Paper Effigy Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The kylin dance was brought to Qingxi Town by Hakka people during the Ming dynasty.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Kylin making is a traditional paper-framing (caizha) art form in which the kylin head and the kylin covering used as props in the kylin dance are framed; it is distributed in Dali Village, Tiesong Village, Songgang Village, and other places in Qingxi Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. Qingxi Town has a strong Hakka cultural atmosphere, and kylin making and the kylin dance are folk arts embodying traditional Hakka culture. Kylin dance performances require paper-framed kylin as props, and the history of their making extends back more than a hundred years. Qingxi kylin making maintains the craft characteristics of the Hakka kylin, integrating handicraft, paper-cutting, painting, and other art forms in one; its composition stresses formal beauties such as symmetry and balance, and the works are tough and durable, finely painted, brightly colored, and vivid in form. The making can be divided into two parts: the kylin head and the kylin covering. The Xuantong-era Dongguan County Gazetteer of the Qing dynasty records: "A kylin head is pasted with paper and painted in five colors, and a brocade covering is sewn as the kylin body." The form of the Qingxi kylin head follows the traditional iconic features of the kylin, taking the dragon head, wolf forehead, single horn, short spines, scales, and whiskers and hair as its basic elements. Its traditional dimensions are approximately 75 cm in height, 53 cm in width, and 65 cm in depth. Kylin making places its emphasis on the paper framing of the kylin head; using raw bamboo strips, yellow rattan, quality gauze paper, and other materials, it is handcrafted through many process steps including splitting the bamboo, lashing a frame of bamboo strips, pasting the gauze paper, painting the patterns, applying gloss oil, and attaching ornaments. The painting of the kylin head chiefly employs the colors red, yellow, green, white, and black, which represent the five elements, with colored painting applied on top; rich floral patterns such as peonies, peach blossoms, chrysanthemums, and butterflies convey auspiciousness and good fortune, and decorative fabric balls of various kinds are attached. The kylin covering is made of homespun cloth by traditional methods; it is 450 cm long and 150 cm wide, composed mainly of cloth in the five colors of red, yellow, green, white, and black joined together. The kylin tail is about 20 cm long and is made of rabbit fur. In addition, Qingxi kylin and the kylin dance are deeply loved by people at home and abroad, which is conducive to the spread of local culture and the promotion of cultural exchange.
Archival Record of Process Steps
Kylin making places its emphasis on the paper framing of the kylin head; using raw bamboo strips, yellow rattan, quality gauze paper, and other materials, it is handcrafted through many process steps including splitting the bamboo, lashing a frame of bamboo strips, pasting the gauze paper, painting the patterns, applying gloss oil, and attaching ornaments.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
According to differences in the partial shapes and materials of the kylin head, kylin can be divided into round-horned kylin, pointed-horned kylin, right-angle-horned kylin, hard-eared kylin (with both ears fixed), and soft-eared kylin (with both ears able to move).
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
Qingxi kylin making has been transmitted through father-to-son inheritance within families, represented by the two transmission lineages of Huang Jiao and Huang Zhaoxiu in Qingxi Town, Dongguan, and transmission has continued for five generations to date. Qingxi kylin making is an important reference for the study of Hakka history, culture, and folk customs, and it has created conditions for the inheritance and promotion of the kylin dance; it possesses value in folklore, history, art, and other respects. Huang Suming (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in April 1951, from Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. He is a representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Paper Framing (Kylin Making). He has practiced the art for more than fifty years; while preserving the traditional form, the kylin he makes incorporate reasonably added moving functions, making the structure tougher and more durable, the form more vivid and lifelike, and the workmanship more exquisite and perfect. His works are exported overseas and are especially favored by kylin enthusiasts in Southeast Asia. To better transmit the craft of kylin making, he has actively trained successors, causing the ranks of transmission to grow continuously, and has formed a group of stable transmission backbones.
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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