Yanhuobaozhu Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Firecrackers are first recorded in the Jingchu Suishi Ji (Records of the Seasons of Jingchu) by Zong Lin of the Liang dynasty during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which describes the custom of rising at cockcrow and first setting off firecrackers in the courtyard to drive away evil spirits. In the Song dynasty, bamboo tubes were abandoned in favor of wrapping gunpowder in paper to produce the explosion. In the Southern Song, the capital Hangzhou already saw the appearance of small firecrackers strung together, commonly known as "bianpao" (firecracker strings). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, firecrackers developed into a great variety of forms, with famous types such as the double-bang "Thunder that Shakes the Sky," the "Three Rising Waves," the "Two-Kick," and the "Ten-Shot Flying Sky." Fireworks, also called "yanhuo," "lihua" (ceremonial flowers), and the like, began in the Sui and Tang dynasties, flourished in the Song, and became widely popular in the Ming and Qing. By the Tang dynasty there already appeared "gunpowder variety-show fireworks" that could present various designs such as fruits and melons, animals, and ghosts and monsters. In the Southern Song, shelf-mounted fireworks were extremely popular. According to the Wanshu Zaji (Miscellaneous Records of Wanshu), the Ming-dynasty capital Beijing had an enormous variety of fireworks: those in paper cases were called "flower tubes," those in clay cases "earthen pots," and those in bamboo baskets "flower boxes," capable of displaying designs such as the ribbon bird, grape trellis, pearl curtain, and eternal lamp. The Qing-dynasty Dijing Suishi Jisheng (Records of the Victory of the Capital's Seasons) describes the capital's fireworks of the time as "stories of several scenes packed in brocade boxes, with figures so lifelike, feathers and plumage, flowers and plants rendered with the utmost beauty of ornament." The Nanzhangjing firework craft of Jingxing County, Hebei Province, is traditionally said to have been acquired by the ancestors of Zhang Jinglin, who learned the art in Shanxi in the first year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty (1662). From the late Qing until the founding of the People's Republic, the Nanzhangjing village fireworks remained the finale of the county town's Lantern Festival gathering, known as the "official fireworks."
02 · Core Techniques & Process
China is the country that earliest invented gunpowder in the world, and the fireworks and firecrackers made from gunpowder likewise have a long history and enjoy a high reputation worldwide. What were called "baozhu" (firecrackers) at the time were in fact burning bamboo tubes, which caused the air inside to heat up and burst with a sound. After the Sui and Tang, the practice changed to packing gunpowder into bamboo tubes. According to the Wulin Jiushi (Old Tales of Wulin), once this kind of firecracker was lit it crackled continuously to the end, "one lighting producing over a hundred unbroken reports." Modern firecrackers have further developed and been perfected in type and craft, forming a complete production system, with many varieties such as single-bang, double-bang, linked-bang, string firecrackers, and volley firecrackers, and multiple craft techniques including tube-rolling, tube-cutting, bottom-pasting, mud-filling, fuse-powder application, and eye-sealing. Firework colors are mainly produced by adding different chemical compounds to gunpowder—for example, adding sodium salts yields yellow, potassium salts purple, strontium salts red, barium salts green, and copper salts blue. Nanzhangjing firework production centers on gunpowder-making. The steps begin by splitting dry willow wood, burning it into charcoal, placing it in an urn and sprinkling it with water, then covering it with a damp cloth. After drying, liquor is sprinkled on and the charcoal is crushed into lumps with a stone roller; after drying again, it is ground fine with a rolling pin and sifted through a sieve, then blended with saltpeter and sulfur. Nanzhangjing fireworks come in more than 120 varieties, the principal ones including "qihuo" (rising fire), "guozihuo" (pot fire), "sanhuo" (umbrella fire), "laohuhuo" (tiger fire), "Three Kingdoms story fire," and "laoganhuo" (old-pole fire). Among them, the "laoganhuo" (old-pole fire) stands forty-eight feet tall, linked below to 21 fuse lines, with firework designs in sequence on the pole such as "grape fire," "twelve linked lamps," "the old master opens the door," "octagonal green dragon," and "crane piercing the egg," as well as content relating to the Three Kingdoms story. The main raw materials used to make the fireworks are willow ash, saltpeter, and sulfur. At ignition, the burning point has already passed before the sparks fall to the ground, so the safety factor is very high.
