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The flower plaque () is a traditional craft in China. It is a gigantic bamboo banner approximately 110-feet (40m) wide and 34-foot (10m) high. They are built to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals, weddings and inaugurations. The plaques symbolise luck, happiness and prosperity. The materials used are mainly bamboos, wires, paper, fabric and plastics with red and bright colour. It is usually built to be a theatre or the entrance.〔("West Kowloon: 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival" ) West Kowloon. Retrieved 2015-11-03〕 We can find Chinese flower plaques in New Territories such as Tin Hau Temple and Yuen Long. ==History== There are different sayings for the origin of Chinese flower plaques. It is believed that Chinese flower plaques are extended from Paifang (牌坊). Chinese plagues are also deemed as pseudo-Chinese Palace’s accessories for bringing fortune. In the past of Hong Kong, Chinese flower plaques had various kind of usage. They were mainly used for Chinese traditional festivals such as Chinese Lunar New Year and Tin Hau Festival. They were also used for advertisement, decoration for shop openings or even weddings.〔(Talk: Flower Plaque Maker Lee Tsui-lan" ) HK Magazine. Retrieved 2015-11-03〕 In the 60s-80s, Chinese flower plaques were the most vibrant and prosperous industry in Hong Kong.〔(Talk in Hong Kong: Revitalize the arts of fai paai" ) Hong Kong China News Agency. Retrieved from 2015-11-3〕 Whenever there was opening of new shops especially Chinese restaurant and salon, there were many colourful flower plaques with Chinese blessings: ke si yun lai (客似雲來) or sheng yi xing long (生意興隆) written with Chinese calligraphy. In the 1960s, Hong Kong craftsman discovered a new type of Chinese flower plaques which was a mechanical box.〔("Hong Kong custom from the paper work" ) MingPao. Retrieved 2015-11-03〕 They were mainly made of motors, belts, gongs (鑼) and paper-mache dolls. The mechanical flower plaques performed a short play based on Chinese folklore and historical stories. They were put outside the bakery to attract customers. In 1975, Elizabeth II the queen visited Oi Man Estate(愛民邨). The first English version of flower plaques were placed and written “Welcome Queen and Prince” for welcoming. In 2014, Chinese flower plaques were brought into the first list of the Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage.〔("The 480 things that represent Hong Kong's culture: list unveiled after seven years' work" ) South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2015-11-03〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Flower plaque」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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