来源：南京航空航天大学Mr.China团队

作者：徐乾婷

“一张红纸不算大，剪刀代笔巧画画”打一民间工艺。

First, please solve a riddle. "A piece of red paper is not big, and scissors are used instead of a brush to draw skillfully."

答对了，那就是剪纸。在中国，剪纸具有广泛的群众基础，交融于各族人民的社会生活，是各种民俗活动的重要组成部分。在全球范围内，这种艺术形式的影响力与生命力也与日俱增。在这薄薄的一张纸上承载着真挚的祝福与对未来的希冀。今天就请大家跟随着我的步伐，一起走进“指尖的艺术——中国剪纸”。

Yes, theanswer is paper-cutting. In China, paper-cutting enjoys great popularity. It is part of the life of all ethnic groups, and it is an important feature of various folk cultural activities. Its influence and vitality is also winning increasing recognition the world over. This plain thin paper can embody sincere wishes and hopes for the future. Today, please follow me and explore the “Artat Fingertips —— Chinese Paper-Cutting”.

窗花

首先我们看到的是窗花。窗花是贴在窗户上作装饰的剪纸。以北方为普遍，北方农家窗户多是木格窗，有竖格、方格或带有几何形花格。刚过完年，相信大家都对它并不陌生。逢年过节之时，人们便会更换窗纸贴上新窗花，以示除旧迎新。其形式也有多种，有装饰窗格四角的角花，也有折枝团花，更有自由的各式适合花样，如动物、花草、人物，还有连续成套的戏文或传说故事窗花。

The first thing that greets our eyes is the paper cuttings for window decoration. Farmhouses in northern China mostly have wooden lattice windows, with vertical, square or geometric lattices. It is shortly after the Chinese New Year, everyone must be familiar with the window flower, since at the Spring Festival and other festivals, people will wipe off last year’s window cuttings and put up new ones, as a way of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new. There are also a variety of patterns, including those meant for the four corners of the window pane, round patterns for the center of any background, and more creative patterns, such as animals, flowers, plants, and human figures, as well as caricatures of operas or legends.

一把剪刀，一张纸和一双巧手便能勾勒出许多带着栩栩如生的吉祥纹样的窗花。

A clever paper-cutter with nimble fingers and a pair of scissors can cut a piece of paper into many animated auspicious window patterns.

逢年过节的时候，家家户户窗上被这些红色装点，更有了红红火火的节日氛围。

Beyond home decorations, paper cuttings have a role to play in wedding ceremonies, where it is renamed “wedding patterns” or “wedding-flower” made with different cutting skills.

而剪纸的运用也不止于此，在婚嫁中，剪法发生了变化，它的名字也摇身一变，被人们叫作“喜花”。

During the Spring Festival, every households' window is decorated with paper-cuttings, creating a lively festive atmosphere.

喜花

接下来我们看到的是喜花。喜花是婚嫁喜庆时装点各种器物用品和室内陈设用的剪纸。一般是将其摆衬在茶具上、皂盒、面盆等日用品上，又或是贴在梳妆镜上。色彩为大红，外形样式多样，有圆形、方形、菱花形、桃形、石榴形等。构图布局更是有讲究，有“花中套花”的方法

What we see next is “wedding-flower”. It is a paper-cutting pasted before wedding ceremonies on various utensils like tea sets, soap boxes, and basins, on indoor furnishings, or on the dressing mirror. They are bright red, in various shapes—round, square, rhombus, peach, pomegranate, etc. The composition and layout are more than exquisite, for example, “flowers in flowers”.

大红的色彩装点在物品上，多是一对“喜”相联结在一起，旁边花纹点缀，象征着新人白头偕老，被美好的事物围绕。

The houseand furniture have red decorative patterns, mostly a pattern of “double happiness”—two Chinese characters joined together denoting “happy”. And the patterns which surround "Xi" symbolize that the newlyweds will stick with each other till the end of their life, and enjoy good luck.

在隆重的拜堂仪式中，浪漫的结婚誓词中，热闹的欢呼声中，喜花静静贴在那里，默守着两位新人，致以无言又真挚的祝福。

At the grand wedding ceremony, in the romantic wedding vows and the excited cheers, the wedding-flowers look as if wishing for the bride and the bridegroom to live happily ever after.

剪纸的含义总是与祝福关联，所以人们在送礼时也会摆附一张剪纸，这便是“礼花”。

The implications of paper-cuttings are always associated with blessings, so people will give gifts topped with paper-cuts. That is called "ceremonial paper-cutting".

