During the Spring Festival this year, Chinese-style girl Chen Hexi recreated the Aoshan lantern shed in Xixi National Wetland Park. She and her like-minded friends found inspiration from ancient paintings such as "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", "Lamp Play Picture", and "Light Color Picture of Shangyuan Lanterns", and contacted craftsmen to make long dragon lanterns, Zhanqi fish lanterns, etc. out of bamboo and oil paper, recreating the "Tokyo Menghualu" describes "the lanterns on the mountain are colorful, the gold and green shine on each other, and the brocades shine together". Previously, they also planned a series of public welfare activities related to traditional culture such as the "West Lake Flower Delivery". On February 19, Chen Yuexi was a guest on "Interview" to share their story of spreading traditional culture and showing Chinese romance in a unique way.

　　Let modern people appreciate the ancient and romantic charm

　　Reference to ancient paintings when making Aoshan lamp shed

　　Reporter: What kind of opportunity made you decide to build the Aoshan Lighthouse?

　　Chen Joy: Looking back, the original decision to build the Aoshan lantern shed was due to my love and persistence in traditional culture. As the Spring Festival approaches this year, I am reminded of a famous saying in "Old Martial Arts": "As soon as we enter the new era, the lights will become brighter." The ancients often put up lanterns and colors to welcome the New Year. So, an idea came to my mind: why not recreate the Aoshan lantern shed at this festive moment to welcome the New Year of the Year of the Dragon, so that modern people can appreciate the ancient and romantic charm?

　　In 2023, I settled in Xixi Wetland as a cultural expert to jointly create an aesthetic space with Chinese aesthetics. Therefore, after I came up with the idea of ​​holding a lantern festival, I communicated with Xixi Wetland and hit it off immediately. Reproduce the historical scene of Aoshan Lantern Shed to welcome the arrival of the New Year in the Year of the Dragon.

　　Reporter: Can you introduce the design ideas and history and culture of the "artificial wonderland" of the Aoshan Lighthouse?

　　Chen Hexi: The ancients’ design of the Aoshan lamp shed was inspired by the “Giant Ao Dai Mountain” in ancient Chinese myths and legends. In the legend, "Giant Ao" is a mythical beast that carries five fairy mountains on its back, and these fairy mountains symbolize good luck and have beautiful meanings. "Aoshan lanterns" are people's imitation, reproduction and concrete expression of the mythical image of "Aoshan" in the physical form of lanterns in the real world. I also wanted to bring the romantic feelings of the ancients into modern times, so I decided to recreate the scene of the Aoshan lamp shed.

　　The overall site of Aoshan Lighthouse is about 5 meters high and 8 meters wide. It is divided into four floors. The colorful building includes three floors and the top building is another floor. During the design process, we referred to the colorful buildings and architectural styles in Song Dynasty paintings, as well as the image data about the Aoshan lamphouse in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and strived to restore the unique charm of the Aoshan lamphouse in the Song Dynasty. On the top of the lamp shed, the building that simulates the "fairy mountain wonderland" is a typical "cross-rested mountain top" structure of the Song Dynasty. In addition, in order to increase fun and interactivity, we also designed cartoon images of the twelve zodiac patron saints.

　　The earliest records of "Aoshan lanterns" appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, but apart from text, there are no exact images recording the appearance of Aoshan lantern sheds in the Song Dynasty. Records about the Aoshan lamphouse have appeared in "Old Wulin Stories" and "Tokyo Menghua Lu". There are many images of the Aoshan lamphouse that have been handed down from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Combining images and text, we simulated the general appearance of the Aoshan Lighthouse. In order to have a more Song Dynasty style, we referred to the "Colored Tower" in the Song Dynasty paintings "Turn at the Gate" and "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" as the main frame, and made various lighting decorations on the frame of the "Colored Tower". Taking into account the tourist groups in the scenic area, we designed cartoon images of the twelve zodiac patron saints. These cartoon images refer to the shapes in classic Song Dynasty paintings, or "fighting tea" or "playing music" or "splashing ink" or "carrying all things on their shoulders" ...The different zodiac shapes reflect the historical customs and aesthetic culture of the Song Dynasty. During the design process, when we encountered uncertain historical issues, we consulted Professor Zhao Dongmei from the Department of History at Peking University, who provided us with valuable reference opinions.

