Qilu Network And Lightning News, December 24, Li Wenling took out an ordinary-looking stationery scissors from her bag, took the red paper, and cut it up in a flowing manner. "Eyes must have curvature", "Add its mouth, it will smile", "Cut it some fur", and within a few minutes, four vividly shaped rabbits were neatly lying on the table.
Li Wenling, 69 years old this year, is a non-hereditary heir of folk paper-cutting in Shibei District, Qingdao City, and everyone affectionately calls her "paper-cutting" grandmother, and her curly hair is her signature feature. She has been cutting paper for more than sixty years since she picked up the scissors her grandmother gave her when she was six years old. Today, she is no longer the little girl who can't even hold scissors well, and often needs her grandmother to snore her mouth when she often pierces her fingers. With small scissors, she followed the Qingdao municipal government delegation out to Japan, Germany, France... Paper-cutting that spreads traditional Chinese culture across the ocean; paper-cutting with small scissors, at the scene of the Qingdao Summit organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, presents visitors with Qingdao landmark paper-cutting; with small scissors, carefully teaches in Qingdao folk museums, communities and schools, she said that paper-cutting has brought her endless joy.
Different from engraving paper, Li Wenling's paper-cutting technique is to put the knife straight, the paper does not need to draw lines in advance, all rely on the skillful use of scissors to reproduce the image seen in the mind. She can cut whatever she sees. There were no two identical cuts of paper in her hand, each of which was a new work. To do so, it will not be easy. First, it is necessary to rely on diligent practice to form muscle memory in the hands. She had filled a box with blunt scissors. In 2008, she spent a year creating a large paper-cut work of 21 meters long and 1.06 meters wide, "Olympic Road". In order to create this work, the scissors in her hand were sharpened by a full 1 millimeter. The second is to pay attention to details. Every knife down must have a rigorous consideration, whether it is straight and curved, whether it is a round or a corner, it is not a whim. Cutting out smart works all rely on deep and subtle skills. Third, we must be good at observation. Li Wenling preached that when observing, we must not only look at the pattern, but also look at the essence. Some works also need to be "anthropomorphic" processing. When observing and creating paper-cut works, we must pay attention to the grasping of "gods". Decades of observation and learning, experience accumulation, has made her today, a "paper-cutting art master". Nowadays, there are very few paper-cutting artists like her who can cut straight.
Li Wenling uses a small pair of scissors to cut out the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture, and also cut out the infinite excitement of her own life. Talking about cutting owls at the invitation of foreign friends in Germany, foreign friends were shocked; the paper-cutting courses offered at the school were loved by children, and she smiled happily. She said modestly: I am a paper-cut old lady, where I am needed, I will go wherever I am.
Correspondents Ma Yan and Liu Yihong reported from Qingdao