Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this thing called “zhezhi,” which is basically Chinese paper folding. I wouldn’t call myself an expert or anything, but I thought I’d share my little adventure with it.
So, first off, I didn’t even know it was called “zhezhi.” I always just thought paper folding was called “origami,” which is apparently the Japanese word. But yeah, in China, they call it “zhezhi,” and I think it has a pretty long history, like, from medieval China or something.
I got myself a kit online, just a simple one to start. It came with a bunch of colored paper squares and a little instruction booklet. I figured, “How hard can it be, right?”
- Started with the basics: The booklet had these diagrams, which, honestly, looked like some alien language at first. But I started with the simplest one, I think it was supposed to be a boat.
- Fold here, fold there: Okay, following the diagrams was a bit of a struggle. I had to unfold and refold a few times. My first boat looked more like a crumpled-up piece of trash, not gonna lie.
- Getting the hang of it: But, I kept at it. I tried a few other models, like a hat, and after a few (or maybe a lot) of failed attempts, I started to get the hang of it. They weren’t perfect, but hey, they were recognizable.
- It’s kind of relaxing: You know what? It’s actually pretty relaxing, once you get past the initial frustration. Just focusing on the folds, the paper, it’s kind of meditative.
I even tried folding a gold ingot shape, you know, those things called “sycee.” It was a bit tricky, but it turned out okay, I guess. It’s kind of cool to think about how they used to fold paper into these shapes back in the day.
My takeaway?
It’s definitely a skill that takes practice. My creations are far from masterpieces, but it’s a fun little hobby. Maybe it’s not something I’ll do every day, but it’s a nice way to kill some time and do something with your hands. Plus, it’s a little piece of Chinese culture that I got to mess around with, which is pretty neat.
So yeah, that’s my zhezhi journey so far. Not exactly a master, but hey, I’m learning. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be folding complex models. For now, I’m happy with my slightly wonky boats and hats.
