Chinese Paper

Chinese Paper-Cut

Paper-cut is a very distinctive visual art of Chinese handicrafts. It originated from the 6th century when women used to paste golden and silver foil cuttings onto their hair at the temples, and men used them in sacred rituals. Later, they were used during festivals to decorate gates and windows. After hundreds of years' development, now they have become a very popular means of decoration among country folk, especially women.

The main cutting tools are simple: paper and scissors or an engraving knife, but clever and deft craftspeople are remarkably good at cutting in the theme of daily life. When you look at items made in this method carefully, you will be amazed by the true to life expressions of the figure's sentiment and appearance, or portrayal of natural plants and animals' diverse gestures. Patterns of chrysanthemum display the curling petals, pied magpies show their tiny feathers and others such as a married daughter returning to her parents' home, or young people paying a New Year call to their grandparents.

Although other art forms, like painting, can also show similar scenes, paper cutting still stands out for its charm - exacting lines and ingenious patterns which are all hand-made. To make the three-dimensional scenes pop out visually from the paper, as they are usually in monochrome, engravers must exert their imagination. They must delete secondary parts and compose the main body properly, abstractly and boldly. Though simple, the color then appears charmingly bright.

It is easy to learn about cutting a piece of paper but very difficult to master it with perfection. One must grasp the knife in an upright fashion and press evenly on the paper with some strength. Flexibility is required but any hesitation or wiggling will lead to imprecision or damage the whole image.

People find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper cuttings. For example: for a wedding ceremony, red paper cuttings are a traditional and required decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and on other furniture. A big red paper character 'Xi' (happiness) is a traditional must on the newlywed's door. Upon the birthday party of a senior, the character 'Shou' represents longevity and will add delight to the whole celebration; while a pattern of plump children cuddling fish signifies that every year they will be abundant in wealth.

中国剪纸

剪纸是中国手工艺品中一种非常独特的视觉艺术。在六世纪，当女性去寺庙时，她们将金银箔纸剪贴到头发上，而男性则在祭祀是使用金银箔，剪纸起源于此。后来，这些装饰物被用于在节日时装饰大门和窗户。经过几百年的发展，现在已经成为中国民间非常受欢迎的一项装饰方式，尤其受女性青睐。

剪纸的主要工具很简单：纸和剪刀或刻刀，但心灵手巧的工匠非常善于在日常生活的主题上进行创作。当你在看用这种方法制作的作品时，你会对其中逼真的人物外貌，或动植物的描绘感到惊讶不已。菊花图展现出卷曲的花瓣，喜鹊图描绘出其微小的羽毛，还有其他图案如出嫁的女儿回娘家，年轻人给他们的祖父母拜年等。

虽然其他的艺术形式，如绘画，也显示相似的场景，剪纸仍然凸显其独特的魅力——严格的线条和巧妙的模式，都是手工制作的。为了使三维场景直观地从纸上蹦出来，通常使用单色，而雕刻师必须发挥他们的想象力。他们必须删除次要部件，然后用正确的方法抽象大胆地构成主体。虽然简单，色彩则显得妩媚明亮。

剪一张纸很容易，但要完美的掌握这种技术很难。必须要以垂直的姿势握一把刀和用一定力度均匀的刻在纸上。灵活性是必需的但任何犹豫或摆动都会导致不精确或破坏整体形象。

人们通过剪纸来祈求找到希望与安慰。例如：在婚礼上，红色的剪纸是一种传统而必需的装饰品，被装饰在茶具，梳妆台上的玻璃，和其他家具上。一个传统的大红“喜”字必须在贴新婚的门上。在长者的生日宴会上，“寿”字代表长寿，为整个庆典增添喜悦；而一个胖乎乎的孩子拥抱鱼意味着每年财源广进。