Guopumijian Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The age of carved candied fruit can be considered from two directions, gazetteers and legend. Its method is said to go back to the Eastern Zhou, while the Jingzhou prefectural gazetteer of the Song dynasty already contains a clear written record; the Qing work 'Selected Gems of the Zhili Jingzhou Gazetteer', which records such matters as candied fruit relieving hunger in a flood, Miao women of Dabaozi giving it as a gift, and the people's gratitude to Yang Zaisi, places this handicraft within its local historical setting. It was regarded as tribute in successive dynasties and served as a gift as well as an offering, so its form had to be refined: it had to be edible and also worth admiring, with both knife work and sugar colour visible on a single slice of pomelo. Since the Eastern Zhou the craft has risen and fallen through the ages, and only in the Jingzhou area did it gather again into a trade of scaled production.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The craft of making carved candied fruit is a traditional handicraft that combines food and decorative art; it is distributed in the south-west of Hunan Province, with its core area in Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County, Huaihua City, and Suining County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province. The area has a humid climate and four distinct seasons, with ample sunshine in summer and fertile land, suited to the growth of traditional pomelo trees and vegetables such as winter melon; the clear, sweet water of the old wells in each village, together with this exceptional natural environment and quality raw materials, gave rise to and sustained the development of the carved candied fruit-making craft. Carved candied fruit has a long history and was tribute in successive dynasties. Its making craft includes five major stages - selecting the material, slicing, carving, steaming and boiling, sugar-coating, and turning and sun-drying - and several dozen process steps. Carved candied fruit uses the green pomelo peculiar to Jingzhou as its main raw material. The pomelo is first scraped of its thin peel and cut into thin slices 3 cm thick, or made into shapes such as jars and animals; using techniques such as flat carving, openwork carving and relief carving, patterns or shapes of flowers and grasses, animals, figures and scenery are cut with a willow-leaf knife; the pieces then go through process steps such as rinsing in old-well water to clean and fix the colour, boiling in a copper pot to keep the green, rinsing to brighten the colour, pickling in cane sugar to draw out the flavour, and turning and sun-drying or baking to preserve them, producing an exquisite, snow-white, jade-like article that is both edible and a pleasure to look at. Carved candied fruit also has a certain health function: brewed as a tea it can soothe the throat, dispel phlegm and settle the qi, and it has the effects of aiding digestion, strengthening the stomach, refreshing the mind and helping to sober one up. The craft of making carved candied fruit is said to be traceable to the Eastern Zhou period, and the Jingzhou prefectural gazetteer of the Song dynasty already contains a clear written record. The 'Selected Gems of the Zhili Jingzhou Gazetteer' contains related records such as 'candied fruit relieving hunger in a flood', 'Miao women of Dabaozi giving it as a gift to A Si on his way to the capital for the imperial examination' and 'the people thanking Yang Zaisi'. The inheritors of the carved candied fruit-making craft are mainly women; historically the craft was passed down from generation to generation mainly by mother to daughter. At present about 20,000 people in Jingzhou County have mastered the craft, nearly 6,800 households take part in related production, and more than 300,000 jin of carved candied fruit is produced and sold each year. The craft of making carved candied fruit is the crystallisation of the wisdom and creativity of the Miao, Dong and Han peoples and is closely tied to the life of the local people; it has reference value for the study of local history and culture, customs and habits, and the development of food. In recent years the carved candied fruit-making craft has achieved certain results in the development of related industries and has played a positive role in promoting rural revitalisation and social harmony.
Archival Records of Process Steps
Its making craft includes five major stages - selecting the material, slicing, carving, steaming and boiling, sugar-coating, and turning and sun-drying - and several dozen process steps.
Cutting green pomelo and the knife work
Green pomelo is peeled and cut into slices about three centimetres thick, or carved into pots and animal forms; the slices must be even, since thick ones will not sweeten through and thin ones fall apart.
Flat, openwork and relief carving
Patterns are cut with a willow-leaf knife in three ways: flat carving leaves the design in shallow relief, openwork pierces the background so light changes through it, and raised carving models the motif in relief.
Spring water and the copper pot
Carved slices are rinsed in clear well water, boiled in a copper pot to fix the green, rinsed again for colour, then sugared and dried in the sun; every slice passes through water, fire and sunlight.
Handing the craft from mother to daughter
The craft has always been in women's hands and passed from mother to daughter; today inheritors teach it door to door in the villages, sharpening their own knives and designing their own patterns.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The craft of making carved candied fruit is distributed in the south-west of Hunan Province, with its core area in Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County, Huaihua City, and Suining County, Shaoyang City. The local climate is humid, the summer light ample and the land fertile, suited to the growth of pomelo trees and winter melons and the like, and the old wells of each village are clear, so that obtaining material and water costs little effort. This is also a place where Miao, Dong and Han live together; women of the three peoples mostly take this as their trade, so that every household in the villages has a knife, and candied fruit has therefore become a common thing for receiving guests and for festivals. In recent years the craft has spread further beyond the province, and Jingzhou candied fruit is now seen on sale in provinces outside Hunan as well.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Guopumijian Making Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years representative inheritors have taught the craft hand to hand at the fronts and backs of houses in the villages throughout the year, and, relying on production practice in workshops and enterprises, have vigorously advanced the transmission and spread of the project.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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