TheArtofPaper
ChenZijiangisapaper-cuttingexpertwhomIinterviewedformyarticleonChineseArt.
Paper-cuttingissomethingthathelearnedtodofromanearlyage.
"ItisaChinesefolkartwithalonghistory,"MrChentoldme,"PapercutsofanimalshavebeenfoundintombswhichdatebacktothetimeoftheNorthernandSouthernDynasty!"HeaddedthatbytheSouthernSongDynasty,paper-cuttinghadbecomeanimportantpartofeverydaylife."Ayoungfarmerwhowantedawifewouldlookatayoungwoman'spaper-cuttingskillsbeforemarryingher!"explainedMrChen,laughingatthelookofsurprise
onmyface.
MrChenwentontoexplainthattherearethreetypesofpapercutswhichpeoplestillmake
today:papercutsfordecoration,forreligiouspurposesandfordesignpatterns.Papercutsusedfordecorationareoftenseenonwindowsandgates.
Theyareusuallyputupduringholidaystobringgoodluck.Theyarealsousedonpresents.Apresentforparentswhosechildhasrecentlybeenbornmightshowapapercutofchildren,forexample.PapercutswhichshowtheChinesecharacterfordoublehappinessareoftenusedtocelebrateweddings.
Papercutsusedforreligiouspurposesareoftenfoundintemples.Theyarealsousedas
offeringstothedead.Peopletowhomthedeadpersonwasrelatedwouldmaketheseofferingsonspecialdaysandduringfestivals.
Thethirdkindofpapercutsarethoseusedtomakepatternsonclothing.Theyarealsosometimesusedtodecoratejewelleryboxes.Dragonsareverypopularpatternsforthese
designs.TheinterviewwasveryusefulasIgotalotofinterestinginformationformyarticle.Iwasalsoreadytotryoutpapercuttingformyself."Seeyounextweek,"IsaidasIwavedgoodbyetoMrChen.Iwasgoingtomeethimagainsothathecouldhelpmemakemyfirstpapercut!