Paper-cut brand slogan

Paper-cutting is one of the most popular folk arts in China. According to archaeological discoveries, its history can be traced back to the 6th century, but people think that its actual start time is hundreds of years earlier. Paper-cutting is often used in religious ceremonies, decoration and plastic arts.

In the past, people used paper to make objects and portraits of different shapes and buried them with the dead or burned them at funerals. This custom can sometimes be seen outside China. Paper-cutting art is generally symbolic and is part of this ceremony; In addition, paper-cutting is also used as an ornament to worship ancestors and immortals.

It is widely welcomed because of its easy materials, low cost, obvious effect and wide adaptability. Because it is most suitable for rural women's leisure production, it can not only be used as a practical object, but also beautify their lives. Paper-cutting can be seen all over the country, and even formed different local styles. Paper-cutting not only shows the aesthetic taste of the public, but also contains the deep social psychology of the nation. It is also one of the most distinctive folk arts in China, and its modeling features are particularly worth studying.

Nowadays, paper-cutting is more used for decoration. Paper-cutting can be used to decorate walls, doors and windows, columns, mirrors, lamps and so on. It can also be used as a gift decoration, and even the paper-cut itself can be given as a gift to others. In the past, people used paper-cutting as a model for embroidery and painting.

Paper-cutting is not made by machine, but by hand. There are two common methods: scissors and knife scissors. As the name implies, scissors are scissors. After cutting, paste a few (usually no more than 8) paper-cuts, and finally process the pattern with sharp scissors. Knife scissors first fold the paper into several folds, put it on the soft mixture of ashes and animal fat, and then slowly carve it with a knife. Paper-cutting artists usually hold the knife vertically and process the paper into the required pattern according to a certain model. Compared with scissors, one advantage of knife scissors is that they can be processed into various paper-cut patterns at one time.

In rural areas, paper-cutting is usually done by women and girls. In the past, this is a handicraft art that every girl must master, and it is also the standard by which people judge brides. Professional paper-cutting artists are often men, because only men can work together and earn money in the workshop.

history

According to textual research, from Shang Dynasty (BC1600-100), people made decorations with gold foil, silver foil, leather or silk. 1950- 1952 During the excavation of the Warring States site in Guwei Village, Huixian County, Henan Province, arc ornaments carved with silver foil were found. Although these decorations hollowed out with silver foil can't be said to be paper-cut, they can be said to have formed the predecessor of paper-cut art in engraving technology and artistic style.

In the Western Han Dynasty, people used hemp fiber to make paper. It is said that after the death of Emperor Wu's favorite princess Li, Emperor Wu missed him so much that he couldn't sleep, so he asked the warlock to carve an image with hemp paper to arouse his soul. This is probably the earliest paper-cutting. In A.D. 105, Cai Lun improved and popularized the previous experience and began to make a lot of paper. This kind of carving form gave birth to the art of paper-cutting because of the discovery of more popular materials, which has a history of more than 2000 years. The paper was cut into beautiful patterns. At present, the earliest and well-documented discovery is near the Flame Mountain in Turpan, Xinjiang, where five paper-cuts of group flowers in the Southern and Northern Dynasties were unearthed: Ma Tuan Tuan Hua; Yes, monkey flower; Honeysuckle; Chrysanthemum; Eight flowers.

Paper-cut patterns have been applied to other handicrafts in the Tang Dynasty. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, a kind of gold and silver inlay technology appeared, that is, sticking carved gold and silver foil on the back of lacquerware or bronze mirror, then filling it with paint and drying it to display gold patterns on the lacquerware floor.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the custom of "carving gold to win" prevailed. "Victory" is a pattern cut from paper, gold foil, silver foil, silk and silk, and a set of square geometric shapes is called "Fang Sheng"; Those who cut into flowers and plants are called "Watson", and those who cut into human form are called "people win" Liang Zonggu in the Southern Dynasties recorded in the Chronicle of Jingchu: "The seventh day of the first month is a day (Chronicle of Dong Fangshuo): there were chickens, dogs, pigs, sheep, cows, horses, people and valleys at the beginning." Sunny days are dominated by rich things, while cloudy days are disastrous. In these eight days, People's Day is the most important, also known as "people win the festival") with seven kinds of dishes as soup; Cut the ribbon for people, or carve gold foil for people to paste the screen, and wear it on the head and temples; He also created Watson to inherit each other. "

Du Fu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem called Man Day: "On this day, at this moment, people get * * *, and when they talk about it, they look at each other with a smile. Before respecting cypress leaves, rest with wine and win golden flowers in the cold. " Li Shangyin, another famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, also wrote a poem "People's Day", which said: "Carving gold will overcome customs and cut the ribbon to invigorate the people." Among the cultural relics unearthed in Xinjiang in the 1960s, there is also a paper-cut of Rensheng in the Tang Dynasty, in which seven women lined up and used this victory to decorate the bun.

There are many records about paper-cutting in Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there were artists who took paper-cutting as their profession. Some of them are good at carving "all kinds of calligraphy characters", while others are good at carving "all kinds of colors and patterns". Some paper-cuts are used as decorations for gifts, some are pasted on windows, some are decorated as lanterns, and some are cut into so-called "dragons and tigers". At this time, shadow play prevailed, and the material for carving shadow play was not only animal skins, but also thick paper. Zhou Mi's "Miscellaneous Notes of Zhiyatang" contains: At that time, Pei Liang, the capital of Beijing, "went to the old Tiandu Street, and some people cut various colors, which were extremely exquisite and made at will. Those who are more respected on tiles specialize in cutting the characters of family letters. Then, suddenly, some teenagers can cut words and flowers on their sleeves. I am proficient in two people, so I am good at a temporary reputation. " That is, "Kaifeng" mansion, and "pattern cutting" naturally refers to "paper cutting".

