Learn with me: Making papercuts

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Many traditions are associated with Little New Year. In addition to honoring the Kitchen God, these include stocking up on Spring Festival provisions, cleaning house for the New Year, and making New Year's decorations. Among the most popular decorations are papercuts to decorate doors and windows. Papercuts usually depict auspicious designs of animals, people, flowers, and fruit.

To make a papercut, a pair of scissors or a cutting blade and several different colors of paper are assembled. Before starting to cut, it is necessary to have a design. This can be done by drawing a design directly on the paper, or by laying an old papercut over the new paper and using it as a guide. When using a scissors, it is best to first cut from the outside in, and then from the inside out. Papercutting puts great emphasis on cutting various types of lines. Folk artists divide the different types of cuts into five categories.

Round like the full moon
Pointed like a grain of bearded wheat
Square like a new brick
Zigzag like a sawtooth blade
Straight like a beard hair