A brief introduction to folk paper-cutting tools in Yu County
As the saying goes: "If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools." If an artist wants to get a good paper-cut work, he cannot do without handy tools. The tools for folk paper-cutting are mainly scissors and carving knives. There are no standard requirements. Generally, artists like to use tools that they feel comfortable with. Most folk paper-cuts are made with scissors, but Yuxian paper-cuts are carved with a carving knife. This has become a major craft feature of Yuxian paper-cutting.
In fact, at first, Yuxian paper-cutting was also done with scissors. Later, during the Guangxu period of the late Qing Dynasty, a silversmith named "Liu Laobu" reformed the knives by using a sharp small carving knife instead of scissors. In his creative practice, he absorbed the characteristics of his own special tools in a wide range of styles and large quantities, and created many knives suitable for carving different lines. At the beginning of the 20th century, folk art master Wang Laoshang once again reformed knives. On the basis of inheriting traditional knife skills, he integrated his own experience and repeated trials to create hundreds of special carving knives of different shapes. Including some magical special-shaped knives, such as needlepoint knives, spiral knives, etc., used for carving different graphics. What he thinks of a window artists work can be roughly determined by looking at his knives. The materials of these carving knives are all imported high-quality steel, which ensures the quality of the knives. It is precisely because of these advanced tools that Wang Laoshang is able to boldly innovate the works of his predecessors. It was precisely the nearly a thousand kinds of characters with vivid images and different personalities that he recreated throughout his life that brought Yuxian paper-cutting to a mature stage. Hou Wang Laoshangs apprentice Zhou Yongming invented the left paper knife, right paper knife, top paper knife, bottom paper knife, etc. based on the work of his predecessors. This pair of points, lines, surfaces, and spaces in paper-cut works The performance of other elements has had a great impact. After several generations of masters have reformed the knives, the hand-made technique of using carving knives to make Yuxian paper-cuts has been passed down. To this day, every knife craftsman has more than a dozen carving knives. Although there are many carving knives, they can only be divided into three types: the "big knife" for carving long and straight lines; the "small knife" for carving curves and patterns; and the specialized knife. A "twist" used to carve dots. These different models and styles of knives are used to process the thick, detailed and dot parts of paper-cut patterns respectively. According to the veteran artist Wang Ting of Nanzhangzhuang, the process of carving (knife carving) is very demanding. The knife must be strong and powerful; the knife must be moved smoothly. There should be no rough edges left in the carved pattern, let alone a thin line. The burrs will cross the color during dyeing, and the screen will not be connected if it is disconnected. Before each apprentice learns the carving skills from the knife maker,You must first learn the art of making carving knives, because each knife maker makes his own carving knives and cannot buy them in the market. Making a carving knife that is comfortable for you to hold is a required course to become an excellent knife maker. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that without the successful reform of cutting tools, there would not be the glory of Yu County paper-cutting today. The success of the knife reform not only enriched the artistic language of Yuxian paper-cutting, accelerated the differentiation of patterns, but also gradually developed it into a folk art with superb skills and different styles.
With the continued use and improvement of carving knives, the craftsmanship of Yuxian paper-cutting has also been inherited and developed. Knife carving techniques are divided into "yin carving" and "yang carving". "Yang carving" means that the picture image is composed of solid lines left after cutting and carving. Its characteristic is that it retains the points, lines, surfaces and other patterns of the original manuscript, and removes the other blank parts. It is in a straight shape, just like the inscription effect in seal cutting. The Yang engraving method requires that every entity should be connected to each other through thin lines, and the picture effect requires the processing of the density, weight, thickness, and size of points, lines, and surfaces to achieve balance. The method of "intaglio engraving" is just the opposite. It carves out the pattern itself and relies on the surrounding blocks to express the image. It is a negative shape, like the inscription effect in seal cutting. Yin carving is more difficult than Yang carving. When carving with a knife, you need to know the picture well, and you need to have good strength and scale in your hands. If you are not careful, the knife edge may exceed the scope of the shape and affect the quality of the work. It can be seen that intaglio engraving "leaves the surface without leaving any lines", which facilitates dyeing and highlights the rich colors. Traditional paper-cutting uses intaglio engraving to reflect its rich colors. Yang carving is "leaving lines but not faces", which can better reflect the exquisite skills of knife carving. This is exactly where the single-color paper-cutting in modern handicraft paper-cutting is innovative in the traditional knife-carving process. With the economic development of Yu County, local farmers have built new houses one after another, and the windows are gradually replaced by glass. If traditional paper-cutting is pasted on the glass, in the words of local fellows, it will be "too dark" (because of its strong and bright colors that block light), and because it is incised "leaving no lines on the surface", the realness is greater than the virtuality, and the window pattern cannot be clearly seen. It does not have a decorative effect but blocks light. Therefore, paper-cutting artists reversed their thinking on the basis of traditional paper-cuttings negative engraving techniques and innovatively designed positive-engraving techniques, which omitted the traditional dyeing process, which not only reduced costs, but also helped monochrome paper-cutting express the exquisiteness of its patterns. and highlight its exquisite knife-carving skills. Monochrome paper cutting techniquesThe traditional paper-cutting technique has changed the traditional paper-cutting craftsmanship, which mainly uses Yin carving or mixed Yin and Yang carving. Instead, it mainly uses Yang carving or mixed Yin and Yang carving. In short, traditional paper-cutting uses negative engraving to reflect the inheritance of traditional knife-carving hand-making skills, and the innovative development of traditional knife-carving hand-making skills is mainly reflected in the monochrome paper-cutting in modern handicraft paper-cutting.
