Lucky Motifs in Chinese Folk Art: Interpreting Paper-cut from Chinese Shaanxi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2013.1.2.125-143Keywords:
Paper-cut, Shaanxi, lucky motifs, cultural heritageAbstract
Paper-cut is not simply a form of traditional Chinese folk art. Lucky motifs developed in paper-cut certainly acquired profound cultural connotations. As paper-cut is a time-honoured skill across the nation, interpreting those motifs requires cultural receptiveness and anthropological sensitivity. The author of this article analyzes examples of paper-cut from Northern Shaanxi, China, to identify the cohesive motifs and explore the auspiciousness of the specific concepts of Fu, Lu, Shou, Xi. The paper-cut of Northern Shaanxi is an ideal representative of the craft as a whole because of the relative stability of this region in history, in terms of both art and culture. Furthermore, its straightforward style provides a clear demonstration of motifs regarding folk understanding of expectations for life.
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References
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Lu, Zhaolin 盧照鄰. 1979. Youyou Ziji 幽憂子集 (Collected Works of YouYuzi). Sibu Congkan Zhengbian Collection 四部叢刊正編. Taibei: Commercial Press of Taiwan.
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Zhu, Qianzhi 朱謙之. 2009. Xin Jiben Huantan Xinlun 新輯本桓譚新論 (New Edition of Huantan’s New Statement). Vol. 11. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju.
Zhu, Zuyi 朱祖義. 1986. Shangshu Jujie 尚書句解 (Collected Interpretation of Shangshu). Vol. 7. Taibei: Commercial Press of Taiwan.
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Published
29.11.2013
How to Cite
WANG, X. (2013). Lucky Motifs in Chinese Folk Art: Interpreting Paper-cut from Chinese Shaanxi. Asian Studies, 1(2), 125–143. https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2013.1.2.125-143
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Literature and Art
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