On April 16, 2025, the School of International Education carried out cultural workshops “ Discover China: The Art of Paper-Cutting” and “Discover China: The Legacy of Ink and Brush” on Xiwangdadao Avenue Campus, Yancheng Institute of Technology. The events brought together over 30 students from Bangladesh, Thailand, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and other countries for an immersive exploration of China’s intangible cultural heritage. Esteemed teachers— Niu Jikang, inheritor of Yancheng’s paper-cutting intangible cultural heritage, and Shi Jiang, Chairman of Yancheng Tinghu Calligraphers’ Association— guided hands-on artistic practices, showcasing the unique aesthetic connotations and cultural essence contained in these ancient traditions.
The paper-cutting session opened with Mr. Niu showcasing different paper-cutting works for international students that illustrated the unique artistic charm of Chinese folk culture. When the familiar Paper-cutting works of “Salt Cube” Yancheng TV Tower, “Bronze Horse” in the downtown and other landmark buildings in Yancheng appeared on the screen, exclamations of “Wow” could be heard throughout the room. In the practical session, under the careful guidance of Mr. Niu, international students all picked up scissors and tried to cut out simple patterns. Their initial raw movements gradually became skillful, and the original crooked lines gradually became smooth. They transformed crimson sheets into symmetrical window grilles, fluttering butterflies, endearing pandas, and other vivid works.
Mr. Shi introduced the calligraphy art with fluent English, from the Oracle to running scripts, systematically interpreting the cultural lineage and aesthetic changes of Chinese calligraphy for three thousand years. Students listened in rapt silence and were absorbed in his exquisite analysis of classic calligraphic styles such as “Yan Jin Liu Gu” and “grace of the Two Wangs”. In the interactive session, philosophical questions such as “How can soft-tipped brushes create forceful strokes that ‘pierce the paper’?” kept popping up one after another, and Mr. Shi's classic answers occasionally drew waves of admiration. The practical stage turned theory into action. Mr. Shi demonstrated the key points of “firm fingers, hollow palm, level wrist, upright brush” when holding the brush. The rhythmic beauty of his brushstrokes impressed students. Then students carefully wrote on the paper, starting from the most basic gestures to experience the ups and downs of the brushstrokes. Uzbek student Hamroev Shakhzod, after painstaking practice, felt excited about his first brush writing of China (中国).
As the third and fourth sessions of cultural activities in the series “Discover China in Yancheng”, these two activities used intangible cultural heritage as a medium to build a bridge for cross-cultural communication. Adhering to the concept of “cultivating minds through culture, connecting hearts through art,” this series not only enables international students to understand the spirit of Chinese aesthetics in the study of skills, but also cultivates the awareness of “harmonious coexistence of different civilizations” through an immersive cultural experience, making the campus a lively platform for mutual learning and appreciation. Moving forward, the School of International Education pledges to refine this cultural platform, ensuring that traditional art remains a timeless bond connecting the hearts of students at home and abroad.
Written by: Zhao Jialing, Wang Ke
Photo by: Yan Baiyi
