The historical background of Tang Hua

20 12-04-30 19:02 the historical origin of Tang Hua. Although Tang Hua art was loved by the common people, it was rarely seen in the old society, and it was not given its due position in official history or private records. The only official record we have seen so far is very late. In the year of Tong Yuan in Qing Dynasty (1909), Chengdu folk custom said in the first month: "On the first day of New Year's Day, the market stops trading ... only small enterprises specialize in selling children's money, such as ... sugar cakes (that is, Tang Hua-introducer)", and an art map of woodcut artists was attached. Although this information is very valuable, it is impossible to explore the historical origin of Tang Hua.

About the origin of Tang Hua, most of them come from legends. During the visit, many artists told a very interesting story. It is said that "sugar cake" originated in Chen Ziang in the Tang Dynasty. Unexpectedly, this small folk craft was actually related to the great revolutionary poet who created the poetic style in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

Chen Ziang (66 1-702) was born in Shehong (now Shehong County, Sichuan Province) in the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, Chen Ziang liked to eat yellow sugar when he was in his hometown. But his diet is different. Melt the sugar first, and pour all kinds of small animals and flowers on the clean and smooth table. It's interesting to hold it in your hand after solidification and enjoy it while eating.

Later, Chen Ziang went to the capital Chang 'an to learn to be an official. Because he first arrived in Chang 'an, the capital, he was just a small official. When I have nothing to do, I will also do the same thing with yellow sugar brought from my hometown to kill my leisure time. One day, Chen Ziang was admiring his "works". Who knows the eunuch in the palace passed by with the little prince, who saw the little animal in Chen Ziang's hand and clamored for it. When the eunuch found that these little animals were made of sugar, he asked the prince for some and returned to the palace happily. Unexpectedly, after returning to the palace, the little prince ate all the sugar and cried for it. This did not deter the emperor, so the eunuch had to come forward and report back truthfully. After hearing this story, the emperor immediately wrote a letter to Chen Ziang, letting him enter the palace and asking him to perform on the spot. Chen Ziang melted the yellow sugar he brought, poured a copper coin on the bright and clean spring water, glued it with bamboo chopsticks and gave it to the little prince, who immediately burst into laughter. The emperor blurted out the word "sugar cake" as soon as he was happy. This is the origin of the name "sugar cake". As a result, Chen Ziang was promoted, and the official went to the right.

Later, Chen Ziang took off his clothes and returned to his home. In order to commemorate the emperor's kindness, but also because of the boredom of living in seclusion, I received several apprentices to teach this skill. These disciples passed on to their disciples and spread to all directions. Some simply take this as their business and start a candy cake business in the countryside. Although this kind of sugar cake business is small, it has been appreciated by the emperor, so the business is very prosperous and more and more people are learning, which has been passed down from generation to generation. This skill has been passed down to this day (the narrator is Fan Deran, an old Tang Hua artist, etc. ).

Another legend is that a scholar in the Tang Dynasty went to Beijing to take the exam, but unfortunately he came last and had no money to go back to his hometown by bus. Down and out journey, thinking hard about how to solve the livelihood. One day, I suddenly saw the melted yellow sugar, which triggered my inspiration, so I used it for painting and calligraphy. Unexpectedly, it caused a sensation in Beijing, and people felt novel, so they rushed to buy it, and the scholar made a fortune. Amazing: "sugar wins people's hearts, and yellow sugar wins gold." Therefore, in the traditional Tu 'an, a conjoined "Jin Wanliang" four-character model (narrator, Du, etc. ).

Although the above legends are very interesting and can be collected as folk stories, they cannot be used as the basis for studying the history of Tang Hua. But it is just a "big flag" that the older generation of artists pulled in order to survive and improve the value of this craft. This situation is common in handicraft industry in feudal society of our country. Our country's "craftsmen all have ancestors they worship, and they also have secret methods handed down from generation to generation." (Li Yenong's Slavery and Feudal Guild in China)

It is said that Tang Hua began in the Tang Dynasty. Although it is an artist legend, it still has a shadow. This is because the production technology of' sand sugar' appeared in Suizhou, Sichuan (now Suining, Sichuan) in the Tang Dynasty, which was a great progress in the history of sugarcane sugar production in China and did not lay a material foundation for the emergence of Tang Hua.

In the Qing Dynasty, Liang Zi wrote "Essays on Two Kinds of Anns", Volume V "Local Scenery", saying: "The name of rock sugar was unknown before the Tang Dynasty. The ancients only had glutinous rice, which was fried by Mi Le ... Emperor Taizong sent envoys to Medog (now China and India) to get the method of boiling sugar, and recruited Yangzhou to take sucrose as a pot. If it is used as a preparation, the color and taste of the western regions are getting farther and farther, but it is just the art of sand sugar. " Lu You, a poet in the Song Dynasty, said more clearly in Volume VI of Notes on the Old Learning Temple: "I heard Mao De say,' China has no sugar in sand. When Emperor Taizong paid tribute to foreign countries, he asked people: What is this? The cloud is fried with sugarcane juice', but it is fried with foreigners in its way. Since then, China has had sand sugar. "

Sichuan Satin was very famous in Tang Dynasty, mainly produced in Yizhou (now Chengdu), Zhou Shu (now Chongqing County), Zizhou (now Santai County) and Suizhou (now Suining City), all of which were local tributes.

Tang Hua artists are used to using Huai sugar and candy as raw materials. Tang Huai refers to the sand sugar produced in Tuojiang River basin with Huaikou, Jintang County, Chengdu as the distribution center; Candy is produced in all parts of the country, and it is squeezed from sugarcane harvested by the first frost, so it is named because of its high hardness.

As for the legend about Chen Ziang, probably one reason is that Zizhou produces sugar as a tribute. Chen Ziang was a flood shooter and belonged to Zizhou in the Tang Dynasty. Second, Chen Ziang is famous for its "broken Hu Qin" in the capital. Tang's Historical Records records: "People shoot floods in Shu. Ten years in the capital, unknown. At that time, there were people selling Huqin in the East City, and the price was several million, saying that there were noble people, regardless of their position. Ziang stands out from the crowd. " This story is legendary, so it was dragged by artists in Tang Hua into a granddaddy.

Tang Hua was born in Sichuan. Because it is deeply loved by the people, it has spread all over the country, and it has spread more and more widely. Nowadays, a large number of Tang Hua artists are active in Beijing, Tianjin, Henan and Shandong. Tang Hua has taken root in every region, influenced by local customs and culture, and has certain regional and local characteristics. Exquisiteness in Tang Hua, Sichuan, God.