Charcoalising willow
Dry willow is split and burned to charcoal, wetted in a jar and covered with a damp cloth; willow ash is one of the main raw materials.
Grinding and sieving the ash
Dried, wetted with wine and ground to blocks, then ground finer with a rolling pin and sieved; only then is it blended with saltpetre and sulphur.
Blending saltpetre and sulphur
The sieved ash is blended with saltpetre and sulphur; colour follows the additives, sodium for yellow, potassium for violet, strontium for red and copper for blue.
Twisting and rolling the charge
Twisting is the key operation: the twist must be even and the charge uniform, rolled fast and steady, which is why Yin Changtai was called the master twister.
Linking the poles
Linking joins poles and fuse lines; the tall pole of the lao-gan fire stands four zhang and eight chi with twenty-one lines carrying grape fire, twelve lanterns and gate-opening figures in order.
Setting the competing poles and firing
The positions of the tall and competing poles were set out in 2007 and young men took over the linking; the fuse outruns the falling sparks, which is why the tall-pole fire can still close the New Year lantern show.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The local custom of setting off fireworks has been passed down through generations precisely to commemorate this founding master.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Liuyanghuapao Making Craftsmanship · Yanhuobaozhu Making Craftsmanship · Yanhuobaozhu Making Craftsmanship · Yanhuobaozhu Making Craftsmanship · Yanhuobaozhu Making Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
China's fireworks and firecrackers are mainly produced in Liuyang in Hunan, Wanzai and Pingxiang in Jiangxi, Dongguan in Guangdong, and Pucheng and Yang counties in Shaanxi, among other places. Among these, shelf-mounted fireworks were already famous in the Song dynasty; they are now rarely set off and urgently need protection and transmission to ensure their continuation and development. The Nanzhangjing fireworks demonstrate the level of traditional firework-making craft and the development of fireworks in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and hold research value in fields such as folklore and the history of science and technology. At present, because the state has tightened control over fireworks and firecracker production, and because Nanzhangjing village is economically backward, fireworks have not been set off for over a decade. Now only three elderly firework master craftsmen over seventy remain in the village, and many firework varieties have already been lost, urgently needing rescue and protection. Yin Changtai (per the official archival records of the associated inheritor): Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Fireworks and Firecracker Making Craft (Nanzhangjing Tiger Fire)." A fireworks and firecracker-making technician. His outstanding skills are pole-linking (liangan) and fuse-twisting (danian). He began learning the firework-making craft in 1957. In 1961 he apprenticed under Fan Taiyong, specializing in fuse-twisting; afterward he was repeatedly invited to neighboring villages to make fireworks, and passed the craft on to Yin Laiting, Yin Yousheng, and others. Fuse-twisting is the key to firework-making; the fuses he twisted were neither too tight nor too loose, with evenly rolled powder, and he was known locally for his even and swift work, earning the respectful nickname "Fuse-Twisting Master." In 2007 he designated the positions of the "old pole" and "fight pole," and guided young people in pole-linking. He guided Yin Laiting and Yin Yousheng in trial-producing the "pot fire" variety that had been lost for many years; to date nineteen varieties have been restored, and new fireworks such as "battleship on fire" and "monkey poking the wasp nest" offer a refreshing experience. Male, Han ethnicity, born in December 1927, died in January 2012, from Jingxing County, Hebei Province.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhong Ziqi 03-1342
- Yin Changtai 03-1343
- Zhang Weidai 03-1344
- Liang Zhongmin 04-1866
- Li Haiyan 05-2779
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。