National Tide 1980.

Chapter 788

Sugar figurines are different from sugar paintings. Sugar paintings are drawn, while sugar figurines are blown out.

The craftsman of the sugar blower uses maltose to make a syrup, and blows and pinches it at the same time.

Just a small dollop of malt candy can blow up all kinds of animals and characters.

Although the color is camel yellow, not as gorgeous as the mask, but it is unique.

In fact, how to boil sugar is not a difficult skill, but it tests the artist's patience.

Because the syrup is hot to the touch after being boiled, it is extremely hot, and blisters will form after stopping in the hand for a while.

Once the artist of the sugar blower holds the syrup in his hand, he needs to keep pinching it, and cool down the sugar by special techniques.

Nobody who does this doesn't have burn scars on their hands.

Moreover, in the process of blowing air, the opportunity for shaping is often only a short dozen seconds, after which the syrup will harden.

Therefore, the perfect presentation of any shape requires the artist to practice repeatedly.

They did it hundreds or thousands of times in private before they mastered it.

The sugar blower hired by Ning Weimin was surnamed Zong, and he was about fifty years old. To be honest, he was not innovative.

Ning Weimin originally wanted Master Zong to make a breakthrough, boasting a fashionable image such as the little lion Leo, Astro Boy, or Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, so as to be in line with international standards.

But this one has been practicing for a long time and still can't master the basic modeling. None of these cartoon characters can be shown to others.

This is far inferior to that Uncle Cui who can create modern sugar paintings by himself.

However, Master Zong is indeed a veteran who has practiced art since childhood.

The most widely circulated traditional themes in Beijing, loved by adults and children - "rat stealing oil", "monkey diarrhea", "snipe and clam fighting", "weasel pulling chicken", "zodiac signs", he can Beautifully done.

Far better than those masters who become monks on the way, who can only be a treasure gourd, brag about a deer, or a pig, and then come out to cheat children of money.

In addition, some traditional themes are particularly cute and interesting. In fact, his popularity is not inferior to that of Uncle Cui.

He was also surrounded by Chinese and foreign tourists who were reluctant to leave, watching with great interest.

Just say this "rat steals oil".

The mouse made by master Zong was picked on the sesame oil stall, leaning down, greedily looking at the sesame oil in the altar, with a mouth-watering expression.

The shape is lifelike, so vivid.

And this "monkey diarrhea".

The interesting thing is that after Master Zong blows out a little monkey, he will also pour syrup into the monkey's empty stomach.

Then he squeezed a small sugar bowl under the monkey's buttocks, and then squeezed a small spoon for the customer.

Knowledgeable customers only need to poke the monkey's butt with a spoon, and the syrup will flow into the sugar bowl.

After playing, you can eat the syrup and sugar bowl one by one.

Of course, it has to be admitted that 30 years later, the main reason why sugar paintings can still be seen and sugar blowers are rare is the hygiene problem.

In fact, right now, many parents are unwilling to buy candy for their children.

It's nothing more than thinking that this kind of stuff is blown out by artists with their mouths, and it is inevitable that it will be contaminated with spit stars and not clean.

Fortunately, Ning Weimin had a foresight on this, and he introduced a new and improved method - let the customer blow, and Master Zong is in charge of directing and pinching.

In this way, not only the hygienic problem is easily solved, customers will no longer have resistance, but it also makes people feel happy to participate in it.

You must know that under the command of Master Zong, the customers who can keep the blowing force as even as possible will have the most beautiful blown shapes.

This kind of sense of achievement in competition makes this project much more interesting.

So not only the people in the capital are willing to buy sugar figurines, but even foreigners have become excited supporters.

The price of one yuan is enough to buy two candy figurines on weekdays.

But here, everyone thinks it's worth it.

Almost everyone has a monkey diarrhea or a little sugar cow.

Is this strange?
After talking about sugar figurines, I have to talk about dough figurines.

This craft is called dough kneading by the common people in the capital.

Grind the glutinous rice into noodles, knead the noodles and water until soft, and use paints to make them colorful.

Then through the skillful hands of the artists, they are shaped into various characters in ancient costumes and operas.

Due to the strong plasticity of the material, there are many kneading tools, and the production time is relatively abundant.

After the dough figurine is finished, in terms of exquisiteness and beauty, it is far superior to sugar figurines and sugar paintings.

There are two schools of the most famous noodle artists in Beijing, namely "noodle man Lang" and "noodle man soup".

"Mian Ren Lang" is from Haidian, and his skills have never been passed on to the outside world, and he has always followed the path of folk art.

"Mian Ren Tang" is from Tongzhou, but Tang Zibo, the second generation heir, has found a new way - he was accepted by the Academy of Arts and Crafts in 1956 and established his own studio.

From then on, the old man not only opened up branches and spread leaves, but also recruited many disciples.

You can also create with peace of mind without worrying about life, and become an academic who devotes himself to studying the art of dough sculpture.

Ning Weimin invited this dough sculpture artist who was surnamed Dong to sit in Xibei Hall, and she was also a woman. She was the only student selected in the first batch of "Tang Zibo Studio" recruiting nationwide.

Because she likes dough figurines, she has worked hard in this area and learned the true technique of "dough soup". After graduation, she stayed in school as a teacher of dough figurines.

