Paper cut (Yangzhou paper cut)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: paper cut (Yangzhou paper cut)

Applicant: Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Project No.: 315

Project No.: Ⅶ - 16

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Jiangsu Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Protection unit: Yangzhou paper cutting Museum Co., Ltd

Brief introduction of paper cut (Yangzhou paper cut)

Applicant: Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Yangzhou is one of the earliest popular areas of paper-cut in China. There was the custom of "paper-cut primrose" in Tang and Song dynasties. Yangzhou people cut paper for flowers at the beginning of spring, making spring butterfly, spring thread, spring victory and other styles, "or hanging on the head of a beautiful woman, or hanging under the flowers", and enjoying it. In addition, they also cut paper money, paper horses, etc., which are specially used for memorial ceremonies. In the Qing Dynasty, business flourished in Yangzhou, and the number of paper-cut artists also increased greatly. During the Jia and Dao dynasties, the famous paper-cut artists, such as Bao Jun, were famous for their superb skills, and they were known as "God scissors". Yangzhou's paper-cut artists also create embroidery patterns according to their needs, ranging from door curtain and curtain edge, quilt and pillow case to mirror sachet and silk handkerchief pencil bag. If there are embroidery patterns, there must be patterns. Yangzhou calls paper-cut artists "pattern cutting.".

Yangzhou paper-cut is one of the representatives of folk paper-cut art in southern China, with its elegant lines, exquisite composition, exaggerated and concise image, and innovative techniques. Its paper is mainly Anhui hand-made Xuan, which is thick, thin, moderate, colorless and smooth.

The main inheritors of modern Yangzhou paper-cut are Zhang Jinsheng and Zhang Yongshou. Zhang Yongshou has been an artist for more than 70 years. His paper-cut has changed from practical pattern to decorative theme creation. His works show the style characteristics of realism, change, generalization and exaggeration. He summarizes the key points of paper-cut, such as "round as autumn moon, sharp as wheat awn, square as green brick, missing as sawtooth, line as whisker", leaving a valuable "creation classic" for later generations of paper-cut artists. Zhang Yongshou has created thousands of works in his life, among which "a hundred flowers blossom", "a hundred chrysanthemums" and "a hundred butterflies love flowers" are of high artistic value, and are known as "the works of observation in paper-cut art". In 1989, Mr. Zhang Yongshou passed away. Although his third generation inheritors have made some artistic achievements, their skill and aura can not surpass those of the previous generation. So far, the trend of no successor of Yangzhou paper-cut art has become more and more obvious. This ancient folk art is in an endangered state, which needs urgent protection and support.

Chinese PinYin : Jian Zhi Yang Zhou Jian Zhi