Lugang feast of superb craftsmanship – Celebrating the Birthday of craftsmen’s ancestral master

Lugang has always been an important center of traditional Taiwanese culture and the skill of craftsmen from the area is known far and wide. In 1996, Chaoyang Lugang Association launched the Worshipping Ceremony of Craftsmen’s Ancestral Masters (巧聖先師暨工藝先賢祭祀典禮), bringing together traditional crafts and religion. Lukang Master Lu-Ban Feast is held each year around Master Lu-ban’s birthday, which takes place on the 7th of May in the Lunar calendar. The event has gradually expanded from mainly wood art to include many other arts and crafts. In what is the only event of its kind in Taiwan, craftsmen put on a fine banquet of exquisitely handcrafted artifacts that are respectfully offered up in reverence to their ancestral masters.

“Lukang Master Lu-Ban Feast” is deeply imbued with local character, and in 2008, Changhua County Government registered the event as an intangible cultural heritage asset for its folklore and religious culture. In recent years, the event has been expanded as part of Lukang Traditional Culture Festival. The arts and crafts showcased, many of which are made by eminent craftsmen honored with national living treasure awards, national crafts achievement awards and heritage arts award, etc., are offered in respect to the ancestral masters by disciples of Luban. This year’s rich selection of content in this unique arts ceremony brimming with regional character covered an incredible 108 tables. 

Lugang has always been an important center of traditional Taiwanese culture, possessing an abundance of tangible and intangible cultural assets. Only the continued promotion and preservation of cultural assets by the government and NGOs can ensure that these precious cultural treasures will be preserved for future generations to come.  

Lugang feast of superb craftsmanship – Celebrating the Birthday of craftsmen’s ancestral master

URL：https://www.peopo.org/news/337463

(以下是中文對照)

巧聖先師慶誕辰 鹿港端午奪天工｜魯班公宴

鹿港，一直以來是臺灣極具代表性的傳統文化重鎮，而鹿港匠師工藝之美，更是聞名遐邇。民國85年起，朝陽鹿港協會以傳統工藝結合宗教信仰模式，舉辦巧聖先師暨工藝先賢祭祀典禮，在魯班公誕辰（農曆5月7日）前後一周舉辦「魯班公宴」，漸漸由木工藝擴及其他工藝，藝師們以其精心創作之工藝作品宴饗祖師爺，成為台灣地區唯一以工藝品作為祭品的祀典。 

「魯班公宴」這項活動由於深具地方特色，於民國97年被彰化縣政府登錄為民俗及有關文物信仰類文化資產。近幾年也與鹿港傳統文化節結合並擴大舉辦，魯班公宴是台灣唯一以工藝品作為看桌祭品的祀典，魯班弟子將傑出作品奉獻給祖師爺驗收，其中不乏榮獲人間國寶、國家工藝成就獎、薪傳獎等大師的作品，共匯集108桌，內容豐富，深具在地特色。

彰化縣鹿港鎮為文化資產重鎮，擁有豐富的有形、無形文化資產，透過政府及民間團體持續推動進行文化資產保存維護，才能讓這些珍貴的文化瑰寶可以永世傳承。