Really excellent paper-cutting, is the Yangzhou of Jiangsu and Tianjin Yang Liuqing's monochrome paper-cutting, the two places of paper-cutting, with beautiful shape, exquisite paper, sharp knife skills and famous, on its origin, Yangzhou and Yang Liuqing, are the world-famous hometown of calligraphy and painting art, the paper-cutting art of the two places in the profound cultural heritage of the background, natural excellence.

Yang Liuqing's paper-cutting borrows from other art categories and enriches itself with expression. For example, the paper-cutting in the form of Chinese painting that has emerged in recent years includes the middle hall, banners, horizontal batches, general cases, fans, etc.; The content includes flowers and birds, grass and insects, people, landscapes, face paintings, etc., as well as paper-cuts created by artists.

It resembles a New Year's painting without losing the interest of paper-cutting, which makes people feel familiar and novel. Especially when the customs of traditional New Year paintings are declining, paper-cutting artists will carve the patterns of willow youth paintings that the people like to see into paper-cuts, such as door gods, tank fish, baby play dolls, etc.

Traditional New Year paintings are often not accepted by some new families, and after being carved into exquisite paper cuts, this art form can not only be accepted by young people, but also deeply loved. The "patterns" of Yangliu Qingren's embroidery are all derived from paper-cut patterns.

These patterns have door curtains, curtains, wall cloth (wall enclosure), pillowcases, etc., as well as flower pockets for clothing, children wear, commonly known as "offering flowers", and some people cover the longevity noodles and peaches with Fushou and other front paper, commonly known as "rice flowers" and so on. A few decades ago, Yang Liuqing's Gaojia style was famous far and wide, and it was called "Gao Huaxiang".

Paper-cutting is widely spread among the people and has a long history. Xinjiang has unearthed more than 1,500 years ago paper-cut works (Tsushima Tuanhua, Monkey Tuanhua). Later, it can also be seen in the decorative patterns, shadow puppets, blue calico, sketch embroidery, and paintings of dyeing, Huasheng, Jizhou kiln and Dingyao.

As a kind of traditional folk art, paper-cutting occupies an important position in folk activities. In the Southern Song Dynasty, professional folk paper-cutting artists have appeared. Folk paper-cutting often refines and summarizes natural forms through homophony, symbolism, allegory and other techniques to form beautiful patterns.

From the perspective of specific uses, paper-cutting can be roughly divided into four categories:

1. Posting, that is, directly posting on doors and windows, walls, lights, and color ties. Such as window flowers, wall flowers, ceiling flowers, smoke lattices, lantern flowers, paper flowers, door paper.

Second, it is used for decoration, that is, for decorating gifts, dowries, sacrifices, and offerings. Such as happy flowers, offering flowers, ceremonial flowers, candlestick flowers, incense flowers, Chongyang flag.

3. Embroidery base sample, used for clothing, shoes and hats, and pillows. Such as shoe flowers, pillow flowers, hat flowers, saliva flowers, sleeve flowers, strap flowers.

Fourth, for printing and dyeing, that is, as a printing plate of blue calico, used for clothing, quilts, curtains, wrappings, bibs, headscarves, etc.

The ancient Helinger paper-cutting has formed a unique charm of cutting and the beauty of paper in the long-term inheritance and practice. The inheritors of Helinger paper-cutting, from their childhood, began to learn paper-cutting with their elders, and insisted on the perfection of the art of cutting in old age, and they were accompanied by only a pair of ordinary big iron scissors.

When they carry out the practice of paper-cutting, they often do not depict or paint, but they have already been confident about the content and form of the expression, they directly use large scissors to start, all the paper materials in their hands will be turned several times to show a vivid and vivid image shape, which is amazing.

