BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The art of Chinese paper-cutting or jianzhi is a traditional folk craft of China, which has a long and enduring history, and is a treasure in Chinese folk art. Fei County, located in east China's Shandong province, has a tradition of paper-cutting among the people living there.
Photo provided to Xinhua shows a piece of Fei County paper-cutting
Sun Xiaodong is a representative figure of paper-cutting in Fei County. As a retired middle school teacher, he developed a special hobby, the art of paper-cutting, since childhood, there has been more than 60 years of his paper-cutting experience. He is now a member of China's Folk Artists Paper Cutting Association.
Featuring on the images of plants, animals and other things in real life, Sun presents vivid pictures in the form of paper-cutting, expressing the customs and folk feelings of the common people, and adding more profound meaning.
Small animals and fruits appear under his scissors, completed with single cut. Animals live in a white world and pine branches are bent by thick snow. It's a combination of a fairy tale and beauty of the natural world. His works directly reflect the Fei County culture, praising a better life, and expressing the feelings of people through artistic way.
Paper-cutting originates from life and serves as an encyclopedia for folk culture. Paper-cutting works can be classfied into many categories based on the occasions for which they are used, such as festivals and weddings. At important festivals such as the Spring Festival, people often make paper-cuts to pray for good luck.
Photo provided to Xinhua shows a piece of Fei County paper-cutting
Although compared with many other forms of art, Chinese paper-cuttings have a relatively stable user base, but concerns over passing the art form to the new generation still haunt people in the know. The production process of paper-cutting works is complex. Relying on the hearts and minds of the producers, the learning period of paper-cutting art is long and requires the protection of intangible cultural heritage
Local paper-cutting artists have created a large number of paper-cutting works that showcase the regional character and cultural charms of Fei County. Sun's paper-cutting works have appeared on the stage in large-scale calligraphy and painting exhibitions at the county level and have been collected by relevant cultural institutions. Sometimes his works were given to to visitors as precious gifts.
Talking about his works, Sun believes that paper-cutting is a pleasure, the scissors hinging is like beautiful music, in which cute animals and beautiful flowers get reborn.
(Edited by Bao Nuomin with Xinhua Silk Road, baonuomin@xinhua.org)
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