Chuantongmianshi Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Legend has it that in the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing dynasty (1869), the Liu family steamed-food shop by the Houjiahou canal dock took on an apprentice surnamed Gao with the given name Guiyou, who was later the founder of Goubuli baozi.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Goubuli baozi is the foremost of Tianjin's renowned 'three wonders' of fine food; made with water-filled stuffing and half-fermented dough, it is like congealed fat in texture and shaped like a chrysanthemum, with a fresh, fragrant, non-greasy mouthfeel, standing alone south and north of the Yangtze. It has its own unique operating methods in stuffing-making, dough-mixing, fat-kneading, skin-rolling, pleating, and stove-work. When mixing the dough, the water temperature varies by season; generally warm water is used, employing the 'one-bow-fat' method. After kneading, let it rest a while, then use it once fermented. The unleavened dough serves the 'bone' function and the leavened dough the 'flesh' function; the advantage of this dough is that it does not let oil through, has a chewy bite, has good skin gloss, and combines softness and firmness. When rolling the skin, it must be uniform in thickness, round, and of appropriate size. Each baozi holds about 3 qian of stuffing, and pleating requires even, neat, and beautiful pleats, shaped like a white chrysanthemum about to bloom. The key step is the stove work; the heat must be controlled just right. After his apprenticeship ended, Gao Guiyou resigned and left the shop, and in the eighth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty (1882) invested his own money to run a baozi shop, naming it 'Dejuhao.' He reformed the baozi so that it was not only delicious but also beautiful in appearance. Its shape was required to have a chrysanthemum collar and a topknot clasp; he linked the baozi with beautiful flowers, giving customers both material enjoyment and spiritual satisfaction. Therefore many people came to eat baozi every day and had to wait. Some customers asked this and that; Gao Guiyou was poor at speech and sometimes could not answer. Regular customers who knew his childhood name joked, 'Gouzi ignores people'—a Taoist priest at the Temple of the Queen of Heaven overheard this and suggested to Gao Guiyou, 'People say you, Gouzi, ignore people—Goubuli (dog ignores). You might as well change Dejuhao to Goubuli; it's novel and strange and sure to attract customers.' Gao Guiyou accepted the old Taoist's suggestion and hung up the sign 'Goubuli.' For over one hundred fifty years, the Goubuli baozi-making craft, with its rich culinary-cultural value, has not only been recognized as a 'China Well-Known Trademark' and a 'China Time-Honored Brand,' but has also won the 'International Famous-Brand Chinese Cuisine Award' and repeatedly received honors in domestic and international cooking competitions.
The yigongfei dough method
Water temperature follows the season and the dough is kneaded by the 'one-arch fat' method to build structure before fermentation.
Dead dough for bone, leavened dough for flesh
Combining a non-leavened dough for structure with a leavened one for softness gives a skin that does not leak oil and has bite.
Rolling wrappers of even thickness
Wrappers must be even in thickness, round and of suitable size, the precondition for the chrysanthemum-like finished shape.
Three qian of filling and the pleats
Each bun holds about three qian of filling and is pleated evenly into the look of a white chrysanthemum about to open.
The decisive steaming
Steaming is the final and most critical link; the right degree of heat decides the finished bun.
From Depu hao to Goubuli
Gao Guiyou left his master's shop in 1882 and set up Depu hao, reshaping the buns with a chrysanthemum neck and a topknot before the name Goubuli was adopted.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The name Goubuli baozi arose from a canal dock in Tianjin, and the craft spread accordingly across the city. Following the water-stuffing half-fermented-dough approach, the same baozi branches into several family styles in different shops: the way of beating the water stuffing, the fermentation degree of the dough, and the closing of the pleats each have their own rules, so 'Goubuli' became the yardstick, and baozi from other shops are called by other names. When this craft spread from Tianjin to other places, it was mostly remembered under two names, 'Da Goubuli' and 'Goubuli Baozi,' once treated as one of Tianjin's signature snacks. In method it has always held to the old ways: the pleats must be even, neat, and like a white chrysanthemum about to bloom, and the stove heat must be grasped just right. Whether these points can be fully achieved elsewhere is often the measure of whether a transmission has been done correctly.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Goubuli baozi's fame in Tianjin was first called into being: 'Goubuli' originally described a person who was hard to please, not the name of a baozi. A celebrity who couldn't be clearly identified, a Taoist's advice, and hanging up the sign to do business—this twist is the most intriguing part beyond the craft itself. For over one hundred fifty years, the Goubuli baozi-making craft, with its rich culinary-cultural value, has not only been recognized as a 'China Well-Known Trademark' and a 'China Time-Honored Brand,' but has also won the 'International Famous-Brand Chinese Cuisine Award' and repeatedly received honors in domestic and international cooking competitions. As for its transmission, the two hardest parts to pass on are the pleats and the heat: the pleats depend on the feel in the hand, the heat on the skill at the stove, and neither should be written on paper but only observed standing by the board. From a steamed-food shop at a river dock to today's group, the craft has walked its path on the daily volume of steamed baskets; the entire weight of this craft rests on the heat of every stove session.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Qingai 04-1907
- Li Huizhong 05-2858
- Li Jiangang 05-2859
- Jia Zhiliang
- Rexiti Yimiti
- Hatamusha Nuer
- Yu Zhenling
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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