Faculty of Design

Material Art & Design

Melody Juthamongkol

The Dragon Puppet - Nie Lang and The White Rabbit, The Dragon Pearl

The Dragon Puppet, follows the narrative of The Dragon’s Pearl or Nie Lang and The White Rabbit. The set consists of a pair of collar pins, a pair of earrings, and a link that can be work between the collar pins or as a bracelet.To assemble the toywellery, place the link’s clasps onto the pin stem of the two collar pins, and secure it with the pin backing. Inset the earring post through the collar pin and link clasp and secure it with the earring backing. This will act as a pole for holding the dragon puppet. Please refer to the video for the assembly and play demonstration.

“On one fateful day of following a white rabbit into the mountains, Nie Lang came upon a lush plain, ideal for gathering cutgrass to sell for money. Whilst harvesting Nie Lang unearthed a pearl and brought it home to his mother, to which it was placed in the rice storage. It is later discovered that the pearl held magical properties where it multiplies whatever content it is close to. Once word got out of this sorcery, the emperor sent soldiers to claim it for himself. In an effort to hold on to it, Nie Lang swallowed the pearl, resulting in his transformation from human to dragon, effective in scaring off the emperor’s men. The dragon Nie Lang then ascends to the sky, protecting the valley from harm ever since.The theme for this toywellery is protection, referencing the transformed mighty dragon Nie Lang guarding the valley. To reflect that, the Chinese amulet motif, a protective charm, hung from the dragon’s head and tail collar pin. The Chinese character Hu 護 (to guard, to protect) is negatively pierced out on the back of the mabe pearl setting of the link.”