The,Art,of,Living
By Wang Hairong
At the age of 66， Wang Jie is learning a new skill—papercutting. Every Monday and Thursday afternoon， she attends a class in her neighborhood in Beijings suburban district of Changping， with her toolkit. The kit， once a medicine box， now holds two pairs of scissors， a paper cutter， a pair of glasses， pencils， a big eraser and a roll of tape， all necessary for her lesson.
She was drawn into papercutting by its beauty but more so by Xia Hong， an inspiring armless craftswoman. Upon learning that Xia was going to teach the art in her neighborhood， Wang enrolled in the class.
“If she can cut paper so well without arms， I should be able to do it with my hands，” Wang told Beijing Review. “What I get from the class is not only a skill， but also a positive attitude toward life，” she said. “Thinking of the difficulties she has been through， now I feel many of the troubles I have encountered are nothing.”
Passing down heritage
“When I was a child， I lost both my arms in a car accident. It changed my entire life. Since then， all of my daily activities， including dressing and eating， have to be done with my feet，” Xia told Beijing Review. “But I dont want my disability to stop me from moving forward， so I have been doing things that others believe are impossible for me.”
One thing she has managed to learn is papercutting. “Papercutting has a kind of magic power. With a pair of scissors， a piece of paper is brought to life through your creativity and your cutting，”she said.
Chinese papercutting is a traditional art， with papercuts widely used as decorations in important events such as festivals， weddings and birthday celebrations. It was added to the UNESCOs intangible cultural heritage list in 2009.
Xia hopes her works can help more people become familiar with papercutting. Since 2012， she has been working as a volunteer teacher. “So far， I have taught more than 4，000 students， fulfilling my childhood dream of being a teacher，” she said.
Many of her students are seniors or persons with disability. The class that Wang attends has around 50 students， mostly residents of her neighborhood. In the class， Xia first sketched patterns on the blackboard， explaining to them which parts should be cut and which parts should be kept. Her students followed suit. Xia walked back and forth in the classroom， offering advice to students when necessary.
When the training program commenced this March， many students had no experience of papercutting. Three months later， every student had completed two or three pieces for display at an exhibition.
The exhibition， held on June 23-26 to mark the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， featured works including portraits of Party leaders and the scenery of wartime revolutionary bases of the CPC. It was hosted by Beijing Xiahong Welfare Promotion Center， a charity organization founded and led by Xia.
The center， founded in 2015， has initiated more than 300 activities to help seniors， children and people with disability， according to her. Last year， the center， in cooperation with several private enterprises， donated face masks， disinfectant and foodstuffs to local community workers and police officers engaging in the prevention and control of COVID-19.
“I hope， through this platform， more people will learn about Chinas intangible cultural heritage， and they will participate in charitable activities and make their contribution，” Xia said.
A resilient life
From a learner to a teacher of papercutting， and from a person receiving help to a champion of charity， Xia has come a long way.
“I came from a small village in northeast China. Every step of my growth is inseparable from the support， care and help of others，” she said， adding that she would like to return the love received from others to society.
At the age of 7 after the traffic accident which took her arms， even walking became a challenge for her. She often lost her balance and fell， bruising her face. With the help of her parents， she learned to write and do a number of household tasks with her feet.
She studied in a primary school for four and half years， but dropped out later because the school was far from home. In the following nine years， she taught herself at home， completing middle school courses. She published some poems and essays， and won three gold medals in provincial sports games for persons with disability.
In 1999， she was admitted into a vocational college in Heilongjiang Province. But， from an impoverished family， she could not afford the tuition. Luckily， she received donations from a sponsor and realized her college dream.
Xia majored in design in college. However， she did not start papercutting until 2010. That year， she decided to learn papercutting and presented the art at the World Expo held in Shanghai.
Cutting paper with her feet was no easy task. Even the first step， selecting the right scissors， took some effort. “My husband bought me six pairs of scissors of different sizes. I tried them one by one， and selected the pair that suited me，” she said.
With no teacher to tutor her， she learned from videos and practiced her skills over and over. From her first attempt to her public debut at the World Expo， it took her only five months to master papercutting. “During the exhibition， many people from home and abroad gave me a lot of encouragement，” she said.
In 2012， Xia took part in the Sixth Beijing Vocational Skill Competition for Persons with Disability， and won the papercutting competition. In 2014， during the APEC Economic LeadersWeek in Beijing， she was invited to teach papercutting to the participating leaders spouses.
“What touched me the most was that， when Professor Peng Liyuan， wife of President Xi Jinping， heard that I regularly engage in charitable activities， she came over especially to hug me and encourage me to keep on going，” Xia recalled. With such encouragement and support， Xia set up the charity center named after her the next year and has since run it together with her husband Du Hailong.
Her charity work was recognized. In 2015， Xia received the Citizen of the Year of Beijing（Beijing Bangyang） award. She was conferred the title Role Model of the Times by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee in 2019 and the title of Outstanding Party Member by the CPC Central Committee in June. BR