The methods and characteristics of the inheritance of Chinese folk paper-cutting
Inheritance refers to the dynamic process of the spread and evolution of folk culture. The stable agricultural social structure and cultural structure enable many ancient folk customs to be inherited, thus allowing the continuation of folk paper-cutting that is attached to folk culture. After a long historical evolution, paper-cutting has formed an imprint of common thinking and a conventional aesthetic recognition among ethnic groups. What kind of image and what combination of decorations are used to express what meaning.
This aesthetic recognition has been solidified in peoples hearts and fully reflects the characteristics of folk paper-cutting. Due to the limitations of materials, paper-cutting is difficult to preserve for a long time, so oral teaching has become the main way to inherit paper-cutting. In the actual inheritance process of folk paper-cutting, there are three main ways. One is inheritance by kinship, that is, it is passed down from generation to generation among relatives such as mothers and daughters, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Chinas self-sufficient small-scale production economy has lasted for thousands of years, forming a concept of inheritance based on blood. Many flower-cutting tips and flower samples are passed down from generation to generation by family members. The second is industry inheritance, which refers to an industry-centered inheritance method. Paper-cutting skills are passed on through apprenticeships and in the form of private industry gang organizations. This is a major feature of the inheritance of southern paper-cutting culture in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The third is geographical inheritance. Different from the above two types of vertical spread, this mainly refers to horizontal expansion due to marriage, migration or commercial circulation. In some areas with developed commerce and convenient transportation, horizontal development is more obvious. In some big cities, flower-cutting artists who make a living by selling paper-cutting have appeared, and exchanges between patterns have become more active.
In addition, unlike the relatively primitive paper-cutting art style that spread vertically in closed areas, the paper-cutting art in these areas has developed more standardized and complex. The agricultural social structure is the basis for the inheritance of folk paper-cutting. The artistic expertise and skills of the inheritor come from the specific area where he lives. In the long-term mutual contact and interaction, the artists form the influence of a certain area through subtle influences. specific style.
But at the same time, this inheritance method has also led to the limitations of paper-cutting themes and styles, and has been relatively slow in innovation, making the development of folk paper-cutting both highly inheritable and stubborn.
