Lantern (Xianju lantern)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Lantern (Xianju lantern)

Applicant: Xianju County, Zhejiang Province

Project No.: 349

Project No.: Ⅶ - 50

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Zhejiang Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Xianju County, Zhejiang Province

Protection unit: Xianju Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

Brief introduction of lantern (Xianju lantern)

Applicant: Xianju County, Zhejiang Province

Xianju needled boneless lantern is named after the pattern of the lamp surface is needled with a knife, and the lamp body is boneless. It originated in Potan, Xianju County, Zhejiang Province, and then extended to Hengxi, Baita, Tianshi, Xiage, Zhuxi and other towns.

According to legend, boneless lanterns began in the Tang Dynasty, commonly known as "Tang lanterns". In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, their skills tended to be mature. In 1996, Xianju needled boneless lantern won the gold award of Chinese folk art works and the gold award of the 4th Macao International Art Fair. In 2000, Xianju County was named "the hometown of Chinese folk art" by the Ministry of culture.

Xianju needled boneless lantern integrates painting, embroidery and architectural art. It has unique shape, strong sense of space, rich facade changes and delicate and vivid structure. It is a masterpiece of traditional needlework. The pattern of Xianju needled boneless lantern surface is formed by the light passing through the hole of knife chisel. Its modeling method is also unique. The whole body is made of different sizes and shapes of paper lamp pieces without a skeleton. Single lamp style is excellent, group lamp momentum is magnificent, has a high aesthetic value. In Xianju, it is not only used as a gift, but also used for decoration of folk houses, which plays an important role in folk festival activities. There were more than 80 varieties of boneless lanterns, and 27 of them have been recovered. The excavation and protection of boneless lanterns need further study.