Li Qingzhao, a poetess in the Song Dynasty, wrote in the poem "Bodhisattva Man": "The candle is bright at the bottom, and the hairpin phoenix wins the light." There is a kind of bird, because it has a golden crown on its head, which looks like a branch of autumn, so it is named Dai Sheng bird. In Wei's Listen to Yingge, "Shrike flies over the sound, mulberry fields are green when they are born", which is a symbol of spring returning to the earth.

In Song Dynasty, Chen's Record of Years Old said: "On New Year's Day, 49 banners were cut out with crow's green paper or green silk, and a big banner was enclosed, or carried according to parents' age, or posted on the door.

Paper-cutting in Song Dynasty is an important creation of craft decoration. It is the porcelain of Jizhou kiln. Its products include teacups and vases. There are many patterns, such as phoenix, plum blossom, loquat and auspicious words. It's lively. It was made by the author in the process of glazing, pasting paper-cuts and firing in the kiln.

Modern folk blue calico is made of carved cardboard, then imitated and dyed. This printing and dyeing technology has been very common in the Song Dynasty, and the printed cloth of the Southern Song Dynasty unearthed in Shanxi is an example.

Famous paper-cut artists are also recorded in the notes and local chronicles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. For example, "Suzhou Fuzhi" contains: "Zhao's calyx, in Jiajing period, was made of yarn and carved into flowers, bamboo and birds with paper, with a light and thick halo. Dissolve the wax and dye, and clamp it with gauze. The sun is shining, bright and bright, flying and dancing, and being in the light smoke is difficult to distinguish from real people. " The gauze lanterns in Ming Dynasty are very famous. It is a paper-cut sandwiched between yarns. The reflection pattern by candlelight is another application of paper-cutting in daily life. Now people call it "lantern".

"Yanzhou Jiande County Records" contains: "Lin, the word outline Zhai, young people write books, middle-aged blind. He is a paper-cut character, with dragons and snakes dancing and stippling. The room was decorated as a shaft, ... called "Forest Scissors Day". "Baoding Fu Zhi" contains: "A certain woman is also the daughter of Zhang Cai. Have a smart mind, talk to people, carefully cut off the spring flowers, autumn chrysanthemums and fine grass in the sleeves, and lose your mind; Its cut incense (large+area) is absolutely ingenious, eye-catching, and treasured by the winners.

Jesen's Painting New Poems in the Qing Dynasty said: "In the Southern Song Dynasty, some people were able to carve words on their sleeves, which was no different from the fame of ancient people. In recent years, Yangzhou Baojun has done the most landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, and insects. " There is another poem: "Cutting pictures is smarter than cutting books, flying flowers and birds to swim near fish;" Let him have a good spring breeze in February. I'm afraid it's better to cut down weeping willows. "During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Zou Yuandou, a court painter, painted a genre painting" The Central Axis of the New Year "to bless the beginning of the New Year. At the top of this painting, there are five colorful paper-cut "door cages". The form of doormat evolved from spring banner.

In the Qing dynasty, paper-cutting entered the court because of Manchu paper-cutting customs. In the Forbidden City, Shen Ning Palace is the wedding bridal chamber of emperors in past dynasties. According to Manchu custom, it is covered with wallpaper, with black paper-cut flowers with double happiness characters printed on the four corners and dragon and phoenix-shaped black paper-cut flowers in the center of the ceiling. Horn flowers are also pasted on the aisle walls on both sides of the palace. It is said that some people cut paper into a pattern of "Six Rivers and Spring" with deer, cranes and pine trees on it, and then painted it and pasted it on the royal clothes. Even the Western Empress Dowager considered it embroidery.

Nowadays, the world of paper-cutting is wider. It has already walked out of the farmhouse and entered the vast world of modern design. It has clear images in product packaging design, trademark advertising, interior decoration, clothing design, book binding, stamp design, newspaper inscription, comics, stage art, animation, film and television, etc. She has also gone to the world, enjoying a world-renowned reputation and becoming the cultural wealth and artistic treasure of all mankind. With the progress of history, many ethnic and traditional things have been gradually diluted and lost. However, the symbol of true civilization should be the coexistence and common development of traditional culture and modern culture. May this ancient art tree be evergreen.

The expression method of paper-cutting

There are many ways to express paper-cutting, which are mainly summarized as monochrome and color. Monochrome paper-cutting is divided into:

1. Positive paper-cutting, usually monochrome paper-cutting works cut with red paper and black paper or other colors. The characteristic of orthographic paper-cutting is to keep the outline of the manuscript and cut off the blank parts outside the outline. Every thread of it is interrelated, which affects the whole body.

2. Yin Ke paper-cut, Yin Ke paper-cut is just the opposite of Yang Ke paper-cut, that is, the outline of the manuscript is carved and the parts outside the outline are reserved. Therefore, the characteristic of gravure paper-cutting is that its lines are not necessarily interrelated, but the whole work is huge.

Paper-cut school

Yuxian paper-cut, Fengning Manchu paper-cut, Zhongyang paper-cut, Yiwulu Mountain Manchu paper-cut, Yangzhou paper-cut, Yueqing fine line paper-cut, Guangdong paper-cut, Dai paper-cut, Ansai paper-cut and magnetic paper-cut.