Tracing the origins and forms of paper-cutting in Cixian County, Hebei Province
Cixian paper-cutting has a long history of development. During the Cishan Culture period, there was a worship of male genitalia, male yang and female yin, the origin of yin and yang, as well as on the pottery unearthed from the Cishan Culture. The thorny pattern is the prototype and expression of carving art, such as the finely carved fish bladder, net shuttle, etc. The invention of paper in the Han Dynasty laid a material foundation for the formation and development of paper-cutting art. During the Three Kingdoms and Southern and Northern Dynasties, Ye culture, Buddhist culture, and Cizhou kiln culture all showed paper-cutting. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Cixian paper-cutting was used in a wider range of applications, such as paper-cutting for festival doors and windows, paper-cutting for folk customs, and folk blue flowers. Cloth printing and dyeing, embroidery, shadow puppets, etc. often use paper cutting as the base for decorative patterns.
Folk paper-cutting is a form of artistic expression attached to folk customs. It accompanies peoples daily lives all year round and has extensive practical value. From the conception of content to the production of patterns, it reflects peoples ethics. , morality, psychology, customs and other traditional virtues. Praying for peace and wishing for happiness are the common wishes of people. Whether it is opening a business, moving to a new home, customary activities, etc., they all pay attention to auspiciousness. Therefore, paper-cutting artists use "homonyms" and "auspicious words" according to peoples psychological characteristics to win peoples favor. .
