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One of China's most popular folk arts is paper cutting. Archaeological finds trace the tradition back to the 6th century; it is supposed that the beginnings of paper cutting were even a few centuries earlier. Paper cuttings are used for religious purposes, for decoration and as patterns.

As is still partly the case outside of China, various paper objects and figures used to be buried with the dead or were burned at the funeral ceremony. Paper cuttings, which were usually of symbolic character, were part of this ritual. They also often served as decorations for sacrificial offerings to the ancestors and gods.