NPC deputy celebrates scientists fighting virus in paper-cut artworks

For the National People’s Congress, Zhou Shuying, an NPC deputy and national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, said she had made special preparations, China News Service reported.

As a Chinese paper-cutting artist, Zhou created a new artwork. In a landscape-themed paper-cut, “the lofty mountains are taken from (mountain) in the name of Zhong Nanshan, while the orchids are inspired by character

(orchid) in the name of Li Lanjuan,” Zhou told CNS.

Zhong and Li are prominent medical scientists who have made great contributions, especially in the fight against COVID-19.

To show gratitude to medical workers, Zhou said she picked some characters with virtuous implications from the names of the figures who helped combat the virus and illustrated them in the paper-cutting scroll.

Zhou was born in Yuxian county of North China’s Hebei province. Her hometown was lifted out of poverty in February.

As a millennia-old county, Yuxian boasts rich traditional culture such as paper-cutting and the practice of lighting tree fireworks, attracting visitors from home and abroad. This has played a role in helping locals escape poverty.

The beauty of traditional culture lies in that it cannot only be brought to the world stage but also contribute to economic growth and help lift the common people out of poverty, Zhou said.

At the end of 2019, she joined hands with a local dairy company to design paper-cutting patterns for its product packaging. The creations were inspired by symbolic cultural elements from 11 districts and cities in Hebei province.

“It was a successful attempt that helps enhance the influence of Yuxian county paper-cutting and promotes the company’s cultural image and sales,” Zhou said.

Though she is going out less because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, she is still busy at work. She has agreed to a second project with the dairy company to create paper-cutting patterns based on cultural characteristics from various provinces in China.

Zhou said she has also established partnerships with more than 10 companies from southern China and explored online business models.

China’s economy continues to see new vitality despite the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, which has brought her “more inspiration”.

Zhou said she will put forward a proposal at this year’s congress to increase the types of cooperation between intangible cultural heritage and businesses and to make culture “a calling card” in boosting economic development.

Recently, Zhou was authorized to design souvenirs for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The craftswoman said she plans to combine traditional Chinese auspicious elements with theatrical elements in those designs and adopt a cosmopolitan color palette.

“I hope people around the world will like paper-cutting and young people in our country will cherish our own culture,” she said.

From primary schools to universities, Zhou has dedicated herself to introducing intangible cultural heritage into education for years. Over the past two years, she has taught paper-cutting in more than 50 schools.

Paper-cutting reminds her of her childhood, Zhou said. She added that she believes such childhood memories can be continued in young generations, as “traditional Chinese culture is full of tenacity”.