The influence of fertility worship on Chinese folk paper-cut symbols
Survival and reproduction are human instincts. In the beginning, due to the limited ability of human beings to transform nature, human survival faced great challenges. When forced, they even sacrificed a lot to ensure the survival of the species. Reproduction, therefore, the value of life has also been pushed to a considerable height, and only the prosperity of species can guarantee victory over nature and enemies. Therefore, the worship of life and reproduction has also been raised to a considerable height. The creative group of paper-cutting art authors has better preserved the original visual way of thinking, so the traces and evolution of the original concept of reproductive worship can still be seen in modern paper-cutting art works. The formation of symbols of fertility worship is actually a simplified symbol of natural objects with strong reproductive power. This symbol is familiar and recognized by the general public, and is widely circulated in paper-cut art works. For example, the symbol of the chicken is a symbol. In old Chinese marriage customs, when a girl gets married, she holds a chicken, which symbolizes a man, in a sedan chair, which is combined with a bun (bird, chicken, phoenix). This custom is prevalent in Yulin, Luochuan, Shaanxi and some places in Shanxi. Because the chicken symbol in wedding custom paper-cutting has a symbol of reproduction. At the same time, since the chicken symbol has such meaning and is accepted by the public, variations of the chicken symbol have been used. For example, the paper-cut works of the "snatching doll" as a symbol of life and reproduction are widely popular among the people. The "scratching bun doll" is a typical combination of witchcraft worship and fertility worship that existed in the feudal small-scale peasant society, symbolizing the reproduction of offspring and the longevity of life. It is the most popular patron saint among the people in northern Shaanxi. You can see it in various places in northern Shaanxi: it is posted on stoves, on windows, and sometimes hung on trees. If it is in the new house where you are getting married, a variation of the "grabbing doll" is also called the flower in the tent. The tent flower shown in Figure (6) is generally called "happy flower". This kind of flower has many varieties in Chinas vast rural areas and is very rich. For example, "the baby rides the chicken", "the baby girl hugs the chicken", "the baby girl feeds the chicken", "the baby girl plays with the chicken", etc., the lingo still contains the connotation of descendants. The prototype of these patterns is the image of a doll holding a bun, which is the god of reproduction. This original prototype is still spread in the closed area of ??the northwest Loess Plateau.
The symbol of fertility worship in paper-cutting is also obvious in the lotus pattern. The lotus pattern was widely spread with the introduction of Buddhism. Its basic pattern developed into the "Lotus Renren" with a doll sitting on a lotus. It is also called "Lotus Renren" in northern Shaanxi. The symbolic connotation of "Lotus for everyone" can be reflected from the folk proverb of northern Shaanxi: "A child sits on a lotus, and the couple has a good relationship", which implies the auspicious concept of a happy marriage and long-term descendants. The common people of all living beings not only value "life", but also value "death". They believe that life and death can be reincarnated. In the paper-cuttings on the soles of Shougang shoes in Northeast China, there is a lotus pattern, and their saying is: "foot-stepping" "The lotus goes up to the Western Heaven", and in Guan Nei, this saying becomes "step on the lotus pot with your feet and the Nantian Gate on your head." Because religion believes that death is the beginning of life, and the lotus symbolizes the female vagina, and the female vagina is The only door for human beings to reincarnate, so the meaning of the lotus is obvious.
Another example is the fish symbol in the collection of paper-cut patterns. In people’s minds, having fish on the table every year symbolizes abundance every year and a prosperous life. Fish is an important theme to express auspicious themes. How did fish acquire this symbolic meaning? This can be examined from the perspective of the ancient historical and cultural background: the early peoples way of making food and the worship of the fish god Sishui made fish a symbol of harvest and wealth; and the belief in fish reproduction evolved from the belief in water reproduction and the reproductive power of the fish itself Because of its strong characteristics, "fish" has a reproductive color in traditional culture and has become a symbol of marriage and love or a sexual lingo. For example, "fish wearing peony" and "fish playing with lotus" have this symbolic connotation. The symbol of fish can be traced back to the pictorial shape of the "human face with fish" painted pottery of the Yangshao Culture in Banpo, Xi'an. "The symbol of the fish-like dance is dedicated to the fish god and the mature youth of the tribe. It It heralds a good harvest, good luck, fertility and prosperity."
It is exactly the pattern of the fish totem concept of racial reproduction and reproductive worship. It does not reflect the plot of fishing and hunting life, but a symbol of the reproduction of descendants. The fish lotus, which symbolizes the reproduction of offspring, was also carved on an ancient Egyptian glazed pottery basin before 2000 BC (hidden in the Palais Rouvre in Paris). There are many paper-cut symbols symbolizing human reproduction and having many children and grandchildren. Such as "Pomegranate opens a hundred seeds", "Rat eats grapes", "Melon butterfly is rich", etc. Among them, "pomegranate&r"Grapes", "melons" and "rats" are all concise symbols of fertility worship because of their attributes of having many children and strong reproductive capacity. The middle part of the picture is composed of fish and lotus clasping a bowl. The work uses "fish swings", "seeds produce lotus" and "continuous birth of noble children" to metaphorically connotate the concept of virtue and reproduction in traditional Chinese folk culture. The use of two dolls symbolizes double happiness, prosperity, abundant descendants and a prosperous life. . This paper-cut is a typical symbolic work, using a combination of symbols representing traditional culture to symbolize peoples wishes for reproduction.
