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January 23, 2017

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Preserving the old traditions of revered Lantern Festival

IT’S long been a Lantern Festival tradition to hang a rabbit lantern, symbolizing harmony and cleverness.

But today, that custom has largely been forgotten.

That’s not the case, however, at the home of He Caihong, where lanterns in different colors and designs hang every day of the year.

As the daughter of the master craftsman He Keming, she wants to preserve the traditional skill.

“I really doubt that many of today’s young children know the tradition, and I’m afraid that it will disappear completely,” she said.

The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar. It falls on February 11 this year.

It takes He at least one day to make a rabbit lantern, which requires more than 50 steps, from bending wires to applying satin to the body.

Actually, she was never an apprentice of her father. Rather, she was a car repairer until 2008, when He Keming’s art of lantern-making was designated as part of China’s “intangible cultural heritage.”

“I never expected the government would recognize my father’s life devotion, and I felt that I had the responsibility to pass it on,” she said.

Her father was then dead, so she began to teach herself the ancient art form.

“I had a rough idea about how to make the lantern but I never learned it from my father,” she said. “So I prayed, ‘Dad, please inspire and help me.’ It really worked.”

She perfected the rabbit lantern and went on to create lanterns in other shapes, such as pigeons and roosters.

Now she has five single mothers as apprentices.

“They are poor women,” she said. “I am trying to help them make something of their lives. They can now make rabbit lanterns very well, and the railway authority has been kind enough to buy their works.”

He said she also needs a sales channel.

“I have a studio at home, but I have nowhere to sell and promote the lanterns,” she said. “I am hoping the government will lend a hand.”

One solution is to introduce the lantern tradition to campuses.

“Nowadays, young people are obsessed with gadgets but know little about culture and tradition,” she said. “It would be good if they devoted some time to constructive activities, like making lanterns.”




 

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