It is this unremarkable pair of thick iron scissors and an ordinary piece of red paper, through the ingenious spirituality of the inheritors of Ringel paper-cutting, which conveys to the world the ancient cultural information that has accumulated for thousands of years, and at the same time, it also highlights the unique artistic beauty that is born from it and condensed on the paper, and the moment when the scissors and the paper collide and blend.

In the artistic expression of Helinger's paper-cutting, the "cutting" and "paper" flavors that are bred in the works by the collision and blending of scissors and paper have been most fully displayed, which most directly embodies the original artistic spirit of Helinger's paper-cutting.

In this process, the cut is made of paper, and the paper is brilliant because of the cut. Scissors and paper, one rigid and one soft, rigid and soft staggered, the size of the strength, the speed of the speed, the angle of the elevation, are all reflected in the fluctuation of the inheritor's creative mood.

Every time after the cutting edge file, the trace of the cutting edge that is born on the image of the paper-cut object is an intriguing landscape, the golden stone of the scissors is more fully publicized through the fiber of a piece of soft paper, they are either deep and watery, or open and free, or wanton catharsis, or quiet and soft, giving people a different kind of aesthetic taste.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people made handicrafts on some thin sheet materials through the technique of hollow carving, which began to become popular long before the appearance of paper, although it was not made of paper, but it was the same, which laid the foundation for the emergence of paper-cutting in the real sense. It is said that the earliest paper-cut works in China can prove this.

As for the history of traditional Chinese culture paper-cutting, that is, the art of paper-cutting in the true sense, it should be the official beginning of the appearance of paper. The main material for the production of paper-cutting is paper, and the emergence of paper during the Han Dynasty promoted the emergence, development and popularization of paper-cutting. At that time, paper was perishable, so people didn't treasure it, and if it broke, they could cut it again.

During the Northern Dynasties, people used paper to cut out a variety of beautiful patterns, and it is said that the earliest and well-documented paper-cuts found so far are the five paper-cuts of the Northern Dynasties near the Flaming Mountain in Turpan, Xinjiang. At that time, the climate in the northwest of China was dry and rainless, and the paper was not easy to rot.

By the Tang Dynasty, paper-cutting had developed greatly, and people at that time applied paper-cutting patterns to other crafts, and there was also a popular custom of using paper-cutting to summon spirits.

In modern archaeology, a variety of Tang Dynasty paper-cut handicrafts have been excavated, such as the Tang Dynasty paper-cut now in the British Museum, it can be seen that the level of paper-cut handicraft art at that time was quite high, and the picture composition was complete, expressing an ideal realm of heaven and earth.

In the Song Dynasty, the paper industry matured, making the art of paper-cutting more and more popular. In the Song Dynasty, paper-cutting was used in various fields, and during the Southern Song Dynasty, there were also artists who made it a profession. At that time, shadow puppetry was popular, and there were also shadow puppets made of thick paper. The biggest creation of paper-cutting in the Song Dynasty is the porcelain paper-cut printing pattern, which is made by pasting paper-cutting and firing in the kiln when the glaze is applied.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the folk paper-cutting art became more and more mature and had reached its heyday. At this time, the application scope of folk paper-cutting art is even broader. However, the flower decorations on the folk lanterns, the ornaments on the fan surface, and the embroidery patterns are all made by using paper-cutting as decoration.

Folk paper-cutting is good at combining a variety of objects and images together, and produces the ideal beautiful results. Regardless of the combination of one or more images, they are all "with the meaning of the image" and "with the image conformation" to model, rather than according to the objective natural form to model, at the same time, and good at using the technique of comparison to create a variety of mascots, the convention of the image to express their own psychology.

The pursuit of auspicious metaphors has become one of the ultimate goals of imagery combination. The closure of the region and the limitations of culture, as well as the intrusion of adversity such as natural disasters, have stimulated people's desire for a happy life. People pray for abundant food and clothing, prosperity, health and longevity, and all the best, and this simple wish is conveyed through paper-cutting.

