专题 18 中国文化读写专项：中国剪纸+中国结- 2024年高考英语常考中国文化读写专练+素材积累

Lesson 7 Chinese Paper Cutting中国剪纸 Paper cutting can be seen in many parts of China during the Spring Festival. People paste patterns on the window, door lintel or desks for the festival atmosphere. It's difficult to tell when it originated. One saying is that it originated from the religious ceremony or offering sacrifices. The ancient people cut papers into animals or people. They either buried them with the dead or burned them on the funerals, wishing that things that paper stand for could be with the dead. A thousand years ago, paper cutting was used for decoration. According to historic books, women in the Tang Dynasty used paper cut as headdress. In the Song Dynasty, it was the decoration of the gifts. People pasted on windows or doors or used it as decorations on walls, mirrors or lanterns. Some people made a living by it.  Paper cutting is all made by hand. It is easy to learn at the entry level. Non-craftsmen need only a knife and paper. For craftsman, they need knives and gravers of various types to make complicated patterns. It can be one piece of paper or many pieces. Simple patterns can be cut with a knife. For complicated patterns, people first pasted the pattern on the paper and then used various kinds of knives to make it. No mistake can be made during the process otherwise the work would fail. Today, paper cuttings are mainly used as decorations. They adorn walls, windows, doors, columns, mirrors, lamps and lanterns in homes and are also used for decoration on presents or are given as presents themselves. My mom is a fan of paper cutting. "I like paper cutting very much. During various festivals, we often buy some paper cuts to decorate the home. I think paper cuts are very beautiful and display strong Chinese characteristics." During the Spring Festival, people cut animals, flowers and figures in the paper to decorate their windows and doors. These paper cuttings are therefore sometimes called “window flowers” or “picture cuts”. The “window flow