There are many famous mountains and many Buddhist and Taoist temples in the province. Mount Wutai, the first of the four famous Buddhist mountains, and Mount Hengshan, one of the five famous Taoist mountains, enjoy a high reputation in Kyushu and overseas. Strong religious culture constitutes the folk phenomenon of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in China. Up to now, many Hui people still live in Shanxi, and the traditional Hui festivals add a strange luster to the folk custom of celebrating the New Year.
Historically, the traffic in Xishan Mountain area is inconvenient, and the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy has always occupied a dominant position and is particularly closed. Therefore, although it is the same festival, it often has different styles and customs, and the forms of commemoration are different, even different, showing multi-level magnificent colors. But on the whole, the province still has obvious characteristics of agricultural production. In the busy farming season, there is generally only one festival in a month, which only reflects one belief. These activities are very simple, and most of them are carried out at home. In the off-season, the number of festivals increases accordingly. In folk activities, entertainment has become the main part, with huge content and complex forms. The most typical is the Spring Festival. In folk language, "every day in the first month is a festival." This arrangement also reflects the spiritual adjustment function of festivals at the age of 20. Every month's festival is an adjustment to the life content of this month. The first month is another major adjustment to the life content of the whole year. Folk language says: "After a year, I look forward to a new year." The simplest, most general and most vivid explanation of this relationship.
There is a folk custom in Shanxi, that is, on festive days such as holidays, weddings, funerals and weddings, dough sculptures should be made to celebrate.
Noodles people are commonly known as "noodle people", "noodle sheep", "mutton buns" and "flower buns". Different places have different names and forms. Most of these dough sculptures are made by housewives in rural areas, towns and cities. Especially in the "Mid-Autumn Festival" on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, almost every household has to use flour to shape various patterns and exquisite dough sculptures, such as figures, animals, flowers, feathers, melons and fruits.
Shanxi dough sculpture itself is a kind of folk art, which is inextricably linked with local customs. The forms, uses and colors of these dough sculptures are closely related to local folk activities and customs, and are developing and changing. In Xinjiang County and Xiangfen County in the south of Shanxi Province, steamed dough plastic pays attention to dyeing, and the dough plastic products are gorgeous and unique. In Huozhou area, dough sculpture does not pay attention to decorative colors, and has the characteristics of simplicity and elegance. The dough sculptures in Xinzhou and Dingxiang are mainly plastic, supplemented by coloring, and the colors alternate with the true colors of dough.
As far as the whole province is concerned, Shanxi dough sculpture is made of fine white flour, which is kneaded, shaped, steamed and colored. Generally, dough modeling is exaggerated and vivid, with bright and generous colors, rough and concise style and elegant aesthetic feeling. But also has distinctive folk and local characteristics.
Huozhou noodles su
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 the local custom, the peasant women used the fine powder ground by their families to knead the dough products of "bergamot", "full house" and "skillful husband and clever mother" into kittens, dogs, tigers, yutu chickens, ducks, fish frogs, grapes, pomegranates and eggplants to symbolize all the best, long life, rich financial resources, harmony and friendship, and wish all the best.
During the "Cold Food Festival", the dough sculpture used by Huoxian people to pay homage to their ancestors was a "snake plate". 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 sculptures. 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 dough sculptures such as "needle and thread" and "thimble".
When the baby is full moon, grandma's family will usually make a "bangzi" with a diameter of more than one foot, that is, a round dough circle, and put on the fine-faced plastic of the Chinese zodiac. Some will also have smaller dough figurines in the shape of dragons and phoenixes or tiger heads 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, rarely decorated and colored, and often only supply red dots and colors.
Xinzhou Dough Statues
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 is made into offerings in 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 mound is made by rolling jujube into an isosceles triangle, and the top of the corner is often molded with a layer of wishful patterns, on which three to five dough sculptures "small ingots" are added, and at the same time, a "dry dragon" biting copper coins is molded. 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". "Cold food forbids fire, and cold food lasts for one day". 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, almost every wall was hung with a string of dough figurines.
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 Steamed 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 will also pinch a "dim sum" dough sculpture and offer it in front of the mourning hall. This dough sculpture is made into various images of flowers, fruits and small animals, which is very delicate and unique. Some have spots after steaming, and some have spots after drying.
In Fan Shi, Xinzhou, there is a small statue with the theme of fat doll. 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 dough sculpture is a special offering made by local people in Wutai Mountain Buddhist Temple to pray for Buddha.
Xinzhou folk also have dough sculptures that portray dramatic figures such as life, Dan, Jing, Wei and Ugliness, and even sell them in the temple fair market. This kind of dough sculpture is also quite exquisite.
In a word, Xinzhou Dough Statues is varied and colorful, and has become a folk art with aesthetic taste.
Jiangzhou noodles su
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 various dough sculptures to celebrate the festival. Because the dough sculptures here pay attention to color and bright colors, the locals call them "flower buns".
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 kind of spontaneous mass selection, which does not select the champion, has undoubtedly become the driving force to promote the kneading of steamed bread and the folk comment to promote the continuous improvement of dough modeling level.
Therefore, Jiangzhou has always been famous for making steamed buns, which has become a traditional folk handicraft with a good reputation.