　　Reporter: What efforts have you made to build the Aoshan Lighthouse?

　　Chen Joy: Every step of consulting information, consulting experts, design and production, and on-site construction is full of challenges and difficulties. There is relatively little image information about lanterns from the Song Dynasty, so we have to think over and try again and again. During the construction process, time constraints and weather factors also brought great pressure to our work. No matter how difficult the difficulties were, we never gave up. We worked overtime to make it, and we also received support and help from many friends and netizens. In the end, we overcame many difficulties and completed the project. Although the process is difficult, the results are gratifying. The most important thing is that our team members have also gained precious friendships and witnessed each other's growth.

　　Specially looking for craftsmen to make lamps

　　Filmed a short video for him celebrating the Year of the Dragon

　　Reporter: Why specifically find craftsmen to make lamps? Will this take a long time?

　　Chen Joy: We chose to find craftsmen to make lamps because we hope to inject new vitality into traditional handicrafts and let more people understand our traditional Chinese handicrafts. Although this process does take time, I think it is a very meaningful and worthwhile thing to do. Craftsmen use their hands and wisdom to create exquisite lanterns, each of which contains unique cultural charm and ingenious craftsmanship. These lanterns are not only decorations but also the inheritance and continuation of traditional culture.

　　Reporter: After the construction of the Aoshan lantern shed was completed, you organized more than 40 traditional culture enthusiasts to star in and shoot a short film celebrating the Year of the Dragon. Why did you specifically shoot such a short film?

　　Chen Joy: When we shot the short film for the Year of the Dragon, we wanted to record this work in a young way, which was a lot of hard work. At the same time, it is also a kind of publicity and promotion of traditional culture. Videos can show traditional Chinese culture to more people and let more people understand the scenes of ancient festivals behind the Aoshan lantern shed. We also hope that this work can inspire more young people to participate in the inheritance and promotion of traditional culture.

　　It is traditional culture that is “popular”

　　"Post-00s" use innovation to promote traditional culture

　　Reporter: In June last year, many people knew you from a video and picture of "flower picker and flower girl" by the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. It was also on the hot search at that time. How do you feel about your popularity in the industry?

　　Chen Joy: As for my popularity in the entertainment industry, I think this is more because the charm of traditional culture has attracted everyone’s attention. I feel very happy and proud to let more people understand and love traditional culture through my works, which also strengthens my determination and confidence to continue on this path.

　　Reporter: As a post-2000 generation, what do you think the younger generation can do for the inheritance and development of our traditional culture?

　　Chen Joy: As a "post-00s generation", I believe that the younger generation has important responsibilities and missions in inheriting and developing traditional culture. First, we can have a deep understanding of the connotation and value of traditional culture through continuous learning and practice; second, we can use innovation to combine traditional culture with modern elements to create more cultural products with the characteristics of the times; in addition, we can also use social networking Media and other platforms widely publicize and promote traditional culture, allowing more people to understand and love traditional culture. Through these efforts, I believe that traditional culture will be able to radiate new vitality and vitality.

　　Reporter: What plans do you have for spreading traditional culture in the future?

　　Chen Joy: In the future, I will continue to work hard to create more excellent works to spread and promote traditional culture. I will dig deeper into more forgotten intangible cultural heritage and bring them back to life through innovative expressions. At the same time, I will also actively participate in various traditional cultural exchange activities, share Chinese traditional culture with friends at home and abroad, and let it show its charm on a broader stage. In addition, I will continue to improve my professionalism and expression skills to better fulfill my role and mission as a communicator of traditional culture.

　　Reporter Chen Jingru and intern Gong Roujia

　　(Wuhan Evening News)