According to the literature, there was a record of dough sculpture in Han Dynasty. The earliest existing dough figurines are Tang Dynasty dough figurines, male figurines and piglets unearthed from Astana tomb in Turpan, Xinjiang. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, dough modeling technology had been quite perfect, and "kneading dough" became the most important means for dough sculptors to make a living. During Guangxu period, "Noodles Zhang Man" appeared in Tianjin. His skill in kneading dough was profound, but it was a pity that it was lost in his later years.
Modern famous dough sculpture artists include Tang Zibo, Cao Yice and Lang Shaoan. Tang Zibo's works are vivid, Cao Yice's face is exquisite and elegant, and Lang Shaoan's face is rich in color. The Palace Museum now has a collection of noodles played by Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. These noodles were created by three famous noodles, Tang Zibo, and they are still brightly colored.
As far as kneading style is concerned, the Yellow River Basin has exaggerated and vivid modeling, bright and generous colors, rough and concise style, elegant aesthetic feeling and distinctive folk and local characteristics. The Yangtze River basin is meticulous, beautiful and exquisite. The special evidence of dough sculpture art is "one seal, two pinches, three embeds and four volumes" (the steps of clay sculpture), as well as "the chest of literature, the belly of martial arts, the back of the old man and the waist of the beautiful woman".
According to their functions, dough sculptures can be divided into two categories. One kind is dough sculpture specially used for collection, which is generally made of refined flour, glutinous rice flour, salt, preservatives and sesame oil. The other is edible dough plastic, which is made of powdered flour and raw flour.
Shanxi fuwa
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. Most of these dough sculptures are made by housewives in rural and urban areas.
Especially in the "Mid-Autumn Festival" on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, almost every household uses flour as raw material to make various dough sculptures such as figures, animals, flowers, feathers, melons and fruits through kneading, modeling, steaming in cages and coloring. Most of these dough sculptures are exaggerated, concise and simple, with obvious folk and local characteristics.
Then it goes on to the city. Developed to the characteristics of non-edible antisepsis, crack prevention and easy storage. With the artist's dexterous hands, we can make exquisite, vivid, story-telling, cultural and purely ornamental dough sculpture art. Shanxi noodle people are mainly divided into Huozhou noodle people, Xinzhou Dough Statues noodle people and Jiangzhou noodle people.
Huozhou Mianren is called "mutton bread in soup" by local people. Sheep are auspicious. Whenever festivals come, skilled peasant women will pinch out facial sculptures such as kittens, puppies, tigers, ducks, fish, frogs, grapes, "bergamot", "full house" and "clever husband and clever mother" according to local customs to show all the best, longevity, wealth, harmony and friendship. Huozhou dough figurines are simple in shape, with few decorations, and usually only red dots are used for coloring.
Xinzhou Dough Statues is very popular in Xinzhou area. During the Spring Festival, it is necessary to steam offerings to worship God. Before the festival, dough is kneaded into offerings of various shapes, such as "bergamot", pomegranate, lotus, peach, chrysanthemum, horseshoe, etc., which are generally called "flower buns". 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 consists of an isosceles triangle rolled red dates, and the top corners are 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. Jujube hill can be colored after steaming and become a beautiful folk art. ..
Jiangzhou flower steamed buns are the most famous for their colorful and exaggerated shapes.
Shandong Heze miansu
Shandong Heze dough sculpture is the representative of northern dough sculpture, and Mulizhuang is the birthplace of Heze dough sculpture. As a craft that Muli Zhuang people rely on to survive and support their families, dough sculpture has been passed down from generation to generation. The main types of dough sculptures in Heze are: "offering flowers" dough sculptures, mostly livestock, peaches, pears, melons and fruits, fat dolls, birthday stars and so on. With rough kneading technique, simple style, simple color and strong contrast; Single dough figurines are mostly elegant officials, romantic ladies, military commanders and chivalrous men, innocent children, etc. Exquisite workmanship and complex colors; Most of the acoustic and dynamic facial sculptures are children's toys; Boxed assembly: in a gift box, shaping several characters and expressing a story is a high-grade handicraft; Sketch dough figurines and improvise according to the people or animals in front of you.
Langzhuang is a "face tiger". It is said that Langzhuang's "Lang" and "Wolf" are homophonic, and wolves eat people and animals, so people and animals can only reproduce safely if they eat wolves. Therefore, Langzhuang's dough modeling started with making a dough tiger. All kinds of local dough sculptures are collectively called "dough tigers". Most of the dough is refined wheat, which is simple to make. It is shaped by kneading, kneading, beating and gluing, and decorated with scissors and combs. After steaming, color and glue, and then dry. The dough made in this way has a bright appearance and is not easy to crack. Langzhuang dough sculpture is a round sculpture, mostly flat, which is suitable for hanging flat and airing. Its color is rich and gorgeous, and its purity is high. In addition to a large area of magenta, yellow and green, a small amount of white powder and cobalt blue are also dotted. Finally, it is carefully outlined with ink lines, and the overall feeling is lively and colorful.
Beijing dough sculpture
Beijing dough sculpture is a simple and artistic folk handicraft. According to the needs, the dough kneading artists first use flour and glutinous rice flour as the main raw materials, add pigments, paraffin wax, honey and other ingredients, and make dough of various colors after anti-cracking and anti-mildew treatment. These doughs were pinched, kneaded, kneaded and lifted several times. They are cleverly placed, cut, carved and scraped with a small bamboo knife, shaped into bodies, hands and heads, and covered with hair ornaments and clothes. In an instant, all kinds of artistic images came to my face: beautiful women with graceful clothes and elegant skirts, innocent children, and all kinds of fairy tales, opera characters and historical figures. When foreign tourists watch the production of dough figurines, they are all fascinated by the artist's skillful skills, changeable and lifelike figures, and call Beijing dough figurines "the sculpture art of China".
Shanghai dough sculpture
The most famous dough sculpture in Shanghai is the work of Zhao Kuo Ming, a famous dough sculpture artist in Shanghai. He is called "dough sculpture Zhao Man". Zhao Kuo Ming 19 was a noodle maker. At the age of 25, he was as famous as noodle soup (Tang Zibo) in Dongcheng. At the age of 32, he was known as the "beauty king" in Tianjin.
His works are mainly traditional dramas and myths and legends. The work is called "three-dimensional painting, silent play" because of its vivid characters, fine facial description, simple clothing lines, vivid expression and rich colors. Moreover, the dough figurines he made are not easy to mold, rot, crack, deform and fade. Representative works include traditional works, such as Three Stars, Guanyin, Lohan with Long Eyebrows, Maitreya Buddha in Wuzi Opera, Zhong Kui Marries a Sister, Guan Gong Seeing the Spring and Autumn Period and so on. Modern works include Bethune and Lu Xun. His daughter and disciples inherited his mantle and were called "Oriental Pearl" and "National Essence" in foreign live performances.