The main function of Shanxi folk dough figurines in the Spring Festival is to offer sacrifices and pray to the gods of heaven and earth, which is the embodiment of the ideal of pursuing ample food and clothing and all the best. Spring Festival dough figurines are mostly abstract, religious and ideal in modeling consciousness. 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 hair is rolled into a big triangle to make it smooth, covered with a layer of red dates, and then patterns such as Pan Yun, Panlong, Panrabbit and Ruyi are made with noodles, and occasionally decorated with Jet Li, Yuanbao, Phytolacca acinosa, Shangshan Deer, melons and fruits, etc., with the nose of miscellaneous grains as the finishing touch, and steamed out of the pot, so that the white flour forms color 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.
Shanxi New Year pictures are simple, rich, simple, elegant and clean, which is the comprehensive condensation of nature worship, religious thought, psychological consciousness and modeling language. Generally, the shapes are neat in appearance and rich in connotation, including geometric straight lines, suitable patterns full of the legacy of the Qin and Han Dynasties, and specific images of people, animals and plants with unique China traditional cultural style. The fusion of different modeling consciousness constitutes the unique content of folk festivals and forms a special Han folk art form.