Chinese paper-cut was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 [1]. It encompasses living traditions, artistic expressions, and craftsmanship passed down through generations, contributing to cultural diversity and community identity. The black paper-cuttings from Nangou Village in Sanmenxia, China, represent a rare and highly localised variant of this art form. While black commonly symbolises sorrow or misfortune in wider Chinese festive contexts, in Nangou it conveys blessings for good fortune rooted in the local peoples’ belief systems, especially in the decoration of the underground courtyard wedding chambers. These wedding chambers form the case study for this research, as they demonstrate a unique and highly specific application of this traditional art form.
Historically, black paper-cuttings were placed in fixed, specific positions on walls and ceilings. Each motif, whether animal, plant, or symbolic pattern, expressed particular blessings for the newlyweds, such as good luck, happiness, and fertility. The decorated space functioned as a coherent visual environment, in which the paper cuttings were not merely ornamental but served as a narrative medium, linking together architecture, ritual, and communal values. Together, they formed part of Nangou’s community identity and told stories that connected past and present, while pointing towards the future.
This cultural system has now almost disappeared. With the elder practitioners passing away and younger generations showing little interest in continuing the craft, its living transmission has been severely disrupted. At the same time, most of the traditional underground courtyard dwellings have collapsed or been filled in, and families have moved into modern houses where paper-cutting no longer plays a significant role. What survives today are fragments, individual cuttings removed from their original context, a small number of photographs, and partial memories, insufficient to reconstruct the spatial logic of the wedding chamber. The narrative storylines have become broken.
This presentation proposes a digital approach to reconnect these dispersed elements and revitalise this narrative medium. Through the 3D modelling of surviving underground courtyards, VR reconstructions of wedding chambers, and the integration of object histories and oral accounts, the project explores how virtual environments can restore lost context and offer new ways of understanding and presenting this endangered tradition. The aim is not only to demonstrate the potential of these techniques but also to ensure that this intangible cultural heritage is properly archived and disseminated, so that its existence and cultural significance are acknowledged and preserved within contemporary cultural discourse, by reactivating its spatial and narrative dimensions. More broadly, alongside issues of preservation and sustainability, it raises important questions about ownership and responsible stewardship of indigenous heritage, drawing on the CARE Principles (Collective benefit, Authority, Responsibility, and Ethics) [2] for digitised heritage materials, to ensure that community needs and purpose are central to the research outputs. A significant strength of this project is that the lead researcher is a native of Henan Province and speaks the local dialect (Sanmenxia), enabling direct communication with the people of Nangou and the development of a trusting relationship built over time.
References
[1] UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (2009): Chinese paper-cut https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/chinese-paper-cut-00219
[2] Carroll, S.R., Garba, I., Figueroa-Rodríguez, O.L., Holbrook, J., Lovett, R., Materechera, S., Parsons, M., Raseroka, K., Rodriguez-Lonebear, D., Rowe, R., Sara, R., Walker, J.D., Anderson, J. and Hudson, M. (2020) “The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance.” Data Science Journal 19(1): 43. doi:10.5334/dsj-2020-043