Born in "Gao MingPo, Mr. more than donkey" Li Gaoming, Zhang Shiyong has loved to learn since he was a child, loves traditional culture, and is a well-known local "capable person", singing shadow puppets, kneading dough people, calligraphy and everything. At the age of 53, he learned to blow sugar, and now he wants to pass on his skills without reservation, so that these intangible cultural heritage can be passed on continuously.
Love to learn more and love intangible cultural heritage At the age of 53, I learned to blow sugar people
Zhang Shiyong is 61 years old this year, and his experience over the years can be described as colorful. After failing the college entrance examination, he first learned carpentry, and then learned to play and sing as a musician, and later went to the post office to deliver newspapers. Later, he went to work at the Shahu Tourism Company in Ningxia, but no matter where he worked, he never forgot his hobby, intangible cultural heritage. Outside of work, he is still working as a dough kneader.
While working in Ningxia, Zhang Shiyong also sang shadow puppet plays in Zhenbeibao Film and Television City for more than 4 years. He said that while working in Ningxia in 2013, he met a craftsman who blew sugar, which reminded him of his childhood memories.
"I've always had the impression that when I blow a candy man, I can make a mouse and a rabbit." He said that after decades of encountering the candy blower, he wanted to learn, but the other party was worried that he had learned to rob the business and was unwilling to teach the skills.
He just learned to go online during that time, so he searched for the relevant content of the sugar blower through the Internet, and found an old craftsman who blew sugar in Shandong. In May of that year, he went to Shandong to learn to blow sugar.
"Some people think that it is very rare to blow candy, but in fact, I think it is not difficult at all." Zhang Shiyong also joked that the candy blower is a "coaxing thing" that can be seen at a glance. After he learned it in a short period of time, he went from Shandong to Shenzhen, singing shadow puppetry, pinching dough people and blowing candy people, "running all over the east, west, south and north, that is, not much money earned."
Continue to study and learn more skills for the sake of inheritance and willingness to pass on what you have learned without reservation
In August 2013, he returned to his hometown. Later, a small shop for intangible cultural performances was also opened, in addition to the candy blowers and dough kneaders, there were also sugar paintings, shadow puppets, Tongchao bian opera, calligraphy and so on.
"The art is all the same. In the past, I have been working as a carpenter for many years, and people often say that 'it is a craftsman', which will accumulate some experience, which will help people who knead dough and blow sugar. He said, for example, blowing a horse with sugar, standing upright on four legs is not good, but let one leg face forward and one leg face backward, so that there is dynamic beauty.
On December 8, Zhang Shiyong demonstrated the skills of sugar blowers on the spot. He first put the maltose in the pot to boil and heat it to the right temperature, pulled down a ball, kneaded it into a cylindrical shape, held it close to the palm of his hand, and used the fingers of the other hand to pass through the sugar column to form a tube, and after sealing it, it was pulled from both ends, and a thin pipe was formed in the middle, and a wooden stick was used to quickly break the pipe, and the mouth contained a thin end to blow the sugar man.
In the process of blowing, the thicker sugar tube expands rapidly, and when it blows, it is pinched and pulled by hand, and in a short while, a pink piglet is conjured up.
He said that sugar blowers are one of their hobbies, mainly through this skill, to make themselves feel happy, but also to promote and pass on this intangible cultural heritage.
For the future, Zhang Shiyong has his own plans, he said that in the future, he will continue to study the candy blowers, paint sugar paintings, kneading people, flat play, shadow puppet play and calligraphy that he has learned, and also learn the moon organ, bowl and bowl cavity, live to the old age, and learn the intangible culture.
He also said that intangible cultural heritage is a symbol of national progress and must be passed on. I hope that more young people can pay attention to and love intangible culture, and if they are willing to learn, he will impart all the skills he has mastered without reservation.
Huashang Daily reporter Xing Xuexue Editor Yang Tuo Li Yue