The theme of Fuyang paper-cutting

Fuyang paper-cutting records the simple and innocent ideals of Fuyang working people and condenses the local history and culture. For a long time, paper-cutting has mostly been made by rural women or farmers. It not only reflects rural life and labor scenes; it also expresses classical novels, opera characters, myths and legends; it also depicts landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects; and more often it expresses beauty, happiness, and happiness. Auspicious content.

According to the content, it is mainly divided into four categories: auspicious and festive, flowers, birds, fish and insects, opera characters and real life, which carry the cultural connotation of local peoples beliefs, morals, thoughts and so on.

1. Auspicious and festive themes

Auspicious celebrations are the most common themes in Fuyang paper-cut patterns. "The deeper the hidden suffering, the more vivid the auspiciousness and beauty created by the art of paper-cutting." Since ancient times, Fuyang has experienced frequent waterlogging disasters, so Fuyang people yearn for a happy life with good weather, abundant food and clothing, no disease or disaster, and children and grandchildren around their knees. Therefore, Fuyang paper-cutting has many traditional folk themes focusing on auspiciousness, wealth, fertility, and fertility. For example, auspicious themes include "Tuanfeng", "Danfeng Chaoyang", "Four Seasons Screen", "Kilin Ruyi", "Sustainable Years", etc. Some of the festive expressions include "Kirin sending a child", "Phoenix playing with peonies", "Goldfish stringing lotus", "Mandarin ducks and lotus", "Continuous birth of precious children", etc. This type of subject matter usually adopts the form of romance. For example, Fuyangs longevity flower paper-cut "Five Blessings Holding a Longevity" uses the word "bat" in the word bat as a homophone to the word "blessing" in happiness. There is also a flower-cut paper-cut "Lian Sheng Gui Zi", which uses the word "lian" in the lotus as a homophone to "lian", which means fertility and reproduction.

Lian Sheng Takako Jia Peixiu

2. FlowerBirds, fish and insects theme

Laozis thought of "the unity of nature and man" attaches great importance to the relationship between man and nature, and regards the unity of nature and man as the highest state of beauty. People in Fuyang have respected nature since ancient times. The people of Fuyang live directly in the embrace of nature. If you sow melons, you will get melons, and if you sow beans, you will get beans. Spring goes and autumn comes, flowers bloom and fall, and spring flowers and autumn fruits are harvested. Nature has given them infinite inspiration, and paper-cutting uses local materials. Cows, horses, sheep, pigs, fruits and vegetables, flowers and birds have all become themes. For example, "Tree of Life" takes the most common flowers and birds as its themes and combines flower and fruit patterns into one, implying the endless reproduction of life and the richness of the picture. The materials are taken from the natural environment, natural and simple, and are loved by local people.

Tree of Life Cheng Jianli

3. Folk opera themes

Opera influences the creative activities of Fuyang paper-cutting artists. Fuyang is known as the "hometown of folk arts" in Anhui. There are 20 types of music and more than 40 types of folk dances popular throughout the region. Local operas such as Bangzi Opera (also known as Shahe Bangzi), Yu Opera, Qu Opera, Qingyin Opera, etc. are all popular forms of opera among the people. There is a local custom of setting up a stage to sing operas during gatherings. As long as there is a opera to watch, people will come from a radius of more than ten miles. The widely circulated repertoire includes: "Da Hong Pao", "The Golden Dove of the Song Dynasty", "The Golden Whip", "General of the Yang Family", "Bao Gongs Case", "Hua Da Chao", "Yuanmen Beheads the Son", "Mulan" "Join the Army", "The Story of the Guillotine", "A Dream of Red Mansions", "The Marriage of Butterfly Lovers", "The Romance of the West Chamber", "The Generals of the Yang Family", "Nezha Makes the Sea", "Tiaohua Tiao", "Xuxian Sacrifice Pagoda", "Sanchakou" wait. Fuyang people love to listen to and watch operas. Paper-cutting experts used paper-cutting to record the content of the opera after watching it, resulting in a lot of opera paper-cutting. For example: "Mulan Joins the Army", "The Legend of White Snake", "Dream of Red Mansions", "Striking the Golden Branch", "Characters of Swords and Horses", "Flower Dance", "Flower Drum and Lantern Dance", etc. The paper-cut work "Borrowing an Umbrella" and "The Legend of White Snake" are well-known folk love stories and are also common themes in many art works. Cheng Jianli drew on the most interesting scene of "borrowing an umbrella". It rains continuously in March on the West Lake. The boatman wears a bamboo hat and rows with an oar in his hand.. Xu Xian was sitting in the same boat as Bai Niangzi and Xiao Qing. Xu Xian couldn't bear to see the two of them getting wet in the rain, so he handed the umbrella to Bai Niangzi. At this moment, a wave hit, making the boat bump up and down, and the three characters were shaken to and fro. "Borrowing an Umbrella" expresses this moment vividly.

Borrow an umbrella Cheng Jianli

4. Real life themes

The themes of Fuyang paper-cutting include not only traditional auspicious blessings, flowers, birds, fish and insects, and folk operas, but also real-life themes. This is related to the living environment of many paper-cut creators in Fuyang. Most of them live in rural areas, and real scenes in production and life can be used as creative materials. Farm life such as feeding chickens and pigs, riding horses and fetching water; production activities such as farming and weaving; poultry, livestock, and cultivated grains and vegetables are all paper-cut themes. Because they are based on real life, the paper-cut works have a strong sense of life. As shown in Figure 2-9, "Feeding Chickens" is based on real life. A peasant woman spreads chicken food with a dustpan, and six chickens compete for the chicken food. There are chickens in different shapes, big and small, some are roosters, some are hens, some are eating with their heads down, some are pushing forward, its so lively. It shows the happy life of small farmers.

Feeding chickens Jia Peixiu

The paper-cut work "A Well-off Family" expresses the joy of farmers becoming rich after the reform and opening up. A family of three returns from going to the fields. The man rides on the back of an ox and plays the flute. The woman follows closely with a hoe. The youngest daughter waves a sickle. The chickens and dogs that follow the owner to the fields follow behind. There was also a golden phoenix flying above the head of the hostess. Real life and ideals are closely integrated. The themes of Fuyang paper-cutting have evolved from admiration and worship of gods to wishes for a happy life, and then to todays reality