In the vast Chinese countryside, many art forms have been created and appreciated by the folk people. The art of the paper cut is one of them. Chinese rural women, from teenage girls to white-haired grandmothers, cut papers with scissors into various designs, making papercut works of great interest.
Papercuts are used as decorations on walls, doors, roofs, lanterns and at weddings and funerals. Because papercuts are a Chinese folk art, they have close links with traditional Chinese festivals and Customs in the rural areas. For instance, window, door and lantern papercuts are put up during Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival . At Spring Festival, farmers usually stick white paper on the windows of their houses and then paste green and red papercuts on them; hanging papercuts are stuck to doors and roofs.
On the evening of the Lantern Festival, papercuts are pasted onto lanterns to add to the festive atmosphere. To celebrate a new marriage, papercuts are put on the furniture, daily utensils and many places in the wedding chamber. They are also pasted in rooms to celebrate birthdays and to commemorate the dead at funerals. Generally speaking, papercuts are pasted in courtyards, rooms and on everyday goods to decorate the domestic environment and to add a cheerful atmosphere.
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