See also "Dragons Wear Flowers".
Cao Xinming. Another new year is coming. In the crowded square, sparks are flying, like meteors, like a rain of golden flowers. The air crackled, in the brilliant light and shadow, the two fire dragons shuttled, sometimes rolling, sometimes close to each other, dancing in a pattern, the dragon body spewed out silver fireworks from time to time, intertwined with the dense falling sparks in the air, dizzying.
"Iron Flower" performance (photo by Liu Yonghong, **Peng'an County People** Network).
This is the "dragon wearing flowers" in the hometown of northern Sichuan. Behind its beautiful name is a folk activity - iron flowering. In the early years, this performance was very popular in Zhouzi Ancient Town, Peng'an County.
Zhouzi ancient town is close to the Jialing River, is the waterway traffic artery of Yingshan, Peng'an, Yilong three counties in the past, the shipping is developed, up to Guangyuan, down to Chongqing, the oil, wine, paper, grain of the upper and lower rivers are carried, or the aisle, or stop selling, more medicinal materials, wood, coal, salt, silk cloth are imported from Gudu, here becomes a prosperous material distribution center, so that the ancient town has a hundred industries and industries, and comes into being.
According to the memories of some old shipwrights, at that time, the town opened silk workshops, silk and satin villages, printing and dyeing workshops, rice workshops, wine workshops, cloth shops, grocery shops, mountain goods shops, pastry shops, department stores, furniture shops and other shops, as well as tea houses, restaurants, braised meat stalls that are open to customers at any time, and countless small stalls and vendors. These industries are distributed in several main streets such as Mozi Street, Hongjun Street (Yandian Street), Xinhua Street, Xiahe Street, Shunhe Street, and Jinguipo Street. The market is brightly lit and business is booming. Not only that, there are five palaces and eighteen temples in Zhouzi Ancient Town, and every temple fair, there are crowds of people, and it is very lively.
Shunhe Street was formerly known as Datie Street, also known as Tangfang Street, Banbian Street. As you can tell from the name of the street, the industry of striking iron has a long history in the ancient town. At the beginning of 1949, large and small iron furnaces were set up in the street shops, the large iron furnace forged hoes, axes and ploughs, and the small iron furnace used small agricultural tools such as sickles, kitchen knives and soil nails, and various iron tools were also repaired. Later, near the God of Wealth Building, there was also a "Tang Iron" shop, which was operated by the brothers in partnership, forging sickles, tongs, white iron scissors and other daily necessities.
When striking iron, iron flowers often splash on the anvil and fly into the air, which derives a kind of performing art - iron flowering. The main material of the iron flower is discarded iron, the craftsmen smelt the scrap iron into 1800 molten iron, put it into the wooden groove board of the wooden stick, and then hit it outward, forming a flower rain in the air, enchanting and splendid, shocking people's hearts, showing a thriving scene. Therefore, there is a saying that "the more you hit the flowers, the more you play".
According to relevant information, the preparation and performance of the iron flower is mainly divided into three steps: building a flower shed, setting up colors, and hitting flowers.
People first have to set up a triangular greenhouse with a height of more than one foot in an open place, which is called a flower shed. Each trellis is divided into two layers, and each layer is covered with thick branches, which is not only conducive to ornamentation, but also for safety reasons. A layer of fresh willow branches is piled up on the roof of the shed, and the willow branches are tied with firecrackers and fireworks, which is called "setting colors".
Some people call the flower stick the tool in hand, made of willow wood, the thickness of the wrist, called the upper stick and the lower stick, each more than a foot long. At one end of the upper rod, a round pit the size of a finger belly is dug to hold high-temperature molten iron.
Before the performance, the performers should wear coarse cloth coats and melon hats, and some brave, topless and bareheaded, slammed the lower rod on the stick during the performance, and hit the molten iron in the round pit in the rod to the flower shed. Wave after wave, it is necessary to count those who have done a good job of protecting their bodies, they shuttle back and forth between the flower trellis and the open space, only to see the molten iron hitting the willow branches, bounced into the air, golden light, the people of the time called "hitting the flowers".
The 1994 edition of Peng'an County Chronicles recorded that in Zhouzi Ancient Town, there was a common guild organization in the gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin hardware industries, the Laojun Society. Due to the majority of iron workers, it is also known as the Iron Gang. The gang holds a meeting at the Laojun Temple in Zhoukou on the 15th day of the second lunar month every year, with about 30 or 40 participants.
Zhouzi Town's iron flower performance is mostly carried out in the Spring Festival, after all, the temperature is lower in winter and it is safer. Jiang Feiming, a veteran artist, said that before the founding of New China, some iron cast workers threw molten iron onto the wall to create iron flowers. Or choose a willow tree that is not too tall, tie a firecracker to it, and use a plank or shovel to beat iron sap into the tree. In order not to be too singular, their performances are also carried out in conjunction with other folk activities. Whenever this happens, the nearby dragon lantern festival will organize the dragon lantern to come to cheer up, shuttling under the flower trellis with iron splashes, called "dragon wearing flowers". Or during the dragon dance performance, the iron flower is hit on the dragon's back, which can show the majesty of the dragon more and is more attractive. At this time, the dragon leaps on the ground, the silver flowers are splashed in the air, and the lanterns around are hung high, flowing out of a wonderful picture of peace in the world.
With the passage of time, the iron flower has been promoted to the ranks of intangible cultural heritage. Occasional recollection, vivid, people have endless aftertaste and enjoyment. Now, seeing "the dragon wears flowers" again, in addition to watching and recording, I suddenly have a different kind of blessing in my heart.
Special Tips. **Please specify: "*Fang Zhi Sichuan".
*: Sichuan Provincial Office of Local Chronicles.
Author: Cao Zhenming (member of Sichuan Writers Association, student of the Southwest Writers Class of Lu Xun Academy of Literature, Secretary-General of Peng'an County Federation of Literary and Art Circles. His poems are scattered in "Poetry Magazine", "Poetry Tide", "Sichuan Literature" and so on. He has won the second prize of the first "Qu Yuan Cup" and "Light of Shu Dao" National Poetry Competition
Contributed by: Nanchong Local Chronicles Office.
Pictured: Fang Zhi Sichuan.