Folk paper-cut culture and the prosperity of Zigong paper-cut
Zigong paper-cutting has developed rapidly after liberation, mainly due to the improvement of peoples living conditions in the later period of liberation, and they began to pay more attention to other life phenomena and artistic phenomena happening around them. As a folk art with a long history in Zigong, paper-cutting is highly sought after by the people of Zigong. At the same time, as an integral part of the Bashu region, Zigong also has a strong Bashu color, of which teahouse culture is a representative. In the early days of liberation, teahouses were all over the streets and alleys in the Zigong area. People sat in teahouses for the whole day, drinking tureens, listening to storytelling, and playing bridge.
In addition, there is another meaningful activity, which is to appreciate the artists paper-cutting. Among the finished products cut by the artist, tea guests can choose their favorite works, then spend a few small coins to buy them and take them home to enjoy. . Day after day, paper-cutting became attached to the teahouse and began to become a small commodity. Artists could even support their daily expenses by selling paper-cutting. It was through this buy-and-sell transaction that paper-cutting began to enter thousands of households in Zigong, becoming a necessity for Zigong peoples daily aesthetics, and began to enter the most prosperous period of Zigong paper-cutting. Therefore, it can be said that Zigong’s teahouse culture played an important role in the development of Zigong paper-cutting art. Teahouses also provided an important venue and created a special atmosphere for the prosperity of Zigong paper-cutting.
