The inheritor of Yongjing Wang's casting skills performed the national intangible cultural heritage "Iron Flower" on the bank of the Yongjing Yellow River, allowing the people to enjoy a visual feast. Photo by Hou Qizhi.
On the evening of February 17, Wang's "Iron Flower" performance was held in Yongjing County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province. Spoonfuls of hot molten iron flew into the air under the blow, and when the molten iron instantly rose into the air, the iron flowers splashed, like meteors flying, and bloomed like fire trees and silver flowers in the dark night, showing shocking beauty.
The Wang family in the ancient city of Yongjing County has the pig iron smelting and casting skills that have been passed down from generation to generation, and the iron tools cast are especially famous in the five provinces and regions in the northwest. In addition to the hard work of iron smelting and casting, the ancestors of the Wang family gradually derived the "iron flower", which includes sacrifices, exorcisms, blessings, and entertainment, which has been passed down from generation to generation, and has gradually become a custom over time and has become a unique local folk activity.
The national intangible cultural heritage "Iron Flower" landed on the bank of the Yellow River. Photo by Hou Qizhi.
"Playing iron flowers during the New Year" is a folk tradition in Yongjing County, Linxia Prefecture. This folk performance, in fact, is supported by hard-core technology, that is, the "Yongjing Wang's pig iron smelting and casting skills", which was selected as a national intangible cultural heritage. Photo by Hou Qizhi.
The scorching molten iron burst out in the air. The scene of "iron flower fire rain" is formed in the air, like the goddess scattering flowers, like the stars in the sky, like a dream, beautiful. Photo by Hou Qizhi.
It is reported that "flower" and "hair" are homophonic, taking the meaning of "playing flowers and flowers, and playing more and more". "Iron Flower" not only contains people's good wishes for blessing and auspiciousness, but also shows the craftsman spirit of the traditional skills of folk pig iron smelting. Photo by Hou Qizhi.