Tujian Firing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The earth-alkali firing craft grew out of the distinctive natural-product conditions of Xinjiang's reclamation areas. The skill of burning the alkali plant (jianhaozi) to extract alkali has been passed down longest in the reclamation areas of the Fangcao Lake and Xinhu Farm of the Sixth Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, spanning over two hundred years. Xinjiang has a dry climate and saline-alkaline soil; across this land grows everywhere the alkali plant (jianhaozi), a cold- and alkali-resistant wild plant of tenacious vitality. It was through daily shortages that the reclamation settlers found this path: on the wasteland the alkali plant was originally only used for compost and firewood, yet the alkali filtered from its ashes could be used at the stove, and so this unremarkable plant was kept. This discovery turned the ubiquitous wild grass of the wasteland into a daily necessity; in the hard years of tight supplies and in relatively backward economic regions, it both reduced people's expenses and created income, so it was quickly adopted by every household. Among the elderly Xinjiang people of the Xinhu and Fangcao Lake reclamation areas, the earth-alkali firing craft has been transmitted orally and by personal instruction down to the present. This craft is also bound up with a local seasonal food: elderly Xinjiang people have the custom of eating "ash noodles" (huimian) on festivals and holidays. Ash noodles are a pasta made by kneading dough with a kind of earth-alkali fired by the people themselves and shaping it by hand; when eaten it is smooth, moist, chewy, and pleasant. Thus firing alkali and making ash noodles became the two halves of one set of life skills.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The craft of firing earth-alkali from the alkali plant mainly circulates in places such as the Fangcao Lake and Xinhu Farm reclamation areas of the Sixth Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and has a history of over two hundred years to the present. Elderly Xinjiang people have the custom of eating ash noodles on festivals and holidays. Ash noodles are a pasta made by kneading dough with a kind of earth-alkali fired by the people themselves and shaping it by hand; when eaten it is smooth, moist, chewy, and pleasant. Xinjiang has a dry climate and saline-alkaline soil; across this land grows everywhere the alkali plant, a cold- and alkali-resistant wild plant of tenacious vitality. In long-term reclamation practice, local people accumulated production and life experience and discovered that besides being used for compost or as fuel, the alkali plant can also be fired into earth-alkali. Firing earth-alkali from the alkali plant is economical and practical, with low cost, and especially in the hard years of tight supplies and in relatively backward economic regions, it both reduces people's expenses and creates income. Among the elderly Xinjiang people of the Xinhu and Fangcao Lake reclamation areas, the earth-alkali firing craft has been transmitted orally and by personal instruction down to the present.
Cutting the seepweed from September to October
Seepweed grows freely on the gobi; September and October is the cutting season, and the branches are dried ready for burning into ash.
Digging the kiln on the desert flat
The kiln is dug out of the desert floor itself, where ventilation and the balance of heat and insulation decide how much ash is converted.
Drawing off and purifying the alkali
Besides being used for compost and fuel, seepweed is burned to yield alkali, and the timing of the heat and the drawing-off is judged by eye and hand alone.
Kneading grey flour dough with the ash-alkali
The grey dough is hand-kneaded with the home-made alkali and eats smooth, springy and good; no shop-bought baking soda gives the same result.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The distribution of the earth-alkali firing craft coincides with that of the alkali plant, namely the reclamation areas of the Fangcao Lake and Xinhu Farm of the Sixth Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. There the Gobi is open and the climate dry, most suitable for digging kilns to fire alkali. Representative inheritor Tian Xiyun was born in May 1950 in Wujiaqu City, Sixth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; since then, every year from September to October he fires earth-alkali in a kiln he dug himself on the Gobi near his residence, fully mastering the earth-alkali firing process, continuously summing up experience in firing practice and improving the alkali quality. The alkali he fires is of excellent quality, correct color, and high success rate. Transmission in this area still mainly relies on oral teaching and personal instruction, depending entirely on individual practical accumulation rather than a written process, so the kiln's firing heat and the timing of alkali extraction are hard to fix in writing. The custom of elderly Xinjiang people eating ash noodles on festivals and holidays continues to this day, preserving a stable demand for earth-alkali; but at present only a few local residents still carry out the complex activities of firing earth-alkali and making ash noodles. This folk handicraft with distinctive local character is in danger of gradual extinction and urgently needs protection, transmission, and promotion.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The effect of using earth-alkali in dough cannot be replaced by the edible alkali sold on the market today. But at present only a few local residents still carry out the complex activities of firing earth-alkali and making ash noodles. This folk handicraft with distinctive local character is in danger of gradual extinction and urgently needs protection, transmission, and promotion. Tian Xiyun (per official archive records of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in May 1950, a native of Wujiaqu City, Sixth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Representative inheritor of the Earth-Alkali Firing Craft, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project, in its third batch. A technician of earth-alkali firing. Since then, every year from September to October he fires earth-alkali in a kiln he dug himself on the Gobi near his residence. He fully masters the earth-alkali firing process, continuously sums up experience in firing practice and improves the alkali quality; the earth-alkali he fires is of excellent quality, correct color, and high success rate, and is welcomed by local people. He was once awarded the title of National Advanced Individual in Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Work by the Ministry of Culture. The effect of using earth-alkali in dough cannot be replaced by the edible alkali sold on the market today—this judgment expresses the reason the craft has survived: the alkali burned from the alkali plant carries a grayish tint, and its flavor and texture differ from industrial edible alkali, making ash noodles that are smooth, moist, chewy, and pleasant, impossible to replicate elsewhere. The value of the earth-alkali firing craft also lies in its embodiment of a life wisdom of using local materials—using the inexhaustible alkali plant of the wasteland to meet daily needs, reducing expenses while increasing income in hard times. Tian Xiyun was once awarded the title of National Advanced Individual in Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Work by the Ministry of Culture, and the survival of this craft to this day still depends on the personal perseverance of a few individual inheritors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Tian Xiyun 03-1408
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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