The Chosen and the Beautiful

Paper-cutting, which involves the creation of elaborate shapes that spring into concrete life forms, whether a lion or a high school version of Daisy, is a motif that crops up throughout the course of the novel and is a symbol of Jordan’s personal magic and connection to her Asian origins. Paper-cutting as a craft dates to the sixth century AD in China; however, the history of decorative cuttings predates the invention of paper. As early as 100 AD, people cut leather, thin fabrics, and even leaves to make aesthetic shapes. Paper-cutting spread throughout Asia and even became a style of performance in Japan in kamikiri, where artists would take suggestions from the audience about what to create.

The idea of paper-cutting as performance takes place in Nghi Vo’s novel, where Jordan and Khai’s troupe of paper-cutters use scissors and scraps to create new worlds that come to life, thereby astounding their Western audiences with ideas of the mystic east. Paper-cutting is an instinctive craft for a newly adopted Jordan, and she uses the conduct books that Mrs. Baker gives her to make expressive forms. However, it is not until Daisy enters the scene and Jordan tells her about the dancing lions that the priests cut out of thick red paper and she begins cutting her own lion, that she is aware of her magic.