The Lion Headpiece Master

In Beidou Qixing Community there is an old craftsman who can make many items related to temple fairs, he is Master An-chen Hsieh.

He makes flags, embroidery, as well as lion headpieces.

When making lion headpieces, you need to take a piece of square cardboard, some earth with no impurities, and shape the earth into a half-sphere.

Next, carve out the lion head features with a sculpting knife.

You then wet pieces of newspaper, attach them to the surface, wait for them to dry, then attach kraftpaper on top of the dried newspaper in the same way.

Chisel away the earth underneath, apply paints and colors.

Lastly, attach the mane and ears to the mask, et voilà!

I am in awe of Master Hsieh for his excellent skills in traditional craft-making, but as he once said, fewer and fewer people are willing to learn these skills now, and he wasn’t sure how much longer the traditions will survive.

I thought for a moment, and couldn’t help but feel a tug at my heart, as well as the conviction that the young people of today should be encouraged to learn these skills so that precious traditions may be passed on in generations to come.