Art must rely on the enlightenment of the soul to become art, so that the spiritual ideals infused by the soul can be artistically displayed in concrete images.

First of all, it is reflected in the author's choice of artistic image. The reason why the old wild goose was chosen as the artistic image is because as a migratory bird, after flying south in winter, its heart is still full of care and concern, and it will not forget the day when it returns again, and will look for its original home after returning. Using it as a symbol implies and conveys that although the daughter gets married and leaves the parents who gave birth to her and raised her, she will still remember the day when she goes home to visit her parents every year like the old wild goose. Therefore, the local people vividly call their daughter "Laoyan Bun" or "Laoyan Basket", which means that if you have a daughter, you will not have to worry about not being able to eat Laoyan Bun.

The second is the beauty of its appearance. Since it is a delicacy created by local people, it also entrusts the local people's image understanding of the implied meaning. As a food for a daughter to repay her kindness, it must be as beautiful and practical as possible. Firstly, it can show the daughter's ingenuity, secondly, it can show the daughter's sincerity in repaying her parents, and thirdly, it can show the daughter's well-off life. It can be said that it kills three birds with one stone. . The formal beauty of these three aspects is mainly manifested in uniformity, balance and symmetry.

The four feather marks on the old goose's body made with the teeth of a comb are a kind of uniform beauty. The old goose's two eyes, a pair of wings and the six red dots dotted with paint represent a kind of balanced and symmetrical beauty, which is related to the beauty of uniformity. Since these two kinds of beauty belong to the qualitative nature of quantity and size, it also helps to control the size of the steamed buns so that they are roughly the same shape and size after steaming, so as to better control the parents. The same filial piety, and will not be biased to cause displeasure to one party. Of course, the more exquisite and beautiful the workmanship is, the bigger it is, and the more nutritious the filling is, the more it can represent the daughter's filial piety. Every year from February 2 of the lunar calendar to the Qingming Festival, it is the time to officially send old wild goose buns. During this season, like wild geese returning to their original home in the north in warm spring, daughters must also remember to raise their own parents and present them when they return. The steamed buns are made from the best grains, and the steamed bun fillings tell the parents that their family lives a prosperous and prosperous life, so that their parents can rest assured. Of course, as the pace of life accelerates, daughters now buy more Laoyan steamed buns as gifts for their parents. They can also choose big buns with lots of fillings and good taste to show their daughter's affection. Before wild geese take off, they often gather together for a "preparatory meeting." Then, the old geese take the lead and fly forward, like a "captain" leading the way, with the young geese in the middle. Finally, the old geese take the lead and form a neat formation. The ancients called it the "goose formation." Sometimes they are just connected, resembling the character "人", and sometimes they are arranged horizontally, just like the character "一". The old wild goose is a symbol of unity. Since China has been a large agricultural country for a long time, it is a patriarchal society with the family as the unit. The unity of the nation is based on the unity, harmony and love of the family, and the harmony of the family can be conveyed through the marriage of a daughter. Foods that symbolize family affection, such as old wild goose buns and small wild goose buns, are hinted at. The communication of this kind of family relationship is not limited to the daughter's return to her parents. The daughter will not forget the brothers she grew up with. This kind of brotherly love is expressed through sending little wild goose buns (or dragon buns, which are shaped like dragons). Or small cat buns, shaped like cats) to express love for nephews and nieces. In this way, the old wild goose (together with the young wild goose, the dragon, and the cat) serves as a symbol for the family to maintain family ties and express unity. "Everything thrives when a family is harmonious" and "harmony is the most precious". Harmony in a family brings peace and prosperity to the country.

By the way, let’s mention dragon buns and cat buns. The dragon is a mythical creature created by the ancients by vaguely combining many animals and celestial phenomena. It is believed that this mythical creature can bring blessings and auspiciousness to the world. The spirit of the dragon is the spirit of unity and cohesion, the spirit of benefiting mankind, the spirit of endeavor and pioneering and the spirit of harmony with heaven. The land of China is the hometown and home of dragons. Dragon culture has widely penetrated into all aspects of social life. Local people use the dragon as a symbol to make delicious steamed buns to their nephews and nieces on specific days to express their blessings for future generations; cats are animals that can ward off evil spirits, so using it as a symbol expresses their love for their nephews and nieces. I hope they will grow up healthily and be free from illness and disaster. The local steamed buns with symbolic aesthetic characteristics, represented by Laoyan steamed buns, are not only a reflection of people's wisdom in survival, but also a medium and symbol for communicating family relationships. They have been fixed as a kind of folk object, and the way of interpersonal communication established through them , has created a strong and harmonious family relationship. This is actually a kind of harmonious beauty. To put it simply, after a daughter gets married, she establishes a new family and regularly sends old wild goose buns to her parents, nephews, nieces, and uncles every year. This can be said to be an interaction between different families. As independent family units, they have their own independent customs. Living space, but sending old geese (or young geese, dragons, cats) is a bridge that coordinates different independent and different families. They convey family affection and leave behind the warmth of love. During the banquet, we ate old wild goose buns and sumptuous meals, and sometimes exchanged glasses and toasts. The happiness of family relationships in the world cannot be fully described, and the blessings of family ties in the world cannot be fully described. Generally speaking, this is also a way of communication within a family. The so-called "cultivation, family harmony, country governance, and world peace" starts from the improvement of individual morals and uses symbolic food as a medium to visit and receive relatives. , helps to establish a harmonious family structure, and then establish a harmonious social structure, which is in line with the essential relationship between people, families and society, and also contributes to the construction of a harmonious society.

There are many other symbolic foods like this, such as steamed baby fish (also a kind of steamed bun made of flour, shaped like a baby fish) in many areas of Henan Province. Not only can daughters give it to their parents, but they can also give it to neighbors to share.

Symbolic foods like this not only bring us a full meal, but also bring us beautiful artistic enjoyment. The most important thing is that as a kind of folklore object, they convey the survival wisdom of local people. Such delicacies should not be simplified with the fast pace and modernization of life (such as omitting fillings when steaming), or even abandon this custom. On the contrary, we should inherit and promote it and become a unique traditional food brand for local people. Of course, while keeping its symbolic meaning and appearance basically unchanged, appropriate consideration can be given to improving its image design. In addition, in addition to inheriting the traditional steaming method, we also use baking methods to make bread that can be accepted by Westerners, thus going abroad. In this way, it not only enriches our country's food brand and promotes local customs and culture, but also brings new economic growth points to the local people. Let the elements of beauty connect you and me, and let warmth and harmony spread generously in the world.