*Cantonese Paper-Cutting
69.*Cantonese Paper-Cutting
Nominating Units: City of Foshan, City of Shantou and City of Chaozhou
Cantonese Paper-Cutting includes Foshan Paper-Cutting, Chaoyang Paper-Cutting and Chaozhou Paper-Cutting. Located in the mid-south of Guandong Province, Foshan is at the heart of the Pearl River Delta. Deriving from local folk activities, the folk art of Foshan Paper-Cutting is mainly distributed at Chancheng District of Foshan and some towns in Nanhai District.
Foshan Paper-Cutting is said to have its root in central area of China, where it is developed with the local folk customs, handicraft industry and commerce. In the Qing Dynasty, Paper-Cutting has become a specialized industry. Guild of paper-cutting appeared. In the early 19th century, the twelve industries, relevant to Foshan Paper-Cutting, such as the industries of Menqian, Tonghua, Fushuyi Paper, Xi paper, Jinhua, Mohua paper, Zhanliao Paper, Copper hit, Copperfoils, Zhushanianhong dyed paper, Huahong dyed paper and dyed paper, all grew vigorously. There were about one hundred workshops and three thousand workers of the twelve industries. Zhanliao Paper and dyed paper produced by them were the main raw material for Foshan Paper-Cutting.
Foshan Paper-Cutting includes four kinds of paper-cutting, namely the pure color paper-cutting, Chenliao Paper-Cutting, Xieliao Paper-Cutting and chiseled bronze paper-cutting. Nine different materials are used in the paper-cutting, namely the pure-color paper, paper gasket, brass bush, dyed paper, woodengravings, chiseled cooper and etc.
The method of paper-cutting involves cutting and carving. Cutting, often in a casual manner, is used when a small number of paper-cuts, for example two to three every time, is needed. Gift paper-cutting, snuff, candlestick paper-cutting, etc are made by cutting. While 20 to 30 paper-cuts can be made in carving, as for the rough patter, the number can be 50 to 100 for the sake of duplication in great numbers. The gravers used in Foshan Paper-Cutting are not of a uniform size. The width of the graver ranges from 1mm to 3mm. There are more than ten gravers in one set of the tools.
The holding manner of the graver is like that of holding a Chinese brush. It is carved in a vertical dimension with lines connected in the shape of a net. The theme and form of traditional Foshan Paper-Cutting is decided by social situation and people’s will. The eternal themes such as joyful auspiciousness, expelling evil spirits and invoking blessings, and more offspring and longevity, are always well received among the people. In order to echo the themes, Foshan Paper-Cutting uses golden cooper foils and bright colors, forming its unique local style and the style of chiseled bronze paper-cut. Currently the chief successor of Foshan Paper-Cutting is Lin Zaihua.
Traditionally Foshan Paper-Cutting was industrialized. Strengthening the protection of it will be helpful to the study on the folk activities and folk culture in the Pearl River Delta. At the same time it is also good for the prosperity of folk culture and strengthening local culture. However, currently there are not enough trained young men and women to take over from the old professionals of Foshan Paper-Cutting. What’s worse, the most characteristic chiseled bronze paper-cut can not be made any more due to the lack of special tools and cooper foils as the main producing material. In addition, some old experts of Foshan Paper-Cutting have retired or died of illness, making some traditional crafts face the danger of losing successors. It is high time to rescue the old folk art now.
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Chaoyang Paper-Cutting is mainly distributed in Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province, especially in those districts such as the towns of Tongmeng, Xilu, Heping and Guiyu. The popularity of Chaoyang Paper-Cutting is related to the immigrants from Central China there. The common themes of such kind of paper-cuts are auspiciousness, happiness, longevity, more offspring and etc. They are usually decorated on occasions like Lantern Festival, midautumn day, weddings, ancestral sacrifice and etc. Besides, in daily life, flowers and fishes, folk tales, fairy tales and average people are also common themes for paper-cuts. There are also some small patterns of design such as offering flower and gift flower in Chaoyang Paper-Cutting. Chaoyang Paper-Cutting is characterized by flexible design, symmetrical pattern and compact structure. These characteristics are best embodied in the design of recessed-flower paper-cutting. The cutting method is very delicate, with Yangjian as a major cutting manner and Yinjian the minor one. Yangjian is careful and neat, while Yinjian is powerful. The combination of the two cutting methods creates a vivid image.
