Traveling Trunk

As a form of folk art, Chinese paper cuts, or “scissor art,” enjoy a history dating back to the Northern dynasties period (386-581 AD) (39). Paper cuts have been widely used as decorations for various occasions such as festivals, ceremonies, weddings, and funerals.

Initially, the only people who utilized paper cuts were those who could afford paper – royalty. As paper became more accessible, this art form became more wide spread especially during holiday festivals. Girls in rural families were expected to master this technique and brides were judged according to their skill. Professionally though, this area was dominated by men (40).

Paper cuts are currently used for decorations on walls, windows, doorways, lamps, tags on presents, and even as presents themselves. At wedding celebrations, windows and doors feature red paper cut outs such as the characters for xǐ (double happiness) or fèng (phoenix) and lóng (dragon) (41). The phoenix represents the bride and the dragon represents the groom. Paper cuts of pomegranates with their many seeds symbolize a wish for the couple to have many children. The most common color paper used for paper cuts is red, the lucky color (42).