Five-colored sticky rice is one of the representative symbols of the "March 3rd of the Zhuang Nationality" festival, which is not only the traditional cuisine of Zhuangxiang, but also the expression of the fusion of Zhuang, Han and other ethnic cultures. Behind the production of five-colored sticky rice, there is a generation of Zhuangxiang people's ingenuity inheritance.
The tradition of eating five-color rice on the third of March is recorded in ancient times
According to the "Guangxi Local Chronicle", five-color glutinous rice is commonly known as five-color rice, also known as qingjing rice or flower rice, because the glutinous rice is black, red, yellow, purple and white five colors and named. It is a kind of sticky rice that is steamed by every household during the Qingming Festival and the Three Songs Festival of the Third Month of the Lunar Calendar, and is a traditional food used by the Zhuang family to entertain guests. This custom has been followed for a long time, and the Qing Dynasty's "Wuyuan County Map Classic" says: "On the third day of March, take the maple leaf bubble juice to dye the rice black, that is, the green essence rice." ”
Five-color sticky rice is colorful, also known as flower rice. Nanguo Morning Post client reporter Zou Cailin photographed
Pan Honghua, director of the Wuming District Cultural Center wucai zhuangxiang branch in Nanning City and inheritor of the intangible folk culture of five-color glutinous rice, introduced that the legend of the origin of five-color glutinous rice can be traced back to a longer date than the Qing Dynasty. Pan Honghua grew up with her grandparents, who came from the Daming Mountain area, the origin of the Dragon Mother culture, and was a skillful hand at making five-colored sticky rice. From an early age, Pan Honghua was well aware of the production of five-color sticky rice, which also laid the foundation for her later commitment to promoting the craft inheritance of five-color sticky rice.
On May 31, 2010, the five-colored glutinous rice was selected into the list of intangible cultural heritage protection at the autonomous region level. In order to preserve the handicraft of five-colored sticky rice as a national cultural memory, Pan Honghua and Wuming Cultural Center have been carrying out long-term research work. In 2018, the autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage "Zhuang five-color glutinous rice making skills" inheritance base was inaugurated, as the person in charge of the base, she was more determined to carry forward and promote this handicraft.
Pan Honghua introduced the production process of five-color sticky rice. Courtesy of respondents
"In the Nanning area, non-Zhuang families also have the custom of eating five-colored sticky rice during the Qingming Festival." Pan Honghua introduced that the five-color glutinous rice reflects the fusion of Zhuang, Han and other cultures, contains the sacrifice culture of people who fear the nature of heaven and earth, and also contains the filial piety culture of ancestors and the etiquette culture of receiving guests. The third day of the third month of the lunar calendar and the Qingming Festival are the good seasons for spring ploughing, and the five-colored glutinous rice is made in the festival of worshiping the ancestors, which contains the beautiful expectations of people praying for smooth wind and rain and abundant grains.
Five-colored sticky rice conveys people's good wishes for the abundance of grains. Nanguo Morning Post client reporter Zou Cailin photographed
Innovative development, "five colors" series of products are more abundant
Zhang Meifen, 60 years old this year, has been making five-colored sticky rice in Nanning for 30 years, and in the area of "Laoshui Street" such as Yongning Street and Zhuangzhi Road, she mentioned her glutinous rice, which no one knows, and many outsiders also come to buy it. She and her mother's craftsmanship have been inherited from her grandmother, and the craftsmanship of three generations has been passed down for more than 70 years.
In the past, in order to learn to make five-colored sticky rice, Zhang Meifen would learn from her grandmother every holiday.
"In the past, to make sticky rice, it was steamed in large wooden barrels, and the large wooden barrels were very heavy, so two people could move them." It wasn't until 2010 that Zhang Meifen began to switch to steaming glutinous rice in stainless steel molds. In order to maintain the authentic taste of sticky rice, for 30 years, she has only improved the tools for cooking, and the dyeing process has always been the same as the traditional method. Plant-dyed glutinous rice is colorful and full of particles, and the rice is wrapped in the fragrance of the plant, which has a feeling of fullness.
