剪紙是中國最古老的民間美術之一，它的歷史至少可追朔到公元六世紀。南北朝墓葬中的動物花卉團花是現已發現的最早的剪紙，另外也有學者認為剪紙的前身可追溯到漢唐婦女使用金銀箔剪成方勝貼在鬢角為飾的風俗。



早期的剪紙多見于喪葬、祭祀等儀式中，大約跟道家的靈媒神務有關，例如杜甫的《彭衙行》中就有“暖湯濯我足，剪紙招我魂”的明確記載。時致今日，苗人后裔仍有 年節剪鬼神之形貼于牛欄、門楣之上的巫術習俗，西南山區的集市上多有由專門的剪紙作坊批量生產的神符備售，各家各戶的灶臺樓閣細處也是每年一換。


民間剪紙至今依然保存了豐富的支脈，許多地方逢年過節，婚喪嫁娶，鄉民都會自備剪紙點綴墻壁、門窗、房柱、鏡子等處，以表祈禱福壽，吉祥如意之意。全國各地都 能見到剪紙，甚至形成了不同地方風格流派，比較著名的就有高密剪紙、佛山剪紙等等?？傮w而論，北方剪紙粗獷豪放、淳樸簡練，南方剪紙則更傾于秀雅繁茂、精致和美。 其中不乏群眾耳聞樂見的題材，象八仙過海、百年好荷、麒麟送子、老鼠嫁女等等……移花接木，人神共處，流線自由奔放，想象力驚人...


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 ...