Dough Figurines
01 · Historical Records
The origin of flour flowers is closely related to the traditional dietary and belief customs of the people; Tang-dynasty dough-sculpture remains excavated from the Astana tombs in Turpan, Xinjiang, show that this folk art has a long history of development in China.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Flour flowers, popularly called huamo (flower steamed buns), wowohua, and gaohua, and also known as dough sculpture, are a traditional edible modeling art popular in the northern regions of Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, and at the same time a festival-custom art very closely tied to everyday life. In the northern regions, flour-flower modeling has deep roots among the people; at every traditional festival, each household makes flour flowers according to local customs and conventions. These flour-flower products come in a great variety of forms and postures; they serve multiple functions, including offering, display, and food, and can also be given as gifts to relatives and friends, becoming an important medium of social exchange among the people. The differing local conditions, customs, and ritual emphases of each region have given flour-flower art rich expressive forms and distinct regional characteristics; the distinctive shapes and brilliant colors of flour-flower products adorn the cultural space of traditional festivals with singular beauty. Huangling County in Shaanxi Province takes its name from the mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor (Xuanyuan) within its territory, and Huangling flour flowers are a traditional folk edible modeling art popular in this region. Huangling flour flowers involve complex craftsmanship and exquisite making; their images are lifelike and vividly realistic, full of artistic power.
Mausoleum offerings
Huangling dough flowers are tied to the rites at the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum, where dough animals and flowers replace the three sacrificial beasts.
Shaped, steamed and painted
The dough is kneaded, leavened, shaped, steamed and coloured, with combs, scissors and bamboo picks as tools.
Reverence for ancestors
Huangling dough flowers embody local reverence for ancestors and reflect the deep cultural deposits of the Yellow Emperor's homeland.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Since their first appearance, they have been closely bound up with the local ritual customs of the sacrifices to the Yellow Emperor. Local people habitually mold dough into animals and flowers of every kind to take the place of the three sacrificial animals in the ceremonies. In local daily production and life, and in customary activities such as seasonal festivals, weddings, births, and birthday celebrations, the use of flour flowers is even more widespread. The rich and colorful Huangling flour flowers reflect the traditional virtues of the local people in honoring their origins and revering their ancestors and in loving heaven and humankind, and from one side display the profound historical and cultural accumulation of the homeland of the Yellow Emperor (Xuanyuan). Huangling flour flowers come in a great variety of forms; those used in the grand mausoleum sacrifices are called 'flower offerings', with styles such as dough pigs, dough sheep, dough chickens, and dough fish, as well as coiled dragons, phoenixes, and peonies. In everyday rites of passage there are liniangmo ('bride-departure buns') used at betrothal, tiger buns used at weddings, longevity-peach buns used at birthday celebrations, and xiantie ('dedication cakes') used at funerals. In making them, shaping comes first and steaming second; once out of the steamer, outlines are drawn with dyes, with importance placed on combining form, color, and flavor. Huangling flour flowers use locally refined wheat flour; the process steps of mixing the dough, fermenting, modeling, steaming, and applying color are all grasped through experience, and shaping commonly employs household tools such as combs, scissors, chopsticks, and bamboo skewers. The finished products are full in form and bright in color, and are used both in offerings before the mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor (Xuanyuan) and in folk seasonal festivals, weddings, and funerals.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Dough Figurines · Dough Figurines · Dough Figurines · Dough Figurines · Dough Figurines · Dough Figurines.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This spontaneous flour-flower modeling activity fully demonstrates the aesthetic ideals and artistic talent of the people, allowing the cultural traditions contained in folk custom to be naturally transmitted and displayed. As one of the carriers of the history and culture of Huangling, Huangling flour flowers have research value in many fields, including folklore studies, sociology, and history, and can provide important reference for the excavation and collation of Huangling rituals and customs.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhang Hongxia 05-2649
- Dong Qiaolan 05-2650
- Li Chengxiu 05-2651
- Yuan Jianhua
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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