Paper-cutting · Chinese Craft Stories

01 · Historical Records

Yiwulü Mountain Manchu paper cutting originated in shamanic ritual image-making: when worshipping the gods, people cut and carved the figures of various deities from bark and animal hide, or carved spirit effigies from wood; this was passed down through successive generations and gradually evolved into the art of paper cutting.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Manchu folk paper cutting in the Yiwulü Mountain region takes as its main subjects the Manchu people's primitive worship of nature gods, of ancestral gods and of reproduction and fertility, as well as Manchu customs. In the primitive worship activities of the Manchu people of the Yiwulü Mountain region, totem images were often made: figures of various gods were cut and carved from bark or animal hide, or effigies of spirits were carved from wood, and so on. These ritual image-making activities were passed down as custom through the years and eventually developed into an art of paper cutting. Retaining the humanistic characteristics of the Manchu of the Northeast, it also possesses a unique artistic form and rich shamanic-cultural content, and constitutes important historical material for the study of ethnic cultural fusion. Yiwulü Mountain Manchu folk paper cutting is not only rich in content but also simple in form, with archaic patterns. It does not employ an elaborate, dense style of cutting, nor does it pursue refined, exact forms; rather, it wins by virtue of a broad and grand bearing and a plain, archaic charm. For several hundred years this Manchu folk paper-cutting art has circulated in Beining City, Linghai City, Fuxin City, Yi County and other places in the Yiwulü Mountain region, passed down from generation to generation. As the older generation of artists gradually passes away, there will be few successors; under the impact of modern ways of life, the art could decline and die out at any time.

Shamanic ritual figures and totemic cutting

In Manchu worship, totemic images were cut from bark and hide or carved in wood; this ritual image-making eventually became paper-cutting.

Valuing archaic vigour instead of fineness

Instead of fussy, exact cutting, this school wins by broad grandeur and archaic, unadorned spirit.

Wang Xiuxia and her shamanic works

Born in 1947, Wang Xiuxia learned cutting from her mother at four and later absorbed Khitan shaman culture; her works include Willow Mother and Mountain God.

The transmission lineages of Hou Guizhi, Ma Fengyun and others

Numerous village women form hereditary lineages of cutting; over ten families, including those of Hou Guizhi, Ma Fengyun and Huang Lianyu, still carry it on.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

This paper cutting circulates in the Beining, Linghai, Fuxin and Yi County area of western Liaoning. Women in village after village can handle scissors, and lineages of transmission handed down from ancestors have formed. The subjects center on the worship of nature gods, ancestral gods and reproduction and fertility; the forms are archaic and the bearing grand.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

In many urban and rural areas, large numbers of women take part in paper-cutting activities, producing many artists of superb skill and abundant output, and forming lineages of transmission handed down from ancestors. At present, some ten-plus family lineages — including those of Hou Guizhi, Ma Fengyun, Huang Lianyu and Wang Xiuxia — are still being continued. It is therefore necessary to formulate plans to protect this ancient ethnic folk art. Wang Xiuxia (recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Female, of the Manchu ethnic group, born in 1947, a native of Jinzhou, Liaoning. Wang Xiuxia has exceptional artistic talent; from the age of four she learned paper cutting from her mother, and after her marriage she came into contact with much Khitan shamanic culture. Her paper cutting takes as its main subjects the Manchu people's primitive worship of nature gods, ancestral gods and reproduction and fertility; her paper-cutting art has the historical significance of material for the study of shamanic culture. Wang Xiuxia's works are free and unrestrained in composition, full and flowing, brimming with fantastic imagination; her representative works include 'Mother Willow', 'Mountain God' and 'The Shaman Sets Forth', among others. In 2004 she took part in the China Jinzhou Yiwulü Mountain Manchu Paper Cutting Exhibition held by the Beijing Folk Customs Museum, and all of her works were collected by that museum. Representative inheritor of Paper Cutting (Yiwulü Mountain Manchu paper cutting), a project of the first batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. Zhao Zhiguo (recorded in the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, of the Han ethnic group, born in 1956, a native of Jinzhou, Liaoning. Influenced from childhood by his parents' making of shadow-puppet figures, window flowers and wall hangings, he developed a deep love of paper-cutting art, and at every New Year and festival he would cut and carve large numbers of paper-cutting works. His paper cutting is strongly realistic, drawing on seaside life scenes of his hometown Linghai; it is bold and natural, free of petty constraint, humorous and unpretentious. He carves more than he cuts, handles black and white fittingly, does not pursue detail excessively, and places the emphasis on capturing the spirit. His representative works include 'Ancient Warrior', 'Mouse Stealing Eggs' and 'In the Twelfth Month', among others; some of his works are recorded in the 'Directory of Famous Chinese Folk Artists' edited by the Ministry of Culture. Representative inheritor of Paper Cutting (Yiwulü Mountain Manchu paper cutting), a project of the first batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