Nowadays, when we walk into the homes of rural farmers, we often see several women busy together, holding tools such as knives, scissors, chopsticks and combs in their hands. After kneading, kneading, cutting, pressing and cutting the dough, only "swallows" with different expressions appeared in front of us. After steaming in the cage, it makes the finishing point and feathers are colored, but some of the "flying swallows" are light and dexterous, and some are childish, as if they are really alive. Only the "flying swallows" inserted in the spikes of seabuckthorn branches collected by the children in the village from the wild are different in shape and lifelike, just like a picture of "Chun Yan's noisy branches". This kind of edible and ornamental peasant pasta has brought many beautiful scenery to the land of Sanjin in early spring.
source and course
There are many kinds of pasta in Shanxi. People not only regard pasta as the staple food for three meals a day, but also carefully shape various "noodles" with flour to express their inner spiritual world and good wishes for life. This is the face of Shanxi people, which can be called "edible art". It is popular among the people and has been passed down to this day.
Shanxi dough figurines flourished among the people and spread among them. The form, use and color of dough sculpture are closely related to local folk activities and customs, and are developing and changing. Most of them are made by housewives, and most housewives in urban and rural areas of Shanxi can make them, and generally make various shapes. Because it is for self-use, although the level is different, it does not affect eating, and then it will continue to the city, and it will develop into fine, vivid, story-telling and purely ornamental noodles with cultural connotations through the matching characteristics of non-eating, anti-corrosion, anti-cracking and easy storage.
Mr. Liu, the sculpture capital of Datong in northern Shanxi, watched his mother steam steamed buns when he was a child, and now he is still developing and producing them, forming a unique production method. He has a soft spot for Shanxi noodles. "In the past, the vast majority of Shanxi folk noodles were just a decorative food. At that time, the villagers helped to do all the festivals or housework. Weddings, funerals, baby full moons and old people's birthdays are all regarded as gifts. This kind of folk activities that every household had to carry out at that time created a large number of skilled craftsmen, which were passed down from generation to generation. "
Modeling features
As far as the whole province is concerned, Shanxi dough figurines are exaggerated and vivid in shape, bright and generous in color, rough and concise in style, rich in elegant aesthetic feeling and distinctive in folk and local characteristics. Rub a dough sculpture in your hand at will and describe it skillfully with a small bamboo stick. In just a few minutes, various dough sculptures such as animals, flowers, figures and mascots are within reach. Some gestures are beautiful and lifelike, and everyone is amazed. Many of them won prizes in provincial, municipal and even national arts and crafts exhibitions, and some of them also participated in international exhibition sales.
It is only in recent years that these works of art made of flour have appeared in the market as plastic arts. The cultural accumulation of Shanxi people from generation to generation, the creators' utilitarian thoughts and their enthusiasm and talent have made them refined and formed a simple folk culture, which not only added a festive atmosphere to the festival, but has now become a unique local folk custom.
Inheritance and development
Pastry products produced by fingers, influenced by historical development and influenced by the northern atmosphere, are so interesting and affectionate that they gradually emerge in the market. However, with the rapid development of science and technology, mechanized production has gradually replaced handicrafts, and many folk handicrafts, including the art of dough figurines, have less and less space in the market. As an art, Shanxi dough figurine art needs to be accepted by the market and achieve good economic benefits, and it needs to play the "innovation" card on the basis of inheritance and develop continuously.
After a long period of exploration, the current works of dough figurines are not moldy, cracked, deformed or faded, so they are deeply loved by tourists and become souvenirs for friends and relatives. Wang Li, a senior nutritionist in Mianshan Tourism and Catering Department, said, "Traditional Shanxi folk dough figurines mainly use white flour, which is kneaded, shaped, steamed and colored. The simplification of finished products can no longer meet the diversified needs of modern people. After research and development, we have inherited the traditional craft, at the same time, added the healthy concept in the materials and colors. Nowadays, Shanxi noodle people are very popular as decoration, nutrition and seasoning. At the third Qingming cold food exhibition in Jiexiu, Shanxi on 20 10, all kinds of vegetable juice noodle people are not only colorful, but also nutritious. The production of raw noodles has developed to the combination of raw noodles and dead noodles, and the combination of raw noodles and cooked noodles. Through various processing methods of primary colors and dyeing, the modeling color of dough figurines has made a new breakthrough. Pinch, cut, cut, rub, spell, squeeze, clip, press, plate, stack, embed, combine, embossment and embossment, and make appropriate adjustments and choices according to different themes. The exhibits are very beautiful. Shanxi has a long history, and the art of dough figurines has an inexhaustible theme of Sanjin culture on this fertile soil. Ni, a chef of Shanxi cuisine in Taiyuan noodle restaurant, said, "Shanxi noodle people have a very good mass base in various regions, and the people who love and engage in noodle people in Shanxi are gradually expanding. From 70-year-old people to dolls of several years old, their works reflect the happy life of Shanxi people today. Shanxi's pasta is famous at home and abroad, and pasta is closely related to noodle people. We will also promote Shanxi's dough figurines to the market through different forms of exhibitions, tourism promotion conferences, scenic spots or handicraft fairs, so that more people can understand Shanxi's dough figurines art and expand their influence. A miniature face painting named "Blowing to Welcome the Wedding" entered the exhibition area of Shanghai World Expo with great joy.
