Chapter 20 Section 4 Simple and Practical Folk Crafts (Part 2)

Folk prints, commonly known as "New Year pictures", did not become popular in Taiwan until the early Qing Dynasty. At that time, most of them were shipped from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places, and belonged to the southern Fujian style of engraving and printing.With the development of Taiwan's social economy and culture, religious activities became more and more frequent, and the supply of prints imported from the mainland alone was in short supply, so local block printing was turned instead. Most of the folk prints in early Taiwan were "drawing ladles according to the gourd", copying the prints of southern Fujian.There are too many copies, and it is inevitable that it will be out of shape. In addition, the printing technique is not refined, and the paper and color are crude, which makes it very simple and simple, but this also just contrasts with the life style of the early Taiwanese immigrants in the pioneering era.After modern times, Taiwanese printmaking has made great progress in terms of conception, engraving and printing technology.Before and after Taiwan's recovery, lithographs gradually replaced wood engravings.Although the lines and colors of lithographic prints are relatively rigid, lack of change, and have poor interest and artistry, this kind of prints are bright in color, clear in lines, and can be printed in large quantities.

Taiwan prints can be divided into four types: New Year prints, statue prints, spell prints and paper prints. The folk customs in Taiwan and mainland China are the same. In addition to pasting Spring Festival couplets, every household on the Lunar New Year also puts up New Year pictures, in order to hope for a safe and auspicious family in the new year, and to add to the festive atmosphere of the New Year.There are many kinds of New Year pictures. Deeds of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness, festive scenes in dramas and novels, and auspicious language pictures can be used as themes for New Year pictures.Such as "Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday", "Goldfish Pond" (meaning "full of gold and jade"), "Kirin Sending Children" (meaning "many sons and grandchildren"), "Taoyuan Jieyi", "Rat Marriage" and so on.

Commonly known as "sacred horses" or "paper horses", the prints of god statues are mainly about various gods and patterns in folk beliefs, and they have a strong religious color.There are many gods in Taiwan, so there are naturally many types of god statue prints.And because Taiwanese people "worship" a lot throughout the year, this kind of engravings of gods for believers to offer incense is used in a large amount.Taiwan's god statue prints have simple lines and simple color schemes, not as gorgeous as New Year pictures. Charm prints are the crudest and simplest type of folk prints in Taiwan. Most of them are printed on loess paper without color registration, and have the strongest local flavor. They mainly include "Town House Peaceful Talisman", "Family Gate Xuanqing Talisman", signed poems, golden Silver paper, changing clothes, treasury money, etc. are not only posted at home, but also incinerated in large quantities during worship, so the amount used is larger than that of god statue prints.

Paper-pasted pattern prints are one of the most artistic among Taiwanese folk prints.It is based on engraving printing with patterns and empty flowers, so it not only has the content of woodcut prints, but also has the form of paper-cut art.For example, "Auspicious and wishful", "every year is more than enough", "happy from the sky", etc., are mostly printed on red paper and pasted on door lintels, windows or dowries and gifts, instantly adding a lot of festive atmosphere. The use of incense was first invented by Buddhists.According to legend, a long time ago, when the Buddha Sakyamuni preached, it happened that the weather was sweltering. The believers listened to it for a long time and became very sleepy and unstoppable.Wouldn't it be rude if you really fell asleep?So someone came up with a clever idea: find a scented wood, cut it into strips, and burn it in a bowl, and use the fragrance it emits to refresh your mind and drive away drowsiness.This was really effective, and since then Buddhist disciples have followed suit, and it has become their method of resisting secular temptations and strengthening their beliefs.For the convenience of lighting, some people later managed to stick spices on bamboo branches and burn them in incense burners, and the meaning of burning incense was gradually mystified by the people.

It is said that burning incense contains three meanings: smoke, fire, and fragrance: fire is a symbol of light, which can drive away ghosts and avoid evil, clean the room and eliminate filth, so that ghosts and ghosts dare not make trouble; It becomes a bridge for communication between humans and gods; and fragrance is the most loved by gods, and only where the fragrance is overflowing, the gods will "smell the fragrance" and come to bless the world.Therefore, in Chinese folk ceremonies to worship gods, there is no need for wine or meat, and no incense is absolutely impossible. In Taiwanese folk, "incense" is regarded as a symbol of "family prosperity" and "passing on the torch".On the divine table of many people, a furnace of incense is lit day and night, which lasts for years.When brothers separate, they need to transfer the incense or incense ash to the place where they live apart, and set up a separate ancestral tablet to worship the ancestors. This custom is called "fenxiang".Similarly, if the gods in the temple are transferred to other places, or the gods of the main temple are led to the branch temple to worship, they must also be passed on by incense, commonly known as "cut incense".Since Dajia Mazu was "cut incense" from Beigang, and Beigang Mazu was "cut incense" from Meizhou, Fujian, there are "Dajia Mazu returning to her natal home" and Beigang Mazu returning to the mainland to "pilgrimage" to visit relatives. Vulgar, in order to trace back to the origin, not to forget the homeland.

