About this site
Who runs ChineseFolkCrafts.com?
ChineseFolkCrafts.com is an independent project by a solo folk-craft enthusiast based in Beijing, China, who researches Chinese intangible cultural heritage and translates it into English for international readers, teachers, and makers. You can read more on our About page.
How can I contact you or suggest a topic?
Email us at [email protected] or use the details on our Contact page. Corrections, craft suggestions, and collaboration ideas are all welcome — we read every message.
Is the site free to use? How is it supported?
Yes, all articles are free to read. The site is independent and supported by advertising, which covers research and hosting costs. We do not sell crafts, and our articles are researched from authoritative Chinese sources such as the national intangible cultural heritage database (ihchina.cn), with sources listed at the end of each article.
Paper cutting
What is Chinese paper cutting (jianzhi)?
Jianzhi (剪纸) is the folk art of cutting patterns from paper with scissors or small knives, used to decorate windows and doors and to accompany festivals, weddings, and birthdays. It is at least 1,500 years old and was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Start with our history of Chinese paper cutting and the story of how red paper became a language.
What do the symbols in paper cutting mean?
Paper cutting is a language of puns and metaphors: a bat means blessing (both are pronounced fu), a fish means surplus (yu), a peony means wealth and honor, and the doubled character 囍 announces a wedding. Our guide to 8 auspicious symbols in Chinese paper cutting decodes the classic motifs one by one.
How do I make my first paper cut?
You need only red paper and small sharp scissors. Fold the paper twice, cut a half-heart or petal along the fold, and open it — the fold creates the symmetry. Our beginner's tutorial walks through the four-fold medallion, the yin and yang cuts, and how to display your work.
Lanterns
Why are Chinese lanterns red?
Red is the color of joy, luck, and protection in Chinese culture, believed to ward off evil and welcome good fortune — so a red lantern at the door announces a celebration. Lanterns come in many colors and forms, from hexagonal palace lanterns to figural festival lanterns, but the round red lantern became the universal emblem of festival China. Read more in our brief history of Chinese lanterns.
What is the Lantern Festival?
The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month — the first full moon of the new year — and marks the grand finale of the Chinese New Year season. Families view lantern displays, solve riddles tied to lanterns, and eat sweet rice balls called yuanxiao or tangyuan. Our article on the Lantern Festival explains why it is much more than lights.
How can I make a simple paper lantern at home?
With one sheet of red paper, scissors, and glue you can make a classic round lantern in about fifteen minutes: fold, cut slits, roll into a cylinder, and add a handle. Never put a real candle inside — use an LED tea light. Follow our step-by-step guide to making a simple red paper lantern.
Chinese knots
What do Chinese knots symbolize?
Each knot is a wish. The endless knot (pan chang) stands for long life and continuity, the double coin knot for wealth in pairs, the butterfly knot for blessing and joy, and the cloverleaf knot for good fortune. The word for knot, jie (结), is also a near-homophone of ji (吉), luck. Our guide to 5 common Chinese knots and their meanings decodes the essential repertory.
Which Chinese knot should a beginner learn first?
The double coin knot: it needs one short cord, no tools, and about fifteen minutes. It is also one of the most meaningful knots — two linked coins wishing prosperity in pairs. Try our step-by-step double coin knot tutorial, which also explains the all-important "dressing" step that makes a knot crisp.
Cloth art
Why do Chinese babies wear tiger shoes and tiger hats?
Folk belief casts the tiger — king of beasts, with the character for "king" (王) on its brow — as a fierce protector that frightens away evil spirits and illness. Dressing a baby in tiger shoes, a tiger hat, or even a full tiger kit borrowed the animal's strength for the child. The pieces were sewn by mothers and grandmothers as portable blessings. Read more in tiger shoes and baby sachets and patchwork quilts and tiger hats from northern villages.
What is a Chinese sachet (xiangbao)?
A xiangbao (香包), also called xiangnang, is a small embroidered pouch filled with aromatic herbs such as mugwort, cloves, and cinnamon. Worn especially at the Dragon Boat Festival, it served as perfume, insect repellent, and protective charm — and as a token of affection. The Qingyang and Xuzhou sachet traditions are national intangible cultural heritage. See tiger shoes and baby sachets for the full story.
What are the four great styles of Chinese embroidery?
Su embroidery from Suzhou (delicate and refined), Xiang embroidery from Hunan (bold and painterly, famous for tigers), Yue embroidery from Guangdong (rich colors and gold thread), and Shu embroidery from Sichuan (smooth, lustrous, with a hundred stitch types). Our article on Su, Xiang, Yue, and Shu embroidery introduces all four and teaches you how to read a piece.
New Year pictures
What are nianhua (New Year pictures)?
Nianhua (年画) are colorful woodblock prints pasted up at Chinese New Year to bless the household — door gods for protection, plump babies for fertility, kitchen gods, and scenes of abundance. Great printing centers such as Yangliuqing, Taohuawu, Yangjiabu, and Mianzhu each developed a distinct style. Our article on door gods and New Year prints shows how to read them.
Who are the door gods?
Door gods (menshen, 门神) are guardian figures pasted in pairs on entrance doors to keep evil out and blessing in. The earliest were the mythical brothers Shenshu and Yulü; the most famous are the Tang dynasty generals Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, who according to legend guarded the emperor's sleep. Their printed portraits still guard doorways every Spring Festival — see door gods and New Year prints.
Kites
Were kites really invented in China?
Yes — Chinese tradition credits the philosopher Mozi and the craftsman Lu Ban with wooden "bird" flying devices in the fifth century BCE, and paper kites appeared soon after paper spread. Early kites measured distances, signaled armies, and carried messages before becoming the beloved spring pastime of fang fengzheng. Trace the whole arc in Chinese kites: from war signals to sky art.
Where is the best place to see Chinese kites?
Weifang in Shandong, the "kite capital of the world," hosts an international kite festival every spring and keeps a famous kite museum. Beijing, Tianjin, and Nantong each have their own renowned kite-making schools, several of them protected as national intangible cultural heritage. Our kite article covers all of them.