Rooftop artist works to preserve meticulous ‘jiannian’ craft
The vivid jian nian works of a dragon with its head turning backward and a rare dragon fish at the tip of the main ridge
On a sweltering summer afternoon, Pan Kun-ti is perched eight meters above ground on the roof of the Shefu Temple in Taipei City's riverside Shetzu district.
The master of "jiannian" -- a traditional mosaic-like art form -- has been working in the scorching sun for several hours, decorating the ridge of the 40-year-old Taoist temple dedicated to the Earth God.
He is in the most laborious stage of his job -- cutting up ceramic bowls and trimming the shards into the desired shapes before fitting them into the surface of a pre-sculpted dragon that appears to breathe fire.
The figure is just one of an elaborate series of birds, flowers, beasts and characters from folk legends that the 56-year-old temple decoration artist has been working on in recent months....
Read more at - http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1069461&lang=eng_news
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