The picture shows Jiang Wenying showing the Miao paper-cutting skills. Photo by Wu Changlian
(New Year to the grassroots) Guizhou Miao people cut paper to welcome the "Li Chun" skillful hand to cut out happiness
Zhongxin Network Guizhou Jianhe February 4 Title: Guizhou Miao people cut paper to welcome "Li Chun" skillfully cut out happiness
Author Wu Changlian Wu Ling Zhou Yanling
On February 4, the 24th solar term of the Chinese lunar calendar, Jiang Wenying, the representative inheritor of the Miao paper-cutting China National Intangible Cultural Heritage Project, wears glasses and holds scissors and flexibly flips on a stack of red paper, and the patterns of flowers, plants, birds and animals jump on the paper, square inches, showing the charm of intangible cultural heritage.
Miao paper-cutting is commonly known as "Miao flower paper" and "flower-cutting", its pattern is mainly based on animals, flowers and figures, the composition is full, the shape is vivid, and it is mostly used as the embroidery base sample and blueprint of the Miao people in Jianhe County, Guizhou Province.
"Paper-cutting was handed down from ancestor to generation, and the rule at that time was that women did not pass on to men, and my grandmother and mother were skilled in this craft." Jiang Wenying, who has been with paper-cutting for more than 30 years, said that in 2017, he was invited to Taiwan to promote Miao paper-cutting.
Jiang Wenying's "Happy Tiger" paper-cut work. Photo by Wu Changlian
In order to welcome the New Year of the Tiger, Jiang Wenying had the idea of integrating tiger elements with Hmong paper-cutting art very early on to create a series of paper-cut works with the theme of the Year of the Tiger. After thousands of times of cutting by Jiang Wenying, a series of festive and peaceful, flexible and cute tiger-shaped paper-cuts suddenly appeared, showing the charm of traditional culture and highlighting the strong flavor of the Year.
"The works are called 'auspicious tiger' and 'chicken tail tiger', and the butterflies around the tiger totem are the harmonic sounds of our happy life at the moment, and this circle represents the unity of all nationalities." Jiang Wenying pointed to the Miao paper cut in his hand and introduced it happily.
Jianhe Miao paper-cutting, Miao embroidery and other skills have a long history, craftsmen in a drawing, a cut, a needle and a thread, with the skills learned from their ancestors to connect the ancient and modern, can be compared to record the history of the Miao people and the local people's living customs and habits of the "wordless epic".
The picture shows the tiger element on the Hmong costume. Photo by Wu Ling
"Miao paper-cutting is a craft handed down from generation to generation, and I want to continue to pass on this cause and drive more Miao sisters to get rich and increase their income." Jiang Wenying said with a smile that after the skillful processing of the embroidery lady, the Miao paper-cutting has been enriched and extended in the Miao embroidery.
Jiang Wenying also established the Jianhe County Miao Paper-cutting Art Garden, joined hands with more than 40 embroidery girls to start a business, and currently led to the employment of more than 200 local people, and the products have been sold to the United States, Britain, Italy and other places.
"As soon as the order came, I first cut out the pattern sample and then handed it to the embroidery lady to embroider as it was." Jiang Wenying said that in addition to Miao paper-cutting, tiger-shaped totems are often integrated into the embroidery of Miao children's costumes, taking the meaning of tigers shaking in all directions and protecting children's safety and health.
Tiger pattern on Hmong costumes. Photo by Wu Changlian
In addition to receiving orders, Jiang Wenying and embroidery ladies will also put their products in the market to sell, and even take them to participate in various exhibition activities, "The biggest wish is to drive more rural embroidery girls and transform their fingertip skills into a fingertip economy." ”
Speaking of the future, Jiang Wenying hopes to rely on China's national intangible cultural heritage Miao paper-cutting institute to pass on the Miao paper-cutting skills from generation to generation, and with the blessing of the exquisite skills of the embroidery ladies, the splendid cause of splendid embroidery will add wings to the tiger and embroider a happy life with a pair of skillful hands. (End)