LEFT
Three of Keizaburo
Tejima’s books f rom
the ACL collection –
Owl Lake, Woodpecker
Forest and Fox’s
Dream.Oneof
Tejima’s pur poses
wastotransportthe
reader vicariously to
observe the wildlife
of Hokkaido, his
birthplace, and to
showcase the island’s
natural beauty
through his works.
He used a tinted
woodblock technique,
which he sometimes
supplemented with
brush-on paint. This
traditional form allows
for a good deal of
texture in solid blocks
of colour as well as
verystrong,boldlinesLynn Chuais a Senior Librarian with the National
Library Board (NLB) in Singapore. She developed
the Asian Children’s Literature collection in 2012,
and made the collection available to a range of
users, from researchers and teachers to parents
and students.This article was irst published in BiblioAsia (Vol 10, Issue 1, April–June 2014), a quarterly journal of the National Library Board on the history,
culture and heritage of Singapore. The online edition can be viewed at: http://www.nlb.gov.sg/biblioasia(peaches), and the legendary Eight Immortals
of Chinese mythology. his bilingual book
(English and Chinese) tells of the origins of
the immortals and how they embarked on
their journeys towards deityhood.
he traditional style of papercuting is also
typical of Chinese culture. he art of cuting
paper designs in China developed during the
Han and Wei periods before iron tools and
paperwereeveninvented.Papercutingisa
technique of cuting an image out of paper. he
inal image is formed by the contrast of the solid
parts that remain and the negative spaces that
have been cut out. Legend has it that Emperor
Wu of the Han Dynasty (156–87 BC) so missed
Lady Li, his favourite concubine who had died,
thathehadaigureofhercarvedinhemppaper
to summon her spirit back. his was perhaps
the earliest mention of a papercut.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties,
the art of papercuting reached its peak. he
technique was applied for embellishing folkAccordion books were
traditionally used as a vehicle
for Buddhist sutras. For this
reason, it was named [...]
“folded sutra binding”
lanterns, fans and embroidered fabrics. Today,
papercuting remains a very popular folk art.
Papercuting is also used to illustrate Chinese
literature. In Six Chinese Brothers, published
in 1979, the author Cheng Hou-tien brings the
ancient tale to life with red and black papercut
illustrations using the scissor cuting technique.
In Chinese literature, papercut illustrations
are used to depict famous scenes from popular
legends that emphasise moral lessons and
celebrate epic characters, providing a visual
means to introduce Chinese art and culture
to children during storytelling. As papercut
illustrations combine folktales with art, they
act as visual reminders of the beliefs and values
of a people.
he books featured in this article ofer just
a tiny sampling of the treasures available in the
ACL collection. he stories contained within
these books will help the younger readers
understand their own ancestral cultures,
traditions and values as well as those of the
larger Asian world we live in. ag