“Huozhou Nianmo”

張瑤

【Abstract】“Huozhou Nianmo” is an unique art craft in China. Different shapes of the breads have different implications towards life， which makes it become a signal to express peoples hope and blessing.

【Key words】“Huozhou Nianmo”

1. Introduction

As a common food， pasta is an integral part in the Chinese cooking diet. Thus， Pasta Culture has become an important part of food culture in China. And when with regard to Huozhou， the south of Shanxi Province， people would begin to get together to make “Nianmo” fifteen days before the Spring Festival. It is the result of peoples wisdom and sweat in Shanxi， and provides local people with more jobs.

2. Origin

Huozhou is located in Taiyue Mountain， the south of Shanxi， whose main crop is wheat， and steamed bread is one of the indispensable foods on local peoples dining-table. For many people， steamed bread is just a round bread without any feature. However， in Huozhou， people devote a lot of effort to it. It is endowed with vitality and meaning， thus it becomes a signal to express peoples hope and blessing. And this activity comes to a climax during the Spring Festival， so comes its name， “Nianmo”. Some elder people may call it “Yanggaomo”， because in ancient times， “羊” has close relation with “祥”， and bearing various auspicious implied meanings.

3. Process

“Huozhou Nianmo” has a unique flavor and a variety of shapes， which can show a vivid picture for people. Because of the choice of materials and unique processes， it can be placed more than 3 months at ordinary temperature. Shanxi is abundant in red date， and with the ornament of date， the bread becomes more exquisite and more vivid.

People there have unique process to make I， using the flour made by themselves， which is pure and pollution-free， with traditional manufacturing process. people there make it all by their hands， and put it on the heated “kang”， with bedding covered on it. （“Kang” is a kind of bed made by brick in Northern China， and there was a hole under it， which connects to the chimney， thus can make a fire to keep warm）.

When the Spring Festival comes， neighbors and relatives will meet together to help each other steaming bread. It is one of the liveliest days in a year. It is a good opportunity for them to communicate， with strangers， and even to reconcile with whom they had conflicts before.

4. Various shapes of “Huozhou Nianmo” and its implications

“Huozhou Nianmo” was made into various shapes with different meanings.

“Denggao”：It consists of three or five pieces of round bread， with red date put on one layer after one layer. It is the symbol of promotion and prosperity， during the Spring Festival， and it is the most popular banquet in honor of the distinguished guests.

According to the legend in ancient times， “Nvwa” wanted to fill the heaven with refined colorful stones， but it was too high for her to fill it， so she overlay many stones together to climb up on and made it. People there make this kind of bread in order to commemorate “Nvwa”， and to appreciate her action. It is made up of three layers， and means three kinds of elites：the elites in the heaven， on the ground， and under ground respectively. Every year it is regarded as the sacrificial offerings on the worship ceremony during the Spring Festival.

And another type of “Denggao” stands for the ancient imperial examination system， and the five pieces of bread stand for “Rusheng， Xiucai， Juren， Gongshi， Jinshi” respectively， while the four pieces of red date stand for “Yuanshi， Xiangshi， Huishi， Dianshi”.

“Zaohua”：People taper both sides of the bar-shaped bread and then roled it into two rings， each ring adds one date， so people call it “Zaohua”， a symbol of ingenuity. And in the local dialect， “棗花” also pronouns the same as “造化”.

“Flower-shaped bread”：The local people make bread by imitating a variety of flowers type in the nature. It has the implied meaning that for that girls， particularly to become as pretty as flowers.

“Hand-shaped bread”：If there are five people in your family， you can only make five pairs of “Hand-shaped bread”， symbolizing get rich through hard work. In the past， only men are qualified to eat it， but with the improvement of the status of women， all family members have the right to eat it.

“Rabbit-shaped bread”：It has the intended meaning that the people who eat it will become kind-hearted， active， rich and even grow taller.

“Fish-shaped bread”：It means to be free， and rich. Just the Chinese idiom “Niannianyouyu” which means that people lead a rich life， and there are superfluous wealth and food every year.

By the way， besides the Spring Festival， on other festivals， there are also other kinds of steamed bread， like “Shoutao”. It is often made for old people on their birthdays to show the filial piety and wish them to live a long life. Like most of the “Nianmo”， they look exquisite and taste delicious.

5. The development of “Huozhou Nianmo”

“Huozhou Nianmo” is not only famous in Huozhou， there are many branch stores in many northern countries. Many people choose it as gifts to their relatives or bosses. It brings opportunities to the local economy. At present， making “Huozhou Nianmo” has become a new way to get rich during the slack season for farmers. which can provide jobs for thousands of people left in rural areas as A Bite of China reported （Chen Xiaoqin， 2014）.

Tourism has become one of the four pillar industries of Shanxi Province （Li Wenfang， 2011）. Shanxi pasta should make greater contributions to the prospect of the tourism in Shanxi， so does the “Huozhou Nianmo”. When it does find its own position in the culture and tourism in Shanxi， will it create more “Nianmo GDP”， and create more employment opportunities， thus the “silver” can be comparable to the “black gold” in Shanxi， and make contributions to the economy.

References：

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