Artistic career on the first floor of the building

Speaking of Hangzhou Tonglu paper-cutting, an indispensable Tonglu paper-cutting figure is the teacher on the first floor of the building. He is the "Bole" of Tonglu folk paper-cutting art, and he has made every effort to make the originally unknown Tonglu paper-cutting cause carry forward and be recognized by the world.

For more than 40 years, the first floor of the building has never stopped the protection and inheritance of Tonglu paper-cutting art, regarding it as a lifelong pursuit and career, insisting on research and continuous innovation, and drumming and shouting for the inheritance and development of paper-cutting art. In 2003, Tonglu was named "the hometown of Chinese folk art (paper-cutting)" by the Ministry of Culture. The first floor of the building was also awarded the titles of the county's first "Virtue and Art Shuangxin" worker and the first "Outstanding Contribution Award for Literature and Art". After his retirement, he did not stick to the art of paper-cutting, and devoted his energy to more folk art and composed a wonderful artistic life.

(i)

In 1940, Lou Yifa was born in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, and in his upbringing, his father was a "guide". Although his father had only studied for two and a half years, he was talented, intelligent and studious, and highly respected by his neighbors. Under the influence of his father and his eldest brother who is a teacher, Lou Yifan has loved folk arts such as painting and calligraphy since he was a child.

In 1959, after graduating from Yiwu Normal School, the first floor of the building was assigned to Tonglu to teach together with 30 graduates of the same class. In the following 20 years, the first floor of the building successively worked in Tonglu Fangbu Wushan Primary School, Hengcun Commune Primary School, Hengcun Commune Middle School, and Jiuxian Middle School.

"The connection with culture began when I was teaching at Wushan Primary School, when I was still single, I often went to Tianmu Creek to play in my free time, observed the fish swimming around in the stream, and liked it very much, so I tried to paint some Chinese paintings such as "Fish Xiang Shallow Bottom", "Mao Zedong Poetry" and "Xiaoshitang", etc., I did not expect that these Chinese paintings were sent to the county cultural center for exhibition, and were unanimously praised by my peers." The first floor of the building is still fresh in my memory, and there is a light in my eyes.

Later, the work became busier and busier, and Teacher Lou's free time became less and less. However, as long as he received a painting invitation from the Tonglu County Cultural Center, he tried his best to squeeze out time to create and send exhibitions, thus becoming related to cultural undertakings.

"Tonglu Mountains and rivers are beautiful, and the culture is profound, and I like it here." In 1969, the first floor of the building had the opportunity to return to Yiwu, and the other teachers who came with him at that time chose to return to Yiwu to teach, but he chose to stay in Tonglu to teach.

In view of the needs of Tonglu cultural undertakings, in 1984, the first floor of the building was transferred to the secretary and director of the Tonglu County Cultural Center. From the three-foot podium to the literary and art stage, in addition to long-term involvement in grass-roots cultural leadership work and participation in the organization of literary and artistic activities, Teacher Lou also insists on participating in artistic creation and theoretical research activities, of which more is to inherit and develop Tonglu folk paper-cutting art, which has been done for nearly 30 years.

"Tonglu paper-cutting has a long history, although there is no specific written record, but it flourished between the Ming and Qing dynasties, and became a carrier of Tonglu folk customs and activities." Teacher Lou told reporters, "Like many traditional folk arts, Tonglu paper-cutting is closely related to folk life. With the passage of time, the development of productive forces, and the renewal of people's lifestyles and concepts, Tonglu paper-cutting is also facing the dilemma of being on the verge of being lost, and it is gradually declining. ”

In 1988, by chance, Lou Yi and his colleagues found that Hu Jiazhi, an old man from Tonglu who settled in Nanjing, was actually a paper-cutting artist, "Although the old man Hu Jiazhi has lived in Nanjing for a long time, the landscape and water of Tonglu have always haunted her mind. Especially when she is too old to set foot on the land of her hometown again, inheriting paper-cutting has become the best carrier for her to express her thoughts and gratitude for her hometown; it is also through paper-cutting that she is still making her own contribution to the cultural development of her hometown. "The first floor of the building is indicated.

When it was learned that the publication plan of the old man Hu Jiazhi's Xihua paper-cut collection was stranded in the publishing house due to lack of funds, the first floor of the building was extremely anxious. "The art of paper-cutting is Tonglu's cultural heritage, and it would be a pity if this treasure is unknown in the 'deep boudoir' because of financial problems." Therefore, under his "matchmaking" and through the funding of the hometown government, the "Hu Jiazhi Xihua Paper-cutting Collection" on the eve of the National Day of the following year was successfully launched.

"A stone stirs up a thousand layers of waves", I did not expect that this incident activated the enthusiasm of Tonglu folk paper-cutting that had been silent for many years. On the occasion of national day in 1989, Hu Jiazhi's eldest son sent 500 copies of "Hu Jiazhi Xihua Paper-cut Collection" and audio-visual information as a congratulatory gift to his hometown, and showed some of her original paper-cut works. This has a great influence on paper-cutting enthusiasts in Tonglu County, who have sent their works to the county cultural center for display. "Recalling the past, the first floor of the building has a lot of emotions. Taking this as an opportunity, the Tonglu County Cultural Center took this as a key project development under the leadership of the first floor of the building, thus opening the prelude to the rescue, protection and development of Tonglu folk paper-cutting art.

