Archives for posts with tag: chinese new year
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Turtle Cookie Mould

02/05/2013 //
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cookie mould

W100xL230xD40mm, China

On your birthday if someone made you a cake in the shape of a turtle, you will probably thought they taking a piss at you.   However, the “red turtle cake” is a special birthday sweet for the Chao Zhou, Fujian, Taiwan area, the sweets are made to be given to friends and family at the celebration of birthdays, for the new born or birthday of the land god.  The red colour is a symbol of happiness and the turtle a symbol of longevity.

If you cannot wait till birthday to try it out, they are also use a celebratory food for Chinese New Year.

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Categories tools, wood

Kitchen God

02/04/2013 //
2

kitchen god

W280xH400mm, China

Today, lunar 24th December, is the day for thanking the Kitchen God.

On this day, the Kitchen God is about to depart to do his yearly report to the Jade Emperor; a summary of the good and bad deeds of the family his has been with.  This is the day the family should thank him for his presence and to sweeten him up a bit so he will speak well of them.

The offering should include:
A Bowl of Rice + A Bowl of Water
– to show the relationship between the Kitchen God and the family is clean and innocent, if the Kitchen God is lenient, the 2 items would turn black when he return to heaven.
Sugar Canes with Nodes and End Leaves
– with the nodes the Kitchen God can use it as a ladder to climb up to heaven, the end leaves symbolizes a beginning and an ending.
Fried Rice Biscuits, Satsumas, Tangerines, Red Sugar and A Red Packet
– food to sweeten his mouth so good words would be used for his report.
A Paper Horse, Black Robe, Boots
– provision of transport and costume for his meeting with the Jade Emperor.
A Kitchen God Cheat Sheet
– a yellow piece of paper with words chosen by the family.

These offerings should be place in the rice storage container.
With so much bribe, I wonder if the rice and water should be there at all …

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Categories painting / prints, paper

Blue Glazed Narcissus Bowl

08/04/2012 //
0

L210xD140xH100, China

Narcissus, daffodil, is a very popular plant in China especially for the Chinese New Year.  So popular that there is a special container for its presentation.  A month before Chinese New Year, one would find daffodil bulbs for sale in the market.  The bulb would be placed inside the bowl, secured by pebbles and 2/3 of it cover with water.  Up till the days before flowering, the water would be replaced daily, when it started to flower every 3 days.  When the shoots started to appear, locate the bowl to a sunny but cool place.  As daffodil is part of the New Year decoration, it is almost essential that it is blooming with flowers on New Year’s day, this normally takes 25 days at 20C, if lacks behind a bit of warm water on New Year’s eve would normally do the trick.   And if all fails, one can always pay a bit more for the perfectly planted daffodil at the flower market.

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Categories container, pottery

Golden Rooster

03/28/2012 //
0

W250xH250mm, China

It is believed that when the god Nu Wa created the world, it was the chicken he made on the first day (of Chinese New Year), dog on the second, pig on the third, goat on the fourth, buffalo on the fifth and horse on the sixth.  On the seventh day, human was created (hence it is the birthday for all man on the 7th day of Chinese New Year).  These 6 livestock were very important for the Chinese who are agriculture based for a long time, they are seen as a symbol of blessing (they made up half the 12 zodiac animals).

Legend has it that a long time ago on a mount in Chong Shan lived a golden rooster who like a alarm would crow at the same time every morning.  Hearing the crowing, people who lived a the mount opposite would ring the bell to wake all the villages around.  The golden rooster has a habit of snacking off the vegetable field, one day a farmer was angry at the rooster for damaging his crops and curse on it.  With the curse, the golden rooster fell from the mount and landed on by the river and turned into a large piece of rock, since then no crowing can be heard again.

This is a wood block print of the golden rooster crowing, a blessing.

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Categories painting / prints, paper

Yuan Xiao

02/06/2012 //
2

DIA110xH70mm, China

Today is the 15th day of the Chinese New Year, Yuan Xiao, a day which denotes a lot of events;
– First full moon of the new year
– End of the Chinese New Year celebration
– Chinese valentine’s day
– Lantern’s festival

It is traditional to have a rice dumpling soup on the day and to solve the lantern riddle.
Here is the recipe for the rice dumpling soup (also known as Yuan Xiao)

INGREDIENTS

For the dumpling (make 10 dumpling)

  • 110g glutinous rice flour
  • 100g water
  • 25g black seasame seed
  • 25g sugar
  • 1.25 tbs butter (the traditional version is to use lard)

For the soup

  • 625ml water
  • 40g sugar brown sugar bar
  • 3 slices of ginger
  1. Heat the sesame seed in a pan in medium heat (keep stirring) until popping
  2. Grind the cooled sesame seed in a blender or mortar
  3. In a heated pan, melt the sugar, butter and blend in the sesame paste, then put in the fridge
  4. For the skin dough, mix the rice flour with water, knead until  it is no stick to the hand
  5. Make 10 little balls with the dough, take 1 ball, flatten it  and make a slight dent, put the sesame stuffing in and lightly let the dough envelop in the stuffing and shape the dumpling into a ball again
  6. Make the sweet soup by adding the 3 items in a saucepan and boil till the sugar dissolved
  7. In other large pan of boiling water, add in the dumpling, they will start to float when they are cooked
  8. Put a couple of dumpling in a bowl of sweet soup, enjoy!

