Paper-cutting · Chinese Craft Stories

01 · Historical Records

By the Ming dynasty, the paper-cutting art of Xiaogan had become increasingly mature. After the Qing dynasty, Xiaogan paper-cutting technique developed from cutting with scissors to engraving and hollowing with a knife.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Xiaogan City lies in the northeast of Hubei Province and is one of the birthplaces of Chu culture. Its long history, distinctive environment, and wholesome folk customs together gave rise to Xiaogan's profound cultural heritage, nurturing Xiaogan carved-flower paper cutting, a gem of folk art in the Jingchu region. The history of Xiaogan carved-flower paper cutting can be traced back to the Western Jin period, when paper-cutting customs in Xiaogan were already closely combined with folk practices; local people were accustomed to "cutting paper into human figures on renri (the seventh day of the first lunar month), or engraving gold foil into human forms." In 1952, the Xiaogan County Carved-Flower Paper-Cutting Artists Association and the Xiaogan County Carved-Flower Paper Cutting Research Institute were established, actively carrying out conservation and promotion work; to date, more than two thousand paper-cut works in different styles have been preserved and created, many of them selected for exhibitions and sales in more than ten countries and regions across Europe and Asia, winning a number of major awards. Combining the strengths of southern and northern art, Xiaogan carved-flower paper cutting stands apart in the forest of Chinese folk art with its fresh, lively, simple, and elegant style. Its craft techniques mainly comprise two methods: "cutting" (jian) and "carving" (diao). The works are delicate and graceful, combining line and surface, alternating solid and void, well judged in density, with refined compositions, concise lines, fluent knife work, rigorous pogong (fine cutting), strong rhythm, and clear themes; they give a sense of plainness, purity, health, and liveliness, and possess great ornamental and decorative value. Xiaogan carved-flower paper cutting is rich in content; its works often take longevity, auspiciousness, happiness, and festivity as their themes, and skillfully employ homophonic puns, implied meanings, symbolism, and subtlety to express people's pursuit of and yearning for a better life. At present, Xiaogan carved-flower paper cutting already faces many difficulties in its development.

Cutting and carving side by side

The craft combines scissors and knife: delicate, combining line and plane, with rigorous openwork that resembles ink outline drawing.

Cutting human figures on Renri

Its history reaches back to the Western Jin, when local people cut or hammered human figures on Renri, the seventh day of the first month.

The cutters' association and research institute

Founded in 1952, the county's cutters' association and research institute have preserved and created more than two thousand works in different styles.

Hundred Phoenixes, The Huaiyin Story, Traditional Patterns

Guan Lifang's Hundred Phoenixes, made with her teacher, and works such as The Huaiyin Story and Traditional Patterns were exhibited and awarded, some shown in more than ten Eurasian countries.

Guan Lifang's openwork

Born in 1954, Guan Lifang excels at fine, fluent lines and openwork; one of the few women inheritors in Hubei, she was named a Hubei master of arts and crafts in 2008.

From scissors to knife

Mature by the Ming, the craft shifted after the Qing from scissors to knife carving, fixing its fluent, rigorously openworked manner.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Hand-cut paper cutting of this kind takes a long time to produce and has low economic value, making it difficult to meet the demands of a market-economy era; the gradual fading of local folk customs and the ever-shrinking demand for paper cutting have pushed this ancient folk art further into difficulties.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

With its rich visual language, Xiaogan carved-flower paper cutting conveys traditional ideas and cultural connotations, displaying distinctive aesthetic and artistic value and providing vivid material for the study of Chu culture. Against the reality that veteran artists are advanced in years while young people are unwilling to learn and carry on the craft, Xiaogan carved-flower paper cutting is on the verge of being lost, and relevant protective measures are urgently needed to bring about its revival. Guan Lifang (recorded in the official inheritor archive): Female, Han ethnicity, born in March 1954, from Xiaogan City, Hubei Province. Her works have fine, flowing lines with the effect of line drawing (baimiao) in Chinese painting; she is especially skilled at pogong (fine cutting), and is one of the few female inheritors of paper cutting in Hubei. In 2008 she was awarded the title of "Famous Master of Arts and Crafts of Hubei Province" by the General Office of the Hubei Provincial People's Government. She is a representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Paper Cutting (Xiaogan Carved-Flower Paper Cutting). Works such as One Hundred Phoenixes (created in cooperation with her master), The Story of the Scholartree Shade, and Traditional Patterns have been shown in various exhibitions and have won prizes.

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 ↗