Paper-cutting · Chinese Craft Stories

01 · Historical Records

Qingyang City lies in eastern Gansu Province and is one of the birthplaces of the Zhou dynasty. Qingyang is situated on the Loess Plateau of eastern Gansu, at the upper reaches of the Jing River; Zhou ancestors once taught the people farming in the Qingyang area, and the agrarian and cave-dwelling way of life provided stable soil for paper cutting. Local paper-cut motifs mostly follow ancient designs: the mountainous (shanchuan) tracts preserve the ornaments of primitive totems, while the plateau-front (qianyuan) tracts absorbed subjects from Ming and Qing opera, New Year pictures, and embroidery patterns; when a woman married, she brought her mother's patterns into her husband's home, so the window lattices, kang (heated brick bed) surrounds, and ceilings of cave dwellings became the most common display surfaces for paper cutting. After the mid-twentieth century, Qingyang paper cutting was successively included in folk-art surveys and exhibitions; the protecting unit in Zhenyuan County is the Zhenyuan County Cultural Center, and the works of the "paper-cutting grannies" first became known to the outside world.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Qingyang's folk arts are many and varied with deep foundations, among which the most popular and representative is Qingyang paper cutting, with its long history. It has two main styles: plateau-front (qianyuan) and mountainous (shanchuan). Mountainous-style paper cutting has plain, archaic forms and bold, free cutting; in content it follows the ornament patterns of primitive totems, which embody early cultural and artistic symbols of the Chinese nation and yin-yang philosophical thought. Plateau-front paper cutting values neatness and symmetry, with fine, flowing lines; its works center on historical and traditional subjects and everyday decorative patterns, and are more strongly grounded in real life.

The plateau-edge manner

One manner of Qingyang cutting: neat and symmetrical, with fine fluent lines, mostly historical and decorative subjects and a realistic bent.

The mountain-and-stream manner

The other manner: archaic forms and bold cutting, inheriting primitive totemic motifs that carry early Chinese cultural symbols and yin-yang thought.

Window, kang-border and ceiling flowers

Forms tied to the cave dwelling, pasted chiefly on window lattice, the kang border and the ceiling of Longdong farmhouses.

Mother-to-daughter transmission

Transmission runs within the household, a bride carrying her mother's patterns to her husband's home so that motifs move and vary between villages.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Qingyang paper cutting is closely tied to local customs and daily life, and most of its makers are working women. Under the impact of the market economy and modern lifestyles, the cave-dwelling houses that went hand in hand with Qingyang paper cutting are gradually disappearing, causing the demand for paper cutting in local social life to decline sharply. Most makers of Qingyang paper cutting are working women; its subjects are largely drawn from local people, customs, and homophonically auspicious images such as peonies, lotus, pomegranates, bats, and pairs of fish; once cut, the works are pasted onto the window lattices, kang surrounds, and ceilings of cave dwellings. The difference between the mountainous and plateau-front traditions is related to geography and transport: the mountainous tracts are crisscrossed by ravines, and their paper cutting has plain, archaic forms and bold, free cutting, retaining more of the primitive totemic ornaments; the plateau-front tracts lie closer to towns, valuing neatness and symmetry, with fine, flowing lines, and works centered on historical and traditional subjects and everyday decorative patterns, more strongly grounded in real life.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Qingyang paper cutting displays a distinct artistic quality, broad popularity, and practicality; it reflects the humanistic and historical character of the agrarian culture of eastern Gansu, has research value in history, folklore, sociology, and other fields, and serves as a bond in cultural exchange. At present many outstanding transmitters of Qingyang paper cutting have died one after another, and young people lack enthusiasm for this ancient art; the transmission of Qingyang paper cutting faces the danger of a break and urgently needs protection.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Paper-cutting (Zhenyuan, Gansu) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