An overview of traditional folk paper-cutting in Shaanxi
China has a vast territory and rich resources. Shaanxi has been the political and cultural center of the Chinese nation since ancient times. It has thousands of years of cultural accumulation and 13 dynasties of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang all established their capitals here. These profound cultural accumulations formed the extensive and profound Shaanxi culture, which deeply influenced and infected the workers in this land. It also affected their way of expressing art, gradually forming the inherent artistic characteristics of Shanxi.
From the national distribution map of folk paper-cutting art, Shaanxi is in the center, with it spreading to the surrounding areas. The art form of paper cutting is found everywhere. However, there are obvious differences between the north and the south. Generally speaking, the style is rough in the north and delicate in the south. The reason is inseparable from nature and the unique historical environment.
In Shaanxi, northern Shaanxi paper-cutting enjoys a high reputation in China and the world. It has the reputation of "national mother art" and "living fossil of source culture and history", and has been listed by UNESCO as "human intangible oral tradition". "Cultural Heritage Protection List", because it relatively completely inherits the ancient modeling patterns of the Chinese nation, it has a high historical status and research value. Shaanxi paper-cutting is rich in forms, including window kiln ceiling flowers, kang surround flowers, door paintings, curtains, pillow flowers, table skirt flowers, shoe flowers, double wedding flowers, clothing decoration flowers, divine appliques, etc. Every Spring Festival, no matter where in the countryside, the windows are covered with white paper and window grilles cut from red paper are pasted to celebrate the New Year. There are various forms and rich contents, and window grilles are the most common.
Paper-cutting is a culture created by women. In northern Shaanxi, there was a custom of "looking for a wife who is skillful". To find a wife for a child, "do not ask whether the person is blind, but first look for skill." Look at paper cutting and embroidery. There is a saying that "look at the window first and then the curtain". Looking at the window means looking at the cut window grilles, while looking at the door curtain means looking at the embroidery skills. It is generally believed that a woman who is good at cutting flowers must be smart, and the babies she will give birth to will naturally be smart as well. Nowadays, in rural areas of northern Shaanxi, anyone who can cut flowers is still respected by the whole village. Every twelfth lunar month, women and aunts learn to cut flowers together, and if they show up in a good way, they compete with each other to do the same. In the first month of the year, women visit each other’s housesWhose window grilles are better depends on who has the most skillful hands. Due to the traffic congestion and remoteness of many areas in Shaanxi for nearly a century, it is difficult for foreign culture to be introduced. However, ancient culture and art have been inherited by farm women and passed down from generation to generation.
