Paper-cutting · Chinese Craft Stories

01 · Historical Records

Baotou lies in western Inner Mongolia, at a strategic crossroads where the nomadic culture of the grasslands and the agrarian culture of the Central Plains met; migration and trade since the Qing dynasty brought paper-cutting styles from Shanxi and Shaanxi into the region, where they gradually blended with Mongolian motifs such as hand-in-hand dolls (lashou wawa) and "cloud tips" (yunjianjian).

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Baotou and its surrounding areas, inhabited by multiple ethnic groups, have seen the distinctive cultures and customs of various peoples blend and learn from one another's strengths, forming a local cultural tradition of unique character. Traditional Baotou folk paper cutting has a long history; its stylistic character is the product of mutual influence and blending between the nomadic culture of the northern grasslands and the agrarian culture of the Central Plains, with deep historical roots and rich cultural connotations. As the most widespread decorative art among the people of Baotou, Baotou paper cutting, through generations of artists' long years of repeated practice, has developed a fairly complete set of expressive techniques; its designs are original, giving a sense of innocence, plainness, and freshness, and it is rich in a strong flavor of the grasslands. The subjects of Baotou paper cutting fall into several broad categories: figures, animals, flowers, birds, fish and insects, and auspicious patterns. It is dominated by hand-in-hand dolls in varied forms, the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, "cloud tips," and continuous auspicious patterns; most distinctive of all are animals bearing the cross-shaped "ten" symbol, along with designs such as "mouse climbing a pole," "Mongolian riding a camel," and "riding a horse carrying a gun."

Linked-hands dolls and cloud points

Its commonest motifs: joined-hands dolls in many variations, the twelve zodiac animals, cloud points and continuous auspicious borders.

Mouse on a Pole, Mongol on a Camel

Its most characteristic subjects, alongside animals marked with a cross, reflecting steppe life and a multi-ethnic society.

Liu Jinglan's Snake Coiled around a Rabbit

Born in Shangdu in 1955 and taught by village women from the age of eight, Liu Jinglan's Snake and Rabbit, Zodiac and Steppe Blessing entered the national art museums.

Zheng Hudie cutting without a draft

Born in Baotou in 1956 and taught by her mother, Zheng Hudie cuts straight from a sheet without drawing, her works including Motherly Love and a thirty-six-pane window flower.

Farming and herding combined

Its manner results from steppe pastoral and Central Plains farming cultures meeting; subjects divide into figures, animals, birds and insects, and auspicious motifs.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Baotou paper cutting is one kind of Chinese traditional folk paper cutting, mainly distributed in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, and its surrounding areas.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

In recent years, with the accelerating pace of urban industrialization and the development of metropolitan civilization, Baotou folk paper cutting, as a product of history and culture, faces problems such as difficulties of transmission, and effective protective measures are urgently needed. Liu Jinglan (recorded in the official inheritor archive): Female, Han ethnicity, born in April 1955, from Shangdu County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. She is a master of Chinese arts and crafts. At the age of eight she learned paper cutting from Aunt Guo and Wang Genmei of her village. Her works are plain and bright, full of the flavor of daily life, expressing people's good wishes and hopes, and blending the restraint of agrarian culture with the boldness of grassland culture. The patterns she cuts are beautiful and fine, exquisitely wrought, with lines like flowing clouds and running water. Her representative works include "Snake Coiled around a Rabbit," "Twelve Animals of the Zodiac," and "Auspicious Grasslands." She has taken part many times in national intangible cultural heritage display events, such as the Grand Exhibition of Achievements in the Productive Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage hosted by the Ministry of Culture, and her works have won wide acclaim. Her works are held in the collections of the National Art Museum of China, the China National Museum of Arts and Crafts, and other institutions. She passes on her skills through family, neighbor, and master-apprentice transmission, and is the author of works including Liu Jinglan's Folk Paper Cutting Collection, the paper-cutting volume of the Complete Collection of Chinese Folk Art, A Master Cut from Paper, and The Grassland Paper-Cutting Artist Yuesheng, Yuesheng, Liu Jinglan. She is a representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Paper Cutting (Baotou Paper Cutting). Zheng Hudie (recorded in the official inheritor archive): Female, Han ethnicity, born in September 1956, from Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. From childhood she learned paper cutting from her mother Wang Meihua; she can cut without tracing or drawing first — taking up the paper and cutting at once, the scissors following her heart, working with complete ease. Her subjects are wide-ranging and deeply grounded; boldness and delicacy are harmonized, tradition and modernity are united, and a plain surface is full of instructive meaning, with strong regional and individual character. Her representative paper-cut works include "Mother's Love" and "Thirty-Six-Eye Window Flowers," and she is also the author of works such as An Introduction to Auspicious Paper Cutting. She is a representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Paper Cutting (Baotou Paper Cutting).

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 ↗