The origin of paper cutting

Paper-cutting is a folk handicraft art with a long history in China, which reflects the ancient history and culture of China and is one of the most distinctive representatives of China handicraft art. According to archaeological research, the origin of paper-cutting can be traced back to the sixth century in the park, but some people think that the history of paper-cutting is even earlier. So what is the origin of paper-cutting? Next, let's discuss the reasons for paper-cutting.

Legend has it that Chinese paper-cutting originated from the activities of ancestor worship and prayer of the ancients, and then it was rooted in the profound traditional culture of China. Paper-cutting has a history of more than 2,000 years. It condenses the traditional ideas of Chinese culture and interweaves with other arts, conveying ancient civilization. Paper-cut art is an important part of China culture, a microcosm of a nation's moral belief and the inheritance of folk culture.

China's paper-cutting technology has its unique formation and development process. It is said that the earliest paper-cutting art appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, that is, in the 3rd century BC. At that time, people used all kinds of thin materials to cut patterns on gold foil, leather, silk, leaves and other materials by carving, carving, picking, carving and cutting, and made various handicrafts, which was the so-called early paper-cutting art.

There was no paper in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, so the so-called paper-cutting handicraft at that time only laid the foundation for the emergence of real paper-cutting technology. The real development of paper-cut handicraft art began with the appearance of paper. Paper-making was invented in the Han Dynasty, and the invention of paper really promoted the appearance, development and popularization of paper-cutting art.

In the Tang Dynasty, the folk began to popularize the custom of paper-cutting evocation, which promoted the paper-cutting art to enter a great development. As can be seen from the unearthed cultural relics, the paper-cutting skills at that time were quite high, and the composition of paper-cutting pictures was complete, delicate and exquisite. In addition, in the Tang Dynasty, people used paper-cutting as a printing plate, carved thick paper into a missing printing plate, and then printed dyes on cloth to make exquisite patterns.

The maturity of paper industry in Song Dynasty provided conditions for the popularization and application of paper-cutting. In the Song Dynasty, people used paper-cutting as the pattern of ceramics, and made the ceramics more exquisite by glazing and firing. Folk draw lessons from the form of paper-cutting, and make the' character modeling' of shadow play with animal skin; The pattern scraped and printed in the Song Dynasty adopts paper-cutting technology, which is divided into yin and yang, and long lines should be cut to distinguish the true from the false.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, paper-cutting technology matured and reached its peak. At this time, the application of paper-cutting technology is more extensive. For example, the ornamental design of folk lanterns, the decorative pattern of fan and the embroidered pattern are all decorated with paper-cut and then processed. At that time, more people used paper-cutting as home decoration to beautify their homes, such as window grilles.

Paper-cut art has a long history, which has been widely described by scholars in past dynasties, such as Cui Daorong's paper-cut in Tang Dynasty. Want to cut Yichun word, spring cold cut? Yichun here refers to paper cutting, like Li Shangyin in the Tang Dynasty? Carve gold to win the custom, cut the ribbon to control the golden wind? Among them, ribbon-cutting is paper-cutting. It can be seen that the art of paper-cutting was quite cultural at that time.

So what is the origin of Chinese paper-cutting art? In fact, a long time ago, people began to try and skillfully use some graphics to record notes and present content. At this time, although there is no paper, people can record relevant information on bronze wares, animal skins and other carriers. With the development of paper, more and more craftsmen have access to paper, thus transferring these creative patterns to paper as a light carrier. When we compare the patterns on other carriers before the invention of paper with the patterns made by paper-cutting after the invention of paper, we can clearly see that the origin of paper-cutting comes from the pattern recording method of ancestors.

Folk paper-cutting art

Although paper-cut is light on paper, it is not only easy to preserve, but also low in cost. But it is precisely because of this characteristic that paper-cutting is not suitable for long-term preservation. Although paper-cutting has been very popular since the invention of paper, few works have been handed down. But we can still find traces of paper-cutting from some classic ancient poems, such as Li Shangyin's poem "Man Day". Lou Jin is the winner, spreading wisdom and customs, and cutting the ribbon is the wind of human gold? Here? Cut the ribbon? It means paper cutting. The word paper-cut often appears in poems, such as Peng ADB written by the famous poet Du Fu? Warm soup fills the foot, paper-cutting tells my soul? The word paper-cut is directly used here.

Because paper-cutting has a very strong folk soul and breath, it has a very strong viability. Although it has been developed for thousands of years, the art of paper-cutting is still enduring and even growing. We can notice that in the past, paper-cutting was often created around some landscapes and auspicious patterns, but modern paper-cutting has developed into a variety of styles with complete content. This shows that paper-cutting plays an important role in China folk culture.

Simple paper-cutting in life

In daily life, we often come into contact with paper-cutting on various occasions. However, the most common and intuitive contact is the snowflake paper-cut that many friends like very much. The characteristic of snowflake paper-cutting is that you can make beautiful paper-cut snowflakes simply by folding the paper. Simple production allows almost everyone, whether adults or children, to make paper-cut snowflakes with different effects according to their own preferences, and beautiful paper-cut snowflakes themselves can be regarded as beautiful window grilles, which are really charming.