An exhibition of more than 200 paper-cuttings featuring the life
of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC) and his
teachings began its world tour on June 16 in Jinan, capital of east
China's Shandong Province.
Part of the ongoing 2006 Shandong International Cultural
Industry Fair, the exhibition comprises three sections: the life of
Confucius told through stories, the book of Lunyu (or
The Analects of Confucius), and his apprentices.
"All the stories about Confucius are in the form of traditional
Chinese paper cuttings, which took me about three years to
complete," said artist Lu Xue.
Lu, secretary of the Hong Kong Association of Chinese
Paper-cutting, was born in Tai'an City in Shandong and began to
learn the craft at the age of six.
The exhibition also features paper-cuttings of well-known
characters from Western stories and fairy tales.
Rita Fan (Hsu Lai-tai), president of the Legislative Council of
Hong Kong, said at the opening ceremony: "The philosophical thought
of courtesy and benevolence in Confucianism guided the ancient
Chinese. We modern Chinese should still follow the philosophy and
learn from it."
Chinese paper-cutting is believed to date back to the sixth
century.
The exhibition will move to Hong Kong after Jinan, and
thereafter to Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The tour is
expected to last for about a year.
Confucius was the founder of Confucianism, which advocates the
building of a harmonious society through an individual's
self-refinement in manners and taste. It was promulgated by ancient
Chinese rulers during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25) and
spread far and wide across East and South Asia.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2006)