In the early days, incense used in Taiwan was transported from the mainland. In the early Qing Dynasty, the number of immigrants increased rapidly, and the wind of worshiping gods and ancestors was very strong. The incense industry on the island also emerged and continued to develop.Nowadays, folk religion in Taiwan is becoming more and more popular, and the use of incense is increasing day by day. Therefore, this ancient traditional handicraft industry has not only not declined, but business has become more and more prosperous. The types of incense in Taiwan can be divided into four types according to their shapes: incense sticks, incense rings, incense towers and incense beads.Among them, incense sticks are the most common and the most widely used.According to different uses, there are two types of incense sticks: "hard-footed incense" and "soft-footed incense".The former is generally used to worship gods, while the latter is used to worship ancestors.The raw materials of incense sticks mainly include bamboo branches (also known as "fragrant feet") and incense powder.The main fragrance is sandalwood, and there are many kinds of secondary fragrances. For the top-grade fragrance, agarwood and yanxixiang are used, and a small amount of grass root, sanai, clove, star anise, angelica, angelica, peony bark, osmanthus, anise, anise, etc. are added. Fennel and other powders, most of which are traditional Chinese medicines, so although perfumers often get "disgraced", not only will they not get occupational diseases, but they will also benefit the body!

Soft foot incense and hard foot incense have different production methods. There are two methods of making soft foot incense: "hand rubbing method" and "machine pressing method".The hand rubbing method relies on manual rubbing to twist the spices prepared in advance into a thread; the machine pressing method uses a wooden container to squeeze the incense sticks out of the guide hole of the container, which is semi-automatic. way of production.The prepared wet incense sticks are packaged after being dried in the shade, and can be sold on the market.The production of hard foot incense is relatively complicated. It needs to go through several processes in one go, such as soaking the incense foot in water, dipping sticky powder to "base", and then soaking in water three times, adding spices three times, "swinging paper fan" three times, and outdoor exposure.The technical requirements of each process are very high, and if the craftsmanship is poor, some of the incense sticks produced may fall off and cannot be ignited.The preparation of face powder is the most exquisite, and each family has its own "ancestral secret recipe".Incense sticks are divided into upper, middle and lower grades according to the price of spices. Among them, water agarwood and black agarwood are the most expensive, and the price is very high.

The incense ring is also called "coil incense". As the name suggests, this kind of incense burns in a spiral shape, which can prolong the burning time, and has the meaning of "life is immortal, and the cycle is endless".The small incense ring can be lit for 12 hours, and the large one can be lit continuously for a week or even a month. The "Xiang Pagoda" is pagoda-shaped, also large and small, can be burned for a long time, and contains the meaning of "expelling evil spirits and curing diseases".The "fragrant beads" are made into granules and strung together with threads, like rosary beads, with 108 per string, representing the thirty-six heavenly gangs and seventy-two earth evil spirits in Taoism.Fragrance beads are not used for lighting, but for believers to wear on their hands to smell the fragrance to drive away evil spirits. Some believers even take it as a "sacred medicine", which is equivalent to taking tonic.

In Taiwan, the Lunar New Year and the Hungry Ghost Festival are the best-selling incense, especially the Hungry Ghost Festival (known in Buddhism as the "Ullambana Basin") on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. The sales volume can reach half of the whole year.At that time, countless people, men, women and children from all over Taiwan will flock to the temple one after another, each holding a stick of incense, full of piety, facing the gods, praying for blessings, hoping that the rising smoke will soon Go up to the gods and convey their wishes on their behalf. Taiwan is rich in sucrose, and once the sugar is heated, it will quickly dissolve into a liquid, and it will immediately condense into a solid at room temperature.Therefore, based on this characteristic of sucrose, Taiwanese folk artists use their rich imagination to create various sweets such as painted sugar, blown sugar, and sugar towers, which have become handmade "sugar arts" with Taiwanese local characteristics.

