The application and meaning of stylized symbols in Shaanxi folk paper-cutting
Shaanxi is the birthplace of China and the cradle of traditional art. The traditional folk paper-cut art has lasted for thousands of years in Shaanxi and is well-known to every household, including women and children. This is not simply the result of geographical closure and inconvenient transportation. You must know that this kind of plastic art relies on its unique language to withstand the test of time.
In Shaanxi traditional paper-cutting, we deeply feel the existence of some "meaningful forms", but we do not understand their meaning. However, this form is widely circulated among the people and seems to be natural and conventional. For many ordinary people in Shaanxi, this "meaningful form" is actually a kind of language, a "silent" language between them - image language, that is, symbols. The symbol here is only a symbol in a broad sense, and it contains symbolic meaning in thinking. The famous modern German philosopher Ernst Cassirer said: "Symbolic thinking and symbolic behavior are the most representative features of human life." The creative concept of Shaanxi traditional paper-cut art is collective consciousness and individual consciousness. The unity of collective consciousness is a kind of collective mind that has been inherited for a long time. It is a substitute for the gradually fixed concepts of objective objects related to peoples vital interests, forming symbols in folk art. Such as:
Ten thousand words are endless. The word "ji" is not originally a Chinese character, but a Sanskrit character. Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty adopted the Chinese character for the second year of longevity (read: Wan), which means good luck and good fortune. Various interlocking patterns are drawn extending from the four directions of the word "ji", which means endless or endless wealth.
Pan length. Together with goldfish, white cover, Dharma conch, Dharma wheel, umbrella, vase and lotus, they form the "eight auspiciousness" and are the eight treasures of Buddhism. "Pan Chang" Buddha said that the cycle is carried out and everything is transparent. In northern Shaanxi, it is commonly known as "Snake Pan with Nine Eggs", which symbolizes continuity. The pattern is widely used, including Sihe Pan Long, Wandai Pan Long, Fang ShengPan length and other changes.
Fang Sheng. Combined with orbs, ancient coins, jade pans, rhinoceros horns, silver ingots, corals, and Ruyi to form the "Eight Treasures". Also known as "Double Eight Treasures", it means auspiciousness. Because it is in the shape of a chain, it means the intersection of two fishes in Shaanxi folk paper-cutting, which means endless life.
Ancient money. One of the "eight treasures" is called "double money" and "double gold" are homophonic, so it is often combined with the word bat, longevity peach, and longevity, which means "both happiness and longevity".
Light as you wish. "Ruyi" is a Buddhist utensil that was introduced to China from India with Buddhism. The "Eight Treasures" were used as an itching utensil among the people. People yearned for everything to go well in the past, and gradually developed into an item expressing auspiciousness. Ruyi head patterns are used in various aspects to symbolize good luck and good luck.
There are also some common images in Shaanxi folk paper-cut works. Although their shapes are fundamentally different from the above symbols, the appearance of these images in folk art has actually been separated from the prototypes of real life. Through the inheritance of folk culture, a collective contract gradually formed and became a series of conventional symbols. They are no longer natural objects in the traditional sense, but conceptual meanings given by people based on their characteristics, embodying the referent function of symbols. For example: tiger - used to ward off evil and protect life, such as "Aihu"; chicken - symbolizes good luck, and there is also a saying that "the chicken king controls the house"; bat - symbolizes blessing, such as five blessings confer longevity and blessings fall from the sky; lion - eliminate The evil and auspicious beast is often used in folk architectural decorations or as tombstones, houses, and bridges. Or on the festive days of the Spring Festival, lions are often danced to celebrate good luck; elephants - green lions and white elephants, are often used as auspicious beasts for guardianship in the folk. The elephant also means "all things", so there is a folk painting meaning of "everything is renewed"; peach - Symbolizes longevity and can avoid ghosts; Buddhas hand - equivalent to happiness and longevity; Five poisons - namely toad spider, scorpion, scorpion (gecko), clam, snake, using poisonous insects to fight poison with poison, which means to drive away diseases and eliminate disasters; Tuanhua - Flowers and plants or people and animals are used to form a spherical shape, which points out the "group" which means unity and harmony; snake-coated rabbit - a paper-cut pattern popular in northern Shaanxi, Shaanxi area, there is a local folk proverb "If you want to be rich, snake-coated rabbit" , the "snake and rabbit" pattern has become a symbol of family auspiciousness and wealth; the bun doll is a traditional theme pattern unique to northern Shaanxi. The two buns on the dolls head are cut into chicken shapes.Even the shoulders, clothes corners, and feet are cut into symmetrical chicken-shaped decorations. Folks say that "chickens eat pests" to "ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters" for babies. Therefore, "cracking buns" has been extended to mean catching "good luck", and "cracking bun dolls" is used to ward off evil and attract good fortune.
In addition to the ones introduced above, there are also some patterns that have been widely circulated among the Chinese people, such as: melons and melons are extended - symbolizing the reproduction of descendants. ; Qilin gives birth to a child - symbolizing the joy of having a baby. ; Three Yangs blooming, deer and crane spring together - symbolizing auspiciousness and prosperity; carp jumping over the dragon gate - symbolizing auspiciousness and upward progress.
There are also various folk auspicious patterns such as "auspicious dragon and phoenix", "phoenix playing with peonies", "good news for the four seasons", etc., which have long been familiar and loved by people, and have been preserved in various folk art works.
However, whether abstract or concrete,
