CHINESE PAPER CUTTING
 
 
The art of paper cutting probably began with the invention of paper around 5 A.D. in China.

The art of paper cutting grew when the Chinese began to hang scrolls on their doors for the Chinese New Year. Various uses for paper cuttings were discovered as time passed.

The most popular use of paper cuttings were called "window flowers". Houses in China were made with windows of thin paper. Red paper cutouts were pasted on the windows, as well as walls and ceilings to give a look of color and lightness . These cutouts were later used to decorate gifts, candy containers, table services and tea sets. In one of their most important uses, paper cuts served as patterns for embroidery.
 These cutouts came in a wide variety of subject matter such as flowers, dragons, gods and fierce animals. The color of red is symbolic of good fortune and the paper cuttings were usually done on red paper. The paper cuttings themselves depended upon the occasion such as the gods for New Year's, pine trees and cranes for birthdays which are symbols of long life, and folklore for harvest festivals.

Today, paper cutting is a highly technical art form requiring creativity, skill and experience. No matter how simple or complex, every design must be formed as an unbroken, continuous piece.

There are two common methods for paper cutting scissors or knives.

The system used by Chinese paper cutters with scissors is used nowhere else. A continuous line is formed in and around the paper. Interior features are reached by cutting to reach the area and then cutting away a circle into whatever shape is desired.

The second way is to use knives. Several layers of paper can be cut at once producing considerably more paper cuts in one operation than with scissor cutting

Paper cutting is not an exclusive art of the Chinese. The Japanese are traditionally known for family crests; the Germans and Italians for cutting realistic silhouettes and scenes usually on black paper - only the Chinese produce full detailed pictures.
 
***Excerpts and special thanks to FLORENCE TEMPKO, author of Paper Cutting and MARIETTE PAN’S article on” The Artistic Challenge of Chinese Paper Cutting”.