Hand-painted Tang Hua is similar to that kind of painting.

Hand-painted Tang Hua is similar to continuous strokes.

Tang Hua's composition is based on the long lines formed by sugar, which is similar to the sketches in traditional Chinese painting and western painting, and has the magical charm of China folk paper-cutting. In addition, there are a variety of techniques such as loading, filling, rubbing and pressing.

Tang Hua is a traditional folk handicraft, with sugar as the material for modeling. The only tools used are a spoon and a shovel. Sugar is usually brown sugar, white sugar and a little maltose, which is cooked on the stove with warm fire. When it is ready to tie the thread, it can be used for casting.

Boil the sugar first, then draw the sugar man. Prepare a marble board before boiling sugar and brush it with oil. Brush the oil thinly to prevent sugar from sticking to the marble board.

Put a copper pot on the fire, add some water, and then add sugar. The ratio of water to sugar is 2 1. In other words, put two parts of water and one part of sugar. Stir the sugar gently after putting it in to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. The water temperature should be gradually increased to promote the dissolution of sugar in water. When water boils, steam is released into the air.

At this time, the temperature of the sugar solution gradually becomes higher, and the moisture in the sugar solution gradually decreases. As you can see, the sugar solution is beginning to bubble. This is because there is less water in the sugar solution, and the tension of the sugar solution is greater. In the process of exhausting gas, some large bubbles will appear on the surface of sugar. The temperature is not enough at this time. The suitable temperature for boiling sugar is that the color turns slightly yellow and the big bubbles turn into small bubbles.

The purpose of boiling sugar is to spread the sugar solution into sugar slices for Tang Hua's painting. When the color turns yellow and the bubbles become smaller, the heat is almost the same. Pour it on the marble slab while it is hot. When the sugar solution is poured on the marble slab, it will cool and solidify. After the sugar solution is completely solidified, cut up the sugar slices and put them in a plate. Good quality candy won't melt at room temperature for half a month. The sugar cooked in this way has high transparency, is crisp, does not stick to hands, does not drip oil or shed liquid, and can be used as a material for painting Tang Hua.

Folk stories related to Tang Hua;

According to the memory of the old artist Bai, Bai and Bai, it is said that the great Sichuan poet in the Tang Dynasty liked to eat yellow sugar (sucrose) in his hometown, but he ate it differently. A generation of gifted scholars will melt the sugar first, pour all kinds of small animals and flower patterns on the clean and smooth desktop, hold them in their hands after solidification, enjoy themselves while eating, and feel elegant and refined.

Later, Chen Ziang went to the capital Chang 'an to study and asked for an official position. Because he just arrived in Beijing, he just became a small official. When I have nothing to do, I will do the same thing with yellow sugar brought from my hometown to kill my leisure time. One day, Chen Ziang was admiring his "works". Who knows the eunuch in the palace passed by with the little prince, who saw the little animal in Chen Ziang's hand and clamored for it.

The eunuch asked if these animals were made of sugar, so he asked the little prince for some and returned to the palace happily. Who knows, after returning to the palace, the little prince ate all the sugar and cried for it, which alarmed the emperor, so the eunuch had to report it truthfully. After hearing this story, the emperor immediately wrote a letter to Chen Ziang, letting him enter the palace and asking him to perform on the spot.

Chen Ziang melted the yellow sugar, poured a copper coin on the smooth table, glued it with bamboo chopsticks and gave it to the little prince, who immediately smiled through tears. When the emperor was happy, he blurted out the word "sugar cake", which was the origin of the name "sugar cake". As a result, Chen Ziang was promoted, and the official went to the right.

Later, after Chen Ziang undressed, in order to commemorate the emperor's kindness, but also because of the boredom of living in seclusion, he received several apprentices to teach this skill. These disciples passed on to their disciples and spread to all directions. Some simply take this as their business and start a candy cake business in the countryside. Although this kind of sugar cake business is small, it has been appreciated by the emperor, so the business is very prosperous and more and more people are learning. It has been passed down from generation to generation, and this skill has been passed down to this day.

In some streets, you can often see people holding candy cakes, surrounded by a circle of curious people.