Xifeng sacrificial paper making technique

Gansu
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Paper-tying refers to an art form that uses paper to tie into flower clusters and bundles. Xifeng sacrificial paper-tying is a sacrificial offering specially used for folk activities such as funerals, third anniversaries, tomb relocation, and memorial services. It originated from the "burning and burning" in the sacrificial activities of the pre-Zhou Dynasty, and inherited the fire worship concept of the distant ancestors. The entire art was formed through continuous improvement in the development of social history. It is not only a continuation of the social consciousness of the slave aristocracy using living people as sacrifices, but also a historical overthrow and replacement of the funerary objects from people to pottery figurines. It is a social product of artistic civilization. Its basic content is divided into three combination forms: "five offerings", "seven-star arrows", and "ten kinds of brocade". The specific images include people in underworld clothes, deer and horses holding treasures, spirit pavilions, passing pavilions, archways, backers, buckets, water, banners, white crane candlesticks, etc. Its characteristics are realistic shapes, colorful and magnificent. Its connotation is a kind of burning offering with strong folk imagery and Taoism and Buddhism. The production of sacrificial paper-making is mostly concentrated in Xifeng City. It is professionally engaged in business activities, commonly known as paper-making shops, and practitioners are called "paper-making craftsmen". There are paper-making shops in all towns and villages, and there are also artists who work at home. The main material of paper-making is the locally produced reed (commonly known as taro in the local language). As the modeling skeleton, the paper is folded, painted, dyed, scooped, hot-stamped, punctured, chiseled, cut and other procedures, and tied and combined into a three-dimensional imitation. It is required to be easy to ignite and burn into ashes for burning in front of the grave after the sacrifice. Xifeng's sacrificial paper-making is famous in Longdong for its colorful and magnificent appearance. Most of the artists who work in it are inherited from their ancestors. It has unique features in folk craft production, and the production techniques and effects are different depending on the different objects of sacrifice and the content of the sacrifice. It involves the design of the skeleton shape binding, color rendering, hot, scooped, cut, chiseled, and carved patterns and other techniques. The whole process is based on beauty, which is of great value to aesthetic research. However, in the transition period of modern social life, the handicraft production of Xifeng sacrificial paper-making has undergone some changes. Machine printing has replaced the original craft, painting, carving and folding techniques have disappeared, pasting and assembly have gradually become the main techniques of sacrificial paper-making, and the original craft is facing the risk of extinction.

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