Paper-cutting marvel Li Lan deftly cuts the ancient famous painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"

Li Lan and her paper-cutting work "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" (detail).

Text/Photos by Zhang Minfu

??? Li Lan, a retired teacher from Caosanzuolou Village, Lizhuang Town, Dangshan County, Anhui Province, is 75 years old this year. In 2009, she had knee surgery. To relieve the loneliness of being bedridden for a long time, she used the "instant sticker" paper her husband used for decoration to cut paper for fun. From plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, chrysanthemums, and the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, to the "12 Beauties of the Dream of the Red Chamber," once she started she could not stop. More than a year later, she miraculously cut out the ancient famous painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" (detail). The patterns are complex, with lines as thin as a hair, all cut with scissors rather than carved with a knife.

??? Li Lan never had a teacher. When she was young, she only cut shoe patterns and round flower designs, and cut "double happiness" characters for teachers. She never imagined that today she could cut such highly difficult pictures. Li Lan cuts paper purely out of interest. She cuts when she is happy, sometimes for an hour or so, sometimes for one or two days in a row. As for "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," she said: "I am cutting a famous painting to hang in the living room. When I am no longer here someday, it will leave a keepsake for my children and grandchildren."

??? Li Lan's paper-cutting subjects are wide-ranging, including flowers and birds, figures, and auspicious characters. She already has more than 100 works. She has been admitted as a member of the Paper-cutting Art Committee of the China National Culture Promotion Association and the Anhui Provincial Peasant Painting and Calligraphy Research Association. Her works have been exhibited and collected at the Anhui Museum.