| An old artist cuts a small piece from a lump
of well-knead dough, and after rubbing it several times, skillfully turns it into the body
of a bird. Then, he rubs two other pieces into short noodles, presses them flat, and
pastes them on the back of the bird, which, after carved with a mini comb, becomes the
wings. Finally, he makes the beak with a tiny piece of dough, and puts two black pieces of
millet on the head for the eyes. Here, in the dexterous hands of the artist, a lovely
singing lark is born. This magic-like handicraft is called dough figurine, known as mianhua
or miansu in Chinese. It has a history of some 4,000 years, but pitifully, few
people specialize in it today. But if you are lucky enough, you can find such a folk
artist in small alleys in some old cities like Beijing and Tianjin. Although seemingly
outdated, these small figurines are still fascinating many kids, who have been tired of
their electronic toys.
But if you plan to specifically pay a visit to the figurines, the rural areas in
central China's Shaanxi Province might be the best place, where mianhua is still
used as a popular gift. At a wedding, wife and husband will be presented with dough
figurines depicting dragons and phoenixes, a traditional auspicious pattern at such
occasion. Sometime, the gift is shaped as a chain of locks, expressing the hope that the
newly married couple will live happily forever.
The craft is said to originate in legendary remote ages, when ancients sacrificed dough
animals to the gods. Later on, it gradually lost its original religious purpose, and
became an pure artistic creation. Traditionally, the material is prepared of purified
wheat flour and glutinous rice flour, mixed with bee-honey and glycerin. The various
colors of the dough are from mineral pigments, and do not change with time.
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