USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    China
    Home / China / Society

    Beijing's rabbit god returns

    By Kuang Linhua | China Daily | Updated: 2013-09-19 01:17

    Though it was on the brink of dying out just a few decades ago, the tradition of sculpting icons for Mid-Autumn Festival is coming back, Kuang Linhua reports

    In a small courtyard in eastern Beijing's Tongzhou district, Hu Pengfei guides several craftsmen in his workshop as they paint colors onto clay sculptures of the rabbit god, a traditional Beijing folk icon. This is a typical scene at the Lucky Rabbit Workshop every year before Mid-Autumn Festival. With a rabbit's head and a human's body, the rabbit god is local to the Chinese capital. It was a traditional folk custom logo of the festival in old Beijing.

    Beijing's rabbit god returns

    Carrying their rabbit god clay sculptures, the Lucky Rabbit Workshop staff arrive at Dongyue Temple in Beijing's Dongcheng district on Sept 8 to prepare for this year's Mid-Autumn Festival temple fair. photos by Kuang Linhua / china daily

    Legend has it that there was an epidemic in the city long ago. The Moon Goddess sent her white rabbit to earth to treat the disease. People began to worship him after that, and the white rabbit is revered as the patron god of Beijing.

    Hu Pengfei is the founder and head of the workshop. He said the process of making a clay rabbit figurine involves more than a dozen procedures and takes a whole week.

    The craft is very complicated. The craftsmen must have a good sense of control as well as master sophisticated painting skills.

    In the old days of Beijing, all the households would put rabbit god sculptures on their altars along with some fruit sacrifices offered to the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival. After that, the clay sculptures would be given to children as toys, Hu said.

    The tradition started to decline in the 1950s, and the craft nearly became extinct in the city.

    But, in the 1980s, some of the older craftsmen began to revive the custom.

    "Today, the rabbit god has become an art form that carries on a culture and tradition," Hu said.

    Hu is from Northwest China's Shaanxi province, and his family has a tradition of making clay figures.

    Although only 31 years old, Hu has been making clay rabbit gods as part of the famous temple fair at the Dongyue Temple during the Mid-Autumn Festival for six years.

    He tells the story of the rabbit god to tourists and teaches primary and middle school students how to make the sculpture.

    "I am not a Beijing native, but I hope my craftsmanship and enthusiasm could allow more people to experience the charm of the rabbit god and ensure that this traditional culture is passed down to future generations," he said.

    At present, the Lucky Rabbit Workshop produces more than 10,000 sculptures every year. Most of these handicrafts are sold to gift shops.

    In addition to making the statues in the traditional style, the workshop also innovates and develops new sculptures such as rabbit goddesses and rabbit babies, which combine fashion with tradition.

    Beijing's rabbit god returns

    Jia Tao, a 28-year-old craftsman from the workshop, checks if the semi-finished clay rabbit god sculptures are dry enough before moving on to further procedures. Air-drying is an important step for making the sculptures.


    Previous 1 2 3 4 Next

    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
     
    日韩人妻无码一区二区三区久久| 精品无码一区二区三区电影| 亚洲人成人无码网www国产| 午夜无码中文字幕在线播放| 欧美中文在线视频| 91久久精品无码一区二区毛片 | 中文字幕人妻色偷偷久久 | 人妻中文无码久热丝袜| 无码精品第一页| 日韩精品无码熟人妻视频| 最近中文字幕完整版免费高清| 人妻丰满熟妇AV无码区HD| 久久精品中文字幕无码绿巨人| 久久中文精品无码中文字幕| 中文字幕人妻色偷偷久久| 无码人妻一区二区三区在线水卜樱 | 日韩精品中文字幕无码一区| 精品无码久久久久国产动漫3d| 精品深夜AV无码一区二区| 亚洲最大激情中文字幕| 国产成人无码精品一区在线观看| 中文字幕一区二区人妻性色| 亚洲中文字幕无码永久在线| 亚洲日本中文字幕天天更新| 国产精品热久久无码av| 无码AV中文字幕久久专区| 亚洲精品无码久久久久久| 一本无码中文字幕在线观| 寂寞少妇做spa按摩无码| 精品无码久久久久久久动漫| 精品无码人妻夜人多侵犯18| 无码精品日韩中文字幕| 日韩精品久久无码人妻中文字幕| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文字幕| 无码人妻精品一区二区三| 亚洲av无码乱码国产精品fc2| 人妻无码中文久久久久专区| 中文字幕亚洲男人的天堂网络| 无码性午夜视频在线观看| 久久久久无码精品国产| 国产V亚洲V天堂无码|