礼花

礼花是摆附在糕饼、寿面、鸡蛋等礼品上的剪纸。礼花题材多取吉祥喜气的图案。例如，在福建乌龟寓意吉祥，随即衍生出龟形糕饼与龟形剪纸。农村互相馈赠寿礼用乌龟图案以象征长寿。它在不同的地方也有不同的别名。在广东潮州一带称作“糕饼花”、“果花”，浙江平阳一带称作“圈盆花”。

The ceremonial paper-cutting is attached to cakes, birthday noodles, eggs and other gifts. The themes of ceremonial flowers are mostly auspicious. For example, in Fujian, the tortoise symbolizes good luck, hence they have tortoise-shaped cakes and tortoise-shaped paper-cuttings. In rural areas, people give birthday presents with a turtle pattern which symbolizes longevity. It is named differently in different places. In Chaozhou, Guangdong, it is called “cake flower” and “fruit flower”, whereas in Pingyang, Zhejiang, it is known as “potted flower”.

礼花，图案吉利，色彩醒目，是人们装饰在礼品之外的剪刻艺术，是一种自己动手的美化活动。

The ceremonial paper-cutting, with auspicious patterns and eye-catching colors, is the art of decorating the packages of gifts, and a do-it-yourself fun activity.

或许我们送出的礼物会类似、相同，但礼花不会，每一个礼花都独一无二。在剪纸的过程中，礼花被人注入了心血与被赠予者的真情祝福，赋予礼物非凡的寓意。

Perhaps the gift we give may be the same, but the paper-cutting we each put on the package will give the gift a unique identity. We imbue the paper-cutting with heartfelt blessings for the recipient, making the gift very special.

也如同原本平平无奇的鞋子，因有了鞋花的点缀，获得了独特的美感与生命力。

Similarly, the plain shoes decorated with such handicraft would also attain special attraction and vitality.

鞋花

鞋花是用作布鞋鞋面刺绣底样的剪纸。其形式一般有三，一是剪成小团花或小散花，绣于鞋头，称“鞋头花”，二是适合着鞋面的形状剪成月牙形，称“鞋头花”，三是由鞋头花的两端延伸而至鞋帮，称“鞋帮花”。鞋花的布局一般多疏朗，题材有花草、小鸟等，手工艺者根据鞋花的纹样将其绣在鞋面上，栩栩如生、别具匠心。

The paper-cuttings for shoes are the original patterns designed for embroidered cloth shoe uppers. Broadly, they fall into three forms: the first, known as "toe flower", is a small round flower or several small flowers, to be embroidered on the toe; the second is cut into crescent shape suitable for the shape of the upper, which is called "toe flower"; the third, which extends from the ends of the toe flower onto the sides of the upper, is called "side flower". The shoe flower is usually sparselylaid out, featuring flowers, plants and birds. The craftsman embroiders it on the upper according to the pattern of shoe flower, which is lifelike and ingenious.

鞋花，精巧洒脱，富有诗意，是劳动和艺术的创造，是对美和幸福生活的向往。

除了造型精巧的鞋花，在每家每户的门上，我们可以看到挂有五种颜色的剪纸，这就是门笺，俗称“过门前”“挂钱”，寻常百姓门挂门笺讨吉利，寓意新年风调雨顺，人才两旺。(财)

五颜六色的门笺，包含着深刻的寓意，为春节增添了喜庆吉祥的气氛，深受人们的喜爱。

Paper-cuttings as shoes flowers, exquisite, poetic and creative, are the creation of laborers and artists. They encode people’s aesthetic yearning for a happy life.

In addition to the wonderfully shaped shoe flowers, on the door of each household, we can see paper-cuttings in five colors. This is the door paper-cutting, commonly known as "before the door" and "hanging money". The common people hang the door paper-cutting for good luck, good weatherand prosperity in the New Year.

The colorful paper flaps over the door, which contain profound meanings, add a festive and auspicious atmosphere to the Spring Festival and are therefore popular.

门笺

这是门笺，样式形如锦旗形，天头大、两边宽，下作流苏，多以红纸刻成。过去人们认为其有“辟邪祈吉”的作用，将门笺挂在门前，故又称“挂笺”，寓意“风调雨顺”、“金玉满堂”，能够印春除旧，新的一年好运连连。

This is the door flap paper-cutting, shaped like a banner, with a large upside, wide sides, and fringes underneath, and is mostly carved out of red paper. People used to believe that it could "ward off evil spirits and praying for good luck", and would hang such flaps over the door; so it's also called "hanging paper", which implies, in Chinese, "good weather" and "full of gold and jade", which is saying goodbye to the last winter, greeting the spring and, hopefully, bringing good luck in the new year.