Paper-cutting is probably the most widespread folk art. In the art class of elementary school or junior high school, there will always be a lesson in which you take a piece of red paper and follow the teacher to fold and cut it to create a big red "Xi" or a butterfly with wings ready to fly.

Paper-cutting is also a folk skill that is "easy to learn" but "difficult to refine", and "difficult to refine" is not only the technique, but also the content creation.

Most of the paper-cut works come from the hands of rural women and folk artists, and are their "casual works" in their leisure time.

A thin piece of paper, modified by scissors or a carving knife, can transform thousands of worlds.

Most provinces and cities in China have unique paper-cutting art, among which Wei County, Hebei Province, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province and other places are praised by the world.

Chongqing paper-cutting, strictly speaking, does not have much long history that can be verified.

It was not until the sixties of the last world that some artists who were recognized and accepted by the society appeared one after another, such as Guo Feng, Huang Gang, Sun Nianqian, Pang Shulin, etc.

Recently, artists such as Xiao Sang, Zhou Dingzhou, Liang Su, Yang Yi, Zhang Mingzhi, Huang Jilin, and Liang Shihui have appeared.

However, although Chongqing paper-cutting does not have "a long history that can be verified", it has profound Bayu cultural characteristics, which reflects the Bayu ethnic style.

In 2010, Chongqing Paper-cutting and Hebei, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Zhejiang and other provinces and cities jointly declared the "Chinese Paper-cutting" project, which was successfully approved by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Chongqing paper-cutting is also promoted by a number of representative inheritors, and its charm has gradually emerged, and high-quality products have been frequently produced.

At the Cultural Center of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, the author visited Yang Yi, the inheritor of the "Jiulongpo Paper-cutting" project of Chongqing's intangible cultural heritage, and interpreted Chongqing paper-cutting from her story with paper-cutting.

In the cognition of many people, paper-cutting and window grilles can almost be equated, every New Year's Festival or festive moment, people will always put the red paper-cut on the wall or glass window, in order to render a rich and festive atmosphere.

In fact, in the long history of paper-cutting, the use of paper-cutting has spread to all aspects of daily life: the Tang Dynasty people used the form of paper-cutting to make a leaky printing plate, and the dye was leaked onto the cloth to form a beautiful pattern; During the Five Dynasties, paper-cutting techniques were used to make offerings to Buddha statues, decorate halls, and dojos with "merit flower paper"; In the Song Dynasty, potters used paper-cutting as a pattern for ceramics, and made ceramics more exquisite through glazing and firing; The common people also used the form of paper-cutting, using the skins of donkeys, cows, horses, sheep and other animals to carve into shadow puppet figures; During the Ming and Qing dynasties, all the floral decorations on the folk lanterns, the ornaments on the fan surface, and the embroidery patterns were all used as decorative reprocessing......

In Yang Yi's memory, grandma was born with a pair of skillful hands, and every day there were endless needlework, endless embroidered flowers, and endless paper patterns.

Neighboring aunts and sisters-in-law would always come to the house and ask their grandmother for a few paper cutouts for embroidery patterns for bibs and insoles.

Following her grandmother, Yang Yi first learned some forms of paper-cutting. For example, when cutting paper, cut the round line first, and cut the arc along the right side of the semicircle line.

The tip of the knife under the cutout is used for balancing and is placed on the left index finger, and then the scissors move from side to side, one after the other, forming a jagged pattern.

This is the sawtooth scissors, which is the difficulty of learning paper-cutting for beginners.

The changes of the length, density, straightness, rigidity and softness, and dullness of the sawtooth can be used to express the characteristics of different objects: when cutting plants, the soft sawtooth pattern can express flowers and fruits, and the hard sawtooth pattern can show the needle and plush of leaves and rhizomes; When cutting animals, the fine zigzag pattern can express the soft fluff, and the strong zigzag pattern can express the hard mane; When cutting the figure, the slender and plump zigzag pattern can also express the child's plump skin.

