Paper cut (Miao paper cut)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: paper cut (Miao people's paper cut)

Applicant: Jianhe County, Guizhou Province

Project No.: 315

Project No.: Ⅶ - 16

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Guizhou Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Jianhe County, Guizhou Province

Protection unit: Jianhe County Cultural Center

Introduction to paper cutting (Miao people's paper cutting)

Applicant: Jianhe County, Guizhou Province

Miao paper-cut is commonly known as "Miao flower paper", "flower cutting" and "embroidery paper". Miao language is known as "xigeigang" and "xigeibang", and Chinese means "animal paper-cut" and "flower paper-cut". The Miao paper-cut in Jianhe County of Guizhou Province can be divided into two types: Gedong type, Xinmin type and Xinhe type. The composition of Gedong paper-cut is full with rich contents, and the patterns are mostly animals, flowers and characters, among which there are many images in myths and legends; the composition of Xinmin and Xinhe paper-cut is relatively flexible, and the patterns are mostly flowers, birds and butterflies in nature, with vivid and unusual shapes.

Miao paper-cut has a long history. There is a description of paper-cut in the section of "ancient Miao song · trekking mountains and rivers" sung by Miao people from generation to generation in Southeast Guizhou. It is a precious image material for studying the history and living habits of Miao people in the upper reaches of Qingshui River in Jianhe county. The description of double headed dragon, double headed bird, double headed snake, double headed dragon and so on is actually an extension of the ritual of "eating the dirty" of Miao people, which has high historical and ethnological research value.

Jianhe Miao paper-cut is the base and blueprint of Miao embroidery in Gedong, censong, Xinmin and Xinhe. After the second processing, its artistry has been enriched and extended in embroidery. In this sense, paper cutting is also an important part of Miao embroidery and clothing.

With the increasing number of local migrant women in Jianhe, the number of depicting and making Miao paper-cut is decreasing. Most of the older women stay at home to engage in paper-cut activities. Due to the progress of the times and the rapid development of science and technology, people can take a relatively simple way to copy embroidery patterns with a copier, and the role of paper-cut as a blueprint gradually declines. At the same time, the patterns of paper-cut have changed, and the cultural meaning of traditional patterns is being forgotten by the Miao people. Miao paper-cut has unknowingly fallen into a critical situation, which is in urgent need of protection and inheritance.