The main material of paper-cutting is paper. Paper is one of China's four great inventions. It has always been recognized that papermaking was invented by Cai Lun around 105. Later, paper from the Western Han Dynasty was unearthed in Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province. Experts believe that paper appeared in China before Emperor Han Ping, probably during the period of Xuan Di (73 BC-49 BC). No matter what the final conclusion is, there will be no real paper-cutting before the invention of paper. However, other plates are used for cutting and carving, but before there is paper. In ancient times, human beings have discovered and used the artistic technique of taking images as image representation, and then created transparent artistic language carved on various materials. This is reflected in many primitive painted pottery rock paintings, Shang and Zhou bronzes and Han stone reliefs, and the perfection of ancient craftsmen's application of this artistic technique. Today's folk paper-cutting has obvious consistency with its modeling method and external characteristics, which fully shows the inheritance and continuation relationship between them.
"Han Fei played in front of the window with her baby in her arms, skillfully cutting tung leaves and shining them on the window screen." Cutting and carving with thin sheet materials existed before there was paper, such as gold and silver foil carving in Han Dynasty. However, paper-cutting in the exact sense is of course after the existence of paper. In ancient times, human beings have discovered and used the artistic technique of taking images as the image representation, and then created a transparent artistic language with lettering on various materials. This is reflected in many primitive painted pottery rock paintings, Shang and Zhou bronzes and Han stone reliefs, and the perfection of ancient craftsmen's application of this artistic technique. Today's folk paper-cutting has obvious consistency with its modeling method and external characteristics, which fully shows the inheritance and continuation relationship between them. In ancient times, human beings have discovered and used the artistic technique of taking images as image representation, and then created transparent artistic language carved on various materials. This is reflected in many primitive painted pottery rock paintings, Shang and Zhou bronzes and Han stone reliefs, and the perfection of ancient craftsmen's application of this artistic technique. Today's folk paper-cutting has obvious consistency with its modeling method and external characteristics, which fully shows the inheritance and continuation relationship between them.
"Han Fei played in front of the window with her baby in her arms, skillfully cutting tung leaves and shining them on the window screen." Cutting and carving with thin sheet materials existed before there was paper, such as gold and silver foil carving in Han Dynasty. But the exact meaning of paper-cutting is, of course, after paper. China is a country that invented paper, and began to make paper as early as the Western Han Dynasty. At this point, the convenient cutting and carving of paper has produced a paper-cutting art that meets the needs of folk customs. However, at present, the earliest paper-cut objects found are five paper-cuts with flowers in the Northern Dynasty (AD 386-58 1 year) unearthed near the Flame Mountain in Turpan, Xinjiang. These paper-cuts are very similar to today's folk group flower paper-cuts in the way of repeated folding and the way of images not covering each other.
Paper-cut objects after the Tang Dynasty are rare. There are skin-carved crown ornaments and missed prints as evidence. Industrial paper-cutting and paper-cutting used for craft decoration appeared in the Song Dynasty, and the common example is the paper-cutting pattern on the porcelain of Jizhou kiln in the Song Dynasty. In addition, the popular shadow play in Song Dynasty was also made of paper, which was called "paper window shadow". At present, there are still paper-cuts similar to the style of shadow play in some areas, which shows the mutual influence and convergence of these two similar art forms. Paper-cut works handed down from Ming and Qing Dynasties include embroidery patterns, fan decorations, window grilles and so on. And their styles tend to be exquisite and beautiful. Seeking elegance from vulgarity.
Because paper-cutting only exists to meet the needs of people's feelings and customs, its materials are not easy to preserve, and there are few works that truly represent the face of different historical periods. We might as well look for some clues from the records of ancient books and the poems of literati.
"Warm soup fills the foot, paper-cutting tells the soul"-Tang? Du Fu's Peng ADB
"Building gold is the best way to spread wisdom and customs, and ribbon-cutting is a golden wind for people"-Tang? Li Shangyin's People's Day
"wuyue practice king in the zodiac auspicious day ... hundreds of families outside the city. Instead of using Zhang Xuanjin, people cut people with colored paper-Wulin Fanshi of the Five Dynasties.
