The theme and content of Yimeng folk paper-cutting
1. Unique real-life themes in Yimeng area. Because most of the paper-cutting authors come from rural areas, most of the themes of their works are based on the actual life of the people in Yimeng area, such as feeding chickens and pigs, picking mulberries and raising silkworms, herding sheep and cattle, traveling by car to visit relatives and friends back to their parents' homes, and taking care of children. Holding dolls, doing family side jobs, participating in field work, etc.; some directly express the poultry and livestock raised by oneself, such as chickens, ducks, geese, cows, horses, sheep, dogs, cats, etc.; some also express plants commonly seen in life. , such as: plums, orchids, bamboos, chrysanthemums, peonies, lotus; and various fruits and vegetables commonly grown in rural areas such as persimmons, walnuts, mountain plants, pears, apples, peaches, apricots, etc., vegetables and wheat, rice, peanuts , sweet potatoes, corn, yellow tobacco and other crops as well as local specialties honeysuckle, ginkgo, garlic, etc.; Yimeng area is known as "Daizongzhiya" with magnificent scenery such as Mengshan Mountain, Mazong Mountain, Yushan Mountain, Tianbao and other famous religious and cultural mountains, and the mysterious Wenfeng Mountain , Yinque Mountain, Maling Mountain, Meng Mountain, Cang Mountain, etc., especially Menglianggu, Baodugu, etc., which are known as Yimeng Seventy-Two Gu, Yihe River, Muhe River and the scenery on both sides have become the themes of paper-cutting. Precisely because these themes come from life, the content expressed in the paper-cut works has a strong sense of life.
2. The theme of auspicious meaning. A major feature of this type of paper-cutting in terms of subject matter is the allegorical technique of holding objects to convey feelings. Commonly used homophonic methods (using sound pictograms) such as flower rooster, carve a flower on the rooster; sika deer, carve a few plum blossoms on the deer; carve lotus and carp, which means "more than one year after another" (using lotus to carve "continuous"). ", with fish as a play on "yu"). Harmony method (simplifying the meaning of a certain image), such as carving a cloud to represent the sky; carving a snowflake to represent snow in winter. Symbolism (using an object to express a concept and make people associate it) such as peach symbolizes longevity, pomegranate symbolizes fertility, mandarin duck symbolizes love, pine tree symbolizes evergreen, peony symbolizes wealth, magpie climbing plum blossom symbolizes happy events...< /p>
3. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially in recent years, art craftsmen engaged in the creation of new paper-cutting patterns and research on folk paper-cutting have appeared in cultural and artistic units.The works of authors and folk paper-cut artists express their love and hatred for the characters in the stories through typical examples such as historical figures, opera characters, legends, stories of revolutionary struggles, and deeds of advanced figures. Folk legends and stories such as "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", "Chang'e Flying to the Moon", and "The Goddess Scattering Flowers" are common themes for paper-cutting; Zengzi, Xun Kuang, Zhuge Liang, Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, etc. in the Yimeng area, Wang Xiangs "Lying on the Ice" has been passed down through the ages. "Qiu Li", Kuang Heng "cutting through walls to steal light", Zuo Guobaos sacrifice of life for righteousness inspired future generations; the fearless revolutionary struggle heroic dedication of the Communists and the Yimeng people during the war years and the period of socialist construction, the Yimeng people carried forward the glorious tradition and carried forward the Yimeng spirit , fight against the world, transform the mountains and rivers, develop production, and build homes, a large number of nationally renowned advanced models such as Lijiazhai, Wangjiafangqian, and Gaojialiugou have emerged. In the new era of reform and opening up, the mountains and rivers have a new atmosphere, urban and rural areas are prosperous, and social undertakings are flourishing. With all-round progress and peoples lives generally improving, a number of new advanced typical themes such as Jiujianpeng, Shenquanzhuang and Luozhuang Town have also become vivid and fresh creative materials for folk paper-cutting in Yimeng area, adding new flowers to this folk paper-cutting, making Yimeng The regional folk paper-cutting art has taken on new vitality.
