China News Service, Changzhi, May 25th, title: "Qiao Man" is obsessed with carving and sketching to empower paper-cuts for more than ten years and hopes to pass on innovation
Reporter Li Tingyao
A table, a sofa, a few chairs.
Qin Haijiang sits at a table in a farmhouse in Liangjiazhuang Village, Xihuo Town, Shangdang District, Changzhi, Shanxi.
If it were not for the scissors, red paper, and the works hanging on the wall in his hand, it would be difficult for people to associate this short-haired man with paper-cutting.
The 44-year-old Qin Haijiang liked to paint since he was a child. Later, he went to a technical secondary school and majored in fine arts. After graduation, he returned to the countryside, planted land and engaged in transportation.
In 2009, he became fascinated by paper-cutting, using a small house in his own house as a studio, and it took more than ten years to "cut".
Qin Haijiang keeps trying, combining his art knowledge and applying sketching techniques to paper-cutting.
Photo by Xiang Zheng
Speaking of his relationship with paper-cutting, Qin Haijiang told reporters that when he was a child, before the Lantern Festival, his grandmother would cut paper to make lanterns. This is one of his fond memories of childhood.
When he grew up, the only thing Qin Haijiang could do with art was to make templates by himself and spray words on the doors of his truck.
In his free time, Qin Haijiang likes to watch art shows.
After seeing the programs related to paper-cutting several times, seeing the exquisite paper-cutting works and the achievements of paper-cutting masters, he couldn't help it.
He learns paper-cutting through videos and pictures, and he is very familiar with art skills.
After Qin Haijiang finished his first paper-cut work with the mentality of a try, a foreign troupe went to the village to sing. An actor saw his paper-cut and bought it on the spot.
This gave Qin Haijiang confidence and decided to specialize in paper-cutting.
At that time, Qin Haijiang was 32 years old. This decision made it difficult for his family to accept, but he believed that paper-cutting could make a difference as long as he worked hard.
Qin Haijiang is cutting paper.
Photo by Xiang Zheng
Different from people’s common sense that scissors should be used to complete paper-cutting works, Qin Haijiang chose to use a carving knife to process paper and use carving techniques to create paper-cutting works. “This can enrich the details.”
Later, Qin Haijiang continued to experiment and combined his own art knowledge to apply sketching techniques to paper-cutting, "using the mesh turtle cracks to show the contrast between light and dark, making the paper-cutting works more three-dimensional."
Selecting paper, drawing, portraying, and mounting, he created a new paper-cutting process.
"Traditional art can only be better inherited through innovation, and paper-cutting is the same." Qin Haijiang believes that innovation can give traditional art energy.
Only by adapting to social development and letting more people know and like it can traditional art be passed on.
For more than ten years, Qin Haijiang's works have been constantly advancing with the times. He will create works on traditional history and culture, as well as works on anti-epidemic themes and red themes.
For more than ten years, Qin Haijiang will create works on traditional history and culture, as well as works on anti-epidemic and red themes.
Photo by Xiang Zheng
Qin Haijiang continued to enter the Zhongcun Primary School in Xihuo Town to teach paper-cutting. In total, more than 80 primary school students have followed him to learn paper-cutting.
Last year, "Haijiang Paper-cutting" was selected into the list of intangible cultural heritage of Changzhi City, which also gave Qin Haijiang more confidence in the inheritance of paper-cutting.
Regarding the promotion and inheritance of paper-cutting, Qin Haijiang also has his own innovative ideas.
"In the next step, I plan to find other inheritors of traditional art, and jointly establish a studio, promote and make a difference together, so that more people can understand and like traditional art." (End)