Paper Cutting

Paper cutting is a traditional art that has evolved throughout the course of Chinese cultural development. Its origin should be closely connected with the invention of paper during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-221 A.D.). As paper was highly precious in the early days, the art of paper cutting first became popular in the royal palaces and houses of nobility as a favorite pastime among court ladies. Later, during the 7th through 13th centuries, paper cutting was immensely popular during folk festivals and celebrations. By the 14th century, the art had spread to the Middle East and Europe; and by the 15th century onward, paper cut art works had become an integral part of the everyday life of the people. However, the art of paper cutting was on the verge of dying out during the past century as old China experienced successive years of the disaster of war brought on by domestic turmoil and foreign invasion. Amidst a myriad of changes in their lives, most people had no leisure time to engage in the study of the art of paper cutting.

The Republic of China on Taiwan has been actively promoting the renaissance of Chinese culture since the 1980s. The art of paper cutting has again received a great deal of attention because of heavy publicity, resulting in even more innovative artwork.

The influence of paper cutting on continental Europe and Asia can be traced back to the seventh century. It spread to Japan and then to the Middle East and Europe via the Silk Road, thus leading to the development of many diverse styles. Today, many valuable ancient paper cutouts are kept in the national museums of these countries.

The art of paper cutting has remained unfading in China through the ages principally because its devotees used the skills of knife and scissors to dynamically depict splendid Chinese culture and folk festivals in all its many facets-in a most interesting and likable way that is felt to be more and more precious with the passage of time.

For example, noble ladies in ancient times would often use paper cutting to practice their art during their leisure, while social calls by ordinary folk involved giving paper cuts as gifts and using paper cut fancy likenesses for pretty adornment to signify auspiciousness. Subsequently, mutual emulation and minute study led to a superb level of technique. By later generations, paper cut art ranged from clipping complicated patterns using a tiny pair of scissors to often making cutouts into window decorations, clothes-making stencils, or embroidery patterns for shoes.

As the art has been passed down through the generations, the mainstream techniques developed many diverse forms, but the themes of the subject matter have primarily remained folk motifs, with two-dimensional illustrations as the primary form. The technique they display consists of a combination of trimming with scissors and carving with a knife. The rendering of their visual appearance involves such methods as applying multiple layers of color, folding symmetrically, individually pasting, or uniquely engraving. These diversified cutting methods could be said to be quite beautiful, but manifestation of the unique, lively beauty of paper cut art still depends on the artistic mastery of every paper cut artisan.

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