It is particularly worth mentioning that due to her systematic art training, she has both the shaping ability of Western sculpture, the aesthetic taste of ancient Eastern countries, and the unique skill of noodle soup.

Therefore, the dough figurines made are no longer something to coax children to play with, but have become real works of art.

Not only is the image novel, but the expression and body are lifelike, and it is also separated from the wooden stick, so it can be admired standing on the wooden board.

To put it bluntly, it is not a face person, but a "face god".

If we put it aside, in the old age when everyone worships the gods and prays to the Buddha, these things are enough to offer up and receive incense.

So let me tell you about Monkey King, Bull Demon King, Princess Iron Fan, Red Boy, Lu Bu, Diao Chan, Bodhidharma, and Chang'e, which she created on the spot today.

Don't look at it as work, not a work that has been carefully considered.

But the characters are lifelike, full of vigor, well-dressed, and both in shape and spirit, which can support the high price of ten yuan each.

Especially foreign cartoon characters like Leo, Astro Boy, Ryuko Taro, Flower Fairy, Pinocchio, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck.

Although it is very difficult for Master Zong who is a sugar blower, it is the easiest for Mr. Dong who is a dough maker, because they are all simplified shapes.

Teacher Dong can pinch one in one to two minutes, and its accuracy and delicacy are no less than official figures.

And the selling price of cartoon characters is much cheaper, three yuan each.

So don't say that the locals in the capital were surprised when they saw it, and they were willing to pay the money.

Foreigners have never seen it before. They don’t buy one at a time, but several at a time.

To be honest, if Teacher Dong was employed by Disneyland.

It is estimated that it will be based on the instant noodles, and it will be based on what the customer wants.

She can become famous in one fell swoop, appear on TV, appear in newspapers, and become popular all over the world.

It's a pity, there are so many talented people in China, who asked her to teach in the capital?
Foreigners are too ignorant, and they don't even know that the ancient oriental country still has such miraculous modeling skills.

There is no chance for the world to know her.

But even so, today is enough for her to steal the limelight, because an unexpected situation soon appeared on the scene.

There was a foreign woman who was about the same age as her, in her 30s, and the accompanying interpreter asked her if she could make a face in her own image.

Needless to say, Teacher Dong naturally took it as someone who wanted to test his own ability.

You especially saw the accompanying interpreter, who was holding in his hand, and had already bought a lot of things.

So without saying a word, he pinched it in public.

In less than 10 minutes, a foreign woman in a suede coat and high heels appeared vividly in her hands.

The eyebrows and eyes picked out with bamboo needles not only match the beauty of this beautiful foreign woman, but Teacher Dong even improvised.

She let the face man's ring-wearing hand hold up a bunch of big candied haws.

In the other hand, he also held a sand swallow kite.

From this point of view, it looks like just visiting the Spring Festival Garden Party at the Temple of Heaven.

For this reason, the onlookers all praised it and raised their thumbs up one after another.

The foreign woman saw it herself, and she smiled even more.

He took out a 50 yuan foreign exchange certificate on the spot, willing to pay five times the price to buy the interviewer.

Afterwards, he pulled Teacher Dong affectionately and insisted on taking a photo with her as a souvenir.

In the words of the people in the capital, this is called pulling out!

Finally, when it comes to piercing earrings, in fact, this craft has nothing to do with folk customs and artistry.

The main reason is that Ning Weimin considered that the filigree inlay factory, as an earlier gold and silver processing enterprise, had some jewelry.

Now there is a phenomenon of hot sales of gold and silver jewelry in the society.

Therefore, it is a practical service designed to understand the needs of contemporary young women.

Sure enough, once the campaign was launched, it was strongly welcomed by fashionable women.

There were so many inquiries and earrings, and the filigree inlay factory sold a lot of gold and silver jewelry as a result.

What is it called?

This is called being good at capturing social hot spots and leading the trend of the times.

In a word, although most of the accessories of the Prayer Valley Altar sell high-end goods, they have successfully avoided the indifference of being superior and repelling others thousands of miles away.

On the contrary, it is very close to the people and very popular.

It is especially rare that it is entertaining and educational, and the aesthetics of traditional culture has been subtly implanted in the hearts of Chinese and foreign tourists.

Moreover, in terms of interactivity and participation, the threshold is very low, and it is universal.

Far beyond the costume photography in front of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, it effectively made up for the shortcomings of other projects.

It really surprises the people who come here, and they have gained a lot.

The three people from the Earth Altar were submerged in it unknowingly.

He actually abandoned his sense of urgency just by looking at it, and was also infected by the surrounding atmosphere, becoming silly and happy.

Until they walked out of the praying grain altar, the deputy director and the driver were still discussing whether it is better to make sugar or dough.

Even the secretary was thinking about whether to buy a pot of Ruilan or a pot of citron when he left.

It was as if they were hypnotized. They had long forgotten who the expert behind them was, and they forgot the jealousy and unwillingness in their hearts, as if they were ordinary tourists who came to visit.

It has to be said that our life is indeed rich, and the charm of traditional culture is too powerful.

But is that over?
Is that all Tiantan Park has planned for all its fantastic activities on the northbound and eastbound routes?

Do not!The activity of "playing lantern riddles" in the promenade connected to the Prayer Valley Altar and the catering service provided by Beishen Kitchen are unique, novel and lively.

(End of this chapter)