"In the old capital Tianjie, people cut all kinds of colors and patterns, which are very exquisite and arbitrary ... young experts cut words and flowers on their sleeves ...-A detailed explanation of Zhi Ya Tang Miscellanies"
"Jiajing made gauze lanterns and carved paper into flowers, bamboo and birds. With a light and thick cover color, the wax is melted and dyed, and a layer of light salt is sandwiched. The sun is shining, and Fang Fei dances in the light smoke, which is really indistinguishable. " -Ming "Suzhou government records"
"The barren woman, the daughter of Zhang Caigong, is smart in thinking, talking with people, finely cutting spring flowers and autumn chrysanthemums in her sleeves, weeping willows in fine grass, and losing her mind ..." —— Qing's "Baoding Mansion Records"
With the long-term stability of China's customs and customs and the cultural closure of many remote areas, some patterns of paper-cutting still maintain their original basic forms and spread credibly among the people. For example, the evocation paper-cutting in Baishui, Shaanxi Province mentioned in the fu-like poems still exists in a similar form.
Some people say that folk art is a living fossil of national culture, which makes sense. Due to the difference of regional cultural background and the relative stability of some genre works of folk paper-cutting, different levels of China ancient culture are still preserved in today's folk paper-cutting, from which we can appreciate the mystery of the initial stage, the grandeur of the rising stage and the charm of the mature stage of national art, and get historical enlightenment from the creation of laborers.
As a foil to folk customs, folk paper-cutting grows tenaciously in the folk alone, and continues to today's era, showing strong vitality. It is those skilled workers who live at the bottom of society whose ancestors have been writing silent movements in the history of national art.
Every art has its own unique artistic style. Because of the materials (paper) and tools (scissors and carving knives) used in paper cutting, paper cutting has its own artistic style. Paper-cut art is a kind of folk art that is easy to learn but difficult to master. Most of the authors come from rural women and folk artists. Because they take what they see and hear in real life as the theme, and observe things according to simple feelings and intuitive impressions, they have formed a special style of paper-cutting art, which embodies the unpretentious spirit of farmers.
Summarize past experience from the following aspects:
1. The line is connected, but the line is broken.
Because paper-cut works are cut out or carved out on paper, we should take the method of hollowing out. Because of hollowing out, paper-cuts with public lines must be connected with lines, and paper-cuts with bus lines must be disconnected with lines. If you cut off some lines, the whole paper-cut will be fragmented and deformed. Thus, there is a structure that does not fall or cut. This is an important feature of the art of paper-cutting, which pays great attention to lines, because the picture of paper-cutting is composed of lines. According to practical experience, the lines of paper-cutting can be summarized into five words: "round, sharp, square, missing and line". Requirements: "Round as autumn moon, sharp as wheat awn, square as blue brick, lacking as sawtooth, walking like beard." It can be said that lines are the basis of paper-cut modeling.
2. The patterning of composition modeling
Paper-cutting is different from other paintings in composition. "It is difficult to show the overlap of three-dimensional space, scene and image, and it often breaks through the proportion and perspective relationship between objects and images. The content is mainly based on the connection of images, and more combinations are used. Due to the exaggerated deformation in modeling, it can also use some laws of formal beauty of patterns to make symmetry, uniformity, balance, combination and continuity. It can arrange the sun, moon, stars, birds and clouds on the same picture, just like buildings, people and animals on the ground. Common ones are "layers of high bases" or "borrowing things for scenery".
3. The image is exaggerated, concise, beautiful and full of rhythm.
Due to the limitation of tools and materials, it is required that paper-cutting should not only grasp the characteristics of the object, but also link the lines with nature when processing images. Therefore, we can't adopt naturalistic realism. It is required to pay attention to the main part of the image and boldly give up the secondary part to make the main body clear at a glance. The figure should be prominent, forming a simple and generous aesthetic feeling, the posture of the object should be exaggerated, the action should be big, the posture should be beautiful, just like the appearance on the stage, full of rhythm.
