The era confrontation of paper-cutting. When tradition collides with modernity, what kind of sparks will it collide with?

We can divide paper-cut works into two categories from the style of paper-cut: folk paper-cut and modern paper-cut.

As the name implies, folk paper-cutting is a folk art with a long history. Its history, technology and classification have all been mentioned in previous articles. Folk paper-cutting is classified according to regional characteristics, cultural background, historical period and production methods, which constitutes a familiar traditional paper-cutting system. Most of them are spread among the people, passed down from mouth to mouth by folk artists, and created and innovated by folk people.

For example, paper-cutting in Ruichang, Jiangxi Province: Ruichang is located in the north-south border, which has created its unique paper-cutting style due to geographical reasons. Ruichang paper-cut absorbs the North-South style, which is both feminine and delicate, and masculine, and is a typical feature of the integration of North and South. Knife skills change with one's heart: children are full of vitality by emphasizing color, and women's feminine beauty is expressed by delicate and smooth methods. The composition is balanced but not monotonous, and sometimes non-hollowing techniques are used to give the work a mysterious hazy feeling. In addition to its distinctive style, Ruichang paper-cut can be traced back to the Han and Jin Dynasties, and its cultural history is amazing. With a long history, Ruichang's cultural heritage is constantly accumulating, so that paper-cutting and culture can be combined to form a * * * system with cultural activities as the carrier. Paper-cutting goes deep into all kinds of folk customs, and there are corresponding rules for Chinese New Year holidays, weddings and funerals, which are inseparable from paper-cutting. Moreover, there are many patterns in paper-cutting, no matter men, women and children, there are many patterns that can be expressed, and they are all traditional elements such as flowers, birds, insects and fish that express auspiciousness and happiness. The ingenious combination of these elements, paper-cutting will imply a clever greeting. It can be seen that the paper-cutting here is generally endowed with all kinds of beautiful meanings, which is a spirit of yearning for beauty.

To sum up, the heel of folk paper-cut is the original ecological art of small-scale peasant economy and a craft rooted in traditional culture. Although paper-cutting has different performances and applications in different places, it all comes from a spirit. Folk paper-cutting originated from witchcraft, and its fundamental idea is a mysterious witchcraft spirit. For example, in Shaanxi's paper-cut "Five Only Children Climb to Heaven", people will cut out five little people who climb to heaven in the dry season and stick them on the window, believing that they will step on the rain in the sky. This spirit is extremely difficult to maintain in modern society, but it is the soul of folk paper-cutting. It is necessary to protect the intangible cultural heritage of folk paper-cutting, which requires us to keep not only the skills of learning traditional paper-cutting, but also the spirit of this traditional culture.

Modern paper-cutting began in the 1940s and developed rapidly after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Modern paper-cutting is different from folk paper-cutting. It gets rid of the shackles of folk customs and only retains the artistic form of paper-cutting. Modern paper-cutting is organically combined with western culture, painting techniques, architecture and other elements, showing a pluralistic culture. But also can reflect the social reality and the spirit of the times, and express the art of paper-cutting in various ways. Most of the places where folk paper-cutting flourished followed the trend of the times and began to develop modern paper-cutting. Carry on the inheritance and innovation of paper-cut creation. Modern paper-cutting can appear as an artistic element in different arts such as opera background and three-dimensional installation. Modern paper-cutting can appear as an independent art, and modern paper-cutting artists are mostly literati, painters, art lovers and teachers of art colleges. This makes modern paper-cutting as well as painting and sculpture can be used to express feelings and thoughts. Compared with traditional paper-cutting, which relies on folk customs and traditional culture, modern paper-cutting has changeable styles and strong plasticity, and has more advantages in the innovation of paper-cutting art and adaptation to modern society.

Moreover, the spiritual core of folk paper-cutting and modern paper-cutting are very different, and the ideas expressed are also very different. If you don't distinguish, it will be a mess. Just as folk paper-cutting contains witchcraft, the center of modern paper-cutting is art, which is an important window for the innovation of traditional art in China. Folk paper-cutting and modern paper-cutting represent the inheritance of tradition and the innovation of traditional culture. We should attach importance to both and develop them. Bian Xiao believes that this classification of paper-cutting can clearly inherit and develop China's paper-cutting art, which is conducive to the long-term development of paper-cutting in China.