When he was 11 years old, Xu Jiaxiong, the founder of Hong Kong's "Lion House", pierced his first lion's head. Carrying the lion's head, he went around looking for paper-making shops and wanted to sell it, but he was spotted by a master and entered the business. In this way, the energetic boy hit it off with the booming paper-making industry in Hong Kong at that time and went together.

　　He simply dropped out of middle school and became an apprentice in a paper-making shop. "Of course my parents were against it. My mother even smashed the lion's head I made with a wooden stick and said I went crazy piercing the lion's head. But of course I ignored them and continued to pierce the lion's head."

Xu Jiaxiong, founder of "Lion House". Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Yongnuo

　　The obsession with lion heads can be traced back to earlier - his family had a martial arts gym, and he never got tired of watching his grandparents dance lions and dragons since he was a child; when he was 6 years old, he demolished the martial arts gym and eliminated it. the old lion head; the three brothers played gongs and drums at home and performed as a dragon and lion team; they ended their 13-year apprenticeship and founded a paper-making workshop, and they did not forget to add the word "lion" when naming it.

　　He talked about the above details with relish and scratched his head: "Maybe it's true that he is born with it." A boy who grew up in a martial arts family has been exposed to dragons, lions, and kung fu since he was born, no matter how his parents objected to his entry. I'm afraid I can't escape this "business that is not doing my job properly".

“I don’t feel bored even now.”

　　Xu Jiaxiong, 45 years old, has been in the industry for more than 30 years and can be regarded as a veritable "old master" in the industry. "I still like it very much and I don't feel bored at all."

　　In order to give the reporters who came to shoot a brief demonstration of the processes of "tying", "pushing", "writing" and "pretending", he sat on a small bench and spent many years of hard work in this skillful movement of peeling bamboo strips. The back of his hand Sticking to the paste, fold it evenly a few times and then stick it firmly. In the blink of an eye, a lantern has taken shape in his hand.

　　In the past, those lion heads, dragon heads, lanterns, and even villas, luxury cars and other funeral decorations also appeared on the fingertips so dexterously. Usually, the tied frame is covered with gauze paper divided into small pieces, patterns are drawn according to the tied shape, and a layer of protective paint and varnish is applied on the outside. After it dries, the decoration is completed.

Xu Jiaxiong, founder of "Lion House". Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Yongnuo

　　Sometimes, Xu Jiaxiong will try some new tricks. For example, one day he noticed his wife’s nail polish covered with glittering silver powder, and suddenly had the idea to apply the silver powder design to the head of a grease lion, which was very popular with customers.

　　Although this is a matter of excitement, it is also an effort to ensure that this traditional handicraft can still keep pace with the tide of the times. "I have always felt that innovation is necessary. If you do not keep pace with the times, you will easily be eliminated." Xu Jiaxiong also has his own insistence. No matter how close he is to the aesthetics of the times, he cannot stray too far away from traditional techniques.

The most majestic golden dragon

　　We usually talk a lot about lions, but this year is the Year of the Dragon, so Xu Jiaxiong thought it would be better to talk about dragons this time.

　　The dragon has a history of nearly 8,000 years in China. It has always been a highly respected mythical animal and is regarded as the embodiment of good luck. Therefore, the demand for paper dragons for the Year of the Dragon is extremely high. In the past two months alone, Xu Jiaxiong has completed four paper dragons for dancing and shipped them to the United States, Macau and other places. There are countless other dragon-themed ornaments used in shopping malls and brand display windows.

　　"The type of dragon that is pierced in Hong Kong is a southern dragon. It is characterized by a big head. It is powerful but does not show its teeth and claws in a menacing manner. It has a bit of a smile, but it does not make people feel stupid." How to pierce a lifelike dragon out of thin air depends entirely on the master. This skill is inseparable from more than ten or twenty years of hard work.

Xu Jiaxiong, founder of "Lion House". Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Yongnuo

　　The most majestic and touching work in Xu Jiaxiong's memory so far is a large golden dragon.

