Sugar sculpture (Chengdu sugar painting)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: sugar sculpture (Chengdu sugar painting)

Applicant: Chengdu City, Sichuan Province

Project No.: 864

Project No.: Ⅶ - 88

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Sichuan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Chengdu City, Sichuan Province

Protected by: cultural center of Jinjiang District, Chengdu

Introduction to sugar sculpture (Chengdu sugar painting)

Applicant: Chengdu City, Sichuan Province

Sugar sculpture is a special kind of traditional Chinese folk sculpture, which is mainly made by using the plasticity of sugar. Different from Western sculpture, Chinese folk sculpture contains rich modeling factors such as painting, sculpture, engraving, decoration and so on, which more reflects its own traditional aesthetic purport and technical characteristics. Most of the sugar molds are made of maltose and corn sugar, which are commonly known as "Tangxi". They are made by means of kneading, piling, pasting, cutting, blowing, rubbing, dragging, pressing, pouring and pulling, and by means of painting, dyeing, carving, drawing, dot, stamp, printing, inserting and patching. Sugar plastic products can be enjoyed, entertained and eaten directly. In Chinese folk, sugar sculptures are spread all over the north and south, with a broad mass base, which is closely related to folk life.

Chengdu sugar painting, commonly known as "pour sugar cake", "sugar Baba" and "sugar lamp shadow", is a kind of folk art popular in Chengdu area of Sichuan Province with both sculpture and painting. Chengdu sugar painting has a long history. According to compendium of Materia Medica, it is recorded that "the sugar that is fried with white granulated sugar and molded into the shape of lion and elephant is the feast for the sugar, and the so-called dragon sugar is also noted in the book of the later Han Dynasty." Sugar painting, which takes melting sugar as raw material, evolved from "enjoying sugar". In the process of development, it constantly absorbed the expression techniques of folk art such as shadow play and paper-cut, and gradually formed a special folk plastic art characterized by block and line. Most of the sugar paintings in Chengdu are about flowers, birds, fish and insects, birds and animals, and dramatic figures. The finished products are not only sweet sweets, but also works of art for viewing. It can be said that "the view is like painting, and the food is delicious.". Chengdu sugar painting contains people's wishes for blessing and aesthetic ideals, and its products are deeply loved by children. Therefore, the shadow of sugar painting can be seen in Chengdu's urban and rural temple fairs, fairs and other mass cultural activities.