In addition, there are various forms of knife techniques such as "crescent moon", "drop pattern", "vortex pattern" and "cloud pattern".

Each form of knife technique can produce several variations, which are used in a staggered manner in the same cut-out picture, making the picture layered and full of variety.

For Yang Yi, who is very talented in art, the study of traditional paper-cutting is very handy, and she can meet the requirements of "round as the autumn moon, sharp as wheat, square as green bricks, missing as sawtooth, and thread like a beard" at a young age.

In 2005, by chance, Yang Yi began to try to make paper-cutting with a combination of cutting and carving, and boldly innovated on the basis of absorbing traditional folk paper-cutting skills.

She uses the composition of Chinese painting, integrates the dots, lines, planes, and body elements of Chinese painting, as well as the charm of black and white decorative paintings, and gradually forms her own simple, aesthetic, unique, modern, and abstract style.

In Yang Yi's view, the characteristics of traditional paper-cutting are that they can be folded, and the heart follows the scissors, and each paper-cut shape is different, which is very eye-catching; The paper-cutting with a carving knife template has a fixed shape and a more refined detail depiction.

"The window flower of the northern country has a naïve and rich taste; The paper-cutting of the south is exquisitely clear. ”

China's geography is divided into north and south, and many folk arts are also divided into north and south schools according to geographical differences, and the same is true for paper-cutting.

The northern paper-cutting is thick and rude, innocent and simple, represented by Shaanxi, Hebei and Shandong.

Southern paper-cutting is smart and beautiful, rigorous and slender, represented by Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Chongqing paper-cutting, usually divided into the southern school, paper-cutting style is beautiful and soft, delicate and graceful, pay attention to the delicacy of the idea and the meticulousness of the knife work.

Chongqing paper-cutting, which is good at combining a variety of objects and images, mainly focuses on localized themes and combines one or more images.

"Meaning with images" and "conformation with images" have created many beautiful effects beyond imagination. Among them, the Liberation Monument, Chaotianmen, stilted buildings and other cultural landmarks with Chongqing's characteristics often jump on the paper.

In recent years, Beibei paper-cutting, Jiulongpo paper-cutting, Dazu paper-cutting and Dadukou Yanxing paper-cutting have been listed in the intangible cultural heritage of Chongqing.

Among them, Beibei paper-cutting focuses on realism, is known for its soft and beautiful beauty, and draws on and absorbs the techniques of some art forms such as Chinese painting, printmaking, mosaic painting, cloth art, etc., and the picture is rich and full, with Liang Su as the representative figure.

The Jiulongpo paper-cut is delicate and graceful, aesthetic and abstract, and the elements of gongbi Chinese painting, color woodcut, and decorative painting are integrated into the paper-cutting, which has a unique aura and Yang Yi is the representative figure.

Dazu paper-cutting is mainly carved, the lines are simple, the shape is exquisite, especially it is the world-famous Dazu stone carving as the content, with the carving knife will be three-dimensional art and graphic art ingenious fusion, unique, with Pang Shulin as the representative figure.

Dadukou "Yanxing paper-cutting" is founded by some paper-cutting enthusiasts in Yanxing Community, Yuejin Village Street, Dadukou District, on the basis of absorbing many expressions such as Chinese painting, printmaking, branding painting, cloth stickers, etc., the modeling design is dense and sophisticated, the knife work is meticulous, and the dot dyeing is gorgeous and colorful, with Huang Jilin as the main representative.

However, compared with other paper-cuts in the north and south, the popularity and influence of Chongqing paper-cutting in China are still "stretched".

As a representative inheritor of paper-cutting, Yang Yi holds weekly paper-cutting teaching courses, in which she constantly tries to cultivate students' innovative thinking and guide them to form their own style.

A piece of paper can be cut into thousands of worlds, but those who learn to cut paper are also easily limited by traditional patterns.