Shanxi noodle people, rooted in the folk, are closely related to our lives, and their strong local charm attracts people's attention. No matter how the times change and how innovative the inheritance skills are, it will be passed down from generation to generation and will never fade!
Folk custom of Spring Festival
China's festival customs originated in the pre-Qin Dynasty and formed in the Han Dynasty, which is the accumulation of human understanding and conquest of nature. Spring Festival is a key festival for people to know the phenological calendar, so the sacrificial activities in the Spring Festival are particularly grand, and exquisite dough figurines appear with people's psychological needs and become an important manifestation of the festival.
The main function of Shanxi folk dough figurines in the Spring Festival is to offer sacrifices and pray to heaven, earth and gods, which is the embodiment of the ideal of pursuing adequate food and clothing and all the best. Most people in the Spring Festival are abstract, religious and idealistic. Jujube hill, which worships heaven and earth, is called Huashan and Huagao, which are both big in shape and called Mimianshan. The legend of southern Shanxi was written to commemorate Dayu's water control. It is a custom to sacrifice a sheep in front of ancestors to show piety. The elders send their children and grandchildren "Ganlong" in order to attract Ganlong to the DPRK and make money a treasure ... There are all kinds of colorful steamed buns, which are exquisite gifts for entertaining guests, visiting relatives and friends.
Jujube hill used by the gods in northern Shaanxi is very particular. This is because it appears as a sacrifice. People think that it has some mysterious power beyond itself and is a bridge between man and God. When making, the noodles are rolled into a big triangle, covered with a layer of red dates, and then the noodles are used to make patterns such as Pan Yun, Panlong, Panrabbit, Ruyi, etc., occasionally decorated with knots, ingots, Phytolacca acinosa, mountain deer, melons and fruits, and steamed out of the pot with miscellaneous grains as the finishing touch. White flour forms an overall color contrast effect with crimson dates, five-color grains and beans. On the first day of the lunar new year, before offering sacrifices to the gods, it means that rice and flour become mountains, expressing the good wish of adequate food and clothing. In some places, cypress trees should be lit and steamed bread baked on a flourishing fire, which is called "evil-avoiding" steamed bread to ensure a year of disaster-free and disease-free, safe and auspicious. The flowers in southern Shanxi also have the shapes of "five sons get into the topic", "skillful husband and mother" and "all the best".
Whether it is jujube hill, Fanshan or Flower Cake, it can be said that in this grand festival, the rural people themselves created a spiritual worship and a way of placing their wishes. As for Ganlong, he is an ideal three-legged animal similar to toad, expressing people's yearning for wealth. In some places, cooking horses and chickens will be offered as sacrifices when offering sacrifices to stoves on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. These offerings are not only offerings, but also sacrifices, which are essentially food. If you can't finish them, you can share them. It is these complex functions that make it the most popular and easily inherited art form. "Li Mu was shaped in the world." The inscription said that in the second year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty, rice carving artists Wang Qingyuan and Guo Xiangyun from Yiyang, Jiangxi Province came to Muli Village to cooperate with local flower-offering artists Hao Sheng and Yang Baisi, and combined rice carving with flower-offering skills to form today's "Cao Zhou noodle man". From then on, "Cao Zhou Mianren" broke away from folk functions and became a kind of folk handicraft integrating ornamental and playfulness. In addition to its vivid, rough, bold and simple artistic style, the enduring "Cao Zhou cotton-padded jacket" is another charm.
During the development of dough sculpture art, the artists in Muli Village have traveled all over the country, influencing the whole country, and gradually formed three schools: Shandong Heze Li School, Beijing Tang School and Shanghai Zhao School. The three schools have their own characteristics, among which Heze Li School is the leader, and its representative figures are, Mu and so on.
Mu, vice chairman of the Market People's Association, told the author that with the continuous improvement of living standards, people are more and more interested in folk art, and as an art, people are more and more fond of it, and the income of noodle artists naturally rises. Mu's apprentice Mu, who is employed by a large catering company in Guangzhou, has a solid foundation and can still have a balance of 2,000 yuan per month except for food and accommodation.
