Ancient handicraft passed down in Shandong

In Feixian county – in Linyi city, in East China's Shandong province – an event promoting intangible cultural heritage recently took place in local schools that delighted the students.

Sun Xiaodong, an inheritor of the municipal intangible cultural heritage item Feixian paper-cutting, demonstrated and explained the art to the children.

Using a pair of scissors and a few sheets of red paper, Sun skillfully created a fluttering butterfly, captivating the young audience.

Sun has had a passion for painting and paper-cutting since childhood.

After high school, he embarked on the journey to creating  paper-cutting artworks. His skills were significantly improved from 1981 to 1983 through a correspondence course organized by the Chinese Arts Papercutting Association.

According to Sun, paper-cutting is not just about the appearance of the patterns but also about conveying beauty and emotions. Through the symbolic patterns, he aims to express people's desire for a better life.

His works have been recognized by about 20-30 publications in various newspapers and magazines across the country.

In particular, his creation Gao Zhan Yuan Zhu, which literally means to look far ahead and aim high, even won a national-level paper-cutting award.

Sun Xiaodong's national award-winning work, Gao Zhan Yuan Zhu. [Photo by Sun Xiaodong for chinadaily.com.cn]

To ensure the better preservation of paper-cutting, Sun devotes his weekends and vacation time to train newcomers, regardless of age. (Edited by Jin Yongxue)