A lantern art symposium was held in Yunnan’s Xuanwei on Nov 9. Specialists gathered together and discussed issues of lantern art protection and development, Yunnan.net reported.

In the symposium, Bao Gang, a top national playwright from the Yunnan Province Research Institute of Ethnic Cultures, analyzed the lantern playlets performed in this Lantern Art Festival from the aspect of scripts, directors, dance performances and music.

“People have paid more attention to the connection between material life and spiritual life. Artists have started to look for the spiritual needs and humanistic concerns of life. Take the lantern show Empty Nest as an example. It tells a story of a lonely empty-nest senior citizen who lives away from his children and stays in the countryside. Another lantern show, In the Lamplight, tells the story of family education among different families, indicating that financial abundance is not equal to being rich in spirit,” said Bao.

According to Chen Heling, former director of the Yunnan Lantern Troupe, the quality of lantern playlets in this year’s Lantern Art Festival is higher than those of previous years. In this year’s art festival, a batch of new writers showed their talent. Writing is an important process in the creation of a lantern art playlet.

Chen also pointed out that creation will play a fairly important role in the protection and development of lantern art. For instance, the holding of an annual Lantern Art Festival is a good practice in creating and protecting the local lantern art.

The 2014 Yunnan Lantern Art Festival opened in the Xuanwei Cultural Center in Xuanwei city, Yunnan province, on Nov 3. The festival is themed around pride for local lantern arts.

Edited by Michael Thai