"At present, there are more than 400 artists in Muli Village. Don't underestimate this bamboo stick, with an annual income of 20 thousand. " According to his years of experience, Mu Xujian said confidently. At present, we are actively preparing for the joint development of "one-handed face" artists towards industrialization.
Heze dough figurines are handed down from the Yao and Shun era and have a strong folk flavor. Artists can still be seen in parks and markets on holidays. Masters can make realistic flowers, lively dolls, lovely animals and other dough sculptures you like in just a few minutes. Muli Village, Jieyuanji Township, more than ten kilometers southwest of Heze City, is the hometown of dough sculpture and the birthplace of dough sculpture in Heze. Master Heze has performed in many countries in Southeast Asia and was invited to visit European and American countries. Heze dough figurines keep pace with the times, constantly develop and innovate, and their works have now become artistic appreciation and tourist souvenirs of Heze people.
At present, there are famous artists in Heze, such as Mu and so on.
Heze people are all Cao Zhou people. Heze, known as Cao Zhou in ancient times, is located in the Yellow River valley, where the Yellow River often bursts, and natural and man-made disasters are almost constant. People knead flour into pigs to pray for good weather.
Sheep, not slaughtered animals, worship gods. This is the earliest dough sculpture art in Cao Zhou. For thousands of years, the local people have experienced many vicissitudes and ups and downs. Caozhou Mianren
It broke away from the folk function and became a folk handicraft integrating viewing and playing. In the development of dough figurine art, Heze dough figurine artists crisscrossed the north and south, which influenced the whole country as early as the last century.
In the 1920s, Heze people traveled all over Southeast Asia. Heze dough figurines have the characteristics of simple and vivid modeling, vivid image, exaggerated proportion and bright and simple colors, and have strong popularity.
Intermediate flavor. While inheriting the traditional dough sculptures of the older generation, we will continue to develop and innovate. The works of dough figurines are rich and colorful, including flowers, birds, insects and fish, cartoon characters, zodiac signs, portraits and so on. Huozhou dough figurines are called "mutton buns" by local people, and "sheep" in ancient times is "auspicious", which means "auspicious".
Before the Spring Festival, according to local customs, peasant women used fine powder ground by their families to knead dough products such as "bergamot", "full house" and "skillful husband and clever mother" to symbolize all the best, long life, rich financial resources, harmony and friendship, and wish all the best.
During the "Cold Food Festival", the noodles used by Huoxian people to pay homage to their ancestors were "snake plates". Yes, there are also one-headed snakes and two-headed snakes. In the old folk custom, the younger generation ate "snakehead" when offering sacrifices to their ancestors, which means "killing poison and avoiding disaster".
On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, Huoxian has the largest variety of dough figurines. There are pig's head, sheep's head, wheat straw collection, needle and thread laundry, thimble, scissors, needle and thread, cake sitting (that is, shaping a woman sitting on a lotus stand), lion, tiger, fox and so on.
The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the "Begging for Cleverness" Festival. It is said that on this day, women are ingenious when eating noodles such as "needle and thread" and "thimble".
When the baby is full moon, grandma's family will usually make a "complete" with a diameter of more than one foot, that is, a round face circle with delicate zodiac faces. Some will have smaller ones inside the big ones, with dragons and phoenixes or tiger-headed figurines in the middle, which are called "auspicious dragons and phoenixes" or "tigers to ward off evil spirits". Whoever comes to see the children will cut a piece of "Kun Kun" for people to appreciate.
In the first year of the new wife's arrival, the bride's family will send "mutton steamed bread" to her daughter. In the old society, because of poverty, it was very laborious to send a few "mutton" buns to my daughter. Now that I am rich, I give my daughter dozens or even hundreds of "mutton buns" at a time. Steamed bread has various shapes and meanings. For example, "cattle and sheep" symbolizes the prosperity of six livestock, "wheat straw collection" symbolizes the bumper harvest of grains, and pomegranate is a metaphor for many children and many blessings.
Huozhou dough figurines are simple in shape, with little decoration and coloring, and often only supply red dots and colors. Xinzhou Dough Statues is a living product of traditional folk art circulating in this area. It is deeply hidden and rooted in the people and has become one of the local handicrafts.
In Xinzhou area, we should offer sacrifices to the gods for steaming during the New Year. Before the Spring Festival, dough was kneaded into offerings of various shapes, such as bergamot, pomegranate, lotus, peach, chrysanthemum and horseshoe. Commonly known as "Hua Mo".
Xinzhou steamed buns, often with red dates in the middle, are both decorative, nutritious and seasoning, and are very popular. There is also a big local sacrifice called "jujube hill". This kind of jujube hill is made by rolling red dates with flour and splicing them into isosceles triangles. Above the corner, there will often be a layer of wishful patterns, plus three or five "small ingots" of dough figurines. At the same time, it also created a "dry dragon" that bit copper coins. After steaming, "jujube hill" can be dyed and become a beautiful folk art. ..