In order to inherit the paper-cutting skills, since 1991, more than 30 sessions of paper-cutting training have been organized on the first floor of the building, and nearly 1,000 people have participated in the study. Created by him, Xie Yuxia's mother and daughter "knifed" 20-meter paper-cut long scroll "Towel Style" appeared at the World Women's Congress held in Beijing in 1995, which opened the eyes of international women representatives and directly praised the exquisite beauty of Tonglu paper-cutting.

He has successively sorted out the declaration materials of the provincial and national "folk art "paper-cutting" hometown", and has made several efforts to declare success under the attention of the competent unit. In 1998, Tonglu was named "the hometown of Zhejiang folk art (paper-cutting)" by the Provincial Department of Culture. In 2003, Tonglu was named "the hometown of Chinese folk art (paper-cutting)" by the Ministry of Culture.

In order to continuously promote the inheritance and innovation of Tonglu paper-cutting, he also planned to establish the Tonglu Folk Paper-cutting Research Association, established 9 paper-cutting development bases in primary and secondary schools in the county, and later helped establish the Old Cadres Paper-cutting Association. In 2004, he participated in the planning of the "Shenzhou Charm" National Paper-cutting Competition, and served as a judge for many competitions...

The list of things that have been done on the first floor of the building for Tonglu paper cuts is endless. Under his efforts, Tonglu paper-cutting has moved from a niche to the public's vision, and has embarked on the international stage, transforming from an ordinary folk culture into a palace art.

(ii)

The first half of the life on the first floor of the building is inextricably linked to paper-cutting. After retiring in 2001, he was still busy with paper-cutting activities and research, while gradually regaining more hobbies.

Freehand painting, calligraphy, photography, playing the flute... The first floor of the building uses free time to play their artistic specialties. He has a wide range of hobbies and believes that mass cultural cadres need to be able to achieve a specialty and a multi-functional one.

Influenced by the atmosphere of family art since childhood, the first floor of the building can write and paint, and can also play the flute. In 2008, seven or eight students from the erhu class of the university for the elderly formed an erhu performance team, hoping that the first floor of the building could make up for the "absence" of the flute and change the way the erhu played. "I haven't practiced for decades, can I still do it?" With the attitude of trying it out, a folk band was added to the first floor of the building.

Therefore, folk music lovers with the same interests formed the Sunset Red Folk Band together. They purchased their own instruments such as Zhonghu, Yangqin, Cello, and Gong Na, expanding the repertoire and scope of performances. They do regular activities every week, "it's thunderous." The first floor of the building said that the average age of the band members is over 70 years old, but they are very good at learning. Search the Internet for materials, arrange music, record, and everyone can show their talents.

In the accumulated years of practice and performance, they can cope with it freely from the same score to the score ensemble, from one tune to one tune and one tune, and a series of songs such as "Spring", "Jiangnan Spring Morning", "Galloping on the Socialist Avenue" and so on have turned into pleasant notes under the blessing of silk bamboo instruments. They also actively participated in social and public cultural services, and were invited to perform in Hangzhou Yingchun Community, Shima Community, Zhongshan Township, Fengchuan Street, Welfare Institute and other places, and also went to theaters and central squares to participate in public performances. In a literary and art performance of the Hangzhou Elderly Culture and Art Festival, a song "Mercedes-Benz on the Socialist Avenue" adapted by him won the silver medal with a high score of 9.79 points. "In the performance of different repertoire, everyone uses their brains to try to express joy and sorrow, is this not to 'recharge' themselves?" The first floor of the building said with a smile.

A variety of interests and hobbies add a different kind of excitement to the retirement life on the first floor of the building. Among them, the whole thing is painting. His paintings are mainly freehand and he is good at depicting fish and crab flowers. The swimming fish in the Fuchun River, the plum blossoms in winter, and the lotus flowers in summer were all painted by him. The fish are agile, the plum blossoms are awe-inspiring, the lotus flowers are full of lotuses, and the bits and pieces of life become works of art in his subtle observations. Interesting works are given a soul, allowing people to cultivate their emotions and enjoy their beauty.

He also actively participated in various painting exhibitions, such as "Fuchun Fish Music Map", "Nian Nian Yu Yu", "Water Clear Fish More Happy" and many other works have been exhibited, awarded or edited in provincial, municipal and county competitions.

"Conveying friendship through calligraphy and painting, beautifying others, and entertaining yourself is an inexhaustible enjoyment of beauty." The first floor of the building said.

Most of the life on the first floor of the building has a constant fate with paper cutting. Promoting paper-cutting techniques, collecting paper-cutting historical materials, and publishing books on paper-cutting have made him inextricably linked to paper-cutting. He made friends with artists, treated them sincerely, and was willing to support red flowers for green leaves. At the same time, he also practices paper-cutting creation, including traditional paper-cutting with good wishes such as "all the best" and "life expectancy", as well as innovative paper-cutting that combines his own design ideas. He used his painting skills in paper-cut design, combining lotus flowers and crabs into paper-cuts, using harmonic sounds to create "lotus (and) crab (harmonic)" paper-cut flower; he imitated the art of wood carving window flowers, creatively cut out window flowers as large as glass doors, pasted on the glass doors, like a carved arch, placed in the sun on the ground and projected with window patterns.

The first floor of the building, which is already old, is still full of spirits and walking like a fly. He often accompanied his family to the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, and at the same time added the art hobby of photography. The streets and alleys of Tonglu, and the scenic spots everywhere, are all frozen in his camera into beautiful pictures.

"I have a wide range of hobbies and a happy mood, and this is my best 'health secret'." The first floor of the building is indicated.