The background of Shaanxi folk paper-cut creation
In ancient times, Shaanxi had fertile land and beautiful water, and dense jungles where birds and animals lived and reproduced. Primitive people lived and multiplied here. Later, due to crustal movement, the Loess Plateau with crisscrossing ravines and undulating mountains gradually formed. Since ancient times, Shaanxi people have been living on this vast and majestic land. There are still many relics of the Yangshao Culture and Longshan Culture of the Neolithic Age. Folk paper-cutting is deeply influenced by the Han Dynastys portrait stones, bricks, tiles, and Confucianism. , and continues to this day.
For example, in folk paper-cutting, many old artists cut dragons and snakes with short and honest bodies. There are also many paper-cuts that are half-human and half-animal, such as: human head with snake body, human head with fish body, and human head with frog body. , Tauren and others. This is a variation of the combination of bun dolls and animal totem worship. It is a half-human, half-animal god of protection and fertility. It is a transitional form from animal totem worship to ancestor worship. It is a cultural relic of an extremely important historical era when humans began to transform from slaves of nature to masters of nature. ”
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Although the three Annan counties (Fuxian, Luochuan, and Huangling) are administratively divided into northern Shaanxi, their geographical and cultural areas belong to the Weibei Plateau in the Guanzhong area. The living habits, customs, and language of the residents are similar to those in northern Shaanxi. It is quite different, but similar to Guanzhong. It belongs to a developed farming culture area and is greatly influenced by the Confucian culture of the Central Plains. Therefore, paper-cutting is more delicate and overall, regular and highly craftsmanship. It mostly uses dramatic characters and expresses Confucian cultural thoughts as its content, such as paper-cutting "Twenty-Four Filial Piety", "Sanniang Teaches Sons", "Splitting Mountains to Save Mother", etc.
The paper-cutting of the three sides of Yulin (Dingbian, Jingbian and Anbian) combines the artistic styles of the south (Jiangsu and Zhejiang). This is because during the feudal society, the rulers deployed a large number of southern troops to guard the borders, and a large number of family members of officers and soldiers also moved to the three sides with the army. Those paper-cut artists who followed their husbands to guard the border integrated the delicate and exquisite artistic characteristics of their hometown paper-cuts into northern Shaanxi paper-cuts. Therefore, the paper-cut works in Sanbian area of ??Yulin now show a delicate, sharp and elegant style. Although they also inherit the modeling characteristics of northern Shaanxi art, they are exquisite, delicate and small in decoration.
In short, due to Shaanxi’s thick mountains and deep ravines, the majestic Loess Plateau, as well as the Yangshao culture, Longshan culture and Han painting,The influence of stone sculpture art has formed the simple, honest, generous and generous character of Shaanxi people. Due to their personalities, they are always bold and bold in their paper-cut creations, focusing on expressing the spiritual resemblance of the object, rather than sketching, and do not stick to details. They choose simplicity over complexity, and their works of art are suddenly grand.
