Nian And The Red Lanterns is a folk culture preservation project that explains the symbolic value of red lanterns during the Chinese New Year through an illustrated story book.
Major project
Nian And The Red Lanterns
The Physical Book: Front & Back Pages
Nian And The Red Lanterns is a story that reminds the urbanised Chinese youth of their country's rich storytelling tradition and the folklore that underpins it. Distancing itself from globalisation and the contemporary digital world, the story harks back to the rituals of storytelling.
The Physical Book: Binding & Birds Eye View
Though the illustrations were created digitally (Procreate), creating a hand-bound book was important in retaining tactility and a sense of tradition the book seeks to resonate with. As a result, though the book is approximately 40 pages, it is much thicker than typically expected.
Pages 1 & 4
The opening pages of the story are set in the contemporary world, and display the traditions of the Chinese New Year, from writing poetry to the decoration of the home in red. It helps broader audiences and very young children identify key motifs of the festival.
Pages 15 & 16
The story revolves around Nian, a monster detailed in the famous Chinese novel 'The Classic of the Mountains and Seas' and explains the origins of the spring festival known as the Chinese New Year. The protagonists represent the daringness of youth coupled with experience-based wisdom.
Pages 21 & 22
The Nian’s colour is left open to interpretation in The Classic of the Mountains and Seas and so was explored in variety of colours before settling upon earth tones tipped with red. The design of the people-eating-monster was the result of opting for round and appealing shapes that could accurately denote the monster as an outsider to be feared without genuinely scaring 3-9 year olds.
Pages 33 & 34
The story is resolved when the townspeople discover the Nian's fear of loud noises, fire and the colour red. In order to ward it off, houses and homes are adorned with candle-based lanterns, firecrackers, and decorations around spring as a safety precaution, and inadvertently starting a tradition of red-themed celebrations during the the Chinese New Year.
Dan Lin
Major project
Nian And The Red Lanterns