Paper-cutting · Chinese Craft Stories

01 · Historical Records

Lushi County lies on the western frontier of Henan Province, in the upper reaches of the Luo River. It was established as a county in the Qin dynasty and is an important birthplace of Heluo culture. Papercutting circulated among its villages in dependence on the mountain region's seasonal festivals and its marriage, birthday and funeral rites. Lushi lies on the Henan-Shaanxi border, with high mountains, deep gullies and scattered villages. Papercutting was for a long time transmitted only within families, from mother to daughter or mother-in-law to daughter-in-law; there were no workshops or trade organisations, so the patterns of different villages were all unlike one another and individual styles stood out markedly. Yang Chunzhi, born in May 1926, learned at seven or eight from her sister-in-law, who could cut paper and appliqué flowers; by fourteen or fifteen she was already well known locally. Her window flowers of flowers and grass have simple compositions, her animal papercuts are bold and exaggerated, and her figure papercuts are natural, vivid and full of charm.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Lushi papercutting is popular throughout Lushi County in Henan Province and occupies a distinctive place in the folk papercutting and folk culture of Henan. Lushi County lies on the western frontier of Henan Province and is an important birthplace of Heluo culture.

Yang Chunzhi's birds, flowers and figures

Born in Lushi in 1926, Yang Chunzhi drew on everyday birds, flowers, fish and people, her forms exaggerated yet vivid and full of imagination.

The three subject types

Within her work: flower window cuttings are spare and simple, animal pieces boldly exaggerated, and figure scenes of work, daily life and play natural and lively.

Two coexisting manners

Villages preserve two manners — a bold, plain, heavy-lined one and a fluent, graceful, deftly composed one — matching Lushi's position between the Yellow River and Yangtze cultural spheres.

Household transmission in the villages

Without guilds, transmission runs mother to daughter and mother-in-law to daughter-in-law, with patterns copied between neighbours in the slack season and changing with each hand.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Influenced by the cultures of the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, Lushi papercutting has formed two different stylistic features: a bold, plain aspect and a fluent, gentle aspect. Lushi papercutting is a typical representative of Lushi's folk culture. The cultural information it contains has long been absorbed into the souls of the local people, influencing every aspect of their folk life as well as their values and aesthetic orientation. In this sense, Lushi papercutting is first-hand material for understanding the thoughts, feelings and living conditions of the local people, providing an important reference for the study of Lushi's history and folk culture.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

At present there are only sixty-odd folk artists engaged in papercutting in Lushi, and there is a lack of successors; the future development of Lushi papercutting is a matter of great concern. Yang Chunzhi (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): She loved papercutting from childhood and learned at seven or eight from her sister-in-law, who could cut paper and appliqué flowers; by fourteen or fifteen she was already well known locally. Her works draw on the flowers, birds, insects, fish and human figures of everyday life; their forms are exaggerated and transformed, their expressions vividly true to life — plain, lively and full of imagination. Her window flowers of flowers and grass have simple compositions and concise forms; her animal papercuts are bold, exaggerated, childlike and freely expansive; and her figure papercuts, depicting production, daily life and playful, amusing scenes, are natural, vivid and full of charm. Female, Han ethnicity, born in May 1926, died November 2010, native of Lushi County, Henan Province. She was a representative inheritor of Papercutting (Lushi Papercutting), an intangible cultural heritage project of the third national-level batch.

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 ↗