Dough sculpture refers to the manual skill of making mature dough from flour, glutinous rice flour, glycerin or cooked flour, and then kneading it into various specific images of flowers, birds, fish, insects, scenery, utensils, figures, animals, etc. with hands and various special shaping tools. Commonly known as flour flowers, steamed buns, flower cakes and dough kneaders.
According to historical records, China's dough sculpture art has been recorded in writing as early as the Han Dynasty. After thousands of years of inheritance and management, it has a long history. It has long been a part of China's culture and folk art, and it is also a material that cannot be ignored in the study of history, archaeology, folklore, sculpture and aesthetics.
Judging from the dough figurines and piglets unearthed from the tomb of Astana Tang in Rufan, a new territory, it has been at least 1,340 years since then. There is also a record in the Southern Song Dynasty's Dream of Tokyo about the dough kneader: "Make it into a smile with molasses on the oil surface." At that time, all the dough people could eat, which was called "fruit food".
There is also a legend among the people about the dough-kneading people. It is said that in the Three Kingdoms, Kong Ming conquered Nan Man, and when crossing the Lujiang River, he was suddenly caught in a strong wind. The witty Kong Ming immediately made a head of fabric and made it look like a sacrifice to worship the Jiang God. Strangely enough, the troops crossed the river safely and successfully pacified Nan Man, so from then on, all those who carried out this industry worshipped Kong Ming as their ancestors.
Simply put, dough figurines are all kinds of small figures and things made by kneading with flour. You need to master the techniques of "one seal, two kneading, three inlays, four rolling" to be quick in dough modeling, but it is not easy to have both form and spirit.