Paper-cutting · Chinese Craft Stories

01 · Historical Records

The papercutting art transmitted in Huixian City, Henan Province, originated in the late Ming and early Qing period and is distributed mainly among the fifty-odd villages of Shayao Township and Baobi Town in Huixian City. Huixian papercutting originated in an agrarian society; its subjects and content truthfully reflect the characteristics of peasant life and rural society, giving off a strong local flavour.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Papercutting is the most popular art form among the people of Huixian. Because its tools and materials are extremely simple, whenever the New Year festival comes or some joyous event occurs, people paste up papercuts to decorate their living surroundings and heighten the joyful, harmonious atmosphere. Its characteristics are: a predominance of relief (yang) cutting, plain and full compositions, vivid and lifelike forms, fine and fluent cutting, and strong colour contrasts. Huixian papercutting has a wide range of subjects and many varieties; it frequently depicts human figures, birds and beasts, flowers and trees, and insects, using these images to express the wish to ward off evil and pray for blessings. As the social environment has changed, people's quality of life has continually improved, and contemporary culture has shown a trend towards diversity. In these circumstances the development of Huixian papercutting has been obstructed and it is declining day by day; papercutting is no longer, as in the past, a sole means for artists to make a living.

Predominantly relief cutting

Hui County cutting works chiefly in relief: full, plain composition, lifelike forms, fine fluent knife-work and strong colour contrasts.

Ten thousand cuts without a break

The skill Li Airong built over years of practice: unbroken connecting lines, fine fluent cutting, steady, precise and ingenious in the use of the scissors.

A Thousand Butterflies and the New Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars

Her contemporary subjects: a thousand butterflies for the return of Hong Kong and Macao, a new set of filial exemplars, and the Farmhouse Joy series.

Apotropaic and blessing motifs

Figures, animals, plants and insects carry the sense of warding off evil and inviting blessing, pasted up at the New Year and on happy occasions.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Huixian papercutting is distributed mainly among the fifty-odd villages of Shayao Township and Baobi Town in the Taihang Mountains of north-western Huixian City, Henan Province, and also extends into the urban district and the plain townships, forming two somewhat different faces: mountain and suburban. Shayao and Baobi lie on the south-eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains; their villages nestle against the mountains, and the papercutting draws mostly on the life of the mountain people, with window flowers, kang-frieze flowers and wedding flowers existing side by side. In the urban district, because patterns and publications circulate easily, subjects such as human figures, birds and beasts, and flowers and trees are richer still. The representative figure Li Airong was born in Huixian City in April 1964. At seven she began learning papercutting from her grandmother Wang Xiaochou; at twelve she could complete works independently. She has mastered the technique of "ten thousand cuts without a break", and her cutting excels in steadiness, precision and cleverness.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

At present there are fewer and fewer old artists of Huixian papercutting, and the ranks of successors are dwindling; this ancient folk art form faces the grave situation of dying out with its practitioners and urgently needs rescue. Li Airong (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, Han ethnicity, born in April 1964, native of Huixian City, Henan Province. At seven she began learning papercutting from her grandmother Wang Xiaochou; at twelve she could complete works independently. Through years of assiduous study she has mastered the consummate technique of "ten thousand cuts without a break", with fine, fluent cutting that excels in steadiness, precision and cleverness. Her subjects are wide-ranging, drawn mostly from the life of the mountain people; her compositions are plain and full, her forms vivid and lifelike, and her style distinctive. In depicting contemporary social life she has produced fine works one after another, such as the "Happy Farm Household" series reflecting people's happy lives, "A Thousand Butterflies" celebrating the return of Hong Kong and Macao, and "The New Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars" expressing the culture of filial piety. She is a representative inheritor of Papercutting (Huixian Papercutting), an intangible cultural heritage project of the fifth 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 ↗