Lu Xue, a renowned Chinese paper-cutting artist, was awarded on
Wednesday an exceptional Danish decoration, the Silver Cross of the
Order of Dannebrog, for her contribution to Sino-Danish cultural
exchanges. His Royal Highness Prince Henrik, the prince consort of
Denmark himself, pinned the cross on Lu at a ceremony held at the
Danish Consulate-General.
"You are being decorated because of your tremendous support and
endeavor in the promotion of Danish culture in Hong Kong (region)
and China, especially to our great author and storyteller Hans
Christian Andersen whose bicentennial we celebrate in 2005," Henrik
said.
He added that he hoped Lu would further the link between Denmark
and China in terms of cultural promotion and exchanges through her
art.
"I am greatly honored and excited to be given such award, which
means that Chinese traditional paper cuts have been well received
by the Danish people," Lu told Xinhua after the ceremony.
She announced that she planned to help promote cultural exchanges
between China and other countries, revealing her next dream of
depicting the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral and the characters in
Victor Hugo's famous novel
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
"I am deeply intrigued by the magnificent architecture of Notre
Dame de Paris and the hero and heroine in the novel," she said.
"Just like I grew up with Andersen's tales, depicting Notre Dame de
Paris has been my dream since I was young."
Hailing from Tai'an City from east China's Shandong Province, Lu learnt her skills from
her mother as a child. With her learned experience and talent, her
works capture the most lifelike images on paper. Her style
explicates a poetic feel and a strong sense of aestheticism,
leading the art of Chinese paper-cutting surpassing an art of
craftsmanship.
Her 112 paper-cuttings depicting Anderson's tales were preserved in
Andersen's Museum of Denmark in 2003. The paper-cuttings are based
on some of Anderson's most famous fairy tales, including "The
Emperor's New Clothes", " The Little Match-Girl" and "The Ugly
Duckling."
Danish newspapers interpreted Lu's paper cuts as showing the
popularity of Andersen's fairy tales in China, but also manifested
an interpretation of Western culture from a Chinese
perspective.
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Andersen's birth in 2005,
Hong Kong issued a set of four stamps, based on Lu's paper cuts on
Andersen's tales.
Armed with a pair of scissors, Ms Lu has been invited to display
and lecture on her art of Chinese papercutting across Europe,
America and Asia. She is acclaimed as an eminent artist and an art
ambassador of the new generation of Chinese artists.
Also on Wednesday's ceremony, Prince Henrik presented a
wonderful painting from Ddense, the native town of Andersen, to
Morgan Lam, a Hong Kong district councilor and a papercutting
enthusiast.
"The painting is an acknowledgment of your genuine dedication
and extraordinary work in the promotion of Danish culture in Hong
Kong especially in relation to Andersen," he said.
With the painting, Lam also received a letter of appreciation
from the Mayor of Odense.
(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2006)
