Sweet success as ancient art of sugar figurines returns at Wulin Night Fair
Provided by Lan Yuyue. Directed by Lan Yuyue. Shot by Lan Yuyue.
When night falls, Xu Bopu's food stall is crowded with children just as it has always been – he's using hot, soft sugar to create an animal and let a kid use a straw to blow it up.
The three-dimensional plump animal has a distinct brownish-yellow color, usually made of maltose, a substance obtained from grain.
Popular products include animals such as dragons, roosters and pigs. This is so-called tangren, or sugar figurine, a traditional Chinese form of folk art. Similar to the trade of producing sugar paintings, making sugar figurines has been practiced in public places for hundreds of years, but is no longer such a common sight.
Other than maltose, Xu has prepared melted chocolate for making eyes and noses, and brown sugar added with edible pigment for painting mouths.
"On weekends, I often prepare about 10 kilograms of sugar. Due to the sanitary concerns, the customers blow up the figurine with a straw instead of me," Xu told Shanghai Daily.
Xu Bopu quickly shapes the figurine when a kid blows up the sugar dough with a straw.
Tangren is not available from June to September, since high temperatures quickly melt the sugar-based figurines.
Xu's stall is set up at the Wulin Night Fair, which reopened to the public on August 4 after months of renovation. Ever since the National Day holidays, endless streams of residents have brought booming business to Xu.
"The management committee of the Wulin Night Fair really supports intangible cultural heritage and has figured out many ways to help us promote products," said Xu.
Xu can usually sell about 60 sugar figurines in a night.
"That's my limit. The stove keeps warming the sugar bucket. Only the soft sugar can be turned into different shapes. If I make figurines for too long, my hands might burn."
During Shanghai Daily's recent visit, his stall was packed with kids and tourists, all snapping photos. Some adults said they hadn't seen sugar figurines for years, while kids were excited to see such a "creative" snack.
Children usually select a figure by spinning the arrow on a wheel, which will randomly land on popular figures like a dragon, fish, monkey, dog, bird, or flower basket. The process adds a lot of fun to the sugar stall.
In history, the art of blowing up sugar figurines dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when small animals made of sugar were created for religious rituals. The art form then became more popular during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). After that period techniques improved, and a more diverse range of figurines and animals emerged.
Xu learned the skill from 54-year-old Ma Qingwang, a national expert on sugar figurines from Hebei Province. According to a report from Hebei local media, Ma could produce 1,100 figurines a day at most.
As a leading figure of the tangren art, Ma has upgraded his techniques allowing him to maintain the sugar for longer periods without melting, which means he could produce figurines in summer.
After decades of practice, he could blow up the sugar into semi-transparent figurines. His work is considered a craft rather than a snack for children.
Xu shows a book on Tianmen sugar craft from Hubei Province.
In recent days, Xu has been learning the Tianmen sugar craft, which originated from Hubei Province.
In ancient times, Tianmen craftspeople used sugar to carve sophisticated sculptures, usually dragons and phoenixes. They were auspicious ornaments used in celebrations and rituals.
This craft dates back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) when sugar was still a precious food material.
"It takes me hours to complete a Tianmen sugar sculpture. Nobody will buy it due to the high price," said Xu.
At his stall, adults prefer the packed figurines, which have been sprayed with a layer of protective glue. Such inedible products can be kept for a long period as a type of decorative art.
