京城风尚｜吹糖人：带你了解老北京精湛手艺“舌尖上的非遗”

Brilliant Heritage of Old Beijing | Sugar Figure Blowing: A Bite of Beijing’s Incredible Intangible Cultural Heritage

“拨浪鼓儿风车转

琉璃咯嘣吹糖人”

一声声糖人儿的叫卖声

唤起老北京人尘封已久的

童年记忆

那是一份淡忘已久的欢乐与惊喜

久久回味

“Rattle drum, pinwheel spinning,

the candyman is sugar blowing.”

The sugar blowing peddlers shouting on the street,

is a piece of childhood memory for many Beijingers.

It is a long-lasting reminder for them

of joy and surprise from the past.

由北京市海外文化交流中心精心制作的2022年线上“欢乐春节”文艺盛典，非遗传承人现场吹制虎年“糖人儿”

The 2022 online“Happy Chinese New Year” cultural gala, produced by Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchanges Center, features a sugar blower making a tiger-shaped sugar figure. 

在老北京的小巷，存在着一个这样的行业，小贩们肩挑挑子，挑子一头是一个带架的长方柜，柜子下面有一半圆形开口木网笼，里面有一个小炭炉，炉上有一个大勺，中间放满糖稀，木架一共分为两层而且每层都有很多小孔，目的是插放糖人，这就是民间技艺“吹糖人”。 

One could easily find peddlers shuttling around in the alleys in old Beijing with a carrying pole, one end of which was a square shelved cabinet with a semi-circular open wooden cage net in it. A small charcoal burner was in the cage net with a big spoon full of melted sugar. The other end was a two-tiered wooden cabinet, and each tier had many small poles for placing sugar figures. These are all the necessary tools for sugar blowing. 

吹糖人是一种流传已久的民间技艺，起源于明朝，至今已有几百年的历史，在我国众多民间技艺中占有一席之地。2008年6月7日，吹糖人被列入第二批国家级非物质文化遗产名录。

As a type of folk-art form, sugar blowing can be dated back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), with a history of hundreds of years. On June 7, 2008, it was listed among the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage in China. 

糖人很受小孩子喜欢，因为小孩子不仅觉得它好吃，而且还很好看又很好玩。“吹糖人儿”，其实吹出的“人”极少，大部分为各种动物。因为它们的受众群体大部分是儿童，动物形状更惹他们喜爱。一般人们买糖人都是想看着制作过程，有的还要指定形状做。“糖人”有各种形状：小鹿、金鱼、耗子、灯笼等，最惹孩子喜爱的是“孙猴”。

Sugar figures are especially popular among kids, who find them both tasty and interesting. But actually, few sugar“figures” are human, most of which are animals. This makes them even more sought-after among children. Most of the consumers buy sugar figures just to feast their eyes for the crafting process, while some people ask for certain shape. Sugar figures are of various shapes, like deer, goldfish, mouse and lantern, etc. One of the kids’ favorites is the Monkey King, a leading character in the classic novel, Journey to the West.

吹糖人的历史由来

History of sugar blowing

吹糖人有着悠久的历史，但其出现的确切时间却无法下定论，艺人们多奉刘伯温为鼻祖，如此推测吹糖人似起源于明朝。

相传朱元璋为了自己的皇位能一代代传下去，就造“功臣阁”火烧功臣。刘伯温侥幸逃脱，被一个挑糖儿担子的老人救下，两人调换服装，从此刘伯温隐姓埋名，天天挑糖人担换破烂。在卖糖的过程中，刘伯温创造性地把糖加热变软后制作各种糖人儿，有小鸡小狗什么的，甚是可爱，小孩子争先购买。在路上，许多人向刘伯温请教学吹糖人儿，刘伯温一一教会了他们，于是，这门手艺就一传十、十传百的，传到现在据说有600多年的历史了。

Despite a long history of the craft, it is hard to define the exact time when sugar blowing was invented. It is commonly believed that Liu Bowen, a military strategist in the Ming Dynasty, was the inventor of sugar blowing. 

It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), built a pavilion in the name of crediting officials who made great contribution to the establishment of the dynasty. But in case they posed a threat to the throne, the emperor plotted to kill them all. Liu Bowen barely got off the hook and was saved by an old man who was carrying a shoulder pole to peddle sugar. After switching clothes with the old man, Liu lived under assumed names and became a sugar peddler. He creatively heated the sugar and made“figures” of various shapes out of softened sugar, such as chicken and dog. Kids soon found the sugar figures cute and rushed to buy them. When peddling along the street, Liu taught everyone who came to ask him how to blow sugar figures. Therefore, the craft has been passed on from generation to generation in the past 600 years or so. 

但在南宋《梦粱录》卷十三中《诸色杂货》有提到“及小儿戏耍家事儿，如戏剧糖果之类：行娇惜、宜娘子、秋千稠糖、葫芦、火斋郎果子、吹糖麻婆子、孩儿等叫”，这里的“吹糖麻婆子”就是我们现在所说的吹糖人。这一史料足以证明南宋时期已经出现吹糖人。

However, according to an article in the thirteenth volume of Mengliang Lu (A Dream of Sorghum), there was a description of life in the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279),“Various entertaining items are accessible to kids, like the then-called“theatrical candies”, including Yiniangzi, Chuitang Mapozi, etc.”. The“Chuitang” here actually means sugar blowing, which proves that the craft was created even back to the Southern Song Dynasty.  

