Miao embroidery folk paper-cutting
Miao folk paper-cutting can be divided into several categories in terms of themes: ancient mythology, totem worship, images of animals and plants, and real life. Due to their limited ability to understand and conquer nature, the Miao ancestors artificially endowed all creatures in nature with certain mysterious attributes and magical powers, believing that many animals and plants have some kind of blood relationship with them. Many of the Miao paper-cut "Butterfly Mothers" in southeastern Guizhou are based on the image of Miao women in costumes with beautiful wings added, sublimating the image of women in life into the image of a goddess. Butterflies of various shapes can be seen everywhere in Miao paper-cuts, which fully demonstrates the simple worship of butterflies by the Miao ancestors. Butterflies are the ancestors of humans and animals. Obviously, the myth and legend of "Butterfly Mother" is clearly marked with a matriarchal society. of imprint. Other paper-cuts with themes such as "Jiang Yang creates man" and "Jiang Yang brother and sister get married" all belong to this type of ancient mythology that reflects the Miao peoples ancestor worship.
The so-called totem worship is simply a groups worship of some animal, plant or object that has a mysterious relationship with itself. The most typical of the Miao paper-cutting patterns in southeastern Guizhou is the worship of the "dragon", which is believed to be a mascot that can bless mankind. However, the "dragon" in the Miao paper-cutting is not as majestic as the "dragon" that represents imperial power in the Han people. The "dragon" of the Miao people is amiable, free and changeable, and has various images, such as torosaurus, water dragon, clam dragon, silkworm dragon, human-headed snake-body dragon, etc. They are some common animals or gentle and docile animals and some representative dragons. The complex of characteristic images is a symbol of good luck and prosperity, and is also the shadow of farming culture in paper-cutting. From the psychological analysis of witchcraft, it is believed that wearing clothes embroidered with totem patterns can obtain the blessing of the totem and eliminate misfortunes. Praying and praising happiness, repelling and cursing disasters are the image portrayal of humans desire to survive. Miao women have such a clear purpose when making clothing. As the philosopher Ernst Cassirer said: "In mythological imagination, there is always an activity of belief. There is no reality of its object.If it is not believed, the myth will lose its foundation. ”
Miao women use homophones, metaphors and other symbolic techniques to express their desire for auspiciousness and happiness. The auspicious meaning of seeking good luck and the desire to pray for peace, prosperity and reproduction are themes that the Miao people have been pursuing and singing for generations, and are full of profound original modeling intentions and ancient cultural connotations. The most common animal images in Miao paper-cutting include dragon, tiger, lion, elephant, cow, horse, sheep, dog, chicken, rabbit, phoenix, duck, cat, monkey, fish, shrimp, frog, butterfly, bat, golden pheasant, bird , clams, etc., either appearing alone or used in combination with characters and other animals and plants, they have a strong decorative effect. Most of them are used to pray for blessings on mankind through their abilities that humans do not have, and they have the ability to ward off evil spirits and attract evil spirits. The folklore meaning of Ji. For example, ox horns are a symbol of happiness and have multiple images. One is that they have the attributes of a dragon, blessing them with good weather; the other is a symbol of health, strength and prosperity; the third is the image of ancestral spirits. The ancestor worship of the Miao people cannot be separated from the cow. The cow is the dry dragon, and the ability of a person to transform into a dragon is the highest ideal state, and future generations will be protected. Therefore, the shape of the horns in the paper-cutting of the Miao costumes perfectly expresses "blessing" and "blessing". The aesthetic principles of "disaster", 'nature' and 'death'.
You can often see various images in Miao paper-cutting: butterflies turning into human heads, people growing wings, people turning into dragons, dragons turning into people, flowers turning into dragons, fish turning into people, cows turning into dragons, butterflies turning into people, etc. , these seemingly grotesque composite shapes are exactly the expression of the mysterious "interpenetration" original thinking mode of the Miao ancestors. Miao women skillfully combine people, cattle, birds, flowers and other objective things according to their ideals, creating many composite images that conform to their aesthetic consciousness, and endow them with supernatural divinity and power, expressing their desire for a better life. pursuit. In the process of being passed down from generation to generation, in their primitive way of thinking that is not dominated by any logical thinking, the "collective representation" of a mysterious nature is passed down. These cultural images reproduced through the high artistic summary and humorous and implicit imagination of paper-cut artists reflect the Miao peoples review of the vicissitudes of their own development and their firm belief in the survival of the nation.
Another characteristic of the Miao pattern paper-cut window grilles is that they can provide hints for embroidery stitches. For example, in embroidery with holes, the lines that need to be overlocked are cut out, and the lines that are not overlocked are only cut through. Miao paper-cutting is usually done with small scissors with very sharp edges. The artist who sells paper-cutting uses a knife to carve multiple layers, and puts a wooden board under the paper. Regardless of cutting or carving, the pattern is first drawn on the surface paper. The paper used includes white paper, yellow straw paper produced by local workshops, and home-made silk cotton paper. Silk cotton paper is a thin skin made by placing silkworms on a wooden board and letting them spin silk. It is both stiff and soft. It is the best paper to use. It can also be used as an embroidery surface instead of cloth, or it can be dyed and embroidered.Material for applique embroidery on clothing embroidered with silkworm cocoon. When stacking multiple layers of paper for cutting and carving, twist the white paper or use sewing thread to thread and staple the paper into a piece. After cutting and carving, peel off the layer of paper with the twisted tip. How many sheets do you want? The lower layer is not loose and easy to store. The key reason why Miao paper-cutting has strong artistic charm is that the Miao peoples full creative passion and love for life are poured into the works. It expresses the simple and sincere emotions of the Miao people and embodies their ideals, hopes and perceptions of life.
