Scissors paper the town a festive red
Print Edition
Ahead of the Spring Festival, Sun Jihai, 69, an expert with scissors, cut red paper decorations used by Chinese for festive occasions and gave them to people in the Jing’an Cultural Center.
“I didn’t charge them anything because what I wanted is just to share traditional culture,” he said. “People are easily attracted by giveaways. I like it when they stop to talk to me about the history of paper-cutting in China.”
His gesture was so popular that Sun barely had to take a break for a drink of water. People came to him asking for traditional cutouts, like the 12 Chinese zodiac animals.
Paper-cuts used to be ubiquitous in China. Patterns with auspicious meanings were cut from paper and hung on windows and doors during festivals and for special occasions like weddings. But the custom has faded in big cities in modern times.
To keep such cultural heritage alive in contemporary society, Sun has held a variety of events to teach people the ancient folk art. His “students” have included children and the elderly.
“It’s simple, and everyone can do it,” he said.
While Sun was working his magic in the Jing’an Cultural Center, a group of children nearby worked on modern interpretations of traditional paper-cuts. Their artwork included coloring in cutouts of local landmarks, such as Jing’an Temple and the Paramount dance hall.
“We want to perpetuate the charm of papercutting,” said center official Xu Qiyao. “We cut out the landmarks for the children to color in. We hope this instills pride in them for the district.”
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