Tangren
Tangren ( Chinese 糖 人 , Pinyin Tángrén - "sugar man") are a traditional Chinese folk art from the Song Dynasty . At that time, tangren was sold in markets or in front of schools.
The figurines are made from cane sugar and maltose and were popular sweets and children's toys in Taiwan and China. Tangras are usually a pronounced brownish-yellow color, for which yellow or green dye is used. Popular characters are animals like dragons, roosters and pigs, or objects like machetes and spears.
Before buying one of these Tangren, one likes to turn a pointer on a turntable beforehand. On this turntable there are several fields with all of the offered Tangren. Depending on where the pointer stops, you then buy the corresponding Tangren.
preparation
In a small wood stove, sugar is heated in a metal vessel. If the sugar is removed at the right temperature, the artist can knead the heated sugar to make it malleable. A thin straw is then inserted into the sphere and the artist begins to blow air into it to slowly enlarge the sphere. At the same time, the artist pushes and pulls parts of the sphere by hand or sometimes with tools such as tweezers to create limbs and various shapes. Before the figure has completely cooled, the surface usually turns red or green. The straw is removed after cooling, and a wooden stick is inserted into the bottom, after which the tangren is ready for sale.
origin
Liu Bowen is considered to be the inventor of tangling. One story goes that Liu Bowen was a powerful minister under Emperor Hongwu 600 years ago , which is why the emperor saw him as a danger and wanted to have him murdered. Liu Bowen then fled and assumed the identity of a sugar seller, later inventing the tangren.
present
Tangren used to be popular both as candy and as children's toys. Nowadays, tangren are mostly considered a sweet and a memory of childhood. Tangras are also a popular souvenir. One can find the tangren in the tourist places. A similar Japanese variant is called amezaiku .
Web links
- http://www.mfa.org.tw/11_eqe.htm (Chinese)