LANTERN RIDDLE

Here is a lantern riddle to go with your dumpling soup (now all you need is to find a valentine and a lantern …)

WHEN IT IS SITTING ITS SITTING
WHEN IT IS STANDING ITS SITTING
WHEN IT IS MOVING ITS SITTING
WHEN IT IS SLEEPING ITS SITTING

(guess an animal)

The bowl presented here is in fact a tea bowl (blue and white porcelain with painted goldfish), its a brewing and drinking bowl for individual enjoyment.  Hot water is added to the tea leaves in the bowl, rinse and drained (use the lid to retain the tea leave).  A second round of hot water is added and brew for 10 minutes.  The lid is opened for appreciation of the scent and the colour of the tea, it is then close again with a small small opening.  Tea is slowly sipped out from the gap.

(answer to the riddle – frog)

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Categories container, pottery

Money God

01/27/2012 //
0

DIA60xH80mm, China

Today is the 5th day of the Chinese New Year and the day for welcoming the Money God, the Money God has his four assistants will visit and bless randomly a handful of people.  On the day of the 5th, you might notice that shops and households trying to draw their attention with fire crackers or food in front of their statue (or nowadays the free posters that come with the weekly magazine).

It is a toy for the drinking game since the Tang dynasty, after wobbling, the person he is looking at will have to drink up!  This money god roly poly toy is made of paper with clay as a weight.

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Categories clay, figurine, paper, toy

The Return of the Kitchen God

01/26/2012 //
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W500xH900mm, China

Previously we talked about preparing the Kitchen God for his report to the Jade Emperor, traditionally today (4th day of Chinese New Year) is the day to welcome him back to the household.  (see Kitchen God Wood Block Print-12/04/2011)  The feast would be the same as that is served for welcoming a guest that has travelled from afar.  Everyone in the household has to be present so he can keep his censors for the new year correctly.

This wood block print was from the 26th year of the Republic of China, i.e. 1938.  Every year a there will be a new calendar for the Kitchen God.  The two gods in the middle are the  Kitchen God and his wife, on the upper row is the god of fertility, the 4 gods on either sides are 3 categories of saints (upper, middle and ground), the lower 4 are the junior money gods and the money bringing kid and the pair of door gods.  For this particular kitchen god, his schedule is tighter then the one traditionally practice, he departs for the Jade Emperor on the 23rd eve and returns on the 5th hour of the New Years day.

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Categories painting / prints, paper

Tiger Shoes

01/25/2012 //
0

L130xH50xW50mm, China

Traditionally, this is one of the Chinese New Year gift a child will receive from their parents as a blessing for the year.  The story behind the tiger shoes goes like this; once upon a time in Yang Zhou, there is a kind heart boatman called Daai  Yang, one day came an elderly traveller who appreciated Daai Yang’s attitude and gave him a painting.  In the painting, there is a beautiful young lady stitching up a pair of tiger shoes.  Daai Yang really like the painting and hanged it up immediately when he got home.  That night, the lady in the painting came to Daai Yang, after a year of courting she bear a boy, for him.  The head of the village heard about this miracle and snatched the painting from Daai Yang, hoping that the lady will do the same for him.  The village head waited night after night but nothing happened.  Daai Yang and the son was very sad but helpless against the villain village head.  One day he met the old traveller again, she told Daai Yang to make a pair of tiger shoes for Xiao Hu and they will meet the wife again.  When the son worn the shoes Daai Yang made for him, the shoes grew wings and delivered him to the village head, the shoes then turned into a pair of tigers and chased the villain away.  The mother came down from the painting and the family lived happily ever after.  Since then tiger shoes took on a name of being able to protect the child.  RRrrrrrroarrrrR!

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Categories costume, fabric, figurine

Kung Kee Fat Choi

01/23/2012 //
0

W150xH200mm, China

Mountain Folkcraft wishes you at happy, prosperous, healthy year of the Dragon!

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Categories painting / prints, paper

New Year Paper Cutout Decoration

01/21/2012 //
0

W280xH550mm, China

This Chinese New Year decoration is called the Diao Qian Er; a tradition that has been around since the Sung dynasty, a red paper cutout that will be hung on the lintel of the door.  Commonly, 3 pieces will be hanging on the lintel, 5 on the front door and on the window.  They are to be handle with care, if any is damaged before the 5th day of Chinese New Year, it will forecast a year of bad luck.  The legend of these lintel hanger goes like this; Jiang Zi Ya was made in charge of appointment of all the gods, when his wife found out he has this duty she wanted a title too.  Unfortunately, by then all the titles have been taken up, so Jiang made a title up and appointed her the god of  poverty.  Then he thought it is bad item, if the god of poverty entered the house of the poor, they will be more worse off and this is no job for any god, so he add on a small condition “the god of poverty shall not enter if the house is torn, she shall only enter those with wealth.”  People found out and decided to trick the god, torn piece of paper are stuck on the door and window, later these piece of paper became the Diao Qian Er.  This cutout has the pattern of coins, horses bring in gold and a happy household.

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Categories paper
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