Zhang Xiangren

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhang Xiangren, Male, Han, from Ziboshizhangdian, Shandong, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Lantern Festival (Ⅹ-71). The tradition is documented in Ziboshizhangdian, Shandong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Lantern Festival in Ziboshizhangdian, Shandong: It is widely popular in Zibo City, Shandong Province, with Zhangdian District at its center; its influence covers not only the central Shandong (Luzhong) region but also extends to the coastal areas of northern Shandong (Lubei). In the central Shandong region, many people were engaged in mulberry growing and sericulture as far back as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and locally there was a custom of washing silkworm trays by moonlight, with lanterns in hand, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. As soon as the twelfth lunar month begins each year, the lantern artisans of Zibo rack their brains and craft with great care, each hoping that their work will stand out in the lantern display. Lantern themes mostly draw on local folktales and mythological stories, with lantern groups based on stories of the state of Qi and characters from Liaozhai being especially common, giving them a strong regional cultural character. The origins of the Zibo Lantern Fair can be traced back to the period when the Grand Duke Jiang (Jiang Ziya) was enfeoffed with the state of Qi.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Born in August 1949, male, Han ethnicity, a native of Zibo City, Shandong Province. He has been deeply interested in lantern art since childhood, and after starting work he devoted himself to learning the craft of making xinzi lanterns, lanterns with a rotating inner core, refining it steadily. In 1993 he designed more than seventy sets of decorative lanterns for Italy and Pakistan. His large lanterns such as Peacock Spreading Its Tail and Cloud-Shadowed Ancient Pagoda represented China at Chinese lantern exhibitions held in Moscow and Berlin respectively. From 2010 to 2013 he was in charge of organizing and planning the China Zibo Lantern Art Festival and of designing its lanterns for four consecutive years. Within the documented technical tradition of Lantern Festival in Ziboshizhangdian, Shandong: The Zibo Lantern Fair is a festive event held by the people of Zibo every year at the Yuanxiao (Lantern) Festival, also known as "making merry with lanterns" (nao hua deng). The fifteenth day of the first lunar month, as the first full-moon night of the lunar new year, signifies reunion. Because "lantern" (deng) is a homophone of "male child" (ding), people regard carrying and celebrating lanterns as an auspicious omen of a family line flourishing with offspring. Over time, people have come to treat viewing and celebrating lanterns at the Yuanxiao Festival as a folk custom that rewards the gods and entertains the people, welcoming spring and praying for blessings. The Zibo Lantern Fair usually lasts three days, beginning on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month and ending on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. During the fair, the streets are ablaze with lights. Beneath the multicolored glow of Zibo lanterns such as the "cart lantern," "box lantern," "nine-bend Yellow River lantern," and "burning grape trellis," folk dramas such as Wuyin opera, molten-iron fireworks, Zhoucun xinzi (shoulder-pole) performances, folk costumed revelry, and traditional martial arts are staged in turn, offering more than the eye can take in. At the same time, the stalls of local snacks are lively and bustling, and the vendors' cries rise one after another. Every year, the Zibo Lantern Fair attracts nearly one million Chinese and foreign visitors. The Zibo lanterns displayed at the fair are distinguished by their sound, light, movement, novelty, elegance, and ingenuity. Villages also raise funds on their own and organize costumed performance troupes for intensified training. From the eighth to the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, the troupes perform through the streets and lanes; afterward, outstanding troupes are selected by township or district to take part in the Yuanxiao Lantern Fair organized by the city. The Zibo Lantern Fair bears the imprint of Qi culture: folk gauze and silk lanterns were used as "signal lanterns" by which the Grand Duke Jiang commanded his three armies, and the custom later developed gradually in the imperial court, in temples, and among the people, growing ever larger in scale. The fair's character of "valuing harmony and beauty" (guihe shangmei) has positive practical significance in uniting the people's hearts. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Signal lanterns and Qi culture": Local gauze and silk lanterns are told of as the command lanterns of Jiang Taigong's army. "Lamps sounding for people": Because lamps sound like offspring, lighting and playing with lanterns becomes a wish for a large family. "Cart lamps and box lamps": Cart, box, maze and grape-arbor lanterns share a wooden frame covered in gauze. "Wuyin opera and molten-iron throwing": Opera, iron throwing and the Zhoucun shadow play rotate over the three nights.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He is a national representative bearer of the Lantern Festival (Zibo Lantern Fair), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In recent years he has trained several bearers of lantern-making.

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 Xiangren · National Representative Bearer Archive