Chongqing - Zhao Yijiao, an intangible cultural inheritor made paper-cuts named "Charming Chongqing, beautiful motherland" with her family, showing their love for southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality as their hometown.
This series of works of the municipal intangible cultural project "Yanxing paper-cut" are featured with city landmarks, such as the Chongqing Great Hall of the People, Jiefangbei CBD, Chaotianmen Dock, Yangtze River Cableway, Chongqing Rail Transit, and Chongqing Grand Theater.
The Paper-cut works "Charming Chongqing, beautiful motherland." (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Zhao's family, her father-in-law, mother-in-law, husband, and even her 6-year-old son all participated in the creation. "This is a piece that our family submitted to the 'My Chongqing, My Home' Chongqing Family Art Works Online Exhibition in the hopes of conveying our love for our hometown," she said.
With a rich cultural atmosphere, Zhao's family is well-known in Chongqing's folk literature and art circles. Besides Zhao, her mother-in-law Huang Jilin is a master of arts and crafts in Chongqing. Huang Jilin, 67 years old, has been paper-cutting for over 50 years. Zhao Yijiao's 6-year-old son has also been fascinated by it. He has learned paper-cutting since he was a child. Under the guidance of his grandmother and mother, he has won awards in the National Children's Paper-cutting Competition.
Three generations created the paper-cutting artwork. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Zhao and Huang drew the sketches, and father-in-law Li Zhao and son Li Xixi revised the text according to everyone's suggestions. During the production, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were in charge of engraving the main drawing, the son of engraving and cutting the lace, and the grandson of cutting the font. Finally, the four of them worked together to paste the entire set of works, and the father-in-law was in charge of filming the whole production process.
In addition to highlighting the first-class "Chongqing paper-cut" skill, the materials used are highly innovative. Zhao said that the technique used a novel material called flocking fabric. This fabric is bright in color, flexible, not easily destroyed during manufacturing, and simple to paste. It is ideal for all family members to participate together than traditional paper-cutting.
Color matching is said to be based on the three primary hues of red, yellow, and blue, with a minor shift in chromaticity. The work as a whole is concise and straightforward, yet it is also dense with meanings.