Chinese Folk Papercut
Edition History Edit Introduction:
View 1 photos, or upload your photo.
TOPGENERAL INFORMATION
Paper cutting is the art of cutting designs in paper (black, white, or colored), then gluing them to a contrasting surface or a transparent surface. Paper cutting is intended to be decorative, i.e., a thing with which to adorn something else, not as a free-standing work of art, though today they are of course framed, in much the same way that a painting would be framed, by lovers of papercuttings worldwide.
Though the art of paper cutting evolved differently in different cultures, it appears to have originated in China – since paper itself originated in China* – possibly as early as the 2nd century CE, or shortly after paper itself was invented. The oldest example of a papercutting is from the 6th century CE and stems from Xinjiang Province in China. This uniquely Chinese art remained a secret to the outside world until around the 8th or 9th century CE, where it appeared in areas of West Asia and in what was once called Asia Minor (the area comprising modern-day Turkey). From there it spread to Europe and then to the rest of the world. The art of paper cutting remains one of the most popular traditional arts in China.
The themes involved in the art of Chinese paper cutting are as diverse as they are colorful, reflecting a multitude of regional and national motifs. The themes vary from scenes of everyday life, with which people are quite familiar, to scenes of a future life of good fortune to which people aspired – or at least dreamt of – to symbols suggesting good health, prosperity, etc. The art of paper cutting originated – and continues to this day – as a true folk art immediately accessible to the masses. The subject matter of these works of art provide an insight into the simple, unadulterated feelings of working peoples everywhere throughout time, having evolved uniquely in different parts of the world to meet the needs of the local culture.
TOPTHE PRINCIPAL THEMES OF CHINESE PAPER CUTTING
THEMES FROM EVERYDAY LIFE
Since the art of paper cutting is a true folk art, its "craftsmen" were mostly ordinary folk from the countryside, and thus common themes were those which depicted scenes from everyday life such as feeding chickens, raising pigs, herding sheep, putting cattle out to pasture, riding a donkey, driving, visiting parents, holding babies, and working in the fields. Some practitioners of this ancient art preferred typical Chinese animal-kingdom themes while others concentrated on typical Chinese plant-kingdom themes. In both cases, the images depicted imbue the papercutting with a strong sense of everyday Chinese life.
SYMBOLIC THEMES
A common characteristic that developed in the art of Chinese paper cutting is the expression of feelings through a variety of "shorthand" means, such as through:
Figures
An idea might be expressed by means of a representational figure. For example, a cloud might represents the sky, a snowflake might represent winter.
Symbols
By association, the image of a plant or an animal might stand for the concept of longevity, love, etc. For example, the peach symblizes longevity; the pomegranate, fertility; the mandarin duck, love; the pine tree, eternal youth; the peony, honor and wealth; while the magpie perched on the branch of a plum tree presages a lucky event that will soon happen.
Sounds
Taking the notion of symbolic representation a step further, the papercutting artist might employ the image of an animal or a plant – or a combination of the two – to represent an entirely different concept based solely on the fact that the name(s) of the animal(s) or plant(s), either in writing or when pronounced, is (are) the same as a completely different word which signifies a desirable quality. For example, the image of a carp and a lotus flower together signifies a prosperous life, since the name "carp", pronounced "yu" in Chinese, also means "bountiful" and the name "lotus", pronounced "lian" in Chinese, also means "year after year", or perennially.
LITERARY AND OTHER ARTISTIC THEMES
Fairy tales are told and retold among ordinary people everywhere, including in China, often – especially in China – in terms of drama. As an extension of the story recounted in the spoken fairy tale, modern-day Chinese paper cutting artists make use of their medium's imagery to express feelings of love – or perhaps of loathing – towards fairy-tale figures. For example, in Chekiang and in Shanghai, the Shaoxing Opera Theatre stages a number of well-known Chinese plays based on fairy-tales and other legends, leading local paper cutting craftsmen to render figures from selected scenes from these famous plays in papercuttings, among them, scenes from "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", "The Tale of the White Snake", "The Dream of the Red Mansions", and "The Romance of the Western Chamber". Similarly, in the region surrounding Beijing, papercuttings inspired by Beijing Opera performances include "The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", "Chang Er Flies to the Moon", "Celestial Beauty Scattering Flowers", and "The Mouse Marries Off Its Daughter". Papercutting artists in Wei County, very near to Beijing, are renowned for their renditions of operatic figures in face masks.
TOPPROMINENT FEATURES OF CHINESE PAPER CUTTING
THE MEDIUM DICTATES THE CHOICE OF TOOLS AS WELL AS THE TECHNIQUE
Since papercuttings are essentially all-in-one-piece cut outs that may depict an entire stage scene, it is important that the cutting tools used to create these unique works of art be of superb quality. There are two different tools used in producing papercuttings: small scissors and a very sharp knife. In scissor cutting, several pieces of paper are stacked, then the figure is carefully cut out. In knife cutting, several layers of paper are stacked on a soft foundation made from a mixture of tallow and ashes. Tracing the pattern with the knife held vertically, the craftsman carefully cuts out the figure.
In the hands of an experienced craftsman, the proper knife can cut through a greater number of layers of paper, while still retaining perfect control, than can be cut using a pair of scissors. Images that are symmetrical (side to side or top to bottom) are achieved by folding an appropriate sized sheet of paper on which an image has been traced, then trimming it with a pair of scissors, such that when unfolded, the image on the one side (or end) replicates the image on the other. The art of paper cutting requires not only good paper and excellent tools, it also requires a steady hand and a good technique. And finally, no papercutting can be better than its design, and since the essence of paper cutting involves bringing forth an image by means of cutting away parts of the paper so as to allow light, or a contrasting background, to show through, good paper cutting begins with a well-designed drawing.
BALANCE AND PORPORTION ARE ESSENTIAL IN DECORATION
Since papercuttings were intended as decorations to beautify an otherwise unexpressive window, door panel, or other surface, it was important that the balance and proportion of the motif be suited to the space which it would occupy. Symmetry was highly prized, as well as extreme neatness in the cutting. Colors were generally vivid, but soft and harmonious. Special techniques were required to achieve crescents or hackle marks.
EXAGGERATION IS KEY
The art of paper cutting, not unlike the art of cartoon drawing, relies on exaggeration, especially the exaggeration of facial features or other prominent characteristics of the subject matter. Yet ugly features were generally counter-balanced by graceful ones, as the primary function of paper cutting was to adorn in a pleasing manner.
The "paper" made from a marsh grass, cyperous papyrus – from which stems the name "paper" – that grew along the banks of the Nile bears little resemblance to modern-day paper, which, in contrast, bears significant resemblance to the paper developed in China in CE 105, cirka, by T'sai Lun, the Chief Eunuch of Emperor Ho Ti of the Eastern Han (CE 25 - 220) Dynasty. Cyperous papyrus was cut into thin strips, then soaked in water until softened, after which the strips were arranged into a mat that was first beaten thin, then sun dried. The paper made by T'sai Lun involved mascerating the fibers of plants until each fiber strand was separated, then placing the proper quantity/ density of fiber mass into a large vat of water. The fiber mixture was thoroughly mixed, resulting in the fibers crisscrossing each other, after which a screen was dipped into the vat and lifted gently, leaving a super-thin "mat" of intertwined fibers. When dried, the result was a thin, strong, paper sheet not unlike the product we know of as paper today.
Help us improve our web site by Editing This Article.
Topics about Chinese Folk Papercut
There are 0 questions about Chinese Folk Papercut:
