Introduction to Miao folk paper-cutting
Guizhou Miao paper-cut patterns are simple, strange and full of romance. Miao women are good at embroidery, and they are also good at cutting flowers. They use cut flowers as a base for embroidery. The content of paper-cutting contains a large number of legends that reflect creation myths and the origin of mankind. Among them, there are series of paper-cuttings that tell the Miao flood myths such as "Jiang Yang created man" and "Jiang Yangs brother and sister got married". "Entertaining a clam into a dog"; and the "Butterfly Mother" in the ancient Miao songs are mostly paper-cut patterns with human heads and butterfly bodies, etc.
Primitive witchcraft etiquette is an important part of Miao life and is also reflected in the paper-cut window grilles. Most Miao people believe in many gods, worship natural objects, ancestors and life. Miao paper-cutting is not only a means for Miao women to beautify their lives, but also a visual carrier of the history and culture of the nation. The paper-cuts used as sleeve flowers are mostly rectangular block patterns that combine yang-cut and yin-cut patterns. They are all realistic patterns, mainly animals and figures, with rare plant patterns, showing its original nature in a simple and childish style; Paper-cuts are used as embroidery patterns for hemlines and skirt hemlines. They are mostly in the shape of strips and are mainly thin lines. The decorations have been patterned. There are two kinds of circular and rhombus patterns. They are composed of several groups of the same decorations and are continuous in two directions. form composition.
These simple, rough and bold paper-cut patterns, rich in mythological and religious colors, fully demonstrate the unique temperament and long history of the Miao people. Most of the Miao paper-cuts of the Lianghu generation were chiseled, that is, carving was the main method. They used diagonal chisels to overlap multiple layers of paper to carve out slender, complex and neat shadow-painting works. The contents were mostly about the ancient beliefs and legends of the Miao people. , there are also a lot of borrowings from Han nationality’s auspicious culture.
