"With knife, brush, ink, and color, I've cut through the seasons."
These eight words summarize Chen Yongcai's artistic career.
This paper-cutting master, now nearing his eighties,
still speaks of his lifelong dedication to paper-cutting with great fondness.
"Capturing a Well-Off Life through Paper-Cutting"
Chen Yongcai, now 79 years old, has spent his entire life deeply rooted in his hometown of Foshan, dedicated to creating paper-cutting artworks. With hundreds of works to his name, his craftsmanship is renowned for its delicate and smooth lines, exquisite transparency, and strong contemporary features. In 2009, he was honored as a representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project, Guangdong paper-cutting.
"Constantly creating new works that reflect life in different eras is the biggest characteristic of modern Foshan paper-cutting," Chen Yongcai said. His works vividly capture the prosperity of people's lives at the beginning of the reform and opening-up, the rapid social changes since the 21st century, and the swift development of Foshan. With a carving knife and six decades of dedication, he has recorded the beautiful journey of Foshan's people towards a well-off life.
Engaging with Life
New Changes in Yao Villages Inspire Creation
Many of Chen Yongcai's works from the 1970s reflect the vibrant social development and significant changes in people's lives during that period. One of his representative works is "Brocade Yao Mountain."
"Between 1971 and 1981, I went out ten times to experience life," Chen Yongcai said. "In Lian Nan Yao Autonomous County, Guangdong Province, I deeply felt that the lives of our Yao compatriots had gradually become prosperous in the new society."
The Yao people had moved from thatched cottages to brick houses they built themselves. New ring-mountain roads were constructed, along with beautiful terraced fields and new water conservancy facilities. Witnessing all this, Chen Yongcai was deeply inspired and quickly created the paper-cutting work "Brocade Yao Mountain" after returning to Foshan. It was published on the back cover of the English version of "Chinese Literature" in 1974.
"Brocade Yao Mountain" (1974)
During this period, Chen Yongcai's creation reached a climax. Many of his paper-cutting works, such as "Fish-Water Affection," "New Li Village," "All Things Flourish," "Land of Fish and Rice," and "New Look of Mountain Village," carried distinct contemporary marks and told stories of the changes in people's lives.
Riding the Waves of Reform and Opening-Up
In the early 1980s, with the arrival of the reform and opening-up tide, Chen Yongcai's family life also gradually improved. In 1983, they moved into a new apartment with two bedrooms and a living room. "Driven by the东风of reform and opening-up, all walks of life, including our paper-cutting art, have reached new heights," he said. Inspired by this, Chen Yongcai created the paper-cutting work "Riding the Waves" using symbolic techniques.
"Riding the Waves" (in progress)
"Riding the Waves" (1985)
In this work, a ship is riding the东风, cutting through the waves and moving forward, echoing the rapidly advancing social environment at that time. Chen Yongcai said this is a vivid reflection of the spirit of the people during the reform and opening-up period.
At the same time, Chen Yongcai devoted more energy to creating works that reflect the local culture and customs of Foshan, and continuously innovated his creative methods in line with the times. In 2003, after more than a year of thinking and creation, he completed a 2-meter-long paper-cutting work titled "Foshan Autumn Festival," which has been popular for 17 years.
In this piece, Chen Yongcai fully restored all the details of this unique Foshan folk activity and used various traditional elements to vividly express the joy and excitement of people during the autumn harvest. "The most prosperous Foshan Autumn Festival in history was in 1999, with a kilometers-long parade, singing and dancing, gongs and drums, and loud suona horns," Chen Yongcai recalled. "At that time, Foshan could be said to have reached a new level in material life, spiritual life, and cultural affairs."
Towards a Well-Off Life
A Happy and Healthy Later Life
Chen Yongcai and his daughter Chen Jiayan explain the work "Lingnan World"
Today, Chen Yongcai is committed to promoting and inheriting the art of Foshan paper-cutting. Among his apprentices, Rao Baolian has become a well-known inheritor of Foshan paper-cutting. In 2012, he established the Chen Yongcai Paper-Cutting Art Studio, where his daughter Chen Jiayan also devotes herself to the paper-cutting cause alongside her father.
With a spirit of inheriting and innovating in line with the times, Chen Yongcai has never stopped creating. In 2010, he collaborated with his apprentice Rao Baolian to create the copper-engraved paper-cutting work "New Eight Sights of Foshan," which revitalized this unique Foshan art treasure. In 2013, he and his daughter Chen Jiayan jointly created the work "Lingnan World," which vividly depicted the unique architecture of Foshan and the bustling atmosphere of tourists. It won the Gold Award at the 2015 China (Guangdong) Folk Art Expo.
"Lingnan World" (2013)
"My understanding of a well-off life is that material life is abundant. This abundance makes us happy even when we go to the market," Chen Yongcai said with a smile when talking about his experience of a well-off life. To express this feeling, he created the paper-cutting work "Happiness and Health" at the beginning of this year. "My life is all about paper-cutting creation. Now I am still working hard to learn and practice continuously, striving to produce better works. This is my kind of happiness."