五彩门笺挂堂前，吉祥如意过大年。小小的门笺，凝聚着刻纸艺人的心血，也记录着社会的发展和变迁。

The multicolored paper-cutting flaps hanging in front of the hall, marking the beginning of an auspicious New Year. The flaps, though small, are the result of the painstaking efforts of paper-cutters and also record the development and changes of society.

人们在很多活动场合都会进行烧香，在祭祀活动中，有一种呈塔形的细条状线香，这便是斗香花。

The Chinese people will burn incense on many occasions. In the sacrificial activities, there is a kind of slender taper-shaped incense in the shape of a tower, which is called douxiang flower.

斗香花各层均有彩色刻纸，题材丰富，有八仙、寿星等吉祥图案，造型简练生动，色彩鲜艳强烈，富有灵动的装饰效果。

Each layer of douxiang flower has colorful engraved paper, with lots of themes, such as the eight immortals and the God of Longevity. The engravings are simple, lively and brightly-colored, very suitable for decoration.

斗香花

斗香花，是咱们南京的一种特色剪纸。斗香是以前中国民间在中秋节拜月时烧的一种香，而因其呈塔形，故称这种斗形彩纸为“斗香花”。斗香花题材丰富多样，多以蜡光纸刻成。图案造型简练生动，色彩鲜艳强烈。过去常常被用于祭祖祀神等民俗活动，而现在作为南京本地的一种民间艺术，斗香花深受老百姓的喜爱。

Douxiang paper-cutting is specific in Nanjing. It is a kind of incense burned by Chinese people during the Mid-Autumn Festival worship. Its Chinese name is inspired by its tower shape. The themes of Douxianghua are varied, and they are mostly carved out of waxed paper. The design is simple but vivid, while the color is bright. In the past, it was often used in folk activities such as offering sacrifices to ancestors and gods. Now, as a local folk art in Nanjing, Douxianghua is still enjoying great popularity.

斗香花剪纸是中国的民间艺术瑰宝，是民间艺术的一朵奇葩。

在南京众多的特色剪纸中，团花是独具一格的存在，剪纸团花是最早的一种款式，呈放射状或旋转式的装饰图案。

Douxiang paper-cutting is a treasure of Chinese folk art. Among the many distinctive paper-cuttings in Nanjing, the cluster flowers are quite unique. They are the earliest style, with radial or rotary decorative patterns.

作为剪纸的一种布局格式，团花设计独特、手法灵活，常用“线线相连”的方式呈现，具有较强的实用性。

As a layout format of paper-cuts, the cluster flower design is unique and flexible. It is often presented in the practical “continuously connected lines”.

由于纸张可折叠，如对角折叠二次、三次、四次、六次不等，便可剪出对称均齐的团花，在剪纸中尤能显示其优异性。

As paper can be folded up to six times in the handicraft, it is especially useful in paper-cutting. The cuttings thus made can produce symmetrical flowers.

团花

剪纸团花也是剪纸的一种布局格式。团花以圆心为中心点，向外辐射散开。其折叠方式可分为三折花，四折花等，通过对角折叠完成剪纸的精美的四面均齐构型，给人一种灵巧的对称美感。我国最早的剪纸实物是新疆出土的北朝时期剪纸，即为团花样式，是中国最早的剪纸出土物。

The cluster flower is another layout format of paper-cutting. It radiates outward from the center. In the making, the paper is folded three or four times. Paper-cuttings thus made are symmetrical. The four-sided uniform configuration of paper-cutting is completed through diagonal folding, displaying the beauty of symmetrical patterns. It is also the oldest form of paper-cutting unearthed so far in China. The artwork found in Xinjiang dates back to China’s Northern Dynasty(386-581 A.D.).

如今，中国剪纸得到越来越多的传承和发展，这种艺术形式在全球范围内的影响力也与日俱增。以上这些就是中国的特色剪纸样式，希望能够吸引到更多人来了解中国剪纸。以上就是今天的“指尖的艺术——中国剪纸”，我们下期再见！

Chinese paper-cutting has been well-preserved and is still developing, and its recognition and popularity outside China is on the increase. We hope more and more people will get to know and love this form of art. That’s all for today’s “Art at Fingertips —— Chinese Paper-Cutting”.

See you next time!

指导老师/李萍 梁道华；产品经理/马晨馨 翁焕超 林闻杰；摄影/石宇琳林奕君宋佳玉；新闻文稿/厉嘉婕 刘钟楹 崔逸馨