Tomb-Sweeping Day, kneading a kind of dough called "Cold Food Festival" by local people. This kind of noodle is filled with plain oil, salt, millet and sesame seeds, and kneaded into the heads of boys and girls, with red lotus beans as the mouth and black lotus beans as the eyes, plus a face, nose, ears and eyebrows. After steaming, touch and dye it, which is very innocent and lovely. Some also make a kind of "cold swallow", and pinch the steamed cold swallow and insert it on the branches of Zizyphus jujuba, much like a group of swallows stopping on the branches. According to legend, these folk dough sculptures are related to the "Cold Food Festival", in which "cold food forbids fire and cold food lasts for one day", and swallows symbolize the arrival of spring.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, Xinzhou people have the custom of steaming "noodles". According to legend, this custom began at the end of Yuan Dynasty. It is said that people send signals by giving each other "face people". Up to now, there is a saying among the people that "kneading dough on July 15th and killing tartars on August 15th". However, there are many kinds of dough figurines on July 15th, including cows, sheep, pigs, rabbits, cats, chickens, ducks, dolls, flowers, melons and fruits. There are also animal models such as mandarin ducks, peacocks, lions, tigers and deer, which contain happiness, auspiciousness and love. After the Tenth Five-Year Plan, a string of noodles was hung on almost every wall.
In Xinzhou area, on the wedding day, both men and women steam many big "happy buns". These big "happy buns" should be placed on the dining table for people to enjoy and taste. At the same time, a big "flower cake" should be steamed. In some places, it is customary to knead ten kilograms of flour into a "flower cake". This kind of flower cake takes flour as the round bottom, and the edge of the rolled strip has patterns. It is covered with a layer of red dates, with a layer of lace face plate slightly smaller than the first layer, and the floating plastic of "fish drilling lotus" is pinched on it. After steaming, it is colored and dotted, which can be enjoyed and eaten by people and can also be used as a gift.
During the birthday in Xinzhou area, "Happy buns" are often steamed. "Happy steamed buns" are mostly peach-shaped, with various small decorations on them, symbolizing good luck and longevity. They are colored as "Longevity steamed buns" and given to relatives and friends.
When the funeral is held, the local people also pinch a kind of "snack" noodles and put them in front of the mourning hall. This kind of dough figurines are all kinds of flowers, fruits and small animals, which are very delicate and unique. Some have spots after steaming, and some have spots after drying.
In Fan Shi, Xinzhou, there is a kind of facial makeup with the theme of fat dolls. At the same time, there is a small and delicate, white and fat, elegant little face, without any coloring. This little face man has various postures of crawling, lying down, holding flowers and gnawing melons. Sometimes, it will be placed in "big flowers" dyed red and green. According to legend, this kind of dough figurine is a special offering made by local people in Wutai Mountain Buddhist Temple to pray for Buddha.
Xinzhou folk, some people create drama characters such as birth, Dan, Jing, beauty and ugliness, and even sell them in the temple fair market. This kind of noodle making is also very exquisite.
In a word, Xinzhou dough figurines are various and colorful, and have become folk works of art with aesthetic taste. Jiangzhou, today's Xinjiang County, is a county in the southern plain of Shanxi. This area is rich in wheat in history and has always been the producing area of wheat and cotton in Shanxi Province. Therefore, on holidays, every household here should grind the first-class wheat into flour and knead it into all kinds of dough to show the festive spirit. Because the noodle people here pay attention to color and bright colors, the locals call it "Hua Mo".
Jiangzhou flower steamed buns are exaggerated in shape and unique in shape, especially the "animal flower steamed buns".
In Jiangzhou urban and rural areas, most housewives can knead steamed buns, which can generally be made into various ordinary shapes. Because they are all homemade, although the level is different, it does not affect eating. Over time, some housewives practice makes perfect, and the kneading level of steamed buns can also be continuously improved.
Because of this kind of folk activities that every household has to carry out, a large number of skilled craftsmen have made buns and passed them down from generation to generation.
Whenever there is a funeral in urban and rural areas, making buns will become an inevitable activity. Moreover, these steamed buns will be displayed in front of the public and will therefore be evaluated. This spontaneous mass selection, which does not select champions, has undoubtedly become the driving force to knead bread and the folk comment to promote the continuous improvement of the level of dough.
Therefore, Jiangzhou has always been famous for making steamed buns, which has become a traditional folk handicraft with a good reputation.
In a word, dough figurines, as a plastic art with strong folk vitality, have been growing and rooted in people's lives and become an expression of folk customs. As an art form or food culture, it has its own unique system. Among them, modeling consciousness and method, primitive religious consciousness and evolution, humanistic thought and development all have profound connotations that need to be developed urgently.