Sugar Sculpture
01 · Historical Records
It was used in early times for court sacrifice and later passed into the folk world; in the mid-Qing dynasty it spread to the Fengxian area, and it was widely used throughout the vast rural region at the junction of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, and Anhui, centered on Fengxian.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Sugar sculpture (tangsu) is a special category of traditional Chinese folk modeling, made chiefly by exploiting the plasticity of edible sugar. Unlike Western sculpture, Chinese folk modeling incorporates rich formative elements of painting, sculpture, carving and printing, and decoration, reflecting more fully its own traditional aesthetic purposes and technical character. Sugar sculpture generally uses malt syrup — commonly called 'sugar syrup' (tangxi) — and corn sugar as its raw materials, and combines such shaping methods as pinching, piling, pasting, cutting, blowing, rolling, pulling, pressing, pouring, and drawing out with decorative techniques such as painting, dyeing, carving, scoring, dotting, poking, stamping, inserting, and attaching to complete the modeling of the work. Sugar sculptures may be enjoyed as ornaments and playthings, and may also be eaten directly. In Chinese folk life, sugar sculpture is found throughout the north and south, with a broad popular base, and is closely bound up with customs and daily life. Fengxian tangrengong — sugar figurines offered as tribute, commonly called 'tribute articles' (gongpin) — is a folk sculptural art popular in the Fengxian area of Jiangsu Province. Fengxian sugar tribute figures use fine white sugar as their raw material and are shaped in pearwood molds; they are used mainly in funerary and sacrificial rites. Their subjects are wide-ranging, covering rich material from social life, folk tales, and myths and legends; the products take many forms, including gods and immortals, animals, fruit, houses, and implements, displaying a strong flavor of folk belief. The sugar tribute figures are finely shaped, as white as jade, and crystal clear; after being carefully painted and drawn with edible pigments, they show brilliance within purity and elegance within simplicity, with a distinctive character and charm. Sugar tribute figures are produced in sets — gods and immortals, animals, fruit, houses, and implements — arranged in combination according to the needs of the rite. The molds are mostly old family heirlooms carved in pearwood; the depth of their carving determines the detail of the finished pieces, and once a mold cavity is worn it is difficult to restore, so old molds are regarded by the Guo family as the treasure of the house.
Pear-wood moulds
White sugar is pressed into pear-wood moulds for funerary offerings, one set running to dozens of carved blocks.
Deities, animals, fruits, houses and vessels
Its subjects range widely, producing deities, animals, fruit, houses and vessels with a strong flavour of folk belief.
Six generations of the Guo family
The Guo family has kept the craft in an unbroken line of six generations, moulds and recipes passing only within the clan.
White as jade, clear as crystal
The pieces are graceful, white as jade and translucent, gaining brilliance from their finely painted colouring.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Fengxian sugar tribute figures, commonly called 'tribute articles' (gongpin), circulate mainly in the countryside at the junction of the four provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, and Anhui, centered on Fengxian; the funerary and sacrificial rites of nearby Pei County and Tongshan, as well as of Shan County and Jinxiang in Shandong, also often place orders for them. In making them, fine white sugar is boiled into syrup, poured hot into pearwood molds, and after cooling removed from the molds and trimmed; the features, garment patterns, and flower petals are then painted with edible pigments. A set of offerings often runs to several dozen pieces and must be rushed to completion within one or two days before the funeral procession.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Sugar Sculpture · Sugar Sculpture.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Fengxian sugar tribute figures have continued locally through family transmission, among which the Guo family line has been passed down in good order through six generations to the present. Fengxian sugar tribute figures are a 'living fossil' of ancient funerary culture; they provide concrete material for understanding traditional customs, and have research value in folklore, cultural studies, sociology, and other respects.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Fan Deran 03-1297
- Luo Zhaoying 05-2699
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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