Pu Qinghua - Representative Inheritor of Yi Paper-cut Project in Shiping County, Honghe 

Pu Qinghua (Yi name: Yanshao 岩绍), from Shaochong Town (哨冲镇), Shiping County (石屏县), Honghe Prefecture (红河州), Yunnan Province, is a provincial-level inheritor of Huayao Yi (花腰彝) paper-cutting. Coming from a family with five generations devoted to this art, she has spent over 40 years blending tradition and innovation. Her work elevates paper-cutting from folk costume patterns into a cultural symbol of the Yi people, earning her the title of “Living Guardian of Huayao Yi Paper-Cutting.”

Family Heritage and Artistic Innovation

Born in 1971 in Moce Dian Village (莫测甸村), Pu Qinghua began learning paper-cutting at the age of seven under her mother’s guidance. She fully mastered the Yi technique of “cutting as painting, composing in the mind” and is known for spontaneous creations of motifs like horse chestnut flowers, flame patterns, and tiger teeth flowers on cowhide paper.

To address the difficulties of traditional double-layer embroidery patterns, she invented a single-layer pattern system, greatly simplifying embroidery work. Her designs became indispensable to local embroiderers.
Her creations preserve Yi cultural symbols of fire, tiger, and gourd worship, while also embracing modern aesthetics. She has designed innovative items such as men’s jackets with Maozi collars (毫子领褂), children’s frog-shaped bellybands (青蛙肚兜), and 3D embroidered ornaments, breathing new life into the ancient craft.

Safeguarding Heritage Through Education

Pu Qinghua treats inheritance as her mission, building a “home workshop + school classroom + community training” model to pass on the art.

School Programs

Since 2012, she has taught paper-cutting weekly at Shaochong Central Primary School (哨冲镇中心小学). Using hands-on guidance combined with cultural storytelling, she inspires children to experience Yi culture. By 2023, she has trained over 80 young inheritors, and her teaching model was recognized as a “Best Case of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Yunnan Schools.”

Community Training

She established the Pu Qinghua Paper-Cutting Workshop (普清华剪纸传习所), teaching core skills such as paper selection, composition, and hollowing. She has trained over 20 apprentices, three of whom became county-level inheritors, forming a sustainable “senior–middle–young” learning chain.

Higher Education Collaboration

Invited as a guest expert at Yunnan Arts University (云南艺术学院) and Yunnan Minzu University (云南民族大学), she integrates folk art into academic education through lectures and workshops.

Cultural Promotion and Recognition

Her works have frequently represented Yi culture on national and international stages, becoming a “cultural calling card” for her people.

• International Exchange: At the 2010 Shanghai World Expo (上海世博会), her paper-cutting scroll Yi Creation Epic (彝族创世史诗) was praised by UNESCO experts as an “Eastern folk art treasure.” In 2019, she showcased 3D embroidery paper-cutting at the “Clouds and Beyond” Intangible Heritage Exhibition in Shenzhen, attracting wide attention.

• Awards: Her work Paper-Cut Horse Chestnut Flower (剪纸马樱花) won the Silver Prize at the 2013 China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo; her Flame Pattern Embroidered Ornament (火焰纹刺绣挂件) won the Bronze Prize at the 2016 Yunnan Folk Craft Design Competition.

• Honors: Named “Outstanding Inheritor of Intangible Heritage in Yunnan”, “Non-heritage Female Artisan of Honghe Prefecture”, and selected as part of the “Shiping County Chief Artisan Program.”

Tourism Integration and Creative Industry

Pu Qinghua actively explores the “Intangible Heritage + Tourism” model, promoting both cultural preservation and local development.

• Tourism Projects: She designed large-scale paper-cut murals and interactive experiences for Yi Cultural Ecological Village in Shiping (石屏彝族文化生态村) and Yuanmou Man World Park (元谋人世界公园). These projects attract over 100,000 visitors annually, raising local villagers’ incomes by about 1,500 RMB per person.

• Cultural Products: In cooperation with craft studios, she developed paper-cut themed souvenirs such as bookmarks, tea mats, and phone cases. Some of her works gained huge popularity online, with a single Douyin (抖音) video reaching over 1 million views.

• Festivals: During the annual Torch Festival (火把节), she organizes the Huayao Yi Paper-Cutting Contest (花腰彝剪纸大赛), drawing over 200 participants from nearby counties, turning paper-cutting from a niche practice into a community-wide cultural event.

Challenges and New Solutions

Despite her achievements, Pu Qinghua faces gaps in generational inheritance and market limitations.

• Aging Apprentices: The average age of her apprentices is 45, with only two under 30, as the craft requires long training but offers limited income.

• Material Shortages: Traditional handmade cowhide paper is costly and unstable in supply, limiting large-scale production.

Her Innovative Approaches

1. Technology Integration: She introduced laser-assisted carving to improve efficiency while keeping handmade artistry. With Yunnan Minzu University, she built a 3D digital archive of 50 representative designs.

2. Policy Support: She secured national intangible heritage funding for protective materials, training equipment, and monthly stipends (500 RMB) for apprentices.

3. Cross-Industry Cooperation: In 2024, she partnered with Huawei’s Digital Intangible Heritage Project, developing a VR paper-cutting teaching system, which gained over 2 million views on the “Learning Power (学习强国)” platform, engaging a younger audience.

Cultural Value and Contemporary Significance

Pu Qinghua’s paper-cutting art is more than visual beauty—it is a living cultural gene bank of the Yi people.

• Historical Witness: Her works preserve Yi spiritual symbols of animism, serving as valuable material for research on Southwest China’s indigenous religions.

• Craftsmanship Benchmark: She revived the bark cloth anti-corrosion technique, enabling paper-cut works to last centuries—now included in Yunnan’s heritage preservation projects.

• Cultural Identity: Through her art, she acts as a “mobile cultural ambassador”, fostering ethnic unity and cultural confidence.

As Pu Qinghua herself says:
“Scissors are not just tools; they are bridges connecting ancestors and future generations.”

In today’s digital age, her dedication ensures that Yi paper-cutting continues to thrive through both tradition and innovation, contributing to the vibrant mosaic of Chinese civilization.