Folk paper-cutting in the Yellow River Basin follows the ancient artistic style of Qin and Han Dynasties
Theme Features
1. Folk paper-cut patterns in the Yellow River Basin have always grown and multiplied around the themes of primitive witchcraft and "life worship".
2. The theme patterns represented by "catching bun doll", "snake coiled rabbit", "eagle stepping on rabbit", "frog, fish, bird, deer" etc. reflect the inheritance of primitive myths and beliefs in the Yellow River Basin area. .
3. As for the theme of invisible appeals, the graphics in the Yellow River Basin are mainly "encoded" based on the original witchcraft and legends spread in this area, and the audience also "decodes" the graphics based on the same cognitive basis, and It is worth noting that it is this process of "encoding" of creation and "decoding" of appreciation, coupled with factors of regional characteristics, that has enabled the culture of the Yellow River Basin to be completely preserved and become a living specimen for studying the origin of Chinese culture.
Style
In general, the graphics in most areas, including Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, and Shandong, are mainly monochrome. The shape of the graphics inherits the artistic characteristics of Han Dynasty stone portraits, with concise outlines, fullness, and vivid shapes. Paying attention to exaggeration and deformation, it follows the ancient aesthetic taste and modeling concepts. The creators rough and simple character, unbridled imagination and "Xintianyou" style of creation are important reasons for the formation of a unique visual communication language. The composition is based on a head-up approach, focusing on the similarity of the external contours, intuitive perspective, and multi-dimensional space display, just like the freehand brushwork in traditional Chinese painting.
Shaanxi folk paper-cutting
The Weihe Plain area in central Shaanxi Province is a developed farming culture area. It is greatly influenced by the Confucian culture of the Central Plains. The living habits, customs, and language of the residents are very different from those in northern Shaanxi. The paper-cutting format is not large, the pictures are more delicate and regular, and the craftsmanship Strong sex, the content is mostly opera storiesThe content is based on events and expressions of Confucian cultural thoughts, such as the paper-cut "Twenty-Four Filial Piety", "Sanniang teaches her son", "Split the Mountain to Save the Mother", etc. The shape is mostly influenced by local shadow puppets. The picture is relatively compact and the lines and blocks are rigorously composed. Its formal characteristics are exaggerated shape, concise picture, simple and thick style.
The paper-cuts from the three sides of Yulin (Dingbian, Jingbian, and Anbian) incorporate the artistic styles of the south (Jiangsu and Zhejiang). This is because during the feudal society, the rulers deployed a large number of southern troops to guard the borders, and a large number of family members of officers and soldiers also moved to the three sides with the army. Those paper-cut artists who followed their husbands to guard the border integrated the delicate and exquisite artistic characteristics of their hometown paper-cuts into northern Shaanxi paper-cuts. Therefore, the paper-cut works in Sanbian area of ??Yulin now show a delicate, sharp and elegant style. Although they also inherit the modeling characteristics of Shaanxi art, they are exquisite, delicate and small in decoration.
Shanxi folk paper-cutting
Compared with Shaanxi, Shanxis geographical location is very easy to accept winds from all directions. The graphic style of Shanxis folk paper-cutting is not only the inheritance or inheritance of the bitter ancient art, but also adds a bit of sour and sweet flavor of intelligence, shrewdness and cleverness. The sweet, sour, bitter and spicy mix together, creating a savory aftertaste of the paper-cut art play. Of course, this does not hinder the purity of Shanxi folk paper-cutting works.
Shanxis folk paper-cutting also inherits the ancient artistic style of the Qin and Han Dynasties in shape, with simple and powerful compositions and smooth and exaggerated lines. Represented by Fushan, Zhongyang, Jingle and other places.
Shandong folk paper-cutting
Shandong folk paper-cutting can be roughly divided into two categories in terms of style: one is represented by Gaomi and Binzhou in most areas of Shandong, its style is rough and bold, and is in the same vein as the paper-cutting in other provinces in the Yellow River Basin, also known as the "bold style" ", the characteristics of the arrangement of paper-cut decorative elements are: zigzag patterns are often used to create monochromatic pictures with black, white, and gray levels, which are simple but not monotonous, rough and rustic.
The other type is the coastal area of ??Jiaodong, Shandong. The paper-cuts in this area are mostly line-based, and are exquisite paper-cuts that combine lines and surfaces, which are soft and delicate. In line with the subtle and intricate style of Shandongs Han Dynasty portrait stones, its densely decorated decorations make the simple and refreshing appearance fuller and richer.
Most areas in Shandong, represented by Gaomi and Binzhou, use zigzag patterns to create monochromatic pictures with black, white, and gray gradations, which are simple but not monotonous, rough and rustic. The production is generally done without drafting and is cut straight away. Its characteristic is the combination of zigzag patterns and straight lines to form the image.
Gansu folk paper-cutting
Gansu paper-cutting has a long history and its style is rough and exaggerated. Among them, the Longdong area of ??Qingyang has a relatively simple and elegant style, mostly expressing strong ancient folk customs; the central area, represented by Xifeng, has beautiful and neat lines and composition.Magnificent. The style of the upper reaches of the Jinghe River in the west, represented by Pingliang, is relatively simple and lively.
Expression techniques
In Shaanxis Yan'an, Ansai, Qianyang, and Jiaxian areas, the positive cutting method is black and white, while the negative cutting method is long and straight, and the paper is mostly monochrome paper. In Wu Banner and Xunyi areas, hollow Yang carvings are often used, with a unique style, and the paper is cut and pasted from various colored papers. In the Baoji area, works are often cut and carved from rice paper or Lien-Song paper, and then rendered in red, green, yellow and other colors. The colors are strong, bright and bright.
Gansu and Shanxi paper-cutting are both single-color paper-cutting. Shanxi mostly uses brightly colored paper such as red, yellow, blue, green, etc., with red paper being the most common. Gansu paper-cutting is mostly made of single-color paper such as red, green, white, and black.
In addition to the single-color paper-cuts in the coastal areas of Jiaodong, Shandong, there are also sketched paper-cuts and printed paper-cuts in the coastal areas of Jiaodong. Outlined paper-cutting involves using a pen to sketch out details after cutting, such as the facial features of characters, the stamens and leaf veins of flowers, etc.; printed paper-cutting involves first using woodcut watermarks and then hollowing out the cutouts.
