嶋語 isle.felt

In Nantun, Taichung, there is a legend about the auspicious creature known as Jīn Líng Lǐ. According to the tale, a mythical golden-scaled pangolin lived in the area and was considered a symbol of good fortune. Whenever the creature appeared, it would help farmers with their work, and the year’s crops would be bountiful. To this day, Nantun Old Street in Taichung holds folk festivals dedicated to Jīn Líng Lǐ, praying for a prosperous harvest each year.

Farmers’ work is centered around cultivating fields, so I regard Jīn Líng Lǐ as a guardian spirit for those who labor. I combined the image of Jīn Líng Lǐ with a desk organizer tray to create the “Jīn Líng Lǐ – Guardian of Work" organizer tray. The tray features Jīn Líng Lǐ as its main body, with golden rice stalks placed beside it, symbolizing the guardian protecting people’s work. I hope this organizer tray helps users focus more during their work and achieve smooth progress in everything they do.

● Dimensions: Jīn Líng Lǐ – 23 cm x 9 cm (H) x 21 cm (D)
● Materials: Macaron wool (Merino short fiber wool), wool pellets, silk thread, DMC cotton thread, metallic thread.
● Techniques: Coiling technique, sheet form, soft sculpture, armature, embroidery, mixed-media integration.

Legends and Myths:
In Nantun Old Street, Taichung, there is a legend about a pangolin that cultivated itself into a mythical being.
Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, the plow stores in Nantun (around the intersection of Wanhe Road and Nantun Road) hold a folk festival called “Wearing Wooden Clogs and Walking on Líng Lǐ." The event involves making loud noises with wooden clogs to awaken the pangolin believed to reside underground. “Líng Lǐ" (in Taiwanese: ㄌㄚˊㄌㄧˋ) is another name for the pangolin.

Source: Hé Jìng-Yáo (May 2019), Monster Map of Taiwan: A Journey of Mythical Creatures Around the Island, New Taipei City, Linking Publishing, p. 100.

Taiwan’s Endemic Wildlife:
The Taiwanese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla), also known as the Taiwan Líng Lǐ (in Taiwanese: Tâi-oân lâ-lí), Mùn-á, or Earth Turtle, is a scaly mammal. It is a subspecies of the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and is endemic to Taiwan. Due to habitat loss and excessive hunting by humans, this subspecies is now critically endangered.