Rough and elegant Ansai paper-cutting
Ansai has rich folk culture and art, and the same artistic style as paper-cutting is the local popular waist drum. The Ansai waist drum is a war drum beaten by ancient soldiers when they charge. It has been passed down to this day and has become an entertainment activity for the people here during festivals. In Ansai, men play waist drums and women cut window grilles. Paper-cutting and waist drum, silent and moving, are two different folk arts, but they show the same style: free and straightforward, rough and generous, and full of ambition, vividly showing the heroic character of the Ansai people. Anyone who has seen Ansai paper-cutting and waist drums will marvel at the "tacit understanding" between these two completely different art forms.
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Ansai paper-cutting basically represents the overall characteristics of northern Shaanxi paper-cutting. The works are mostly exaggerated in shape, bold in conception, simple and extensive, and the expression techniques are informal and straightforward. The subject matter and content range from ancient times to the present, from myths and legends to real life. From characters to animals and plants, it covers a wide range of topics. The connotation of Ansai paper-cutting is very rich. It is simple, solemn, concise and general. It retains the profound and majestic artistic characteristics of Qin and Han art to a certain extent. Some people say that Ansai paper-cutting was influenced by three artistic climaxes in ancient times, namely, the Neolithic painted pottery, the Han Dynasty portrait stone, and the sculptures of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Whether there is a scientific basis for it has not been verified, but it also shows that the artistic style of Ansai paper-cutting is closely related to the artistic style of Ansai paper-cutting. The cultural and artistic styles of these periods are consistent. There are many famous Ansai paper-cut artists who have passed away. It can be seen from the works they left behind that in addition to having common characteristics such as simplicity and grandeur, they also maintain different styles. Bai Fenglans works are concise, general and simple in shape. Cao Dianxiangs works have gorgeous patterns and like to be decorated with flower and grass patterns. Hu Fenglians works mostly use abstract patterns, which look simple and mysterious.
Ansai affects surrounding counties and villages with its rich folk cultural resources. Its paper-cutting style is roughly the same as that of neighboring Zhidan, Yanchang, Yanchuan, and Zichang, which are both rough and majestic. Because Wuqi County is located between Ansai and Sanbian, the paper-cutting style has the characteristics of both.
