When the base coat dries, Wu then paints intricate scenes of dragons, tigers and Chinese immortals -- always by hand, never with a template. It's an art he's perfected since he opened his shop 64 years ago at age 17. It's also the skill that has, arguably, garnered him most of his acclaim. Tigers and immortals carry equal stature and expressiveness in Wu's painting.
Of course, you don't have to be a president or Nobel laureate to take home a piece of Wu's art. And despite international acclaim, his lanterns remain reasonably priced, ranging from US$15 (NT$500) for a small hand-painted lantern to US$270 (NT$9,000) for a meter-tall masterpiece.
Wu Yi-de says that since he does most of the work at the family's workshop, which doubles as their home, the older lanterns crafted by the elder Wu have become collector's items.
With each purchase comes a lesson in the traditional role of the various shapes and colors: Pear-shaped lanterns are meant to be hung indoors at the apex of a pitched roof, cylindrical lanterns are to be hung along eaves, round lanterns that are hung outside doorways bear the homeowner's name, ones made for businesses are red in order to bring good fortune.
"Yellow lanterns are for temples. It isn't appropriate to hang them in your house. Also, lanterns with dragon designs are bad for the home -- you should never have dragons in your home," the younger Wu said. "But I don't know if these rules apply to Westerners."
Wu Tun-ho's lantern shop is located in Changhua County's (
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