When the rooster calls

Chinese New Year pictures take on a modern look in the creations by Chinese young artists.

Illustrator Eszter Chen also says it's a new way to represent the traditional genre in the digital era and in a style typical of a younger generation.

The 28-year-old Taipei-based illustrator created an electronic version focusing on the important dinner on the eve of the Chinese New Year.

In Chen's picture, friends who gather around dining tables have their phones or handheld devices with them. They either send messages bearing good wishes while eating together or have a video chat with those who are away. Even a rooster has a phone in hand－well, wing.

"It's common to see such kinds of family gatherings. It's interesting," says Chen.

She recalls that, during her childhood, Spring Festival pictures were printed on calendars, featuring chubby children or various gods. After a family dinner, people set off fireworks and visited relatives.

Chen moved to California after primary school. It was impossible to have many relatives at such dinners there.

She says people in her picture are friends and neighbors from a community, who gather to celebrate the occasion in the era of globalization. Dishes on their tables are from different places of China and include hotpot, seafood, dumplings and tea.

"Times are changing, and technology is changing, too. But New Year pictures will always be our way to celebrate the festival－just through different media," says Chen.

Xie Wei, a marketing manager from Apple Inc, says that at a time when people are complaining about the disappearing traditions surrounding Spring Festival, technology is helping to revive them in a way that appeals to youth.