Paper Effigy Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
In the late Qing dynasty and early Republican era, Fenghuang paper effigies became a thriving local craft trade; more than ten paper-effigy shops opened in the county town alone.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Caizhai (colored paper-and-bamboo mounting) is a traditional folk craft widely practiced throughout northern and southern China. It is inseparable from folk activities such as sacrificial rites, festivals, and entertainments, and through continuous development it has exerted enormous influence among the people. The caizhai technique is based primarily on a bamboo-spline armature covered with paper, supplemented by painted decoration on the surface. Because customs and local products differ from place to place, the specific materials used also vary. In general, northern caizhai is bold and unrestrained with strong contrasts, while southern caizhai is refined and delicate, lively and lovable. Caizhai products take a rich variety of forms, including festival lanterns, lion heads, opera stages, and models of historic architecture. When crafts such as lion heads are made, they are usually modeled on the opera facial makeup of their place of origin; once completed, they are fitted with cloth, hemp, silk flowers, and other ornaments, often achieving a remarkably lifelike and vividly expressive effect. Paper effigies are a folk art closely tied to the social life of the people, very widespread in China, and used mainly for prayers and sacrifices, festivals, and various ceremonial celebrations. Fenghuang paper effigies are practiced mainly in the Fenghuang area of Hunan Province and have a very long history of development. Fenghuang paper effigies use bamboo splints to build the armature, which is covered with bark paper and decorated with painted designs, displaying a high artistic standard. The "Nie family" paper effigies draw on the strengths of many schools and stand out from the rest; the human figures, animals, flowers and plants, insects, and fish they fashion are all vivid and lifelike.
A dozen paper shops in the county town
By the late Qing and early Republic a dozen paper shops served the county town, supplying lion heads, dragon heads, shells and boats for weddings, funerals and lantern festivals.
Seasonal paper offerings
Paper work follows the calendar, peaking at New Year when lion heads, boats, shells, flowers and lanterns fill the shops and travel beyond the county.
Nie Fangjun's structural improvements
Nie Fangjun, born into the craft, borrowed Miao dyeing, carving, paper-cutting and silversmithing to rebuild lion and dragon frames with springy bamboo.
A four-province market
Sold across the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou border, Phoenix paper work is tied by river port to the Tujia region’s festivals, markets and boat races.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
In some places, straw stalks are used in place of bamboo splints for the armature, with plain cloth, silk, or bark paper as the surface; the colorful cloth platform craft (caibu ningtai) of Handan, Hebei, is mounted directly with various colored fabrics. Color decoration also takes on different characteristics from region to region. Fenghuang has seasonal paper effigy products throughout the year, and the Spring Festival is the peak season for paper effigies. The endlessly varied paper effigy products — lion heads, dragon heads, clam shells, decorated boats, shrimp, crabs, fish, softshell turtles, clouds, potted flowers, and lanterns — are sold not only locally but also in neighboring counties and other regions, exerting considerable influence along the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou border.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Fenghuang paper effigies carry rich folk connotations and can provide living evidence for research in folklore and folk craft studies; they require vigorous protection and promotion. Nie Fangjun (related inheritor, official archive record): born into a paper effigy craft family, he learned the Nie family paper effigy craft from his father from childhood. After decades of study, the lions, dragon heads, arhats, flower baskets, and flower boats he fashioned were remarkably lifelike, each with its own spirit, and he long enjoyed a high reputation. While preserving the traditional style, he drew on the strengths of Miao dyeing, carving, paper cutting, and silverwork to improve the craft. The lion-head and dragon-head rolling frames he improved used bamboo filaments and bent splints to increase the toughness and elasticity of the structure, giving the forms both traditional charm and a contemporary appearance. He founded the Fenghuang Nie Family Paper Effigy Craft Society, taught his art to apprentices, and trained a total of eight students from within and outside the province. Male, Han ethnicity, born in June 1933, died in February 2015, native of Fenghuang County, Hunan Province. Representative inheritor of caizhai (Fenghuang paper effigies), a third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item. His works were exhibited and won prizes on many occasions and are held in the collections of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the National Art Museum of China, and other institutions; they have been included in books such as Gleanings of Folk Art (a volume in the Complete Collection of Hunan Folk Art) and The Unique Skills: Fenghuang Paper Effigies (in the Chinese Folk Art series).
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Nie Fangjun 03-1284
- Xu Yanfeng 03-1285
- Zhou Tingyi 03-1286
- Shi Rongsheng 03-1287
- Li Wei 03-1288
- Huang Suming 05-2678
- Nie Dayong
- Li Wanzhen
- Zhou Heping
- Liu Yinling
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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