In order to gather material for the Cyberfair, my father and I set out today to visit the old lion headpiece master—An-chen Hsieh. Master Hsieh is a renowned maker of temple fair flags and embroideries in the Beidou area, in addition to that, he also makes traditional lion headpieces. He resides in the township of Beidou, and so I undertook to interview him since I am also a resident of Beidou.

  We came to Master Hsieh’s residence, introduced ourselves, and began the interview. We asked the master to tell us how lion headpieces were produced, and the master told us that classical lion headpieces are made by a relative of his since he did not make them anymore. He had learned the skills from this relative, and was in possession of a half-finished piece that was still incomplete, but he would do his best to explain the process.

  Master Hsieh told us that in order to produce an authentic lion headpiece, one must first form a half sphere of earth on top of a square piece of board, sculpt the lion’s features using a knife, then leave it out to dry. After the earth has dried, one must wet pieces of newspaper with water and paste them onto the surface of the earthen mold. When the newspaper paper mache has dried, one must tear kraftpaper into small pieces, wet them with water, and paste them onto the newspaper one layer at a time, waiting for the previous layer to dry before pasting on another. When one has reached five or six layers, one knocks off the hardened earth with a wooden stick. The half-finished piece in his home was at this stage of production.

  After the earthen mold has been removed, one must sketch on the lion mask designs, paint on colors and patterns, then apply varnish when the paint has dried. Attach the mane and ears, and you have a completed lion headpiece. Master Hsieh’s explanation enabled me to learn the correct process of making an authentic lion headpiece, as well as greater knowledge of lion dance as an art form. Lastly, I would like to thank Master Hsieh for teaching me how to make traditional lion headpieces.

  Master Hsieh is a kind man as well as a maker of traditional cultural products, I have great admiration for his skills. He once said, so few people are willing to learn these traditional skills nowadays, he wonders for how much longer these skills will continue to exist. His words made me very sad, and I feel that the young people of today should make an effort to understand and learn these skills so that we may pass on our cultural heritage.