Lanterns shining brighter again
Traditional craft given a new lease of life with Paris showcase
When the night draws in at the Jardin d’Acclimatation park in the north of Paris, a dazzling and fantastical world of colorful animals and plants comes alive.
Since mid-December, visitors to the park have been transported into a world of ancient Eastern mythology through an immersive sound-and-light show.
Featuring 2,000 fabulous traditionalstyle lanterns shipped from China, the French Yuyuan Lantern Festival, developed by Yuyuan — the well-known traditional Chinese-style garden in Shanghai — has kicked off the 2024 China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.
In keeping with the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, the makers of the traditionalstyle lanterns have been inspired by a variety of Chinese dragon totems and mythical creatures from the ancient Shanhaijing (Classics of Mountains and Seas), said Chen Jia, chief cultural officer of Yuyuan Inc that is in charge of the show.
Each of the divine creatures depicted has unique cultural and spiritual significance.
“We tapped deep into the cultural classic that has a history of more than 2,000 years and distilled its essence before creating a series of lantern designs,” Chen said.
The Spirits of Mountains and Seas lantern set is rendered as a dynamic series in which mythical fish transfigure into big birds after jumping out of the water, symbolizing lofty ideals and aspirations, while dragons are fashioned as warriors to indicate courage and strength.
At the Leap of the Fish in the Dragon’s Gate section, a soaring dragon is endowed with a long neck and wings, breaking through the waves.
The image is inspired by the Hetu (Yellow River Chart) and the Luoshu (Inscription of the Luohe River), two cosmological diagrams used in ancient China.
“It showcases the positive, open, and dynamic aspects of Chinese culture, expressing China’s willingness to develop together with the world,” Chen explained.
Additionally, the lantern show incorporates a multitude of elements from ancient Chinese culture, including architecture, sculptures, paintings, and costumes.
“Such elements as the flying dragons are commonly seen in ancient paintings and sculptures, and so are the coiling dragons from traditional Chinese architectural pillars and cornices,” Chen said.
These dragon-related elements are interwoven into the gateways, pathways, and lawns of the Parisian park and enable visitors to feel the festive atmosphere of the Year of the Dragon, she said.
Modern technology, such as “find-outmore” QR codes on the logo of each set of lanterns, has also been employed to enable visitors to enjoy a more immersive experience.
The French lantern show is just one way that traditional Chinese lanterns are beginning to gain a new lease on life.
In Xuzhai village, Dongyang city of East China’s Zhejiang province, lantern maker Xu Bin has added a new dimension to needle-pierced frameless lanterns, an intangible cultural heritage.
With documented records dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the lanterns are made by pasting different-sized and shaped pieces of paper together. Through the balanced application of glued paper, they retain their form without any internal frame.
Various patterns are formed by using a needle to prick the surface of each lantern, and the thickness and density of the needle holes have strict requirements for precision and attention to detail.
Xu started to learn how to make the lanterns from his mother who was a dab hand at the craft. It did not take long before he was creating mini-sized pierced frameless lanterns in his art class in primary school.
In 2008, one of his lanterns won the gold prize at a traditional lantern-making competition jointly hosted by Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces and Shanghai, which inspired him to apply more innovative elements to the traditional artwork.
He takes pride in having introduced more intricate needlework to the craft with the incorporation of landscape and figurative elements for the pierced designs rather than the relatively simple auspicious patterns that used to be the norm.
“For landscape paintings, varied stitching techniques with different densities are employed to depict elements such as water and mist,” he said.
Xu has also applied other Chinese cultural elements, such as paper-cuts and fine brushwork, to the local lanterns, and he has also incorporated the use of new materials, such as silk.
The young man has also applied his college education to upgrading the lanterns’ structures. Through precise calculations, Xu has managed to enhance the lanterns’ aesthetics and sturdiness and create lanterns with more layers of texture.
Due to technological limitations, traditional needle-pierced frameless lanterns typically range in size from 20 to 40 centimeters. However, Xu can create lanterns that reach a height of 1.2 meters.
Now, Xu has opened an online shop, receiving lantern orders from home and abroad.
“People will place orders (for the lanterns) as a prop for a photo shoot wearing traditional costumes, and many tourist attractions use them for decorations,” he said.
Xu has also developed an innovative kit that enables amateurs to enjoy the fun of putting together a pierced frameless lantern.
He said it is his wish to improve the local lanterns, so they can be better appreciated by the modern world and used beyond the holidays.
He has already adapted some lanterns into lamps to go with modern home settings.
As his innovative works have been collected by various museums in recent years, Xu said he feels more motivated to combine novel ideas with the traditional craft.