Item 2023-12-3 has parts A and B. This book was a gift from President Hu of Dianji University to University of Northern Iowa President Mark A. Nook in October of 2019.
3B) Chinese Zodiac book of paper-cuts. They are used to tell the history of Chinese culture or just for decoration. Different styles have different symbolism. This book's paper-cuts are of various symbols in traditional Chinese culture.
The book's cover is red with yellow, black, white, and red characters. There is a dark red watermark on the top left side behind the title written in characters. It is translated into English below. The lower right corner has a yellow border of birds and flowers. The lower left side has a multicolored circular depiction of birds and flowers. Below this is the gold Shanghai Dianji University logo and the name next to it (Chinese on top, English below that). The main part of the book's spine is red with yellow characters. The bottom 1 cm is orange. The top 8 cm is orange too. It has red (Chinese) and yellow (English) text with the book's title. The back cover is plain red except for a red box 4 cm in size with red characters inside it.
The inside cover of this book has an introduction to paper-cut art in China (In Chinese on the left side and in English on the right). Each page of the book is on cream thick laminated cardboard with gilded gold edges. The top of each page has a description of the paper-cut on that page. The bottom has the English translation of that. Chinese characters are on the left and right of the paper-cuts. The paper-cuts are multicolored and made of thin paper. They are held into the book behind a clear piece of thin plastic over the top of them.
