Cutting through a century
By Wu Jun
Translated by Beverly



在闽南漳浦,有一手剪纸绝活的妇女被尊称为"花姆".百岁老寿星林桃就是其中的佼佼者,她热爱剪纸艺术且技艺精湛,人们都亲切地称她为"百岁花姆".

Some people enjoy success at a young age, while some mature slowly. Lin Tao belongs to the latter.

Lin Tao was first introduced to paper-cutting at the age of 16. After 80 years, her paper-cutting skills reached a peak. She was named, by the Nanjing Folk Arts Center, the "Chinese Folk Picasso". The 26th of September, 2003 was Lin Tao's hundredth birthday when she was awarded a plaque inscribed with "Master of Paper-cutting" by the Fujian Federation of Literature and Art Circles and the Fujian Folk Artists Association, and another bronze plaque inscribed with "Hundred-year-old Hua'm (Flower Auntie)" by the Zhangpu county government.

It was a custom in Zhangpu that girls at 14 or 15 years of age had to learn embroidery from the Hua'ms in their village. Once they were the right age to get married, they had to prepare quite a few dowry items on their own. To them, paper-cutting is a necessary skill as well as a hobby.

"The trick of paper-cutting lies in your capacity for clear thinking." That is what Lin Tao has learned about paper-cutting from her experiences. Thanks to her understanding of life and her capacity for clear thinking, Lin has produced a lot of appealing paper-cuts.

Lin's paper-cuts mainly come from everyday production, life, folk customs and so on, such as "Mice Getting Married", "Rural Happiness" and "Roosters Fighting", etc. Chen Jing, former President of the China Folk Paper-cutting Research Committee, said, "These types of work by Lin Tao are the living cultural heritage of the community passed down from ancient times." Lin's paper-cuts have strong local characteristics. They are free in style and down-to-earth in content.

Lin seems to cut paper just as she pleases. She has reached a stage of "cutting in her own way which is no way". She cuts what she sees and what she thinks of. When cutting simpler compositions, she already has a picture in mind and lets the scissors go freely through the paper. When cutting compositions that are a bit complicated, she merely draws a few lines on the paper before she sets down to work, and makes necessary adjustments throughout the process. Every piece of her work is an expression of her feelings.

Rich experiences in life are Lin's source of inspirations. Chen Qiuri, President of the Zhangpu County Paper-cutting Association, said, "Lin has a peaceful mind. She is humorous, too." She once had a piece named "Catching Shrimps", in which shrimps were larger than the shrimp-catchers. When asked for the reason, she answered, "Large shrimps are always worth more."

The hundred-year-old Hua'm has made a name for herself. The late and unexpected honor is a real surprise for her. "I have gone through a century. Life now is much better than ever before. Some of my paper-cuts are even sent abroad. That's really thrilling!"



Anecdotes on Zhangpu's paper-cutting:
Paper-cutting in Zhangpu has a long history, which can be dated back as early as the Tang and Song dynasties. At the beginning, Zhangpu's paper-cutting only served as a framework for embroidery. Later on, as a result of the rise of folk customs and activities and the influence of Central Plains' cultures, like the custom of displaying paper-cut flowers on windows, Zhangpu's paper-cutting began to be applied to all kinds of wedding and memorial ceremonies as various expressions of good will.

After the Ming and Qing dynasties, paper-cutting was especially popular among the people. Paper-cuts could be found not only in all kinds of folk activities, but also in everyday life and recreation to give expression to various emotions. It is clear that paper-cutting was a fashion then.

In Zhangpu, the elderly paper-cutting artists are respectfully regarded as "Hua'm".

In 1993, Zhangpu County was named "Home of Chinese Folk Art (Paper-cutting)" by the Ministry of Culture.

Shi Lang's big house in Tong'an
同安施氏大厝
Translated by Vivian Zhang



The big house, used to be a part of the dwelling buildings of Shi Lang (施琅)when he garrisoned in Tong'an, and is located at No.123, Xialu street in Tong'an's downtown.

Shi Lang (1621-1696) had been a general in the late Ming Dynasty and later surrendered to the Qing imperial court. His greatest contribution was that he united Taiwan and insisted on keeping Taiwan as part of China's territory. In 1683, Shi Lang led 20,000 soldiers on 300 warships to Taiwan and united Taiwan.

At that time it was agreed by some within the Qing government that Taiwan was isolated from the mainland and prone to invasion so they suggested that the Taiwanese be evacuated to the mainland and the island be deserted. The emperor, Kangxi, also saw little value in Taiwan. At this crucial moment, Shi Lang stood up and called out that Taiwan absolutely must not be abandoned, if so, the Dutch colonists would definitely take it over and the mainland coastal provinces would never be in peace.

Emperor Kangxi eventually took his advice and established an administration government in Taiwan, which was subordinate to Fujian Province. Since then, Taiwan was officially integrated into the territory of the Qing Dynasty.

In 2000, the big house was rated as a municipal cultural relic.

In 2001, it was rated as a Xiamen Taiwan-related cultural relic.

同安施氏大厝位于同安霞露街123号,系施琅驻防同安时期住宅建筑群的一部份.

施琅(1621-1696)早年是明朝将领,后降清,其最伟大的功绩是统一台湾和力主保留台湾、守卫台湾.1683年,施琅率两万精兵和三百艘战船东征并统一台湾.

清政府内部有人认为台湾"孤悬海外,易薮贼",主张"迁其人,弃其地".康熙皇帝也认为,台湾"得之无所加,不得无所损".在此紧要关头,施琅疾呼:台湾断不可弃.他认为,弃而不守,必为红毛(荷兰殖民者)所有,"沿海该省断难晏然无虞".

康熙皇帝最终采纳了施琅的意见,设立了台湾府,隶属福建省,台湾遂正式纳入清朝的版图.

2000年被公布为市级文物保护单位,2001年被公布为厦门涉台文物古迹.

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Concert by Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra
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