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Souvenirs and delicacies are often labels unique to a place, representing the unique taste of a place. In Xichong, the local traditional cake food Chong Guo Shi Wang Cake (formerly known as Lion Cake) is one of the unique local labels, which has a history of more than 100 years, and is the taste of the tip of the tongue of generations of Xichong people, which has been exported overseas, bringing wealth and pride to Xichong people. In 2013, Chongguo Lion King Cake was rated as the intangible cultural heritage of Nanchong City.
The 52-year-old Pu Xiaodan is the descendant of Chongguo Lion King Cake, from her deceased mother to her son, three generations of the family have made "masters" for Lion King Cake, and for decades, they have adhered to the road of making Chongguo Lion King Cake in Nanchong's intangible cultural heritage, with their own efforts, to retain the taste on the tip of xichong's tongue. On June 1, the reporter came to Xichong County to learn about her story with lion king cake.
01.
They have been friends for 52 years
Lion King Cake is a representative of home and warmth
In the early morning, the old street in the west of Xichong City woke up early. As the name suggests, the narrow and old streets are covered by lush street trees, and the streets are lined with old gourmet shops, handmade steamed buns, chestnut cakes, gnocchi... Affordable and down-to-earth traditional snacks exude a seductive aroma.
In a back street alley of Yuyaoqiao, the sales store of Nanchong Intangible Cultural Heritage Chongguo Lion King Cake has long been open to welcome customers. The façade is about two meters wide, and it is the most common sliding glass door, and the door is written in red font: Chuanbei Famous Food Chongguo Lion King Cake. The shop is divided into three halls, the front hall is used to sell and welcome customers, the middle hall is used to rest and receive guests, and the back hall is used to store goods.
Indeed, there are many theories about the historical origin of lion king cake, one of which dates back to the last years of the Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 100 years. Pu Xiaodan, who was busy in the store, said: "I am 52 years old this year, and I have been related to lion king cake for 52 years. This has to start with her mother Zhang Rongde. Born in 1947, Zhang Rongde entered xichong candy factory as a worker in 1964, learning the craftsmanship of lion king cake with his teacher. In 1968, Pu Xiaodan was born, when her mother Zhang Rongde had already learned and became a good hand at making Lion King Cake in the factory, successively serving as the chief of the production section, the chief of the quality inspection section, the chief of the biotechnology section, and the deputy director in charge of production.
For this reason, the sweet taste of Lion King Cake runs through Pu Xiaodan's childhood. "Every special holiday, my mother would buy a few pieces, cut them into candy size and put them on a plate, and eat them while talking about homely things." Pu Xiaodan told reporters that the Lion King Cake represents home and warmth in her heart.
02.
Passing on the skills
Learn the craft of cake making from your mother
In 1986, pu Xiaodan, then 18 years old, completed high school in the county seat and was successfully employed at a hardware company in Xichong. But young and energetic, she has always been full of curiosity about the outside world, and in 1993, she said goodbye to her family and decided to go to the outside world.
"The day before I left, my mother put several letters of Lion King Cake in my bag and told me that it was the taste of my hometown." Pu Xiaodan recalled. At the same time as she went out to run, the Lion King Cake, which represented the taste of her hometown, also quietly changed. With the change of the environment, the Xichong candy factory where the mother worked was facing closure and was discontinued in 1994. In order not to let this time-honored traditional craft be ruined, Zhang Rongde raised funds by himself and set up a private enterprise ——— Xichong Jinlong Food Factory, determined to break a way for Xichong Lion King Cake and laid-off workers. Here we have to mention the name of the lion king cake, in fact, the original name of the lion king cake, due to the reasons of business operation, changed to the name of the lion king cake, and has been used to this day.
"When the company started, everything was not smooth sailing." Pu Xiaodan recalled that at that time, he often talked to his mother on the phone about the current situation of the business of Lion King Cake. In 1997, after wandering away, she decided to return to her hometown and overcome difficulties with her mother. Watching her mother grow older, she began to learn the cake-making craft from her mother when she was 29 years old in order to pass on this traditional craft.
03.
Stick to it from generation to generation
Retain the taste on the tip of the tongue of xichong people
In 2013, Chongguo Lion King Cake was rated as the intangible cultural heritage of Nanchong City.
"With the development of the times, people's tastes have also changed slightly, so continuous improvement and innovation is necessary." Pu Xiaodan told reporters. Lard is an important raw material for Xichong Lion King cake, in the era of lack of materials, oil aromatic oil taste is very popular, and with the continuous enrichment of meat, the strong taste of lard is snubbed, in order to solve these problems, she and her mother from the raw materials to start, no longer use lard, but with degreased refined vegetable oil; Lion King cake storage time for a long time, easy to dry hard mouth, in order to solve this problem, she and her mother in the heat and raw materials made adjustments; the traditional Lion King cake with brown thin kraft paper wax wrapped, both hinder the view, In order to meet the aesthetic needs of modern consumers, she and her mother upgraded the packaging...
Subsequently, the reporter left the delicious Bridge Lion King Cake sales store and came to the production workshop of Lion King Cake. The production of Lion King Cake has a complete set of process production processes and food production standards, which must go through multiple production processes such as soaking rice, flour, rolling board, uniform strip, uniform granules, blanking, frying and so on. Instructing workers to make strictly according to requirements is one of the most important tasks for Pu Xiaodan every day, so the production workshop has become the place where she stays the most.
From 1997 to the present, for 23 years, lion king cake has always been closely related to Pu Xiaodan. Two years ago, her mother Zhang Rongde died, and she took over the "baton" in her mother's hand and became the 35th generation of Chongguo Lion King Cake.
Talking about the current situation of Lion King Cake, Pu Xiaodan said that with the changes of the times and the increasing abundance of materials, Lion King Cake is no longer the "only" choice for people, and now it is mainly sold in major supermarkets and shops in Xichong County. In addition, this unique craft has no successor. Pu Xiaodan's son, pu yang, is 32 years old, and in order to pass on this traditional craft, he is now learning the craft of lion king cake making with Pu Xiaodan in the factory. From Zhang Rongde to Pu Yang, three generations of the family stuck to the road of making Lion King Cake.
Editor-in-Charge: He Xinyun
Editor: Li Xiaogang
Source: Cultural Tourism Xichong
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