"Painted sugar" is a folk gadget introduced from Fujian.In the past in Taiwan, no matter in the countryside, towns, streets or alleys, groups of people could be seen gathering together to watch the live performances of sugar sellers with relish.These sugar sellers use white sugar as raw material, and with a pair of skillful hands, they can make dragons with teeth and claws, cranes with heads striding, lively puppies, lambs that look like pedants, monkeys that play tricks, roosters that show off their singing voice, and more. There are fairies who sing and dance, majestic generals...all of them come alive and vivid.They can be enjoyed as well as snacks. Not only children can't put it down, but even the elderly are delighted to see them from ear to ear.

The production method of painting sugar is roughly as follows: Pour the sugar into a pot, add water to dissolve it, put it on the stove and boil it until a certain heat, then hold the handle of the pot, and slowly pour the hot syrup on the painted surface according to the desired pattern. Copper plate of salad oil and embellish its contours at any time.Finally, use a shovel and drawing tools to draw the figure, stick a bamboo stick, and soon harden into a beautiful and lifelike finished product.There is also a simpler method, that is, to make wooden molds of various figures in advance, and apply the syrup on these molds. Once the syrup cools, a batch of finished products will be made; or pour the syrup on the copper plate, and then use the wooden mold One print up, you can print the desired pattern.It sounds simple, but if the heat is not well mastered, or the graphics drawing technology is not good enough, the painted candy will become "four different", and no one likes it. "Sugar tower" is mainly used in worshiping gods, celebrating birthdays, and weddings, and has auspicious and sweet meanings.There are many styles of sugar towers, such as dragon sugar towers, phoenix sugar towers, mandarin duck sugar towers, longevity peach sugar towers, etc. Most of them are made of a kind of exquisite mold carved with wood and poured with syrup. Different, exquisite and translucent, jade clean and ice clear, the purer the whiter, the better it is. Unfortunately, with the changes of the times, this kind of folk sugar art with a strong local flavor has almost been lost. Now, it can only be seen in Lukang's annual "Folk Customs Week" or the irregular "Folk Street Exhibition". Only then will people have the opportunity to see the superb craftsmanship of the sugar craftsmen. Chinese women are ingenious, and the folks have always admired "female reds", and Taiwan is no different.The clothes of early Taiwanese women were mostly hand-stitched and embroidered by women. Girls were exposed to it from an early age, and learned from adults, and all of them became experts in needlework when they grew up.Many women's color embroidery skills are very superb and well-known in the village. Although most of them are illiterate, the embroidered works are reasonable in color, smooth and natural in lines, delicate in composition, and lifelike in figures, flowers and birds, which is amazing. Color embroidery generally has paper patterns for imitation, and some are printed in woodcut books, commonly known as "flower books", in which there are various patterns for women to choose from.The silk threads used in color embroidery are colorful and very gorgeous. In addition to gold and silver, red, blue, purple, green, pink and white are all commonly used colors.The main techniques of color embroidery are three-dimensional embroidery and plane embroidery. Sometimes these two embroidery methods are used at the same time. Three-dimensional color embroidery is to draw the pattern on the cloth first, and then use ordinary silk thread and thicker cotton rope to tie pieces of cotton together. Fix it on the cloth according to the pattern, and then sew and embroider it on the cotton densely with colored threads.The embroidered finished product is undulating and quite three-dimensional.Flat color embroidery is relatively simple, directly embroidered on the cloth with colored threads. Taiwan's color embroidery is widely used. In addition to women's clothing, weddings, new houses, and especially folk religious activities require a lot of color embroidery.The use of patterns and colors has specific specifications depending on the occasions in which they are used.For example, the auspicious congratulatory gifts for marriage or the completion of a new house are usually "Eight Immortals" embroidered with banners, which are usually hung on the top beam of the entrance door.The divine clothes worn by many gods in temples in Taiwan are often extremely precious colored embroidery.Due to the different personalities and status of the gods in the world of gods, the patterns and colors of the god clothes are also different.For example, Guan Gong often wears green colored clothes; Mazu's colorful clothes are mainly orange; Jade Emperor's dragon robe is naturally golden yellow; and Tudi Gong's official clothes are mainly red.Various other princes wear divine clothes in five main colors: red, yellow, blue, white, and green.The sacred clothes are usually embroidered with patterns of dragons such as "Double Dragons Worship the Pagoda" and "Double Dragons Grab the Pearl".The "table skirt" covering the god's table is mostly embroidered with patterns of unicorns and dragon heads, and the clothes worn by Taoist priests are generally embroidered with gossip patterns.In addition, when the gods go on tour, the "cold umbrellas" in