Glutinous rice is dyed with natural plants. Nanguo Morning Post client reporter Yang Tianxiong photographed
"The hardest thing to do with five-colored sticky rice is black, and you have to mash the maple leaves and add water to soak them for one or two days to filter out the maple leaf residue." Zhang Meifen said that the key step is to pour the boiling maple leaf water into a boiling iron pot, so that the operation is repeated three times, so that the maple leaf water reacts chemically at high temperatures, and the glutinous rice is better colored.
"The traditional five-color sticky rice and dyes are all from natural seasonal plants, and other colors can be dyed in a few hours. Black rice, which is only dyed with maple leaves, is particularly difficult to make, and usually takes more than a day and a night. Pan Honghua also mentioned that in the ancient method of making, the production of black rice has special skills. In the past, villagers would use a wood knife to cut maple leaves and soak them together with the maple leaves, and the color of black rice dyed with such water would be more beautiful.
Making black sticky rice is time-consuming. Nanguo Morning Post client reporter Zou Cailin photographed
At 7:00 a.m. on March 24, when the first pot of five-colored sticky rice had not yet come out of the pot, there were many people waiting outside Zhang Meifen's store, all of whom had come to pick up the goods and were ready to take it back for distribution.
↓↓↓ Click on the video to see Zhang Meifen introduce the five-colored sticky rice on the tip of the tongue. Nanguo Morning Post client reporter Yang Tianxiong photographed
Will traditional craftsmanship be so cumbersome that it will slowly disappear? Zhang Meifen said that she has made colorless glutinous rice for most of her life and may not be able to make it next year, but "I will find a successor." Three years ago, her son opened an online shop, and the five-colored sticky rice she produced became more and more popular in the market through the online live broadcast platform, and it was also exported to other provinces.
In order to better inherit the national cuisine, on the basis of tradition, Pan Honghua's inheritance base takes the route of "old tradition and new taste", and puts the childhood memories and the wooden barrel sticky rice made by the old aunt and the old grandmother into standardized products, so that everyone has the opportunity to taste the taste of Zhuangxiang.
Ai Cane is also a traditional food of Zhuangxiang. Nanguo Morning Post client reporter Zou Cailin photographed
After several years of exploration, Pan Honghua has developed a series of derivative products of five-color glutinous rice, including five-color glutinous rice wine, five-colored mugwort, five-color rice dumplings, etc.
Record online lessons to showcase traditional food culture online
On the occasion of the arrival of "Zhuang March 3rd", many schools in Nanning have allowed students and parents to participate in food production and better understand and experience ethnic food culture by recording online lessons and online presentation.
Teachers from the primary school attached to Nanning Normal School demonstrate the production process of Ai Cang. Photo by Qin Jiayu
Teachers from the primary school attached to Nanning Normal School record a video of teaching ethnic cuisine. Photo by Qin Jiayu
Zeng Dongling, vice principal of moral education at the affiliated primary school of Nanning Normal School, introduced that the school's teachers have recorded videos in groups to show the five-color glutinous rice, ai cane, powder worms, dumplings and other Zhuangxiang delicacies, as well as the production process of handicrafts such as hydrangeas and zhuangjin, which will be broadcast online on the afternoon of March 25, so that students and parents can watch and learn to make at home. The video works produced by students and parents will be displayed on the school's WeChat public account after collection and selection by the school.
A five-color glutinous rice teaching video recorded by teachers of the primary school affiliated to Nanning Normal School was played online. Photo by Qin Jiayu
"Little Mother", a parent of the 5th grade of Binhu Road Primary School in Nanning City, told reporters that the school has also recently assigned moral education homework, that is, to make food with national characteristics during the "March 3rd of the Zhuang Nationality". "I plan to buy dyeing materials online, ask for advice from experienced elderly people, and complete this homework with my children."
Ms. Xie, a citizen of Nanning after the 80s, first came into contact with five-color sticky rice because her daughter participated in the "Zhuang March 3" food festival organized by the kindergarten when she was in kindergarten, and she fell in love with five-color sticky rice since then. She has bought back the traditional dyeing materials from the market, and intends to continue to study the production process and show her skills with her daughter, while letting her daughter learn more about the traditional culture of the nation.
Edit | Cai Limei
Video Editing | Yang Tianxiong
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