An Auspicious Glimpse into Shandong Junan’s “Dragon Rhyme” 

Entering the Year of the Dragon, the inheritors of the local intangible cultural heritage from Junan County in Shandong Province begin to display their skills and talents, creating festive and popular products with dragon as the main element.

Starting this January, Mr. Ding Dawei, the inheritor of Gaoyu wood comb in Junan County, began to receive customized patterns for making the samples. From receiving orders to the completion of the produces, he worked for more than half a month in order to complete a thousand customized combs for a Xiamen customer.  Right after the combs were packaged and shipped out, he began to embark on the sample-making of another order with customized dragon-shaped wooden comb by an Anhui customer.

“For the Year of the Dragon, everyone would like to use the dragon element to draw auspiciousness and good omens,” Mr. Ding said, “and after years of experience, we have done enough products with elements like dragons and phoenixes bringing auspiciousness. We have our own creative models, too. But to meet the personalized needs of our customers, especially when they take the initiative to contact us and request customized models, we need to do even better to successfully finish the work.”

According to Mr. Ding, the customized dragon-shaped wooden comb requires higher engraving requirements, and the process is more complicated. Meanwhile, the profit can be more considerable, too. “If we successfully get these two orders from Anhui, our revenue is estimated at 100,000 Yuan,” he said, “As the next step, we will increase the sales of new dragon element products. To better meet everyone’s needs, including the customers abroad so that more foreigners recognize our traditional intangible cultural heritage.”

Like Mr. Ding Dawei, Ms Hu Xiumei, the county’s dough sculpture inheritor, also received orders for customized intangible heritage products.

“The Little Dragon Man is 35 centimeters tall. But it takes four and a half days to finish.” Talking about her creative process, Ms Hu began to chat happily. “From the dragon keel to the dragon body, from accessories to color-matching, there are a lot of steps. The most difficult part is the dragon head: the beard, the mane, the horns, and the auspicious clouds … all have original minute details to pay attention to.” While Ms Hu was still talking, the customer Ms. Wang agreed to the order at the full price of more than 600 Yuan per piece.

Besides the little dragon man, Ms Hu Xiumei’s stall has also other popular dragons types such as small golden dragons, auspicious dragons, etc. “Many customers take pictures and add WeChat messages when attending events. And they come to me later with pictures for custom orders,” Ms said, “This year, dough sculptures with dragon elements are the main product. See, the customers from Shanxi and Weifang are coming to me!”

Products like hand-embroidered dragon-pattern insoles, dragon-riding-the clouds sugar paintings or tie-dyed dragon-shaped dolls are all very much in demand. In recent years, Junan County has continued to promote and protect the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage rooted in the tradition. At the same time, the inheritors are encouraged to take the initiative to move closer to today’s youth and fashion, and to be more individual in presenting the charm of the heritage for the taste of the modern time.