Since the 1980s, the government of Chaoyang District has taken measures to dig and sort out the local paper-cuts for further study. In the year 1989, about 500 different kinds of 181 sets of paper-cuts were sorted out. A book named Chaoyang Paper-Cutting was published at the same year. In the year 2003, more than 50 sets of Chaoyang Paper-Cutting works were edited into the books such as the Complete Works of Chinese Folk Fine Arts——Paper-cuts, Overview of Chinese folk auspicious arts and the Complete Works of Chaoyang Folk Fine arts, etc. In the year 1997, Chaoyang District was given the title of “Homeland for Folk Art in Guangdong Province” (paper-cuts) by the government of Guangdong Province. Now the major successors of the paper-cuts in Chaoyang District are Zhang Peilong, Cai Mingying and Li Chanxian. However, their average age is over 75. It is in urgent need for young people to take over the craft from the old professionals.
Chaozhou is a coastal port city in eastern Guangdong Province. Chaozhou Paper-Cutting is mainly distributed in the eastern part of Guangdong Province. It was popular in the Ming Dynasty, prosperous in the Qing Dynasty and came to its prime during the reign of Emperor Guangxu. Currently one remaining papter-cutting during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty named Bat (in the town of Simapu in Chaozhou) was made by brown silk thread in delicate manner, which illustrates that Chaozhou Paper-Cutting has already attained its high artistic level.
During the mid Qing Dynasty, building ancestral temples and shines became a common practice. At that time paper-cut was used as a decoration in various folk activities such as sacrifices, holiday celebrations, wedding ceremonies and funerals, etc. Monks and nuns also made paper-cuts to present the devotees as a gift. Thus Chaozhou Paper-Cutting gained instant popularity in the temple. Until the early 19th century, Chaozhou Paper-Cutting artists, students of the nuns such as Jiang Genhe, Li Mulin, Yang Xueyou, Luo Ruiyu, Gu Qiuquan and Xie Chuzhou, still took a leading role in the creative paper cutting. After the year 1962, fewer people chose to become monks and nuns. Thus Chaozhou Paper-Cutting lost its successors gradually.
The designs in Chaozhou Paper-Cuts include flowers and fruits, beasts, portraits and Chinese characters, etc. It is full of local cultural flavor. The style of the paper-cut varies with each individual artist. One may be of a delicate style, the other may be of a bold and uninhibited manner. In terms of the form, Chaozhou Paper-Cutting involves pure-color cutting, multi-color cutting, Yang engravings and Yin engravings. Chaozhou Paper-Cutting artists are good at cutting various decorative designs and patterns with three to five colored papers. For example, the artists use exaggerating cutting method to create vivid decorative images. One characteristic of the pure-color paper-cut is that the artists only depend on their memory and imagination to cut the pattern without a sample. Such a cutting method is creative enough to cut vivid shapes without repeating the old ones. As for the multicolor paper-cuts, the artists firstly cut different parts of the designed picture with colored papers, and then piece them together to complete the whole work.
One variety of Chaozhou Paper-Cutting is called Zanzhi, which is engraved by chisels on colored papers and gold foils according to the designed patterns. Zanzhi includes Chense Paper-Cutting and Xieliao Paper-Cutting. It needs to first engrave the contour profile on gold foils and black paper and then use color papers as the underlay for Chense Paper-Cutting. As for Xieliao Paper-Cutting, it needs to sketch the vivid framework of the design on pure-color paper or gold foils and then use colored drawings as the underlay. Colored Zanzhi in Loujin village of Raoping couty is most famous. Commonly referred to as Daqian, that kind of paper-cut is mainly used on occasions such as ancestral sacrifices, etc. The design of the paper-cut includes play figures, birds, insects and fishes, flowers, calligraphy and poems, etc.
Due to the dramatic change of people’s life style, Chaozhou Paper-Cutting is losing its living environment. Now the celebrated paper-cutting artists are less than 10 people, most of whom are in old age. Thus Chaozhou Paper-Cutting is facing the danger of losing successors. It is in urgent need to save and protect the traditional art.
Cantonese Paper-Cutting was selected into the list of the first batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
