Zhang Juntao

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhang Juntao, Male, Han, from Kaifeng, Henan, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Lantern Art (Ⅶ-50). The tradition is documented in Kaifeng, Henan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Lantern Art in Kaifeng, Henan: Bianjing Lantern Zhang originated in Kaifeng, Henan. The Zhang family is known for binding and pasting festival lanterns; after Zhang Taiquan of the late Qing period first created the 'Bianjing lantern', the craft has been transmitted within the family for six generations to the present. Its making and teaching activities are concentrated in the urban district of Kaifeng and are carried out in reliance on the Bianjing Lantern Zhang Colored Lantern Exhibition Hall and the Colored Lantern Craft School. The forms and binding-and-pasting technique of the Zhang colored lanterns derive from the folk colored-lantern making tradition of Kaifeng, and the works are mostly used for viewing lanterns at the Lantern Festival and at New Year and festive occasions. Artists of the Zhang surname in Kaifeng, Henan, are renowned for binding and pasting festival lanterns; according to the Kaifeng County Gazetteer, Zhang Taiquan of the late Qing period first created the 'Bianjing lantern', and the craft has been transmitted for six generations to the present. Kaifeng lantern art has a long history; after the Northern Song established its capital at Kaifeng, the viewing of lanterns at the Lantern Festival reached unprecedented splendor, and the varieties of festival lanterns and lantern art are recorded concretely and in detail in Meng Yuanlao's Dongjing Menghua Lu (Dreaming of Huaqing in the Eastern Capital) of the Song dynasty. The Zhang family colored lanterns of Bianjing Lantern Zhang, in their forms and binding-and-pasting technique, derive from the folk colored-lantern making tradition of Kaifeng; their principal varieties - the Dragon and Phoenix Auspiciousness Lantern, the Lotus and Noble Son Lantern, the Peony Wealth and Honor Lantern, and the Auspicious Radiance Lantern - all embody the traditional cultural connotation of praying for good fortune.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Han ethnicity, born in September 1971 in Kaifeng, Henan Province. Born into a family of colored-lantern makers, he began learning lantern-making from his father Zhang Jinhan in 1979, and from 1992 he took up research on and safeguarding of traditional colored lanterns. Since 2010 he has devoted himself entirely to the transmission and safeguarding of Bianjing Denglong Zhang lanterns, renovating the Bianjing Denglong Zhang Colored Lantern Exhibition Hall and establishing the Bianjing Denglong Zhang Colored Lantern Training Institute in order to promote the family's lantern-making techniques systematically. While adhering to traditional lantern-making skills he continues to explore and innovate, improving traditional light sources and stressing the close integration of lantern subjects with their historical and cultural background, thus forming a distinctive personal style. He carries out the transmission of the craft systematically at several levels and takes an active part in public welfare activities, extending the social influence of Bianjing Denglong Zhang. Within the documented technical tradition of Lantern Art in Kaifeng, Henan: Viewing lanterns at the Lantern Festival is an important New Year custom, and for this reason the binding of festival lanterns has become a special folk craft with a folk character. In modern times, for various reasons, the activity of viewing lanterns at the Lantern Festival has gradually declined. Especially during the 'Cultural Revolution', when the Lantern Festival and festival lanterns were classified among the 'Four Olds' and wantonly destroyed, the craft of binding festival lanterns was brought to the verge of extinction. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Dragon-and-phoenix and Lotus lanterns": Its main types are the Dragon and Phoenix, Lotus Brings a Son, Peony Prosperity and Auspicious Light lanterns, all carrying good wishes. "Lantern types in the Dongjing Menghua Lu": After the Northern Song made Kaifeng its capital the Lantern Festival flourished, and the lantern types are recorded in detail in Meng Yuanlao's Dongjing Menghua Lu. "Zhang Taiquan and six generations": According to the Kaifeng county gazetteer Zhang Taiquan created the Kaifeng lantern in the late Qing; the family trade is now in its sixth generation. "Exhibition hall and training workshop": Since 2010 Zhang Juntao has rebuilt the family's lantern exhibition hall and set up a training workshop to spread the craft systematically.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He is a representative bearer of Lantern Art (Bianjing Denglong Zhang Lanterns), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Zhang Juntao · National Representative Bearer Archive