Forms and types of Yimeng folk paper-cutting

Yimeng folk paper-cut art has various forms, and the folk connotations they express are also different. Mainly include:

(1) Window grilles. Window grilles are the most widely distributed, largest and most popular variety among folk paper-cuts. Other paper-cut varieties are developments and extensions based on window grilles. Rural areas all over the north and south must put up window grilles during the Spring Festival to decorate the environment and enhance the atmosphere, and to express the wish to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year, and to receive good fortune and good fortune. Window grilles can be divided into single-color window grilles and colored window grilles. The themes of window grilles are extremely broad. Drama characters, historical legends, flowers, birds, insects, fish, landscapes, real life and auspicious patterns can all be used as the expression content of window grilles. Among them, the window grilles with auspicious meaning are the largest in number. The folk custom function of window grilles is the most concentrated. It not only beautifies the living environment, but also expresses the pursuit and desire for ideal life. The themes of praying for a prosperous life, prosperity for future generations, a long life and warding off evil spirits and welcoming good fortune are the most commonly expressed themes in window grilles, reflecting the ancient and rich cultural connotation of window grilles.

(2) Decorative paper-cutting. After more than a thousand years of inheritance and development, the categories of decorative paper-cutting have become increasingly diverse. Today, in folk paper-cutting, door-passing notes, ceiling flowers, kang surround flowers, and stove flowers are all decorative paper-cutting. Hanging notes are paper-cuts affixed to the door. The upper edge is firmly affixed, and the lower part is mostly suspended in the air, allowing it to flutter in the wind. Hanging signatures are also called "hanging notes", "hanging thousands" and "passing notes". The Qing Dynasty Fucha Dunchongs "Yanjing Years of the Year" said: "The hangings are engraved on red paper with auspicious words, with long rulers and sticks, and are posted in front of the door, complementing the peach charms. Those with figures of the Eight Immortals on them are It is hung in front of the Buddha. It is commonly used by households. The yellow paper is three inches long, and the red paper is more than an inch long. It is used by shops to hang paper." There are also color sets in Cangshan, Zhengcheng and other places in the Yimeng area. Hang tag. The method is to cut and shape five-color paper, cut off parts, and exchange and inlay each part to form a colorful decorative effect. In the vast rural areas of Yimeng Mountain, the decorations used to beautify the environment are called "passing notes". During the Spring Festival, , a row of colorful door paper, Spring Festival couplets, and door paintings hang down from the door of every house, reflecting the white snow on the ground, making it look like they are getting rid of old age.The festive scene of welcoming the new year is particularly rich. The "Qian Chuan" in Yishui County and the "Fu Coat" in Yingnan County are leftovers from the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. They are simple and rugged and inherit the artistic style of ancient Sheng and Han portrait stones. In terms of their artistic value They are extremely precious. These ancient style door notes have been compiled into the "Complete Collection of Chinese Art". There are also traditional door notes with characters, such as the door notes in Yingnan. In some halls, there is the word "吉" in it, and the horizontal inscription on it is "Eight Festivals of Peace", and the left and right lace parts are a couplet: "Shou Tongshan Yue Yong," May we prosper together forever". The new doorsteps with words include: Resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, defend the country, love the Communist Party, good socialism and reform and opening up, revitalize Yimeng, etc... The words and patterns form a perfect whole and are praised by the masses. It is a slogan with flowers. The "dig-bu" door-papers of Cangshan, Bangcheng, Linyi and Linmu are the door-papers with different colors. For example, the "Vase Flower" door-papers of Cangshan are made by stacking five-color paper together to carve a pattern, and then Flowers, leaves, vases and linings are dug out and reassembled without the constraints of "applying color according to type", with a slight adhesion on the back. Within a unified frame, different colors can appear through carefully matched Hung Tangzi patterns. The sceneries appear more dazzling and gorgeous. The "dig-and-patch" door inscriptions are rich yet simple, bright yet kitsch, unified yet full of variety. It is an artistic expression technique in which less wins over more.

There are more than 30 kinds of decorative patterns composed of the combination of curves and straight lines on traditional doorsteps, including twelve knives, double knives, money strings, three books, bird eaves, water patterns, etc., forming a concise decorative art style. In Yimeng Mountain area, it is generally customary to use five pieces as a door, and the color sequence is first red, second green, third yellow, fourth water red, and fifth purple (or blue). Yingnan County also has six pictures as one, that is, adding a blue color. The masses said: Hanging the door notes is for good luck, hanging five pieces is "five pieces coming to the door", and hanging six pieces is "six or six lucky". The main producing areas of five-color door paper are: Yuanli Village, Jiehu Town, Yinan County, and some villages in Lingquan, Zhubian and other townships in Yingnan County. The main producing areas of "dig-up" doorsteps include: Changcheng, Fengcun, Xichengqian, Beixiaoling Village in Cangshan County, Baizhuang and Sunduihe Village in Luozhuang, Xiaoquan, Qiugaoshan and Langli Village in Bangcheng, etc. Folk artists with high skills include Xu Pei'e of Cangshan Great Wall, Zhao Ketian of Fengcun Village of Cangshan, and Sun Bingye of Sunduihe Village of Luozhuang. In particular, the Wangao color-printed door stamps have become a sideline business for families in several nearby villages. Every household here produces them all year round, with wholesale sales in nearly half of China, including North China and Northeast China. Some teachers and students from art schools come here to collect and purchase style notes as gifts for their teachers and friends. Mr. Pan Lusheng, the dean of Shandong Academy of Arts and Crafts, once presented door notes to friends in Hong Kong and Taiwan; at the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua UniversityIn the home of Professor Zhang Ding, a famous painter, there is still a colored door note given to him by a friend, which shows that in the eyes of artists, door notes are a kind of art. In the early 1980s, when the "Shandong Folk Art Works Jinjing Exhibition" was exhibited at the China Art Museum, a pair of door gods from the Shawo woodblock New Year paintings were displayed at the top of the Shandong New Year paintings section. It attracted the attention of the art world to Zhengchengs woodblock New Year paintings. The ceiling flowers are paper-cuts affixed to the ceiling. There is a large paper-cut group flower in the center, and corner flowers are affixed to the four corners. When a new house is completed and the ceiling is newly plastered, as well as during festivals and weddings, the ceiling flowers are replaced with flowers for celebration and auspiciousness. Kang weihua are paper cutouts affixed to the wall along the perimeter of the Kang. The function of flowers surrounding the Kang is not only to decorate the wall, but also has important symbolic significance. The symmetrical layout, dominated by group flowers, creates a strong centripetal force; the complete decorative levels enhance the peaceful and wealthy atmosphere of the interior, implying the ideal of life.

(3) Special paper-cutting.