ChinesepapercuttingChinesepapercutting,orJianzhi,isakindoffolkartwhichusesscissorsorknivestocutpapersfordecorationorotherfolkactivities.HavingawidemassbaseinChina,papercuttinghasbeeninvolvedinthesociallifefordifferentpeoplesandhaspresentedmultiplesocialvaluesincognition,amusementandcommunicationetc.In2006,JianzhiwasenlistedintothefirstgroupofNationalIntangibleCulturalHeritagebytheStateCouncil,anditwaslistedintheUNESCOIntangibleCulturalHeritageListsin2009.Origin:Theartofpaper-cuttinginChinamaydatebacktothesecondcenturyC.E.,sincepaperwasinventedbyCaiintheEasternHanDynastyinChina.Aspaperbecamemoreaffordable,paper-cuttingbecameoneofthemostimportanttypesofChinesefolkart.Later,thisartformspreadtootherpartsoftheworld,withdifferentregionsadoptingtheirownculturalstyles.Becausethecut-outsareoftenusedtodecoratedoorsandwindows,theyaresometimesreferredtoaspaper-cutforwindow,windowflowersorwindowpaper-cuts.Peoplegluedthepapercutstotheexteriorofwindows,sothelightfromtheinsidewouldshinethroughthenegativespaceofthecutout.Usually,theartworksaremadeofredpaper,asredisassociatedwithfestivitiesandhappinessinChineseculture,butotherscoloredwerealsoused.Normallypaper-cuttingartworkisusedonfestivalslikeSpringFestival,weddingsandchildbirth.Papercutsalwayssymbolizeluckandhappiness.Chinesepaper-cuttingoriginatedfromancientactivitiesofworshippingancestorsandgods,andisatraditionalpartofChineseculture.Accordingtoarchaeologicalrecords,itoriginatesfromthe6thcentury,althoughsomebelievethatitshistorycouldbetracedasfarbackastheWarringStatesperiod(around3BC),longbeforethepaperwasinvented.Atthattime,peopleusedotherthinmaterials,likeleaves,silverfoil,silkandevenleather,tocarvehollowedpatterns.Later,whenpaperwasinvented,peoplerealizedthatthismaterialwaseasytocut,storeanddiscard,andpaperbecamethemajormaterialforthistypeofartwork.DuringtheMingandQingdynasties(1368–1912),thisartistrywitnesseditsmostprosperousperiod.Foroverathousandyears,people(mainlywomen)havebeenmakingpaper-cutsaspartaleisureactivity.Theycreateddifferenttypeofpaper-cuttingandsharedandpassedthistraditionalcraftsmanshiptotheirchildren,sothatthistraditionalartstylebecamemoreandmorepopularandisstillpracticedtothisday.Inancienttimes,humanbeingshavediscoveredandusedimagesasanartisticmethodofimagerepresentation,andthencreatedtheartisticlanguageofengravingandairthroughvariousmaterials.Thisisinmanyprimitivesocietycolorpotteryandrockpainting,ShangZhoubronzes,Handynastypicturestoneart,reflectedancientartificertousethisartistictechniqueconsummation.Today'sfolkpaper-cutsarestrikinglyconsistentwiththestyleandexteriorfeaturesofthepaper,whichfullyexplaintheinheritanceandcontinuityoftheirrelationship.TheChineseimperialconcubineholdingthebaby,playingwiththewindow,skillfullycuttingthePaulowniaLeavesaccordingtothewindowscreen.Usethinslicematerialtocutcarveflower,beforehavepaperalreadybelikeHandynastygoldandsilverfoilengravedflower.Buttheexactcut,ofcourse,isafterpaper.Ourcountryisthecountrythatinventedpaper,alreadybegantomakepaperinthewesternHandynasty.Atthispoint,theuseofpaperforcuttingoutthehollowoutperformanceinaccordancewiththepaper-cutartrequiredbythefolkcustomhasbeengeneratedamongthepeople.However,theearliestpapercutwasfoundinthenorthKoreanperiod(386A.D.581),whichwasunearthedneartheflamingmountainofTurpaninXinjiang.Thesepapercuts,thewayofrepeatedfoldingandthenon-occlusionoftheimage,areverysimilartotoday'sfolkpapercuttingpaper.Whenpaper-cuttingpasseddowntotheTangdynasty,theskillsofhandcraftbecamemature.Paper-cuttingwasnotonlyakindofhandcraft,butalsoapieceofartwork,asitcouldexpresstheideathroughthepattern.InMingandQingdynasty,paper-cuttingexperienceditspeakdevelopment.Folkpaper-cuttingspreadtoawiderrangeandhadabundantmeansofartisticexpression.Paper-cuttingwasusedtodecoratedoors,windowsandwallstoshowhappinessandfestival.Classification:Paper-cuttingisoneoftheoldestandthemostpopularfolkartsinChina.Itcanbegeographicallydividedintoasouthernandanorthernstyle.Thesouthernstyle,representedbyworksfromYangzhouinJiangsuProvinceandLeQinginZhejiangProvince,featuresingeniousandbeautifuldesigns,exquisitecarvingandinterestingshapes.Thenorthernstyle,mainlyfromYuXianandFengNinginHebeiProvinceandbestrepresentedbyworksfromnorthernShaanxi,featuresexaggeratedshapes,vigorousness,vividdepictionsanddiversepatterns.Thestyleofwindowpaper-cutsisusuallyfree,excepttheflowerpatternonthecorner.Thethemeofwindowpaper-cutshasawiderange,themostpopularofwhichisbasedonthestoriesoftraditionalChineseopera.Asmostbuyersarefarmers,thecontentofwindowpaper-cutusuallydescribefarming,spinning,fishingandpoultryfarming.1.Topatternclassification:papercuttingpatternsforpeople,animals,characters,with62,flowers,fruitsandvegetables,insects,landscapesandsoon,andproposedtheadditionoftheworld'srare,modernclasstwo,atotalof11categories.2.Category:Chinapaper-cutmeaningcharacteristics,theperformanceofthethemeimplies,sothebasisofmeaning,whichcanbedividedinto:blessing,cowardlyevil,evil,exhortation,warning,interestandothersevencategories.3.Touseclassification:som