Meet in Shandong: Gaomi Papercutting

This video, presented by the Chinese Embassy in Ireland, is part of the series 'Meet in Shandong', in which the spotlight is shone on Shandong, China’s second-largest province with a population of over 100 million. The birthplace of Confucius and China’s biggest exporter of agricultural products, Shandong is a cultural and economic hub on the East coast of China. Gaomi paper-cutting is one of the top three traditional folk arts delicacies from Gaomi county, Weifang City, Shandong Province. It can take the shape of intricate paper decorations for windows, doors, walls, ceilings, lanterns, wedding celebrations, and more. In the past, girls in Gaomi were good at paper cutting with scissors. At each village there was always one or two genius girls at paper-cutting. Ms. Qi Xiuhua is a representative of Gaomi’s street paper-cutting artists. Inheriting the unique style of paper-cutting and with over a decade of exploration and refinement on her skills, Ms. Qi has developed her own (Paper-cutting) artistic style. In the past 40 years, Ms. Qi Xiuhua has created 260,000 works of paper-cut art. Her masterpieces include “Along the River During the Qingming Festival”, “Twelve Zodiac”, “China’s Four Great Classic Novels”, “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea”, and more. Her works are not only popular among collectors but also are reflective of the deep local cultural heritage. She has become an iconic symbol in China’s paper-cutting circle and is well known both in China and abroad. 高密剪纸，是山东省潍坊市高密市传统民间艺术三绝之一，形式包括窗花、门笺、墙花、顶棚花、灯花、喜花等。在过去的高密，女孩们都可以娴熟地拿起剪刀，手到擒来的剪纸。每个村庄都会有一两个技艺超群的剪纸高手。齐秀花就是高密的民间剪纸艺人，她传承了民间剪纸的独特风格，经过数十年的探索琢磨，形成了自己独特的艺术风格。40多年间，齐秀花累计创作剪纸作品26万张。她的代表作有《清明上河图》《十二生肖》、《四大名著》《八仙过海》等，还有其他诸多作品。既受人们喜欢，又有文化内涵，成为剪纸行业代表人物，在国内外都有较大影响。