An overview of paper-cutting by ethnic minorities in the South
Folk paper-cutting in southern my country was directly catalyzed by the primitive witchcraft culture of "life worship". In the paper-cutting world, when mentioning the history of paper-cutting, the Human Day Festival is often mentioned. The emergence of paper-cutting is closely related to the hoopoe custom of the Human Day Festival. Human Day was originally a custom in the Chu region.
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In the early Ming Dynasty and the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Buddhist and Taoist culture were successively introduced to Lijiang in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and Buddhist and Taoist scripture-related paper-cuts were also introduced. Southern folk paper-cutting developed extremely prosperously in the Qing Dynasty. However, with the penetration and spread of Central Plains culture, witchcraft-themed paper-cutting gradually disappeared in most areas of the South, replaced by metaphorical blessings and operas with strong Central Plains cultural characteristics. Stories and historical allusions, clothing embroidery samples and other themes.
However, paper-cuts with themes of primitive witchcraft and "life worship" are still preserved in areas where ethnic minorities inhabit, such as Xiangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangdong, where the Miao are the main people.
