Liu Wei

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Liu Wei, Male, Han, from Huining, Gansu, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Paper-cutting (Ⅶ-16). The tradition is documented in Huining, Gansu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Paper-cutting in Huining, Gansu: Huining paper cutting is mainly distributed among the townships and rural areas of Huining County, Gansu Province, with Gangouyi Township being the finest. Huining paper cutting has a long history; it had already reached full maturity during the Ming and Qing dynasties and was widely used in local folk social life, being the most traditional and most popular artistic style for the local masses to beautify their homes and decorate festivals. Huining County lies in central Gansu Province, in the loess plateau hilly-and-gully region at the headwaters of the Juliu River. The area is arid with little rainfall, and its villages are scattered; paper cutting circulated in dependence on the window lattices, kang surrounds, and lanterns of cave dwellings and adobe houses. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Huining paper cutting had already reached full maturity and was widely used in local folk social life; it was the most traditional and most popular artistic style for the masses to beautify their homes and decorate festivals. Local paper cutting is dominated by window flowers, lantern flowers, and kang-surround flowers. The pattern structures emphasize overall symmetry and cross symmetry, with vivid, free, and straightforward modeling. The makers are mainly women, though some dexterous men also joined in; most created during the agricultural off-season or around the New Year and festivals, snatching moments from their busy schedules to exchange and view one another's work. Huining paper cutting has long been transmitted through instruction between mothers and daughters and mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law within families, as well as mutual teaching among neighbors, of which the craftsmanship of Gangouyi Township is the finest. Representative artists still active today include Li Yulian, Cao Xiuying, Zhang Lanfang, Zhao Lanfang, Tian Juntang, Zhang Xiaoxia, Zhang Fangqin, Shi Xiaoe, and Qin Ying.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Liu Wei is anchored in the documented technical standards of Paper-cutting in Huining, Gansu. Within the documented technical tradition of Paper-cutting in Huining, Gansu: Common subjects include flowers and plants, birds and beasts, folk customs and phenomena, festive meanings, opera figures, folk legends, and daily life. The forms of expression are mostly window flowers, lantern flowers, and kang-surround flowers. The picture structures of the paper-cut patterns are mainly overall symmetry and cross symmetry, with vivid, free, and straightforward modeling, rich in a strong local flavor and a quaint, novel decorative interest. The makers of Huining paper cutting are mainly women, though some dexterous men joined in as well; most created during the agricultural off-season or around the New Year and festivals, snatching moments from their busy schedules to exchange and view one another's work, taking pleasure in creating paper cuts. Paper cutting is the main way for Huining paper-cutting artists to express their life ideals and living conditions. Its representative artists include Li Yulian, Cao Xiuying, Zhang Lanfang, Zhao Lanfang, Tian Juntang, Zhang Xiaoxia, Zhang Fangqin, Shi Xiaoe, and Qin Ying. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Window, lantern and kang-border flowers": Its commonest formats, pasted on window lattice, lanterns and the kang border, their structures built on overall and cross symmetry. "Plants, opera figures and daily life": Its usual subjects: plants, birds and beasts, folk customs, auspicious symbols, opera figures, legends and daily life. "Gangouyi township": Found across the county's townships and villages, the craft is at its finest in Gangouyi, where cutters are most concentrated. "Making and comparing in the slack season": Work is made in the slack season and at festivals, neighbours comparing and watching each other cut, using paper as a way to voice hopes and describe their lives.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Liu Wei was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Paper-cutting, with Huining, Gansu as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Paper-cutting in Huining, Gansu: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Huining, Gansu as its declared area, and Association Xiangning 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. Liuwei (Huining, Gansu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Liuwei · China ICH Official Archive