The origin of paper cutting

Paper-cutting originated in the Western Han Dynasty BC.

Paper was invented in the Western Han Dynasty BC, before which there could be no paper-cutting art.. But at that time, people used very thin materials to make handicrafts by hollowing out and carving, but it was popular long before paper appeared, that is, patterns were cut on gold foil, leather, silk and even leaves by carving, carving, picking, carving and cutting. According to Records of the Historian Jiantong Di Feng, in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the leaves of the pole were cut into "poles" and given to his younger brother, who was named Tang Hou.

During the Warring States period, leather carving and silver foil hollowing were used, which were exactly the same as paper cutting. Their appearance laid a certain foundation for the formation of folk paper-cutting. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a poem "Painting Yellow on the Mirror" in Mulan Ci. China's earliest paper-cut works are found in five paper-cuts of the Northern Dynasty (AD 386-58 1 year) unearthed near the Flame Mountain in Turpan, Xinjiang. These paper-cuts are folded repeatedly, and the images are not covered with each other.

Paper-cut art has never been interrupted in the history of China since its birth. It is rich in various folk activities, and it is one of the richest art forms in China folk history and culture.

Use form:

Paper-cut paper-cut pasted on the window for decoration. Generally speaking, in the north, most farmers' windows are wooden lattice windows, vertical grids, squares or geometric grids, and a layer of white "leather paper" is attached to them. On holidays, the paper for window grilles is replaced and new window grilles are affixed, indicating that the old ones have been dismantled and the new ones are welcome. The forms of window grilles are various freely adaptable patterns such as corner flowers, folding flowers, animals, flowers and figures at the four corners of the decorative pane, as well as continuous sets of opera or legendary story window grilles.

Wedding flowers are paper-cut, used for weddings and festive fashions, various utensils and supplies and indoor furnishings. Paper-cutting is generally placed on daily necessities such as tea sets, soap boxes and pots. Some are posted on the toilet mirror. Most of the themes of love flower patterns emphasize the meaning of auspiciousness and happiness. The color is bright red, and the appearance styles are round, square, diamond, peach and pomegranate. Decorated with various auspicious patterns such as dragons and phoenixes, mandarin ducks, magpies, flowers and peonies. There is a method of "flowers in flowers" in composition and layout.

Fireworks are paper-cuts pasted on cakes, noodles, eggs and other gifts. It is called "cake flower" and "fruit flower" in Chaozhou, Guangdong, and "circle potted flower" in Pingyang, Zhejiang. The theme of fireworks mostly adopts auspicious and festive patterns. In Shandong, paper-cuts are pasted on "Happy Eggs" to celebrate the birth of children, or eggs are dyed red to reveal white patterns. In rural areas of Fujian, tortoise patterns are given to each other as a symbol of longevity. There are turtle-shaped cakes and turtle-shaped paper cuts.

Shoe flower is a kind of paper-cut used as the embroidery bottom sample of cloth shoes upper. There are generally three forms: one is cut into small flowers or embroidered on the toes, which is called "toe flower"; The other is to cut them into crescent shapes according to the shape of the uppers, which is called "vamp flowers"; And the third kind extends from both ends of toe flower to vamp, which is called "vamp flower". There is also a kind called "sole flower", which was used for "longevity shoes" in the old days. Or embroidered on the bottom of cloth socks. The layout of shoe flowers is generally sparse, and the themes are flowers and birds.

Doorways are also called "hanging money", "hanging money", "red money", "happy money", "door color" and "fasting death" Generally used on the lintel or the second beam in the hall. Its style is mostly pennant-shaped, with a big head and a wide side and a tassel under it. Most of them are carved with red paper, but there are also other colors or colors. Most of the patterns are geometric patterns or embedded with figures, flowers, dragons and phoenixes and auspicious characters, such as "Celebrating the whole world", "Prosperous country and people's safety", "Good weather" and "Magpies climbing plum trees".

Bean fragrant flower is a kind of color-coded paper-cut, which is mostly used for decoration in traditional folk activities such as offering sacrifices to ancestors and gods. The themes of paper-cutting are mostly operas, historical stories, folklore, flowers, people and other auspicious patterns. Color matching is generally composed of gold, red, pink, green, blue, orange, light yellow, black and other wax paper, with rich colors and strong effects. Paper-cutting needs to use 7 layers of waxed paper and 1 layer of wrinkled gold paper to carve flowers in a unified style.

Paper-cut flag is a flag-shaped paper-cut used in folk activities. For example, in the folk Double Ninth Festival, colored paper is cut into banners and inserted on the Double Ninth Cake, which is very beautiful. In the Song Dynasty, there was an ancient custom in Zhejiang. If there were patients, witches held paper-cut dragon and tiger flags to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters. In the funeral, the "flower banners" used for the funeral are also cut out of ordinary paper. The paper-cut flower banner is related to the banner held by the Buddha who leads the way in Buddhism; In addition, there are paper-cut "evocation paper banners" and "sparse" hanging on the beams of the prayer hall during the fasting ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the deceased.