The sight of an octogenarian sitting at the entrance of a centuries-old structure, skillfully crafting lanterns, creates a captivating and distinctive scene in the Potan Ancient Town, nestled within Xianju County, Zhejiang Province.

With a history spanning over 1,000 years, this town is quietly hidden from the majority of visitors who are unaware of its presence. Even fewer still are acquainted with its exceptional tradition of lantern making.

The octogenarian is local resident Wang Rulan, an inheritor of the town's cherished cultural heritage in lantern craftsmanship.

Her foray into the realm of lantern making began as a hobby, inspired by her uncle. However, it wasn't until she was in her 40s that her casual interest blossomed into a deep-seated passion. This transformation occurred when a skilled artisan visited her village to impart the techniques of lantern crafting. Wang apprenticed herself to the master, setting out on a lifelong journey of learning and creation.

The lantern-making craft was recognized as national intangible cultural heritage in China in 2006. In that year, the town began to provide Wang with financial support to continue her residence and artistic pursuits. In early 2018, Wang was acknowledged as a national-level inheritor of this esteemed tradition for her mastery of the craft.

Patience and perseverance

Wang specializes in the intricate art of needle-pierced frameless lanterns, a traditional craft dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in the county.

This technique involves pasting and shaping layers of paper to create unique designs, and pricking the lantern surface to form patterns and allow light to shine through.

Unlike traditional lantern styles that usually rely on bamboo or wooden frames, this method intricately fashions patterns and designs without the need for any framing.

The meticulous process of creating one such lantern encompasses 18 detailed steps.

"Every intricate pattern adorning these frameless lanterns is meticulously crafted using an embroidery needle with a diameter of approximately 0.3 mm. Each square cm of paper demands around 100 needle punctures," Wang told Zhejiang Daily.

Depending on the lantern's size, the number of punctures can vary from several hundred thousand to over 1 million. "Patience is thus paramount for artisans," Wang said. "It's common to spend hours pricking needles into the paper."

Despite her advanced age, she is still adept at creating over 20 types of lanterns, including those featuring patterns of chrysanthemums and vases. The intricate patterns she crafts on the paper exude a machine-like precision while retaining the artisanal warmth of handmade craftsmanship.

Some of Wang's artworks are on display at a local museum. Inside the dimly lit exhibition hall, the suspended lanterns radiate a luminous glow.

"In the past, every household here would craft lanterns for traditional Chinese festivals like the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival," Wang recalled. "Lanterns are loved as symbols of good fortune and prosperity."

Despite her diminishing eyesight, Wang is enthusiastic about passing on her skills and eagerly welcomes more individuals to partake in lantern making. Among her apprentices, her daughter-in-law, Chen Caiping, excelled, eventually becoming the provincial-level inheritor of this craft in 2018.

Since 2009, the Xianju Vocational School has offered an elective course on this traditional craft, admitting 20 students annually from a pool of hundreds of applicants. Among these students, a cohort who continued their education at colleges established lantern clubs on campus, playing a pivotal role in promoting the legacy of Xianju lantern craftsmanship among their peers.

Illuminating tradition

The community of lantern enthusiasts, particularly among the younger generations, has been growing in recent years, driven by a surge of interest in lantern fairs and exhibitions on social media.

The recent Spring Festival holiday, from February 10 to 17, witnessed a tourism boom, with the myriad of lantern designs posted on social media platforms by domestic travelers captivating netizens, including some overseas.

On December 15, 2023, the annual Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival, a local tradition in Shanghai since 1995, commenced simultaneously in Paris and Shanghai—which was actually known as the "Paris of the East" in the 1930s. This event marked the first-ever occurrence of the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival outside Chinese borders, to celebrate the Sino-Franco Year of Cultural Tourism. Throughout the year, the program will stage cultural events held alternately in France and China.

Announced in 2019 by Presidents Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron, the initiative intends to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries and promotes France as a tourist destination in China—and vice versa.

The lantern festival, hosted at the Jardin d'Acclimatation amusement park in Paris, showcased approximately 60 light installations and over 2,000 mesmerizing lanterns imported from China. The displays featured intricate designs of dragons, mythical creatures from The Classic of Mountains and Seas, and vibrant light exhibits.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas is a catalogue of the (super)natural fauna and flora allegedly dating back to the eighth century B.C. and spanning a period of some 1,000 years.

Traditional legendary figures have also been a source of inspiration for Zhou Xinwei, a lantern enthusiast from Fuyang, Anhui Province. Growing up in a family where her grandfather crafted superb-quality lanterns, she began exploring how to create these lights in her spare time after entering university in 2010. "My first attempt at making a lantern proved more challenging than I ever could have imagined," she told China News Agency.

Determined to hone her skill, she took online resources, read related books and explored a host of lantern exhibits. Embracing a philosophy of innovation within tradition, she believed that lanterns could evolve by incorporating diverse elements while preserving their essence. By infusing her designs with mythological fish motifs, she introduced a fresh fish lantern pattern.

To her astonishment, the images of her fish lanterns resonated with netizens, gaining much attention and admiration. Over the course of a year, Zhou crafted more than 20 distinct lantern designs, each infused with her own unique creative flair. Last March, a video showing her lantern-making process amassed over 3 million views on social media.

Looking ahead, Zhou plans to continue refining her craft, emphasizing the importance of blending tradition and innovation. From her perspective, evolving forms of art do not compromise enduring cultural essence.

"Preserving traditional culture is not about blindly adhering to the past, but about incorporating innovation," she said. "Today's youth are increasingly passionate about traditional culture and I aspire for more individuals to appreciate and embrace our rich heritage."

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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