剪纸是中国最古老的民间美术之一，它的历史至少可追朔到公元六世纪。南北朝墓葬中的动物花卉团花是现已发现的最早的剪纸，另外也有学者认为剪纸的前身可追溯到汉唐妇女使用金银箔剪成方胜贴在鬓角为饰的风俗。



早期的剪纸多见于丧葬、祭祀等仪式中，大约跟道家的灵媒神务有关，例如杜甫的《彭衙行》中就有“暖汤濯我足，剪纸招我魂”的明确记载。时致今日，苗人后裔仍有 年节剪鬼神之形贴于牛栏、门楣之上的巫术习俗，西南山区的集市上多有由专门的剪纸作坊批量生产的神符备售，各家各户的灶台楼阁细处也是每年一换。


民间剪纸至今依然保存了丰富的支脉，许多地方逢年过节，婚丧嫁娶，乡民都会自备剪纸点缀墙壁、门窗、房柱、镜子等处，以表祈祷福寿，吉祥如意之意。全国各地都 能见到剪纸，甚至形成了不同地方风格流派，比较著名的就有高密剪纸、佛山剪纸等等。总体而论，北方剪纸粗犷豪放、淳朴简练，南方剪纸则更倾于秀雅繁茂、精致和美。 其中不乏群众耳闻乐见的题材，象八仙过海、百年好荷、麒麟送子、老鼠嫁女等等……移花接木，人神共处，流线自由奔放，想象力惊人...


The paper-cut is one of the folks traditional decorative art which China popularizes the most. Probably because its so easy that, cost cheap, result stand and see, meet surface wide and welcome generally material; Because it suit rural produce leisure by woman, it acts as practibility can beautify life also most. All parts of the country can see paper-cuts , have even formed different local style schools . The paper-cut has not only displayed the masses' aesthetic hobby, and include and accumulating , It is one of the skills of the people that has the characteristic most in China too, its modelling characteristic especially deserves to be studied...

There are a lot of techniques of expression of the paper-cut , sum up as monochromatic and colored two kinds especially here, The monochromatic paper-cut is divided again:
　　1. carve paper-cuts at souths of a hill , adopt red usually paper material of dark paper or other color cut and carve monochromatic paper-cut works that come out of. The characteristic of carving the paper- cut of south of a hill is the outline line which keeps the original manuscript , the blank part of cutting going beyond the outline line. Every lines of it joins each other , lead to send and move the whole body .

　2. carve overcastly because paper-cut , whose name is the overcast to carve carve for outline line to original manuscript just the opposite at paper-cut at souths of a hill for the characteristics of paper-cut , Keep the part beyond the outline line. So overcast to carve the characteristics of paper-cut that the lineses of it uncertain and belong to interconnection, The whole of the works is cubic ...