Artist carves out his own world in paper cutting
Print Edition
With a small knife and a piece of red paper, Zhu Jinhui cuts and carves out his own realm. The 80-year-old paper-cut artist, who suffers from a paralyzed right hand, can conjure up anything 鈥 chubby dogs, landscapes and people鈥檚 portraits 鈥 with his still nimble left hand.
鈥淎s it鈥檚 the Year of the Dog, I鈥檝e sent more than 100 paper-cut dogs so far to my friends and neighbors,鈥 the Songjiang native says with a smile. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a small New Year gift for them.鈥
Zhu鈥檚 paper-cutting skills have made him something of a celebrity in his neighborhood, and his decorations are indispensable to local wedding celebrations, festival feasts and dinner parties.
It also has been an annual routine that Zhu would cut some auspicious animals and the Chinese character xi (happiness) before every Spring Festival and send them to friends and neighbors.
There is nothing Zhu can鈥檛 cut 鈥 flowers, bamboo, animals, portraits and personal silhouettes.
Patterns of water lilies and mandarin ducks, two emblems for a happy marriage and true love, are always used at wedding parties. Red-crowned cranes and chrysanthemums express wishes for longevity and are often presented to elders.
Fish and sheaves of grain, symbolizing a prosperous new year, are pasted on front doors during the Lunar New Year festival. Five bats are auspicious, meaning five blessings of wealth, kindness, inner peace, long life and a natural death.
鈥淢y neighbors and fellow villagers often ask me to cut for them and I鈥檓 so happy that they like my works,鈥 Zhu says. 鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 just a little favor.鈥
Developing a new hobby
In 2004, Zhu found something wrong with his right hand. It lost strength and kept shaking. What was worse, he couldn鈥檛 hold a pen to write or a spoon to eat. However, he was undaunted. 鈥淚f I lost my right hand, I still have the left one,鈥 he says.
Zhu started to practice eating, writing and painting with his left hand, and soon he could use it as well as his right used to be. In 2007, he started paper cutting, which includes the skills of tearing, burning, knife carving and scissor cutting.
As he has only one functional hand, Zhu uses a knife to carve most of the time. It鈥檚 still not an easy job. He needs to make a sketch first and then it can be carved little by little. The sketch should be delicately designed and the cuts need to be clean and neat.
Some easy patterns take only a few minutes, while big projects require days.
Take the dog for example. Zhu first designed a total of 11 dogs of different breeds, poses and expressions. It took about six hours to sketch one dog and another five hours to carve.
Zhu began to prepare for the Year of the Dog last September. 鈥淚鈥檓 80 years old in the Year of the Dog, so it鈥檚 also a gift for myself,鈥 he says.
Zhu developed his own way of carving and adapted knives and other implements for his left hand.
He needs a pen or pencil to sketch, a ruler and paper clips to fasten multiple layers together while he cuts. He chooses his paper carefully 鈥 thick, thin, red (for festivals), color-fast or easily faded. Some are sprayed with gold powder.
Zhu鈥檚 eyesight isn鈥檛 what it was and he must wear glasses to work at night. 鈥淏ut my left hand is still powerful and steady,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 tremble when it comes to cutting the details.鈥
One of his notable creations, and one of which he is very proud of, is a series of scenes of Songjiang鈥檚 famous sites, such as the Zuibai Pond Park, Fangta Tower Park and Xilin Buddhism Temple. From first sketch to final cut, it took several weeks, working day and night with scarcely any rest 鈥 he wanted to maintain his momentum.
鈥淪ongjiang is my hometown, and it has so many beautiful landscapes and tourism attractions. I would carve the site out each time I take a visit,鈥 Zhu says. 鈥淚n future I鈥檓 going to travel more and capture the beauty of Songjiang with my knife, if my health condition allows.鈥
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