China’s earliest paper-cutting and paper-cutting patterns
The earliest paper-cut objects discovered in our country are the paper-cuts unearthed from the Astana tombs in Turpan, Xinjiang between 1959 and 1969. There are 4 batches of 7 pieces in total, including 5 paper-cuts from the Northern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties. 1 piece each. Coincidentally, these paper-cuts mainly use folding and cutting techniques, and the patterns are symmetrical and even. "The khaki paper unearthed from Tomb No. 303 of TAM was cut into a circular pattern, and the blue paper unearthed from Tomb No. 306 was cut into a circular pattern. A piece of earthy yellow paper is cut into a hexagonal shape, with a pair of deers connected at the tail ends on each side. "The circular paper-cut outer ring is gear-shaped, and the inner ring has eight symmetrical hollow diamond shapes arranged in a ring, with a lotus shape in the center.
Northern Dynasties hexagonal deer pattern paper-cut, unearthed from TAM306 tomb in Turpan, Xinjiang in 1959
According to epitaph records, this paper-cut was created in the Gaochang Kingdom (about 551 AD). The lotus pattern paper-cut may reflect the Buddhist custom of the Gaochang Kingdom. There are also four paper-cuts from the Northern Dynasties: a blue paper cutout with a lotus pattern, a fragment of an earthy yellow paper cutout with a hexagonal deer pattern, and a circular piece with a diamond-shaped chrysanthemum leaf pattern in the center and a zigzag pattern on the outer circle. Paper-cut; a circular paper-cut with three circles inside. There are also yellow paper monkey-shaped pattern and flower paper-cuts from the Sui Dynasty; light-colored paper human-shaped paper-cuts from the Tang Dynasty: 7 upright human shapes with a triangular hollow in the center, which are burial objects to commemorate the deceased. These early paper-cut works express the grief of the living for the deceased, decorate the residence of the deceased in the underworld, and are paper utensils used in funerals.
