The fireworks scattered in the world — the iron flower
Ironwork is a large-scale traditional folk firework. It is a folk cultural performance technique discovered by ancient Chinese craftsmen during the process of casting utensils. It began in the Northern Song Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It has a history of more than a thousand years. Iron flower is mostly spread in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and is most popular in Henan and Shanxi.
one,
Introduction to iron flower
Ironwork is a large-scale traditional folk firework popular in Queshan County, Henan Province. It has a long history and is performed with majestic momentum and grand scenes. In addition, the dragon dance team joins in to add to the fun. It shuttles under the flower canopy with splashes of iron flowers, which is called “dragon wearing flowers”. It is thrilling, lively and festive.
Flower-beating performers need a certain amount of courage to be able to perform shirtless in the iron flower of more than a thousand degrees and move forward and back freely without getting burned. The dazzling brilliance of modern fireworks and the mystery and thrill of traditional stunts are intertwined, which is breathtaking.
two,
Tracing the history
The art of making iron flowers began in the Northern Song Dynasty and originated from the sacrificial activities of craftsmen. “Hua” and “fa” are homophonic. Before forging ironwork at night, craftsmen have to kneel down in the shrine and change their clothes to pray for safety and avoid burns.
After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, iron flower spread throughout the country as the Queshan people moved south and north, forming different styles. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the iron flower reached its peak, expanding from sacrificial activities to festive and festive activities such as promotions, marriages, and house building.
During the Republic of China, the iron flower was once on the verge of extinction, but was successfully restored through the efforts of its inheritor Yang Jianjun, and was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.
three,
Intangible cultural heritage story
There is also a beautiful and magical legend about the iron flower. It is said that during the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a severe drought in southern Henan. People donated money to build temples and then cast a big bell in the temple. Every household donated their iron tools, and the blacksmiths melted them into iron juice. Suddenly a group of crows flew from the sky and sat on the tree. They could not be driven away no matter what.
At this time, an old man walked out of the crowd. He picked up two willows from the ground, dipped them in iron juice and hit the willows upwards. Golden sparks more than ten meters high splashed up. While shining in the sky, the crows also Scared away. While everyone was still marveling at the spectacle that was a hundred times more shocking than the fireworks, the old man had disappeared.
Four,
Blacksmithing process
The performance form and operation process of the iron flower are full of mystery and thrills. It mainly consists of three parts: setting up the flower shed, setting up the colors, and striking the flowers.
Setting up a flower shed: Before the performance, people must first set up a two-story octagonal shed with a height of more than ten feet in the middle of the wide square. The first floor is 4 meters high and the second floor is 1.5 meters high;
Decoration: The top of the flower shed is covered with fresh willow branches and tied with fireworks, firecrackers, etc. A pole more than ten feet high is erected in the middle of the top of the flower shed, which is called the “old pole”. Long-hanging firecrackers, large fireworks, etc. are also tied to the top of the old pole. A furnace for melting iron juice is set up next to the flower shed, and the pig iron prepared in advance is turned into iron juice for later use;
The tools used for blacksmithing are called “flower sticks”. Two fresh willow sticks as thick as fists are called “upper sticks” and “lower sticks”, each more than a foot long. There is a small circular pit with a diameter of 3 cm on the side of one end of the upper rod to hold the iron juice;
Beating flowers: When beating iron flowers, the person who beats flowers wears a gourd and gourd turned upside down as a protection, is naked to the upper body, holds the upper stick filled with iron juice in one hand, and the lower stick without iron juice in the other hand, and runs quickly to the Under the flower shed, hit it hard to make the high-temperature molten iron in the flower stick hit the sky. The hot molten iron hits the flower shed filled with fresh willow branches, and golden flowers shoot out;
The key to making iron flowers is “beating”. The higher you hit, the more dispersed the molten iron will be. Only then can the molten iron be like a goddess scattering flowers in the air, turning into tiny iron filings that burn, cool and fall in the air, thus avoiding burns to the bare-chested flower maker.
You may have seen many dazzling fireworks, but you must not miss the wild and sparkling iron flowers. The molten iron rises into the air for a moment, and with a swing of the board and a blow, the 1700-degree high-temperature molten iron is thrown into the sky, and it suddenly turns into a sky full of stars. , can be called the wildest folk art that has been passed down for five thousand years in China.