独特的制作技艺

Unique production skills

吹糖人看似简单随意，实则不然，艺人们往往需要练习多年才能拥有娴熟的手法，也只有这样才算出师。

由于糖稀的特性不适宜长久塑造，一旦短时间内不能完成，糖稀由于温度变低出现硬化，作品便无法完成。吹糖人最吸引人的地方是能够在极其短暂的时间内高度概括地塑造出人或动植物的立体形象，糖人的制作过程与中国写意画一样追求着“韵味”，因而多数动植物造型夸张随意，但胜在个个惟妙惟肖、活泼淳朴，且蕴含着一种与众不同的意境。吹糖人讲究造型和韵律，因此除了要求糖塑艺人有手上功夫外，还需要具备一定的审美意识和灵气，这取决于他们平时的观察和长期的积累与琢磨。所塑造的形象无论是动物还是人物都要形神皆备，因为糖塑一旦成型，就会很快凝固，无法修改，所以艺人要胸有成竹，方能巧夺天工。

Although the sugar blowing craft seems easy and casual, it requires years of practice to master. 

Since the syrup hardens when the temperature is low, the sugar figures must be made in a very short time. What makes sugar blowing attractive is that the craftsmen can shape a three-dimensional figure in a flash. Like freehand painting, sugar blowing also emphasizes aesthetics. That’s why most of the sugar figures are seemingly made in a casual and dramatic way, but they are all vivid and lovely with their unique characteristics. Sugar blowing is all about shape and pattern, therefore, the peddlers are not only real masters of this craft, but also aesthetic savvy. This is a result of long-term observation and thinking in real life. Only in this way, sugar figures can be truly lifelike. The figures set quickly once shaped, and cannot be changed. Therefore, the craftsmen should be confident in his dexterity to make perfect sugar figures.  

甜蜜的童年记忆

Sweet childhood memories

在30年以前，北京城的街头巷尾经常还是可以看到“吹糖人”晃动的担子。在那个时候，糖人是儿童很喜爱的玩物。那时，家门口如果有吹糖人的，很快就会围上来一群小朋友。这些场景现如今只能印在童年的记忆中，让人每每想起，心中总有一种香甜的感觉。

It was not uncommon to see sugar blowers carry their shoulder poles in Beijing thirty years ago or so. Sugar figures were the favorite stuff for kids in those less affluent days. Whenever a sugar blower stopped by, he could find himself soon surrounded by a crowd of kids. The sweet childhood memories still linger in many people’s minds. 

吹糖人不仅仅是一门吃饭的手艺，更是一门民间艺术，作为非物质文化遗产的吹糖人，如今已经开始受到更多重视和关注，这些以吹糖人为代表的，凝聚着历代民间艺人真挚情感和创造力的艺术，不仅会留存在我们的童年记忆当中，而且也将在当代得到发展和延续……

Sugar blowing is not only a livelihood, but also a fork art, and more importantly, an intangible cultural heritage. Creative and time-honored crafts, like sugar blowing, are receiving growing attention, and will not be confined to merely childhood impressions, but be revived with new growth and vitality. 

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北京作为千年古都，具有鲜明的地域特色，在这座历史深厚的城市里，有一种长久以来凝聚成的独特的风格和味道。“京城风尚”栏目系列将通过讲述北京的人文、地理、历史故事，持续奉上“京味文化大餐”，敬请期待！

A millennium-old capital, Beijing has distinctive regional characteristics. Over centuries, the city that combines tradition and modernity has fostered a unique style and flavor. The“Trendy Products of Old Beijing” series focuses on telling stories about Beijing’s culture, geography and history, with an aim to present cultural feasts of old Beijing. Please stay tuned. 

吹糖手艺人

图片来源：微博@葱油饼不带葱

Sugar-figure blower

Photo credit: Weibo account @葱油饼不带葱

吹糖人

图片来源：新华网

Sugar blowing 

Photo credit: Xinhua.net

各种形状的糖人

图片来源：多彩贵州网，每天读国学微博

Sugar figures in different shapes

Photo credit: Duocaiguizhouwang, Weibo account @每天读国学

刘伯温

图片来源：昭烈名臣

Liu Bowen

Photo credit: Zhaoliemingchen

《梦梁录》

图片来源：广东海上丝绸之路博物馆

Mengliang Lu

Photo credit: Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guangdong 

马形状糖人

图片来源：蜂鸟网

Horse-shaped sugar figure

Photo credit: fengniao.com

手艺人展示吹糖人

图片来源：东阿阿胶城，中国青年报

Craftsmen are making sugar figures

Photo credit: Dong’e Ejiao city, China Youth Daily

参考文献：

1.《中国民俗技艺》，2014年

2.王永斌：《杂谈老北京》[M].北京:中国城市出版社,1996．

3.刘兴利：《民间技艺——吹糖人》，《文艺生活·文海艺苑》，2011年3期

4.闫亚楠：《吹糖人艺术的产生及文化价值》，《美与时代（上旬刊）》，2015（1）

5.竹本无心：《正在远去的老手艺——吹糖人》，《青春期健康》，2011（22）

6.贺永刚：《吹糖人，吹出名堂的民间手艺》,《安阳日报》，2008-06-18