ADVENT CALENDAR 2025

December 3

NATIVITY TRIPTYCH FROM CHINA

Zhang Wanlong
Zhejiang province, China
Camphor wood
2009

This Nativity was designed by Zhang Wanlong, a Chinese Christian, and carved in his woodworking shop in China. His shop, the Amity Christian Arts Center, is in the province of Zhejiang, a region famous within China for its ancient tradition of woodcarving. All of Wanlong’s products are inspired by Christian themes and Biblical stories, and he is proud of his “union of Eastern and Western traditions.”

The center of the triptych features the Holy Family with an ox (a Chinese symbol of protection and patient strength) and a donkey. The inscription, written in Chinese characters, is a passage from the Old Testament (Isaiah 9:2):

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.”

Christians have traditionally interpreted these words of Isaiah as a prophesy of the coming of Jesus Christ.

Glencairn Museum’s World Nativities exhibition runs from November 28, 2025, to January 25, 2026. Visit us at Follow the Star: A 2025 Advent Calendar.