Chinese Paper Cutting  

Chinese Paper Cutting, also known as Jianzhi in Chinese, is a unique art form and has a long history since Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.). Originally, it was only popular among the nobility since paper was highly precious then. Later, the art spread among the commons and became a part of everyday life of Chinese

Paper-cuttings have different uses or purposes. When they are used as an ornament in gates, windows, walls, columns, mirrors, lamps and lanterns, they are also referred to as Window Flower, Chuang Hu in Chinese.

When they are used in Chinese Spring Festivals, people put them at the entrance gates to bring good luck for families. Paper-cuttings also serve as decorations of the wedding ceremony. These art works are sometimes used as embroidery patterns for clothes and lacquer work, too.

As a fork art, the contents of the cuttings usually imitate nature's forms.  Animals, flowers, children, and legendary figures are mostly used patterns.

Traditionally, paper cuttings are just using knife and scissors by hand, not by machine. But modern paper cuttings use laser beam cutting machine.  An example of laser beam cutting is the Lady Looking in the Mirror.

Paper-cut can give people visual space through feelings and artistic enjoyment, whose carrier can be paper, gold foil, bark, leaves, cloth, skin, leather and other sheet-like materials. – This Shadow Puppets used in Yangzi Silhouette play is made of donkey hide.

The most common color used is red, blue, black or white. Red paper cuts are frequently used during festivals and weddings as decorative ornaments. – “Door God” is a figure of Chinese mythology. Traditionally his image is often painted on household gates as a guardian spirit to protect the family.

The multi-colored paper cuts are used to enrich the display of the contents. There are two ways of making a colored paper cut outs.  One method is to make a single color paper cut out on white paper and then use paint or water color on the cuttings. Another method is to make the multiple layers of paper cut outs. Each layer depicts a specific color of the subject and then all layers are overlaid to form a composite picture. An example of multi-colored cutting is the Phoenix, (created by Yang Yu-Mei and  donated to St. John’s University in 1986).

The pictures in the flat display case are legendary figures in Beijing opera of Wei Xiang paper cutting.

For more information the following web-sites will be useful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_play
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_paper_cutting
http://www.chinaartworld.com.cn/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkTV6enoXUY
http://www.chinaartworld.com.cn/chinese_art_techniques.html
http://www.chinatravel.com/guangdong/foshan/