Chinese papercut, as a traditional folk art, can be traced back to the Northern Dynasty. Chinese papercuts are rich in content and design, from animal to human beings, from flowers to worms, all of which can become the theme of papercuts.  

In the vast Chinese countryside, many art forms have been created and appreciated by the folk people. The art of the paper cut is one of them. Chinese rural women, from teenage girls to white-haired grandmothers, cut papers with scissors into various designs, making papercut works of great interest.

Papercuts are used as decorations on walls, doors, roofs, lanterns and at weddings and funerals. Because papercuts are a Chinese folk art, they have close links with traditional Chinese festivals and Customs in the rural areas. For instance, window, door and lantern papercuts are put up during Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival. At Spring Festival, farmers usually stick white paper on the windows of their houses and then paste green and red papercuts on them; hanging papercuts are stuck to doors and roofs. On the evening of the Lantern Festival, papercuts are pasted onto lanterns to add to the festive atmosphere. To celebrate a new marriage, papercuts are put on the furniture, daily utensils and many places in the wedding chamber. They are also pasted in rooms to celebrate birthdays and to commemorate the dead at funerals. Generally speaking, papercuts are pasted in courtyards, rooms and on everyday goods to decorate the domestic environment and to add a cheerful atmosphere.

There are some special papercuts of traditional designs. These are used as the patterns for embroidery on clothes, shoes, hats, pillows, bed curtains and door Curtains. The cutter first cuts the outline of the pattern, then sews it onto another piece of paper. The paper is then charred by a lamp or candle and the sewn pattern outline removed. Thus the original design is saved to provide the pattern for embroidery. In this way traditional patterns have been handed on from generation to generation.

Chinese papercuts are rich in content. The auspicious designs symbolize good luck and the avoidance of evil. The child, lotus and bottle gourd designs indicate a family with large number of children and grandchildren. Domestic birds, livestock, fruits, fish and worms are also familiar objects depicted by Chinese farmers. Papercuts made in different areas have different characteristics. The Shaanxi window papercuts are simple and bold. The Wei County papercuts from Hebei Province and the Guangling papercuts from Shanxi Province are applied with colors and portray many opera figures. The Nanjing papercuts of Jiangsu Province are simple, robust and skillful. The Yixing papercuts of Jiangxi Province are magnificent and neat The Nantong papercuts of Jiangsu Province are delicate and beautiful. The Foshan papercuts of Guangdong Province are colorful and decorative and utilize varied production skills. And the Gaomi papercuts of Shandong Province are delicate and fine.

Papercut works have been found in many Chinese relics, and the art form's history can be traced back about 1,500 years to the Northern Dynasties (386-581). Though they require very simple making skills, their contents are rich and reveal many local Chinese customs. Papercuts typically demonstrate the preferred aesthetics of shape and the artistic concepts behind Chinese folk handicrafts. An understanding and scrutiny of papercuts is a good beginning to get to know and appreciate the complexity of Chinese folk arts.

 (Editor: Li Guixiang)