Zhou Dongmei

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhou Dongmei, Female, Han, from Pucheng, Fujian, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Paper-cutting (Ⅶ-16). The tradition is documented in Pucheng, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Paper-cutting in Pucheng, Fujian: Pucheng paper cutting is widely applied in the lives of the common people, has become a local custom, and continues to this day. The craft is transmitted in group and family lineages through transmission from mother to daughter, instruction by mothers-in-law to daughters-in-law, and exchanges among flower-cutting sisters, and is thus passed down from generation to generation. During the Western Jin Dynasty, aristocratic families of the Central Plains migrated into Pu and settled there, bringing the art of paper cutting. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, paper cutting gradually became a common practice; after long development it reached its peak in the Ming and Qing dynasties, forming distinct stylistic characteristics, with gift flowers being especially predominant. The 'Rutian Suoji' (Trivial Records After Returning to the Fields), written by Liang Zhangju in the Qing Dynasty, records in detail the flourishing state of Pucheng paper cutting at that time. Pucheng's ceremonial customs made paper cutting a fixed 'craft of gift-giving': for marriages, birthday celebrations, childbirth, moving into a new home, and the opening of new shops, complete sets of gift flowers had to be attached — square, round, diamond-shaped, or in long strips — pasted on cakes and pastries, clothing fabric, and gift boxes, and distributed to relatives and friends. In former times, both in the county town and in the countryside there were women who made a living by cutting flowers, known as 'flower-cutting sisters' (jianhua sao). They maintained their lineages through transmission from mother to daughter, instruction by mothers-in-law to daughters-in-law, and exchanges of patterns among themselves; the accumulated traditional paper-cutting patterns numbered several thousand.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Zhou Dongmei is anchored in the documented technical standards of Paper-cutting in Pucheng, Fujian. Within the documented technical tradition of Paper-cutting in Pucheng, Fujian: Pucheng paper cutting is one of the traditional forms of paper-cutting expression, predominantly monochrome, made through ink-wax pattern rubbing, paper-twist fixing, and hand cutting and carving; it is distributed in Pucheng County, Fujian Province. Pucheng County borders Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces; historically it was the main passageway for Central Plains culture to enter Fujian. Pucheng paper cutting is mostly square or round in shape. Its traditional techniques include freehand cutting and carving, tracing-pattern cutting and carving, and rubbing-pattern cutting and carving; it is predominantly monochrome, made through ink-wax pattern rubbing, paper-twist fixing, and hand cutting and carving; its compositions mostly 'combine characters and pictures,' with pictures within characters and characters within pictures, using characters to form pictures. Images and content are constituted through saw-tooth patterns, crescent-moon patterns, hanging-coin patterns, hui-character key-fret patterns, plum-blossom patterns, and other motifs; themes expressing auspiciousness and beauty predominate, and the style combines both bold grandeur, plain solidity, and delicate intricacy with purity and refinement. Pucheng paper cutting retains the mode of hand cutting and carving; the traditional paper-cutting patterns number several thousand, reflecting a style in which Central Plains culture and Min-Yue culture blend. It has historical, folk-custom, and cultural value, and also has positive practical significance for enriching the people's cultural life, building beautiful homes, and strengthening the sense of identity of the relevant communities. The motif system of Pucheng flower cutting is composed of saw-tooth patterns, crescent-moon patterns, hanging-coin patterns, hui-character key-fret patterns, plum-blossom patterns, and the like; the compositions mostly take the line of 'combining characters and pictures,' with pictures within characters and characters within pictures, using characters to form pictures. The traditional techniques are divided into three: freehand cutting and carving, tracing-pattern cutting and carving, and rubbing-pattern cutting and carving. Most works are predominantly monochrome, made through ink-wax pattern rubbing and paper-twist fixing before hand cutting and carving. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Gift flowers": Its most representative class, accompanying presents at weddings, birthdays, births and house-movings, especially flourishing in Ming and Qing times. "The cutting sisters": The local name for women who cut for a living, transmitting the craft mother to daughter and mother-in-law to daughter-in-law, and among themselves. "Wax-rubbing and paper-twist fixing": The traditional sequence: rub a master with wax and ink, bind several sheets with paper twists, then cut and carve by hand. "Cutting without, from drawing, or from rubbing": Three methods: cutting straight from a mental design, drawing first then cutting, or cutting to a wax-rubbed master.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Zhou Dongmei was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Paper-cutting, with Pucheng, Fujian as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Paper-cutting in Pucheng, Fujian: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2014 (batch 4), with Pucheng, Fujian as its declared area, and Pucheng County Cultural Center 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. Zhoudongmei (Pucheng, Fujian) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhoudongmei · China ICH Official Archive