黃丹梅

The folk art of paper?cutting in China is a national treasure like the traditional paintings and calligraphy.

Xiaolan， located in the south central part of the Pearl River Delta of China， is famous for paper?cutting culture which has a long history. The paper?cutting culture of Xiaolan originated from the central plains when the village was formed in the Southern Song Dynasty. There has been a close relationship between the customs of Xiaolan people and paper? cutting， which is pretty popular among local residents.

As for me， I fell in love with paper?cutting when I was in primary school. It is the unusual magic that can turn simple pieces of paper into various pieces of art that attracts me. What impresses me most is that the objects of paper?cutting include flowers， animals， mountains and rivers. While appreciating the paper?cutting of Xiaolan， not only can people enjoy the delicate and beautiful characteristics of southern paper?cutting， but also people can admire the rough and simple style of northern paper?cutting at the same time. Showing the cultural spirit of “embracing all rivers”， paper?cutting is widely used， such as decoration， worship， celebration and so on.

However， with the development of printing technology， it is a pity that there are few people who can inherit this skill of paper?cutting. Actually， to better protect this traditional Chinese art form， it is advised that more people should carry on the responsibility of inheriting the skill of paper?cutting， an important symbol of Chinese culture， making the art of paper?cutting last from generation to generation.