Women’s pursuit and yearning for masculinity in Chinese folk paper-cutting
In the past, working women lost their female self under the shackles of feudal ethics, and only men were respected. Occupying a subordinate position in the family and society, the only person they depend on is their married husband. In their minds, their husbands are their piece of heaven; they are their spiritual sustenance and the bright sun they yearn for. In addition to housework, they also help their husbands with farm work. For their husbands, they are willing to endure all grievances and fatigue, and dedicate their energy, wisdom, body and mind. This mentality makes them think that running a good home, taking good care of the elderly, husbands, and children, and making the family harmonious and prosperous will not only earn honor for their husbands and families, but also win respect from society and others for themselves; this mentality also makes them Mentally, there is a kind of respect and admiration for masculinity. This pursuit of beauty and love affects their daily behavior: when dealing with things, they behave decisively, quickly and without any sloppiness, and they have many opinions in their hearts. This is especially true for those skilled hands in the countryside.
Although these skilled craftsmen have different personal personalities, they all have the same quality and character. When they are cutting flowers, they move the scissors smoothly, and the cuts follow the intention. The cut marks (cut lines) of the lines are like a decisive cut, giving people a sassy and masculine beauty. This beauty is clearly reflected in the modeling and line use of Chinese folk paper-cutting art. It can be seen that the wide lines make the image appear as a whole. This block-like modeling method directs the aesthetic sight to the overall dynamics by increasing the area to pay attention to the momentum and changes, making people feel a constant and heavy force. This force not only creates a sense of movement in the image aesthetically, but also creates psychological trust in the strength of thick gravity. You will find that the width of the lines of the shape becomes more and more narrow from wide to narrow. With this change, the heavy force of the wide lines is condensed into the thin lines, making them elastic, and the lines show various curvatures. Thin wires are like hairsprings in clocks, and the connection between wires is like hydrogen arc welding. If the welding is desoldered for a moment, the wires will collapse like a strong spring. This kind of line creates a lively sense of beating and twisting in the aesthetic vision, making people feel light and lively in a vigorous and unrestrained mind. The strong beauty expressed by thick and wide lines, and the vigorous beauty expressed by thin and narrow lines are both masculine beauty. Regardless of the thickness or width of the line, whether it is strong orThey are strong and beautiful, they are all given by the ingenuity of working women, and they are all given by cutting threads with the skillful hands of working women. They need the protection of strength and vigor, so that their "heaven" will disperse and see the sun, and their hearts will be clear and relaxed. This pursuit of beauty makes their cutting patterns appear bright and hearty, and adds bright color to the style of Chinese folk paper-cutting art.
