I have special ties with paper-cuts. My interest has developed from my childhood to the present. Now I am over 40 and often use scissors to create art. I cannot deny this interest has matured with me.
Being a newspaper arts editor. I’m busy all the time. I’m the only one who knows my suffering and joy. I lack the time and energy to work on big art projects. That’s why I can only squeeze in paper- cuts .But it brings me great joy whenever I cut out paper designs.

　　A sweet quiet surrounds me, bringing forth memories of my childhood.

　　I had a kind and smart maternal grandmother. She taught me how to knit, embroider and make cloth toys. My interest in folk art stems from my grandmother’s teachings.

　　I remember in elementary school finding many paper-cuts at my girlfriend’s home. All the paper-cuts were typical folk paper-cuts of the Chaoshan area. I was fascinated by them, believing they were the most beautiful patterns in the world. So I asked the author, the grandma of my classmate, to teach me how to make a copy of a paper-cut. Once the  work started , I become crazy for this art. At that time, paper-cuts were very popular in school. The after-class study group included many fans. But I was one of the most active ones among them.

　　My aunt mailed me a book Paper-Cut Research and a delicate pair of scissors from my home town in Hubei Province. I treasured them so much that when  I lost my scissors I suffered for a long time. But what a joy it was when I spent 23 cents to buy a book on how to work on paper-cuts. Even today, after nearly 30 years, I keep the two brochures. The yellow, worn covers of the books record my affection to paper-cutting during my childhood.

　　Later, I graduated from school and settled down in a remote and small village. I would work when sun rose and go home when the sun set. In the evening, I would resort to reading and paper-cutting.

　　Paper-cuts helped me rid myself of loneliness as I spent the long and quiet winter nights in the mountain village. The naïve paper-cuts depicting the life in the mountain were my earliest artistic creation. Later, I learned gouache, traditional Chinese painting, picture books and busied myself in practical artistic design. But my passion for paper-cuts never faded.

　　For me, paper-cutting is just a hobby. In my works I use both traditional and differentiated paper-cuts. Since I also inject my own understanding, pondering and aesthetic judgment, the paper-cut show  different styles at different  periods.　

　　I uphold the naivete, roughness and exaggerations of the Chinese folk paper-cuts and its special penetrating strength of the cuts. I also appreciate the fresh style and the black-and-white rhythm of the modern Japanese paper-cuts.
　　I hope my works are not simply a copy of the folk paper-cuts, but a result of modern spirits. I wish to mix some literary taste with my paper-cuts which will help to produce the slightest sense of poetry, adding my own style and taste.

　　For many years, my paper-cuts born out of my scissors have been displayed at exhibition halls in various cities and provinces. They have also been published in dozens of publications at home and abroad. Many of my prizewinning certificates have something to do with the paper-cuts. Some of my paper-cuts have become part of overseas private collections to be hung in collectors’ homes, which has become my greatest gratification.
　　In a word, paper-cutting appeals to my life.

Translated by PAN ZHONGMING