Paper-cutting in Shanxi threatened by lack of heirs  

山西民俗风情”剪纸展开展 民间艺术家呼吁传承

An artist shows a paper-cutting work at an art exhibit held in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.. [Photo: Lv Wei]

A paper-cutting work at an art exhibit held in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.[Photo: Lv Wei]

Paper-cutting artists.[Photo: Lv Wei]

Taiyuan (ECNS) -- Paper-cutting, an ancient folk art in China, is being ignored by young people and is threatened by a lack of heirs, the head of the Shanxi Civil Paper-cutting Association said at an art exhibit Thursday.

Guo Meihua, head of the association, said that paper-cutting in Shanxi has a history of nearly a thousand years. In the past, women cut paper and decorated their houses as a symbol of a happy life, she said.

However, the art form is endangered, as many senior artists have passed away, Guo said.

Guo encouraged young people to take up paper-cutting. "I hope the art will flourish in the next hundred years," she said.