front of the sedan chairs are also finely embroidered. Legendary stories in Chinese history such as "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", "Flooded Jinshan Temple" and "Journey to the West" are often embroidered on the umbrellas. Very refined and sophisticated. Paper-cutting, commonly known as "window flowers", is one of the traditional Chinese folk arts. When the Spring Festival comes, the custom of pasting "window flowers" is popular in all parts of the north and south of my country.Many folk women are very skilled in cutting "window grilles". Once they cut them in their hands, they can cut out various figures, landscapes, flowers, birds and animals with high artistic value at will to beautify the living room and add joy to the festival. atmosphere. Similar to mainland China, Taiwan's paper-cutting has a wide range of themes, which contain the traditional culture of the Chinese nation: some are based on myths and stories spread by Chinese folks, such as "Legend of the White Snake" and "Qixi Qiqiao"; some praise historical figures, such as "Statues of Qu Yuan" and so on; some promote excellent folk virtues, such as "loving mother and loving child", "joining the same heart", "four virtues set an example", etc.; more express people's wishes for a happy life, such as "Hi Shang Eyebrows", "Fushou Kangning", "Plum Blossoms and Five Blessings", "Wealth Blossoms" and so on. The method of paper-cutting is the same as in mainland China, but there are three types: First, fold the paper in half twice, then fold it several times according to the central corner, and use scissors to cut it into various symmetrical patterns according to the plan you have in mind The second is to fold the paper in half and then draw a draft of the pattern on the paper with a pen and cut it. This kind of symmetrical double picture is mostly written with words like Xi and Shou; the third is to make a draft on the back of the paper, and then cut out the pattern , this method is mainly for cutting figures, flowers, birds, animals, landscapes and other complex works. Among Taiwanese paper-cut artists, the most famous one in the early days was the old lady Gong Yunzhang.The "dragons" and "horses" she cuts are vivid, and the birds and animals are also very distinctive, with vivid expressions and lifelike expressions.Rising stars include Ms. Sun Bufei and others.Their works are deeply loved by people at home and abroad. They have held exhibitions abroad many times, and their works have been sold out, making contributions to the promotion of Chinese culture. "Dough figurine" is another wonderful work in the traditional Chinese folk art, and it is also very popular in Taiwan.The so-called "dough figurines" are made of flour mixed with colors, and are kneaded into various shapes of insects, fish, birds, and animals with their hands, but most of them are human beings, so "dough figurines" are also called "dough kneaders".Because most of the raw materials are glutinous rice flour, and glutinous rice is called "Jiangmi" in northern my country, so the northerners also call "noodle people" "Jiangmi people". In the past, whenever there were festivals in Taiwan, "dough sculpture" artists could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys or in the squares in front of temples.They set up a temporary table and placed small boxes of colorful dough. With only a bamboo stick, scissors, and a comb, they held the dough exuding a sweet smell. As if conjuring, within three to five minutes of effort, a lifelike "face man" appeared.The children watching were so excited that they refused to leave after watching for an hour.The dough sculpture works in Taiwan are similar to those in mainland China: Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, Zhao Zilong, Kong Ming, Lu Bu, etc.; Monkey King, Zhu Bajie, Tang Seng, etc.; Wu Song, Lu Zhishen in "Water Margin"; There are those of girls; there are also those of dragon soaring, tiger leaping, lion dancing, and eagle flying; there are also various static vegetables and fruits, etc., all of which are brightly colored and very vivid. Nowadays, with the advancement of science and technology, some Taiwanese dough sculptors have switched to plastic instead of flour, the pigments have also been improved, the themes they shape are wider, and the preservation time of their works is longer.However, the "dough figurines" made of this kind of plastic are not as primitive as those made by traditional methods. The most famous "dough sculpture" artist in Taiwan is called Li Jinyu, who was originally from Caozhou, Shandong. It is said that he learned art from a master at the age of 15, followed his master all over the world, and later settled in Taiwan.He is best at pinching the characters in Chinese folk tales. The characters in his works are outstanding, vivid and lifelike. Butterflies belong to the butterflies among insects. Taiwan's ecological environment is very suitable for the reproduction of butterflies. Among the more than 20,000 kinds of butterflies in the world, my country has more than 1,300 kinds, and Taiwan is the province with the most varieties of butterflies in my country. According to statistics There are more than 400 species, known as the "Butterfly Kingdom".Among them, the Musheng butterfly, the Qingjin small gray butterfly, the Huang'e Yinyang butterfly, the five-winged Ji light green spot butterfly, and the broad-tailed swallowtail butterfly are all rare species in the world.Among these butterflies, the most precious is the swallowtail butterfly. This kind of butterfly