New Year is a time of renewal.  

This year is the Chinese Year of the Dog.  On display until the end of February are early 20th century Chinese paper cuttings from URI’s Special Collections.  

As with most beginnings, the Chinese believe that “all the bad luck of the past year is swept out with the dirt, and replaced with the new”.  Paper-cuts and calligraphy invoking good fortune, long life, and similar blessings for the coming year have been displayed by Chinese families for centuries. Entrances are decorated with paper cuttings to bring good luck.

There are two methods of cutting the paper: one which uses scissors, and another which uses knives. In the scissors method, several pieces of paper - up to eight - are fastened together. The motif is then cut with sharp, pointed scissors.  Knife cuttings are fashioned by putting several layers of paper on a relatively soft foundation consisting of a mixture of tallow and ashes. Following a pattern, the artist cuts the motif into the paper with a sharp knife which is usually held vertically. The advantage of knife cuttings is that considerably more cuttings can be made in one operation than with scissors.