Research progress on paper-cutting culture of ethnic minorities in China
Before the 1990s, due to the limitations of economic, political, social and other reasons, the research on traditional paper-cutting of ethnic minorities was quite weak, whether it was overall research, case studies, theoretical research or field research. From the 1990s to the beginning of the 21st century, works on the paper-cutting of ethnic minorities began to appear, such as "Collection of Northeast Ethnic Folk Art" (1996) edited by Hu Rong and Zhou Wei, and "Miao Folk Paper-cutting" collected and compiled by Zhong Tao. (2003), Tian Maojuns "Landscape under the File" (2002), etc. Among them, Tian Maojuns "Landscape under the File-Cultural Exploration of Miao Paper-cutting in Western Hunan" is the first to examine the Miao paper-cutting in Western Hunan from the perspective of cultural anthropology. It is a monograph based on the authors ten years of fieldwork. It collects and compiles interview materials with five flower file experts and their families, which is very precious. With the launch of the United Nations Intangible Cultural Heritage and the introduction of Western research methods, research on folk paper-cutting has paid more attention to field materials and research on inheritors, such as "The Life and Art of the Genius Inheritors of Chinese Folk Paper-cutting" edited by Qiao Xiaoguang (2004) , "Focus on the Mother River - Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage, Proceedings of the International Academic Symposium on Folk Paper-cutting" (2004), "Living Culture" (2004), which involves some traditional paper-cutting contents of ethnic minorities; "Shaman" written by Wang Ji and Wang Chunxin Paper-cutting and Interpretation" provides a wealth of field image data and explanations of paper-cutting by shamans of Northeastern minority ethnic groups; Chen Jings "History of Chinese Folk Custom Paper-cutting" (2007) analyzes the paper-cutting of some ethnic minorities such as the Miao and Yi; edited by Chen Jing, In addition to papers related to Han paper-cutting, "Chinese Folk Paper-cutting Research" (2008), deputy editors of Wei Liqun and Chen Yousheng, also includes research papers on paper-cutting of Mongolian, Miao, Shui, Tujia and other ethnic minorities.
In the entire field of paper-cutting research, the research on paper-cutting by ethnic minorities in China has just begun. Among them, the research on paper-cutting by the Miao and Manchu people is relatively advanced. Paper-cutting by other ethnic minorities is rarely covered, and there is generally a lack of basic field surveys and research. Combined with in-depth research on national history, culture and beliefs.
Since 2005, ChinaThe Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Center of the Central Academy of Fine Arts adheres to the disciplinary practice of field investigation and adopts living cultural research methods for specific villages and communities to rescue and excavate paper-cuttings of Chinese ethnic minorities and restore minority paper-cuttings to the specific context on which their survival depends. Under the cultural space and national context, study its current situation and inheritance rules. Previous postgraduate students of the Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage have mostly chosen the study of ethnic minority paper-cutting as their masters degree thesis, such as Wang Ji: "Research on the Oroqen Paper-cutting Tradition and its Inheritance Current Situation - Taking Shibazhan Village, Tahe County, Huma County, Heilongjiang Province Daxinganling Region, and Baiyin County, Huma County Nacun is investigating the case. Lin Yaxiu: "The "Dong" in the Buddha Worshiping Ceremony in Dai Villages—An Investigation and Research on Lema Dazhai and Lanlanba Manchunman". Tan Fang: "Images and Narratives·Flower Cutting in Yi Villages - Research on the Traditional Costume Cutting Flowers in Xishan Yi Villages in Yao'an County, Chuxiong, Yunnan".
At present, there are only a handful of works devoted to the study of She paper-cutting, and so far there is no book that truly studies She paper-cutting. According to preliminary statistics, there are generally very simple or even brief descriptions of She paper-cutting in books such as introductions to She paper-cutting, local history, folk crafts, and local art encyclopedia, such as: "Xiapu She Nationality Chronicles" ( 1993).
