Tiger Crouch, Tiger Run, Tiger Leap, Tiger Stand... On a long scroll of 27 meters and 16 centimeters in width, there are 100 paper-cut tigers with different shapes, which is the hundred tigers created by Jilin paper-cutting artist Li Xia for the New Year of the Tiger, in order to create tigers with different looks, Li Xia has gone to the zoo dozens of times to observe tigers, and the whole work took nearly a year. From the earliest Hundred Dragon Diagram and Hundred Snake Diagram to this year's Hundred Tiger Diagram, Li Xia has created a hundred zodiac diagrams for 11 consecutive years. On the 30th, Li Xia told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that she plans to collect a set of 12 zodiac signs and a total of 1200 paper-cut works to hold a zodiac exhibition after the creation of the "Hundred Rabbit Map" next year to inherit traditional Chinese culture.
Paper-cutting artists make 100 tiger figures to celebrate the New Year of the Tiger for 11 consecutive years
The 66-year-old Li Xia is a paper-cutting artist in Jilin Province, a representative inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Jilin Province, and the inheritor of Manchu folk customs of the Huang clan in Jilin Ula. Since watching her grandmother cut paper at the age of 2 or 3, Li Xia has been creating paper cut works for more than 60 years, and she has insisted on the plan of creating a hundred zodiac diagrams every year for 11 years.
Li Xia told the Beiqing Daily reporter that in previous years, she would also cut some paper cuts with zodiac patterns to give to relatives and friends, but the number was not much. When the Year of the Dragon was approaching in 2012, she had the idea of creating a hundred zodiac patterns for the first time, "Chinese is a descendant of the dragon and worships the dragon, so I had this idea when the Year of the Dragon came." "Dragons are Chinese imaginary animals, and Li Xia created 100 dragon paper cuts with different forms according to his imagination.
Different from the paper-cutting skills in other areas, Li Xia told the Beiqing Daily reporter that the image of the Manchu folk paper-cutting she inherited from the Ula Huang clan is relatively simple, as practical and simple as the black land under the feet, less fancy decoration, and the theme of paper-cutting is relatively strong. In addition to the paper-cutting skills of Jilin characteristics, the paper selected by Li Xia is also the local characteristics of Jilin wool paper, and now this kind of paper is difficult to find in the market, "I purchased a batch of woolen paper in order to create this work, in addition to paper-cutting, this work paper is also more precious." Li Xia said.
In order to reproduce the tiger form, he went to the zoo many times for field observation
Since then, this idea has been continued by her, creating a hundred zodiac patterns every year. Except for dragons, the other zodiac signs are real-life animals, and in order to create richer animal forms, she often observes animals in the field. In the Year of the Pig, she went to the countryside and went to the villagers' homes to observe the movements of the pigs. This year, in the Year of the Tiger, she went to zoos such as Changchun Tiger Forest Park and Jilin Jiangnan Park to observe tigers, often sitting at the edge of the cage for most of the day. "I go to the zoo when I'm not inspired, and I probably go 10 times a year."
"Tigers are lazy animals, they don't like to move, and it's more difficult to catch their looks." Li Xia observed the tigers in the zoo, wrote down the appearance of them getting up, walking, and climbing, and then went back to secondary processing according to the observation image plus some imagination, and then cut it after drawing the shape. Because each form of a hundred tigers is different, after drawing the shape, Li Xia wants to compare all the tiger images one by one and pick out the similar shapes. "Selection is more tiring than creation, and you need to sift through and stereotype multiple times." Every year when creating, Li Xia will make 130 to 140, and select the most satisfactory 100 to make the zodiac map of the year, which often takes her nearly a year.
In addition to going to the zoo, Li Xia will also go to the library to check the materials, flip through the tiger-related rubbings, learn how the ancients portrayed the tiger, and then create a paper-cut pattern himself. "I myself prefer stone carvings, and I have made a unified style similar to stone carvings in these zodiac paper cuts."
Some people were willing to bid for a collection but were rejected and wanted to collect 12 zodiac signs and do an exhibition to inherit Chinese culture
Due to her advanced age, Li Xia did not have easy to create these paper cuts, and sometimes felt inadequate, but she still insisted on it for 11 years. She told the Beiqing Daily reporter that in recent years, some people have also wanted to pay for the acquisition of zodiac figures, but they have all been rejected by her. Every year, Li Xia will make two zodiac diagrams, which are now kept in her home, and when the creation of the Year of the Rabbit Zodiac is completed, she hopes to donate these 12 zodiac diagrams to the archives or exhibition halls to hold a paper-cut exhibition of the zodiac. "The Zodiac is a characteristic of the Chinese nation, and it is hoped that it will be inherited through the form of exhibitions."
As the inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, Li Xia has also actively inherited the art of paper-cutting in recent years. Li Xia often walked into the school to introduce the paper-cutting culture to the students, and she also took 18 apprentices to teach them the art of paper-cutting. Li Xia said that when she was young, paper-cutting was very popular in the local area, and every Spring Festival, every household would cut paper and paste window flowers, and since then this custom has declined for a time, and many young people can no longer cut paper. After nearly 20 years of non-genetic inheritance, Li Xia obviously feels that this traditional culture has become popular again, whether it is urban or rural, many families have picked up scissors again and cut out the blessings of the New Year.
(Beijing Youth Daily reporter Zhang Yuehao)
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