The paper-cut wonder Li Lan cut out the ancient famous painting "along the River during the Qingming Festival".

Li Lan and her paper-cut work "painting along the River during the Qingming Festival" (partial).

Text / photo by Zhang Minfu

??? Li Lan, a retired teacher from Cao Sanzuilou Village, Lizhuang Town, Dangshan County, Anhui Province, is 75 years old. In 2009, she had an operation on her knee joint, and in order to relieve the loneliness of being bedridden for a long time, she played with the "post-it notes" paper-cut used by her husband. From plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, 12 zodiac animals to 12 Red Mansions, it was impossible to stop. More than a year later, it miraculously cut out the ancient famous painting along the River during the Qingming Festival (partial). The figure is complex, and the lines are as thin as hair, which are all cut with scissors instead of a knife.

??? Li Lan never studied as a teacher. When she was young, she just cut shoes and flowers, and cut the word "Xi" for the teachers. Unexpectedly, she was able to cut such a difficult picture today. Li Lan cut paper entirely out of interest and cut it whenever she liked, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for a day or two in a row. As for the painting along the River during the Qingming Festival, she said: "A famous picture cut out and hung in the living room will leave a souvenir for our children and grandchildren when the person is gone."

??? Li Lan's paper-cut has a wide range of subjects, including flowers and birds, characters and auspicious characters, and has more than 100 works, which have been absorbed as members by the Paper-cut Art Committee of the Chinese Association for the Promotion of Chinese Culture and the Anhui Farmers' calligraphy and painting Research Association. the works are exhibited and collected in the Anhui Provincial Museum.