Encoded in EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2019655212
Finding aid written in English.
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material in English and Chinese
Hongyi He ; Donation; 2006, 2007
Hongyi He Chinese papercuts collection was processed by Sunmin Yoon and May May Chiang in October 2007 and revised by Ann Hoog in January 2020. Valda Morris encoded the finding aid assisted by Ying-Ting "Serena" Chiu in August 2020.
Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.
The Hongyi He Chinese papercuts collection is open to research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [item, date, container number], Hongyi He Chinese papercuts collection (AFC 2006/008) Archive of Folk Culture, Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Hongyi He is a Chinese papercut artist recognized as a "master of folk arts and crafts" by UNESCO. She was born in Wuhan, Hubei, China, on May 1, 1954. Her father was a professor of philosophy and her mother was an amateur embroider and Chinese traditional painter. Her maternal grandmother was a renowned folk storyteller. Hongyi He started paper cutting as a hobby when she was twelve years old, and kept this particular hobby throughout China's turbulent historical transformation. She earned a bachelor's and master's degrees in folk literature and arts from Common University of Central China, in 1980 and 1982 respectively. After her graduation, she began teaching at National South-Central China University in Wuhan. While working, she was sent to Beijing Normal University for a half year as part of a training program for faculty of folklore and folk art. At this program, she met her mentor and teacher, Zhong-Jin Wen, a leading scholar of Chinese folk art. He influenced her work and encouraged her to create contemporary folk art as a papercut artist. Hongyi He has attended conferences, given lectures, and presented exhibitions in China, Korea, Japan, and the United States. At the "Fourth World Conference on Women" held in Beijing in 1995, Hongyi He presented her papercut, "The Wedding of the Rats," which was a collaboration between three generations including her mother and daughter. She owns over 1,000 papercuts made by other artists, as well as pieces of her own work. She currently teaches at the National South-Central China University in Wuhan. She is also an active artist in the United States and promotes her art among Chinese communities in metropolitan Washington, DC, through lectures and workshops.
The collection documents Hongyi He’s method and philosophy behind her papercutting repertory through her biography, publications, and samples of her work. Papercuts created during a lecture/demonstration and interview at the Library of Congress on February 24, 2006, are also contained in this collection, along with several artifacts that were later donated to the American Folklife Center. While the collection is predominantly in English, the lecture/demonstration is in Chinese and English. Some publications are in Chinese varying between traditional and simplified Chinese.
The majority of the papercuts and publications illustrate He's in-depth interest in Chinese folk literature and Chinese ethnic groups. There are 27 small papercuts of animal characters and baby characters that are especially popular among Chinese living in rural areas. For many, these pieces represent Chinese culture and custom, wealth, and prosperity. There are also 15 small paper cuts of pandas made especially for children.
Oversize materials in the collection include: the Library of Congress' Asian Pacific American Heritage Month poster showing one of He’s paper cut pieces which was created during the lecture/demonstration; two papercuts of women’s hair decorations, one of the Miao people of Guizhou (blue), and the other of Tibetan origin (red); and twelve Chinese zodiac animals (mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig). Each zodiac animal papercut is red and each animal character is contained within a blue papercut background. According to the artist, these zodiac pieces are window decorations for Chinese New Year. The hair decoration and zodiac pieces were cut from a special type of paper that can be ironed, and the artist used special scissors to cut the delicate shapes of certain parts.
The Hongyi He Chinese papercuts collection is arranged into the following series: 1. Lecture-related materials; 2. Published materials; 3. Graphic materials; 4. Interview of Hongyi He; Series 5. Papercuts series.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2019655212
Article about the lecture in the newspaper
Black-and-white printouts of color digital images (original images on AFC 2006/008: CF01) with captions.
Images depict Pam Johnson, Nora Yeh, Tsai Hong Miller, Hongyi He, Rata Sun Lewi, and Peggy Bulger at the American Folklife Center and Jefferson Building recording studio, February 2006.
Banner printout from document "About Rats."
Black-and-white printouts of digital images of papercuts (original images on AFC 2006/008: CF03) with explanations.
Black-and-white printouts digital papercut printouts from document "Chinese Folksongs" (original images on AFC 2006/008: CF01).
Zip disk of color digital images.
CD containing PowerPoint presentation of Hongyi He's demonstration/lecture.
Color digital files of photographs of Hongyi He’s papercut collection. Five pictures entitled "Folksong," 3 pictures entitled "Bird," 2 pictures entitled "Rats."
Consists of three sections: 1. History of Chinese papercuts; 2. Characteristics (technique, materials, usages) of Chinese papercuts; 3. Hongyi He’s work and life story. The entire interview is in Chinese with English translations by Nora Yeh in each section. Approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes.
White rabbit papercuts.
Dog papercuts in red, yellow, and black.
Dog papercuts in red and green.
A girl and a boy.
A circular green butterfly papercut used in the demonstration.
A red baby papercut.
Papercuts of black bear in a white background.
Some of the papercuts and prints are unidentified.
Hongyi He's papercut used for a Library of Congress poster.
Light purple flower papercut that was used for demonstration in the lecture.
Tibetan and Miao women head decoration papercuts, red and blue respectively.
Includes five zodiac animals.
Papercuts of an ox, a tiger, a rabbit, a rat, and a snake. Each animal is made in red paper and located in the middle of each paper cut. The edges of each papercut have various decorations in dark blue.
Papercuts of a dragon, a horse, a goat, a monkey, a dog, a rooster and a pig.
Framed and autographed papercut of a dragon in red paper, by Hongyi He.
Framed and autographed papercut of a phoenix in red paper, by Hongyi He.