4. Simple and bright colors
The color requirements of paper-cutting are simple and complicated, and less configuration of the same color, similar color and adjacent color. Seek harmony in contrasting colors. At the same time pay attention to the proportion of colors. If a main color is used to form the main color, the contrast of other colors will be weakened to varying degrees. Sometimes when the colors are juxtaposed and feel a little stiff, they are put in black respectively. In the main manuscript of the golden section, you can get a harmonious and lively feeling.
5. Knife should be "steady, accurate and skillful"
Many characteristics and styles of folk paper-cutting are due to certain knife skills, such as "Hundred Flowers Map" created by Zhang Yongshou, which is used in many places. For example, a chrysanthemum engraved with "arhat beard" is straight when it first opens and curled when it is in full bloom, forming a spiral circle. When cutting this kind of chrysanthemum, it needs to be cut from the inside out, and the petals can curl freely after cutting, so as to form a chrysanthemum with unique image and flavor.
If you carve a kind of chrysanthemum called "Egret Feather", because when it blooms, one petal is covered with another petal, and the other petal is hooked with another petal, you should use the "cutting method" to cut this chrysanthemum. The cut parts should be connected one by one, and the petals should follow one by one, so that the petals can vary in thickness and size, and the cut flowers can be as full and beautiful as the feathers of egrets.
When carving a large number of paper-cuts at the same time, in the use of knife method, whether it is cut or not, the cut paper-cuts should be thick. When using a knife, you must cut it up and down like a hacksaw in your hand, and the force should be rigid and even, otherwise the knife will lose its flexibility thousands of miles away. Be careful not to swing back and forth from left to right. Hold the knife vertically up and down, and the carved paper-cut will be accurate. When cutting paper, both cutting and lifting should be accurate, especially where the knives are connected. Just say it and you can cut it. Here we go. Otherwise, the lines are easily cut or torn by the knife.
"Qiao" here mainly refers to the "sawtooth" and "crescent" carved with a clever knife. These are two very important knife methods in paper cutting. If these two knife methods are used properly, the unique "knife-like paper feeling" of paper-cutting art can be formed.
Let's talk about the application of these two knife methods in detail.
"Sawtooth" is naturally produced by the author due to the cutting movement of paper and knife in the production process. It uses the ratio of length, density, straightness, rigidity and softness of sawtooth, and combines the characteristics of different objects to express its texture, sense of quantity and structure.
When carving plants, soft sawtooth patterns can show their flowers and fruits, while hard sawtooth patterns can show the needling and plush of leaves and stems of trees.
When carving animals, fine sawtooth patterns can show soft fluff, thick sawtooth patterns can show hard mane, and circular and semi-arc sawtooth patterns can show feathers and scales of birds, fish and insects.
When carving characters, we can use jumping sawtooth patterns to show moving eyebrows, beards and hair, and use slender and rich sawtooth patterns to show children's plump skin.
"Crescent Moon" is also a variety of arc-shaped decorations naturally produced in the process of cutting and carving. Gravure carving is the main way to show the lines of characters' clothes or destroy large black areas. According to the characteristics and shape of the same object, it can be long or short, wide or narrow, curved or straight, and can be changed into various types.
The two forms of "sawtooth" and "crescent" are often used alternately in different paper-cut pictures, making the levels more distinct and varied.
Sawtooth and crescent sprouted from the paper-cutting techniques of "Ma Dui Group Painting" and "Monkey Group Painting" in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. After a hundred years of historical evolution, they have continued to this day, becoming the law of decorative patterns that people love and use.
Besides "sawtooth" and "crescent", there are other forms of folk paper-cutting, such as flowers, vortex patterns, moire patterns and water patterns.
Pictures/me? tn = baiduimage & ampct=20 1326592。 lm=- 1。 cl = 2 & ampF4 % D6 % BD % D2 % D5 % CA % F5 & amp； t=3