Keeping it old school: A man's 40-year passion in lantern making for Mid-Autumn in Malaysia
TELUK INTAN, Perak: The living room of the Wong family was like a whimsical zoo of small fanciful animals.
Rabbits, fishes and mice crowded the floor, leaving little space to move almost, as the royal dragons kept lookout man.
Made of iridescent cellophane paper, these are lanterns for the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, a candle-lit companion as Chinese families admire the bright full moon and enjoy wedges of mooncakes.
Mr Wong Choo Koh, 76, makes each and every of these lanterns by mitt.
Seated cross-legged on the floor, he crouched over an aged wooden cake that has nails marker the outline of a rabbit. His wrinkly hands guided strands of wires around the nails, and in no time, the frame of a rabbit lantern has taken shape.
"This is one of the conventional lantern designs," the granddad of five said. Scribbled with measurements, the wooden block is amidst the oldest in his possession, dating back to some twoscore years ago when he began to fiddle in lantern making.
It was his wife's family that was - and still is - in this cottage industry, churning out cellophane lanterns that are sold all over the country. By observing how she and the rest of the family unit members produce these lanterns, he started making his own in his spare time.
Today, Teluk Intan - a town built effectually the oxbow meander of the Perak River and about two hours north of Kuala Lumpur - has 11 lantern making families, said Ms Wong Lih Jiun, the youngest of Mr Wong's iv children. 10 of the 11 families are related, she said.
Mr Wong, now retired, is giving his full attention to lantern making. Non satisfied with only producing the common ones, he has added new designs to his repertoire, with a few being introduced every year.
What sustained him over the years are his artistic flair and an nearly mischievous competitiveness to outshine the rest.
HANDMADE ALL YEAR Circular
Lantern making is a year-round undertaking, not just when the eighth lunar month approaches.
Before he begins the actual making process, Mr Wong has to get the small parts ready. Wire strands are snipped and organised according to their sizes, then they are within easy reach as he assembles the lanterns.
Each lantern pattern has a dedicated wooden block for Mr Wong to shape the wires into frames. Ii frames are held together by connectors and a stick candle holder to get a iii-dimensional structure.
After each structure is assembled, he places it on the floor to check for balance, giving it a few gentle squeezes until he is satisfied with the overall wait.
Several role-timers, mostly housewives operating out of their ain homes, will and then glue the trimmed cellophane papers onto the construction, according to the colour combination picked by Mr Wong.
Next, Mr Wong and his children will exist adding on the final touches. Using brushes, they draw scales for the fish, teeny olfactory organ for the mouse, claws for the dragon and decorative strokes hither and in that location.
"Concentration is the cardinal, my mum once said. Nosotros accept to requite our total attention, always planning where the next stroke should go," Ms Wong said, recalling a conversation with her late mother.
When lit with candles, these lanterns requite a soft, atmospheric glow, their patterned shadow casting on the expectant faces of piddling kids.
The excitement of playing with candle fires probably explains why the cellophane lanterns have remained popular among the children. Fifty-fifty the battery-operated plastic lanterns, which play music at the flick of a switch, accept failed to unseat them as a festival staple.
"Lanterns dotted with golden glittering powder, such equally fishes, rabbits, dragons and collywobbles, are the most marketable styles," Mr Wong said.
He wholesales up to viii,000 lanterns of about 30 designs every year, by and large to retailers in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. His lanterns have likewise reached as far every bit Singapore, Canada, Taiwan, China and Indonesia via resellers.
In Petaling Street, the "Chinatown" of Kuala Lumpur, handmade cellophane lanterns of varying sizes, models and intricacy are sold between RM10 (US$2.xl) and RM40 in shops specialised in home decorations, party supplies and knick-knacks.
Even though these cellophane lanterns practise not come with a label or trademark, Mr Wong tin instantly identify his own. His swell attention to details aside, information technology is his designs that stand up out, he said.
PIGLETS, SEALS AND KANGAROOS
Decades ago, vii or eight lantern makers scattered in Kampar, Ipoh and Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan) were among the pioneers in making these cellophane lanterns, Mr Wong said.
They referred to each other'due south designs and made similar lanterns. Over fourth dimension, more designs were created.
"Today, the one who comes out with the most cute, and the nigh number of designs, is me," Mr Wong said, as Ms Wong burst into laughter at his unabashed pride in his work.
Mouse, kangaroo, dolphin, and piglet, bee and tortoise are amid the styles he has made. There is also a seal balancing a ball on its nose, a bead necklace on its neck exuding the circus vibe.
A snake - an uncommon choice - is 1 of the latest that has still to exist marketed. The innovation process is slow-moving; information technology takes weeks for an idea to be sketched, perfected and transferred onto the wooden block.
"The snake took me at least three weeks. I looked at it for a scrap, then set up it aside for a bit.
"Subsequently I nailed the outline and made a wire structure, it didn't feel quite right. It was out of shape, and so I had to remove the nails and commencement all again," Mr Wong explained.
Even though a particular animal style has been put into mass production, he nonetheless revisits the design and fine-tunes as he sees fit.
"Can you tell how much time I spent? I am most satisfied and happy when I succeed in making a new pattern," he said.
Whenever a new design has been created, Mr Wong is in no rush to avowal about it to fellow craftsmen. "They can come across from the shops later," he said.
Naturally, he also obliges when his children and grandchildren inquire for certain designs. Ms Wong, for instance, had asked for a unicorn while his grandchild had asked for a horse, both of which were delivered.
INHERITING THE ART OF LANTERN MAKING
Having grown up surrounded past cellophane lanterns and helping to make them all these years, Ms Wong has developed a strong sentimental attachment to these Mid-Autumn toys.
She keeps a collection of about 30 lanterns in her room, and declares that each is her favourite. "They are equally meaningful to me. Each was designed by my father, and made with skills handed down from my grandmother and female parent," she said.
As the publication officeholder of a local university in Selangor, Ms Wong travels home almost every weekend. While at dwelling house, she busies herself with the lanterns.
"I watched the adults brand the lanterns when I was small-scale, and I really wanted to be part of it. Finally one day, I was asked to assist out. My other siblings were involved since primary school likewise.
"It has become a habit. It's something we have been making since young, information technology'due south likewise about inheriting the folk art," she said.
These cellophane lanterns are part of the childhood of many people in Malaysia, even though they might not personally know the craftsmen behind the seasonal items. "Nosotros may not have spent our childhood together but this item was once your companion. This, for me, is a different kind of 'yuan fen,'" Ms Wong said, referring to the special bond in the Chinese concept of fate.
From the business perspective, the merchandise is non a particularly lucrative one. Since information technology is a seasonal product, makers have to be supplemented by other income sources.
Mr Wong is too pragmatic nearly the future of this arts and crafts: "If one day no one is willing to carry on with the trade anymore, it only means they have better career pursuits."
But for now, the Wong family will continue making the lanterns for every bit long equally they can.
"I feel blessed that this type of lanterns even so exists and continues to exist in demand, later all these years," Ms Wong said.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-mid-autumn-festival-lantern-handmade-teluk-intan-192211
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