Paper-cut art is widely practiced across China and among various ethnic groups, playing an important role in everyday life. Traditionally a predominantly female craft, it is often passed down from mother to daughter over many years, beginning in childhood, and remains especially common in rural communities. Skilled artisans are highly respected and admired for their work.
A variety of techniques are used, including cutting, engraving with chisels, coloring, or leaving the paper plain. In recent times, modern technologies have also been introduced. The motifs vary greatly and are often creatively designed by the artist, depending on regional styles—for example, southern China is known for fine, delicate patterns—and on their intended use, such as interior decoration (windows, beds, ceilings), festivals (weddings, birthdays, ceremonies), or rituals (prayers for rain, protection from evil, and more).
As an essential part of social and cultural life across many ethnic groups, paper-cutting reflects the moral values, philosophies, and aesthetic ideals of its practitioners. It continues to serve as an expressive outlet for emotion and creativity.
The Chinese people cut its traditional handcrafts, included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, which was originally called pattern cut in ancient times.
With the scissors or carving knives, decorative patterns come out of the people, and as ornaments, they are applied in people's life or folk activities.
In China, people cut is very popular among folks.
The visual images and pattern forms convey rich historical and cultural information, express the social and moral understandings of the people, illustrating the practice, experience, idea of life, as well as the authentic tenderness of the people.
Thus, the Chinese people cut has important social and authentic values in aspects of cognition, education, illustration, entertainment, and social exchange.
The people cut of Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, and Hebei provinces are represented in the North Star.
And the people cut of Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces are the typical South Star.
The Chinese people cut is a traditional folk art created among Chinese people and has a history of over 1,500 years.
Some people cut works between Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period were also found in Long County of Shaanxi Province and Dunhuang of Gansu Province.
fish with a human face, and a cute-eyed child.
People exclaimed at sight of such works as they passed down cultural information of over 1,000 years, proving the long history and vitality of the Chinese people cut.
There are two skill types in Chinese people cut, scissoring and carving.
For the former, people cut out one or several patterns with scissors at one time.
For the latter, carving knives are used for several patterns at one time.
Different applications for the Chinese people cut invoke traditional results in a diversity of people cut patterns.
Some are for decorative purposes, attached to doors, curtains, windows, cupboards, big beds, ceilings, or tablecloths.
Some are as examples of embroidery for making patterns in pillows, shoes, belly vests, or coffins.
Still, there are patterns for various occurrences or festivals, expression happiness, longevity.
Some patterns can even be found on lamps or dragon boats, or numerous folk activities, wishing for good climate, dispelling evils, procreation, or auspicious life.
The people cuts are improvised, adopting themes in vast scope, including legend, history, daily life, folk belief, nature.
Patterns in people cuts always have cultural implications, as pomegranate signifies happiness with abundant children, peach means longevity, puny is fortune, and plum is all best luck.
The forms of Chinese people cut are also various, single color, patches, color and cut, cut and drawing, dyeing, copy-lining, paper molding, reflecting the vigorous life of Chinese people cut.
The patterns of Chinese people cut are exaggerating and vivid, express the rich imagination of the Chinese people.
As China has vast territory, the geographical and traditional differences between north and south resulted in a variety of Chinese people cuts.
Comparatively speaking, the north people cuts are bold and unconstrained, while the south delicate and elegant.
Today, people cut is still a popular way for Chinese people to express their thoughts and emotions, and the interaction and recreation are easily found when it is involved in modern folk activities.
The Chinese government is always taking serious attitude toward the collection and preservation work for Chinese people cut.
Since the 80s of the 20th century, the Chinese government has organized large-scale surveys on people cut, and has sorted out large quantity of people cut works and related materials.
The people cut now still conveys rich traditional cultural information, and its cultural influence in the vast area still exists.
It will be a great honor if the Chinese people cut is included in the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, and certainly, such move will add pride and honor to Chinese people,
inspiring the Chinese government and relative agencies for all efforts in the protection and succession of Chinese people cut.
