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then explodes into sparks that look like glittering branches of trees.

In ancient times, blacksmiths per-formed Dashuhua to simulate fi reworks: a luxury that only the most prominent townspeople could afford.

According to media reports, there are only four people left in China who have mastered the ancient practice, and three of them are either middle-aged or elderly.

Due to the nature of the performance, which involves throwing superheated coal and molten iron into the air, it’s easy for performers to sustain injuries. This is one of the reasons that few from the younger generations seem keen to learn about the ancient custom, says Yu Zhan-gliang, one of the Dashuhua performers who took part in the series.

Yu Zheng, the producer of “Story of Yanxi Palace,” wrote in a Sina Weibo

TRADITIONAL Chinese culture is fl ourishing on screen, as ancient cos-tumes, food, etiquette and lifestyles are increasingly appearing in hit TV and online dramas.

In the recent online palace drama series “Story of Yanxi Palace,” forms of intangible cultural heritage such as Kunqu opera, embroidery and kesi, a silk-weaving technique, play out in close succession.

The series focuses on harem life during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), telling the story of how heroine Wei Ying-luo rose from being a lowly maidservant to the position of a royal concubine.

With a total of more than 14.5 billion views by Aug. 29 according to Maoyan, a Chinese fi lm database, the series has sparked heated discussion online, not just about the storyline but also regard-ing the panoramic locations and detailed props that highlight traditional culture.

In “Story of Yanxi Palace,” one of the emperor’s noble consorts invites folk artisans to rehearse a performance of the art form Dashuhua, or “striking iron fl owers,” to prepare for the birthday cel-ebrations of the emperor’s mother.

It’s the fi rst time that Dashuhua, the provincial intangible cultural heritage item from Hebei with a history of more than 500 years, has been presented in a Chinese TV drama.

In 2016, the BBC documentary “Chi-nese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth” carried shots of the spectacu-lar “canopy of fl owers made from fl ying shards of molten metal.”

Dashuhua is a traditional Chinese performing art that takes place during certain festivals. Using special scoops made from willow roots, the perform-ers, who are dressed in sheepskin coats and bamboo hats, throw molten iron burning at around 1,600 degrees Cel-sius at the city walls. The molten iron

Traditional art forms

back in the limelight

post that the performers traveled great distances to present a sample of this endangered heritage, in the hope of bringing the ancient art to a wider audience.

Yu, together with a group of behind-the-scenes research-ers, endeavored to integrate as many authentic cultural ele-

ments into the series as they could.A number of scenes are given over to

settings modeled on the architecture of the Palace Museum. The interior deco-ration of the rooms, according to the set designers, match the personalities of the characters from the series.

At the same time, the costumes, makeup and accessories of these char-acters were partly inspired by portraits of concubines from the era.

Thanks to the popularity of the series, Nanjing-based velvet fl ower artist Zhao Shuxian, 64, has been spending much of his time dealing with requests for inter-views, at least two a day, often from the national media.

He is one of the few artists who are still making velvet fl owers, an endur-ing example of the intangible heritage rooted in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu Province, that dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Made of silk and copper wires, velvet fl owers were popular in ancient times for their long-lasting “blossoms.” Its Chinese name, ronghua, a homophone of the word for “glory,” is considered auspicious.

Last year, Zhao and his apprentices were invited to create 19 styles of velvet-fl ower headwear for the series based on photos of hair ornaments housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

In the series, Emperor Qianlong’s wife Empress Fucha started to wear velvet fl owers on her head instead of pearls or jade in order to introduce frugality to the royal harem — a detail that mirrors actual historical events.

Television audiences were not aware of the velvet fl owers at fi rst, jokingly comparing the headwear to succulent plants on social media.

Yet, as the crew continued to publi-cize the back-stories of these cultural elements, audience members started to appreciate their efforts, as a number of them actively tried to explain their origins via a “bullet screen,” which allows instant comments to shoot across the screen.

“The dramas have brought intangible heritage back into the public view,” Zhao says.

Zhao is usually found working at his studio at the Nanjing Folk Art Museum, demonstrating how to make velvet fl ow-ers to visitors. According to him, besides fi lmmakers and television crews, young fans of hanfu (traditional Chinese cloth-ing) have become the main buyers of his velvet fl owers.

“We hope that velvet-fl ower works will return to ordinary people’s lives and become a symbol of folk fashion.”

In Zhao’s view, this is the best way to keep the endangered folk craft in the limelight. (China Daily)

Concubine Gao sings Kunqu opera in Concubine Gao sings Kunqu opera in “Story of Yanxi Palace.” The TV drama “Story of Yanxi Palace.” The TV drama has brought traditional cultural heri-has brought traditional cultural heri-tage back in the limelight. tage back in the limelight.

File photosFile photos

Heroine Wei Yingluo in a scene from the Web drama.

Artisans perform Dashuhua in the drama. A hair ornament made of velvet fl owers.