Steamed Art: Flower Buns 花饃：蒸出來的藝術品

North China has been the wheat production area since the ancient era. People there have long been experts in transforming the wheat flour into various kinds of wheaten food， the most typical of which is the bun. The bun， also called “the steamed bun”， is a traditional staple food in north China. People there also have long been making buns of various shapes and colors to express their aspirations and best wishes. They call those buns “flower buns”.

Flower buns originated from the change of Chinese folk custom on sacrifice， in which people replaced slaughtered cattle and sheep with dough made animals as sacrifices. With their vivid appearance， flower buns are especially popular in the Yellow River Region in general and provinces like Shanxi， Shaanxi， Shandong and Henan in particular.

Flower buns can fulfill food， visual and etiquette functions. For generations， people along both banks of the Yellow River have been subtly expressing their feelings and emotions through flower buns. And flower buns are an art by women indeed. Usually women gather together to make flower buns whenever there is a big day or event.

中國北方自古以來就是小麥產區。北方人很早就擅長將小麥粉做成各種小麥食品，其中最典型的就是饃。饃又稱“蒸饃”，是北方的傳統主食。長期以來，那里的人們制作形色各異的饃，以表達自己的愿望和祝福。他們稱這些饃為“花饃”。

花饃起源于中國民間祭祀活動中用面塑動物代替宰殺牛羊作為祭品的習俗。花饃以其生動的造型，在黃河流域尤為流行，特別是山西、陜西、山東和河南等省份。

花饃可食、可看、可用。世世代代，黃河兩岸的人們通過花饃巧妙地表達自己的情感。事實上，花饃是女性們巧手制作的藝術品。每逢重大節日或活動，女性們都會聚在一起做花饃。

One of the most famous flower buns in China is “Wenxi Flower Buns” of Wenxi County， Shanxi Province. Particularly popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties， “Wenxi Flower Buns” have a history of over 1，300 years， famous for their unique artistic characteristics and sophisticated making processes. “Wenxi Flower Buns” were included in the list of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.

Making “Wenxi Flower Buns” takes 4 to 5 days on average and goes through 9 major procedures and 100-plus minor procedures. All of these procedures have to be done manually. By using tools including scissors， chopsticks and combs， Wenxi people can make various shapes like flowers， fruits， figures， birds and beasts. Flower buns can be decorated with rice， beans and dates， sometimes colored with food dyes.

Different flower buns are made for different festivals with specific functions. Big flower buns are generally prepared for the Spring Festival. Shapes of buns for the Lantern Festival include lamps， dogs， roosters and pigs， etc. A married daughter should make fish-shaped buns for her original family， praying for a big harvest. In contrast， a family will make tiger head-shaped buns when wedding their daughter. Snake-shaped buns will be prepared for the Tomb Sweeping Day， with a connotation of wiping out all misfortunes. When the birthday of a senior family member is coming， people will make big peach-shaped buns as a celebration.

中國極有名的花饃之一是山西省聞喜縣的“聞喜花饃”。聞喜花饃在明清時期特別流行，至今已有1300多年的歷史，它以獨特的藝術性和精巧的制作過程而聞名遐邇。2008年，聞喜花饃被列入中國非物質文化遺產名錄。

制作聞喜花饃平均需要四到五天，要經過9道大工序和100多道小工序，全靠手工揉捏，通過使用剪刀、筷子、梳子等工具輔助而成。聞喜人可以做出花朵、水果、人物、鳥獸等各種造型的花饃。花饃可以用大米、豆子和紅棗裝飾，有時也用食用色素著色。

根據其特定的用途，不同的節日會制作不同的花饃。大花饃一般是為春節準備的。元宵節有燈、狗、公雞和豬等造型的花饃。出嫁的女兒要為娘家做魚形花饃，祈求五谷豐登，而嫁女兒的人家則要做虎頭花饃。蛇形花饃則是為清明節準備的，寓意消除一切不幸。家中長輩過生日時，人們會做桃形大花饃以示慶祝。

Word Bank

era /'??r?/ n. 時代；年代

When she left the firm， it was the end of an era.

staple /'ste?pl/ n. 基本食物；主食

sacrifice /'s?kr?fa?s/ n. 祭祀；祭品

connotation /'k?n?'te??n/ n. 含義；隱含意義