Paper-cutting in Yiyangshianhua, Hunan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Yiyangshianhua, Hunan as its declared area, and Hunan Mei ShanJianZhi Culture Co., Ltd. as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

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. Xiangliangjing (Yiyangshianhua, Hunan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Xiangliangjing · China ICH Official Archive