has a gorgeous "clothes". When they show magnificent large patterns and fly leisurely in the air, they have the demeanor of a "king".There is a blue-spotted swallowtail butterfly, which is on the verge of extinction in many countries, and is designated as a "natural monument" and capture is strictly prohibited.But in Taiwan, this kind of swallowtail is not uncommon, and it can be seen dancing leisurely in sunny days all year round, especially in summer, where it can be seen everywhere.There is also a golden swallowtail butterfly on Lanyu Island. Its white wings look like they have been plated with gold. It shines golden and dazzling in the sun, matching the colorful patterns on its body.This butterfly is a rare thing in the world. The butterflies in Taiwan are not only diverse, but also large in number, and they have the habit of living in groups.In some valleys below 1,000 meters above sea level in the central and southern regions, there is no strong wind, water sources, and various flowering plants growing, and the temperature changes little, which is especially conducive to the growth of butterflies.In these places, there are a large number of butterflies dancing all year round, matching the lush flowers and grass, forming a beautiful natural picture.People call such a valley "Butterfly Valley".More than ten "Butterfly Valleys" have been discovered in Taiwan, the most famous of which is Puli, known as "Butterfly Town". Puli Township is located in Nantou County.With beautiful mountains and rivers, spring-like seasons and few typhoons, it is the best place for butterfly breeding in the province.Every year from April to August is the butterfly hunting season. Almost all men, women and children in the town are engaged in butterfly hunting. The annual butterfly hunting amount reaches millions, and the highest annual output once reached 16 million.At most, there are dozens of butterfly processing factories in the local area, specializing in the production of butterfly specimens and various butterfly artworks. Puli had a butterfly specimen production workshop more than half a century ago, and the precious butterfly specimens produced were sold abroad and were of high value.Later, as the technique of making butterfly specimens became more and more popular and improved, more and more herbarium factories opened. In the 1970s and 1980s, millions of boxes of butterfly specimens were produced every year for export, and it became the main supplier of butterfly specimens in the world. Among all kinds of butterfly artworks, the most precious is "butterfly painting".Thirty or forty years ago, Puli people invented the technique of using butterfly wings to paint, that is, cut off the colored powder wings of butterflies, trim them or cut them into "fins" of different colors and shapes, and paste them carefully with glue On the cardboard, embellished with beautiful patterns, this is the original "butterfly painting".Later, some people tried to cut the powder wings into pieces according to different colors, or even into "lines", and then "painted" landscape pictures by glue, and the effect was quite good.Later, the content of "painting" became more and more complex, so "Chinese Butterfly Painting", "Butterfly Watercolor Painting", "Butterfly Oil Painting" and so on came out one after another.When Puli's "butterfly painting" was first exhibited at the World's Fair, the audience was simply dumbfounded.They couldn't believe that the "watercolor", "oil painting" and "Chinese painting" with delicate and smooth lines and complex and beautiful pictures were actually made of butterfly wings as "pigments"! Because the wings of butterflies are extremely light, they are so light that they can fly when you breathe out after being cut into pieces, threads, or silk. Therefore, it takes very hard work to make even a small "butterfly painting".When making a "painting", the artist must concentrate, hold his breath, and be extremely careful in his movements, otherwise, the "pigment" will "fly" away before a line is "drawn".Therefore, the price of "butterfly paintings" is very expensive. Usually, a "painting" of one foot by two feet costs thousands or even tens of thousands of NT dollars (hundreds of dollars).There is a famous butterfly painting "Napoleon Riding a Horse" with a price tag of hundreds of thousands of yuan; another famous antique painting "Hundred Horses" completed by three artists is worth as much as 16,000 US dollars.It is said that in the 1980s, more than 20,000 people were engaged in the butterfly industry in Taiwan.Apart from Puli Town, there are also some butterfly processing factories in Taipei City.Every year Taiwan exports butterfly specimens and butterfly art, earning as much as 10 to 20 million US dollars. On the basis of "butterfly painting", Taiwanese craftsmen invented "plastic butterfly painting", that is, "painting" on plastic cloth, and then "gluing" after "painting".This method is used to make a large number of "butterfly plastic sheets", usually by pasting the whole butterfly on the plastic sheet, covering it with a transparent plastic film, and then "hot pressing".This kind of plastic cloth can be mass-produced and used as tablecloths, coasters, lampshades, bookmarks... It is both beautiful and practical, and is very popular in domestic and overseas markets.No wonder some people say: Taiwan's butterflies bring foreign exchange to Taiwan in life (attracting a large number of foreign tourists to go sightseeing), and bring foreign exchange to Taiwan in death. This is really Taiwan's unique and rich resource!