Yang Yi's paper-cut compositions are always not limited by life conventions and subject matter, and incorporate elements of Chinese painting, tie-dyeing, Qin bricks and Han tiles, and even African carvings, connecting several images in series, showing spatiotemporality, three-dimensionality and comprehensiveness in the flat paper-cuts.

In Yang Yi's view, although the different styles of inheritors can give Chongqing paper-cutting more diverse aesthetic value, the lack of innovation ability has also become a stumbling block to the development of paper-cutting, and only innovation can continue to inject vitality into Chongqing paper-cutting.

Cut, carve and tear ...... All kinds of crafts are in battle, and the sound of paper-cutting, paper-cutting, and paper-tearing is in unison......

Not long ago, Zhang Feng, who was born in 1981, was particularly attractive among many famous paper-cutting teachers, who took paper-cutting as a pleasure since he was a child, and through continuous learning and innovation, the traditional art of paper-cutting has become more modern. "Whenever I sit at the table and cut paper with scissors, it's like playing a beautiful piece of music, and each of my works has its wonderful, because it not only embodies my hard work, but I also incorporate good wishes and blessings into it."

Zhang Feng currently works as an art editor in a media outlet, and his paper-cutting skills are not only a skill passed down from generation to generation, but also his emotional sustenance. Zhang Feng told the Xihai Metropolis Daily community reporter that when he was very young, his parents fostered him in his second aunt's house in his hometown in Henan, and the second aunt often cut some small animals in order to make Zhang Feng happy.

Later, Zhang Feng planned to follow his father to Qinghai, and when he parted with his second aunt, his second aunt gave him a pair of scissors, hoping that Zhang Feng could find happiness in the process of cutting paper. Paper-cutting is beautiful and happy in Zhang Feng's impression, and later when he has something on his mind, he will cut paper-cut and use paper-cutting to express his emotions.

In his spare time, Zhang Fengfeng made a pot of tea at home, then took out a piece of red paper, and cut it through the flying scissors in his hand without any physical reference. "A work like Tuanhua contains the meaning of wealth and auspiciousness." Zhang Feng said that each of his works originates from the inner world, and each paper-cut can express emotions and blessings.

In addition to the basic art of paper-cutting, Zhang Feng is best at portrait paper-cutting. In 2017, Pan Xiaoting, the queen of nine balls, as the image ambassador of the 4th Qinghai Lake (International) Electric Vehicle Challenge, formed an indissoluble bond with Qinghai. This folk paper-cutting artist is Zhang Feng.

"At that time, after learning that Pan Xiaoting was the image ambassador of the 4th Tour of Qinghai Lake (International) Electric Vehicle Challenge, I had the idea of giving the paper-cut works to Pan Xiaoting, so I contacted the organizing committee with the idea of trying it out, but I didn't expect to meet Pan Xiaoting." Zhang Feng said with a smile.

Now, Zhang Feng takes the art of portrait paper-cutting as the highlight of his paper-cutting, and he also makes a video of the paper-cutting process and puts it on the Internet, so that everyone does not forget the traditional Chinese paper-cutting skills. "Through a pair of scissors and a piece of paper, paper-cutting artists can express the joys, sorrows and sorrows of life. I want to pass on the traditional art of paper-cutting, so that more young people can also fall in love with the art of paper-cutting. Zhang Feng said.

The moon is a song fan

On paper,

Cut the clouds as a dance costume

Cut it to show off the style.

This is one of the oldest folk arts in China - paper-cutting: with paper as the carrier, scissors as a tool, with hollowing as the way, with ingenuity, cut out a vivid pattern, and send a message, borrowing the conceptual image of the convention, to entrust people's yearning for a better life, the expectation of auspicious happiness, with a unique artistic charm.

This is the traditional folk craft of the Chinese nation, it has a long history, enduring, is a treasure in Chinese folk art, was included in China's "first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list", but also the treasure of the world's art treasure.