The 2004 Chinese Paper-cutting Art Exposition, a component of the Seventh China Arts Festival, opened on September 14 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. It is the most distinctive paper-cutting expo ever held in the country since 1950, in terms of the number of varieties of paper-cutting works displayed. 

Paper-cutting was one of the five art forms that applied for being listed as an oral and intangible heritage in 2000. This wonderful folk art has a history of more than 700 years in China, with Wenzhou being one of its cradles.

Paper-cutting artists from China and abroad now gather in Wenzhou. The overseas participants include those from Germany, France, Japan and Australia.

Among the 500 pieces of artworks exhibited at the expo are all kinds of paper-cutting, including Chinese exquisite paper-cutting (or called thin line paper-cutting), colored paper-cutting, paper-tearing and three-dimensional paper-cutting. Many of them are shown to the public for the first time.

Chinese exquisite paper-cutting originated from Wenzhou. Different from the bold-styled paper-cutting of northern China – Wenzhou paper-cuttings are created with gravers instead of scissors. With unique techniques, artists can cut more than 50 thin lines within a square centimeter. The lines can be as thin as a hair and they often crisscross one another. Several Chinese exquisite paper-cutting art works created by folk artists from Wenzhou are shown at the expo. They well display the folklore and customs of the Wenzhou people too.

The paper-cutting of terracotta warriors and horses, 8.9 meters long and 0.4 meter wide, by Zhang Shuxian, vice chairman of the Chinese Paper-cutting Association, is the longest work in the exhibition.

Works of Ernst Moritz Engert, a paper-cutting master from Germany, occupy a conspicuous position at the expo. Most of them are created upon drama themes. The black cuttings affixed on white background look very elegant. Each of his works sells for 10,000 yuan (about US$1,207). Engert had his own paper-cutting museum in Germany, but this is the first time that he exhibits his works in China.

Chen Zhinong, the pioneer of modern Chinese paper-cutting, and Lin Ximing, a famous artist of paper-cutting and traditional Chinese painting, also participated in the exhibition. Chen was called "Cao Xueqin in Paper-cutting" (Cao was one of the most prominent Chinese writers and author of A Dream of Red Mansions) by Xu Beihong (one of China’s most famous contemporary painters). By having black paper-cuttings adhered on white background, he pursues in-depth contents in his creations. Playing Puppet and Selling Chinese Fiddles, Chen’s masterpieces, reflect farmers’ lives in the 1940s. The works of Lin, a native of Wenzhou, are more fashionable.

The paper-cutting art exposition will last till October 14.

(China.org.cn by Chen Lin, September 22, 2004)