外國(guó)人最想和你聊的文化話題：剪紙藝術(shù)

　Realize Artistic Paper Cutting　認(rèn)識(shí)剪紙藝術(shù)
     1　剪紙的簡(jiǎn)介
     The folk art of paper cutting in China is a national quintessence just as the traditional paintings, calligraphy and Peking Opera. It is also a precious non-material cultural heritage the Chinese ancestors have left to the people of the world. Paper cutting can be seen in many parts of China during the Spring Festival. People paste patterns on windows, door lintels or desks for festival atmosphere.
     It's difficult to tell when it originated. One saying is that it originated from some religious ceremony of offering sacrifices. Ancient people cut papers into the shapes of animals or people, then they either buried them with the dead or burned them on the funerals, wishing those things that paper stand for could be with the dead. A thousand years ago, paper cutting was used for decoration. According to historic books, women in Tang Dynasty used paper cutting as headdress. In Song Dynasty, it was the decoration of gifts. People use them as decorations on walls, mirrors or lanterns. Some people made a living by it.
     To the author, the folk paper cutting work is not just a folk art form or a "handicraft", but a means that expresses the inner self of the author through the art of paper cutting. To master this, it requires skillful application of the laws that govern the matching of scissors and paper through years of practice by author. It also requires an in-depth accumulation of his or her observation of various objects in nature and a thorough understanding of life.
     As a main form of folk arts, Chinese paper cutting has a long history. But nowadays under the impact of commodity economy and modern ideas, great changes have taken place in cultural psychology and standards of beauty appreciation, and all folk arts, including paper cutting, are facing serious challenges.
     2　剪紙的做法及種類
     （1）剪紙的做法
     Paper cutting is all made by hand. It is easy to learn the rudiments. Non-craftsmen need only a knife and paper. For craftsmen, they need knives and gravers of various types to make complicated patterns. It can be one piece of paper or many pieces. Simple patterns can be cut with a knife. For complicated patterns, people first pasted the pattern on the paper and then use various kinds of knives to make it. No mistake can be made during the process otherwise the work would fail.
     Yinke　　　　 陰刻
     Yangke　　　　陽(yáng)刻
     Yinyangke　　 陰陽(yáng)刻
     （2）剪紙的種類
     Paper cutting covers nearly all topics, such as flowers, birds, animals, legendary people, figures in classic novels, types of facial make-up in Peking opera. Paper cutting has various styles in different parts of China.
     Decoration　　　　　　　　裝飾類
     Chirotype　　　　　　　　　稿模類
     Custom and superstition 　 俗信類
     Design　　　　　　　　　　 設(shè)計(jì)類
     傳統(tǒng)民間剪紙藝術(shù)在自己的產(chǎn)生發(fā)展過(guò)程中形成了自身一些固定的表達(dá)方式，利用剪紙藝術(shù)的特點(diǎn)使現(xiàn)代設(shè)計(jì)能夠建立在傳統(tǒng)文化的脈絡(luò)上。將中國(guó)民間傳統(tǒng)的剪紙藝術(shù)與不同的設(shè)計(jì)領(lǐng)域結(jié)合就如同給中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)剪紙藝術(shù)注入一股新鮮的血液，從而在國(guó)際設(shè)計(jì)舞臺(tái)中演繹出獨(dú)一無(wú)二的色彩。