　　A few years ago, the Australian Golden Dragon Museum traveled all the way to Hong Kong to commission him to make a golden dragon for the local Easter parade and for collection purposes. Tracing the history of the museum, every 50 years, they will find a master in the Chinese area to handcraft a golden dragon and keep it in the museum. Coincidentally, the three golden dragons made 150 years ago, 100 years ago, and 50 years ago were all made by Hong Kong masters.

　　Before accepting this commission, Xu Jiaxiong flew to Australia and saw these three old golden dragons in the museum. Xu Jiaxiong once boasted that he was one of the best tie-making masters in Hong Kong, and the outside world recognized him as such. However, that self-reliance collapsed under the shock brought by the "art within art" in front of him. "The dragon head tie-making more than a hundred years ago was so delicate that it was difficult to Imagine, I suddenly felt so small.”

　　In the next seven months, he worked hard to build a big golden dragon. “While doing it, I was thinking about how I could outshine the first three. The skills may not be as high as theirs, so I would make the dragon bigger, at least in terms of momentum. Go ahead and scare them." Xu Jiaxiong said with a smile. In the end, the dragon's head got bigger and bigger and almost couldn't get out. The entire golden dragon was 120 meters long and had more than 7,000 scales on its body.

　　He put the finishing touch on the golden dragon and watched it being carefully carried out of the studio and shipped to Australia. What he was thinking about was, in another 50 years, will another golden dragon still be made by a Hong Kong master?

The possibility of the industry booming again

　　Xu Jiaxiong is optimistic about the answer. After all, he has personally experienced the ups and downs of the construction industry from prosperity to trough, and then to the dawn of hope again.

　　In the 1950s, "martial arts novels" swept Hong Kong, and in the 1960s and 1970s, Hong Kong kung fu movies became famous all over the world. At that time, there were many martial arts schools in Hong Kong with many masters. In its heyday, there were as many as 418 martial arts schools teaching Chinese martial arts. Most of the dragon and lion dances were organized by martial arts schools, and the associated craftsmanship was very popular.

　　However, this situation changed in the 1980s when Xu Jiaxiong was born and grew up. "Everyone thinks that dragon and lion dance is related to the underworld, and parents and schools don't like children to learn it." After that, dragon and lion dance gradually evolved into a This positive sport helps cultivate team spirit and gradually becomes standardized. The change in concepts has certainly brought about a change in the prospects for tie-making. However, the opening of the mainland market and streamlined factory production have significantly reduced the cost of making lion's head and other tie-making, exacerbating the decline of Hong Kong's tie-making industry. There are only a few local masters and the union has no choice but to close down. .

　　After those years passed, Zhazuo was included in Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage list and regained attention. Like many craftsmen who stick to traditional trades, Xu Jiaxiong is also actively promoting inheritance, teaching craftsmanship in schools and bringing apprentices into the trade.

　　The pale-haired elder wearing reading glasses and carefully gluing gauze paper to the frame in the corner is one of Xu Jiaxiong's "favorite apprentices" and his father. For others, it was father to son, but for him, it was the other way around. His retired father used to help him occasionally, and he had been working with him for more than ten years. "Now he is also an experienced master."

Xu Jiaxiong, founder of "Lion House". Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Yongnuo

　　On weekdays, the father and son each occupy a corner in this spacious studio, focusing on a lion, a dragon, and a unicorn in their hands. Winter comes and summer comes, every day is specific and subtle. Xu Jiaxiong feels that the brilliance, joy and imagination of beautiful things in his life are all connected and constructed by bamboo strips. "At least one thing in my life is successful, and that is making a living. When people mention Xu Jiaxiong, they will say he made a lion's head. I am already very happy."

　　Text reporter: Han Xingtong

　　Photographer: Chen Yongnuo

　　Video reporter: Zhu Xiaoming

　　(China News Service WeChat official account)