Day 6 - Paper cutting

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I had my first creative activity today. I chose to do paper cutting along with a few other students. A famous paper cut artist led the class, apparently she has won prestigious awards from across the world. I wish I could remember her name!

She told us all about the history of paper cut and taught us how to make our own designs. Paper cut is an ancient art form and traditional Chinese art, however it is still popular in the countryside. They are traditionally made for weddings, holidays, new year and to wish people luck. In China the colour red symbolises good luck and happiness. That explains why every thing is red in China! People usually hang paper cuts on the window so that the light shines through and leaves a shadow on the wall. Chinese characters are also commonly cut into the paper so you can give some one a more personalised gift.

I think it’s really nice that the Chinese give hand made gifts rather than spending money in a shop, it’s more sentimental and says so much more. In China it is rude to open a gift in front of some one. In the UK it’s quite the opposite, imagine if you gave some one a present and then just put it in their bag without opening it! There are so many cultural differences in China. If we you don’t know the culture behind China it can be really misunderstanding. Just think about some thing fairly small like the use of colour …….the Chinese national flag is red, it symbolises good luck and that the Chinese are warm hearted. China wants the world to know that they are warm hearted and welcoming, so that people will visit the country. However, in the UK the colour red is often associated with danger and as a warning sign. Do we mix this with our views on communism? The Chinese dragon is seen as a hero in Chinese culture. I would associate a dragon as some thing threatening and dangerous. A couple of examples of simple things that can give of very mixed messages!

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