Steamed bread (Mantou): as the articles for sacrifice, presentation and art puposes

Abstract

In the vast valley of the Yellow River in the northern part of China, where wheat production has been a primary cultivation for its agriculture, and thereby wheaten food (or wheat powder made food) has been a traditional food for the livelihood of the local peeple since a long time ago, which is in the sharply contrast to the production form and lifestyle in the Yangtze River basin, southern part of China. The wheaten foods in the northern of China are vafious, but mainly are composed of steamed bread, noodles, steamed stuffed bun, and dumpling (jiaozi). This paper focuses on the history regarding mantou and the civil folk culture concerned. In north China, mantou is not only the most popular ＂food＂, but also a usually perceived ＂sacrifice＂ used at the ceremony for Gods and ancestors. Meanwhile, it is also an important ＂gift＂ for the important festivals and rituals, such as the ceremonies of born day, matured year, marriage day, and funerals. The more important is its civil root feature derived from the prolonged logic line of folk lifestyle, presenting as food-sacrifice-gift. Then it becomes an ＂artwork＂, taking the forms as ＂flower mantou ＂or called ＂wheaten flower＂. The ＂flower mantou＂ or ＂Wheaten flower＂ is an real art but exists in a flash time in the lifestyle of the local people. Its symbolic meanings are, however, very rich in representing perfectly the values of the local people, including their outlooks on life, views on happiness and aesthetic awareness. Dangjia village, one of the villages of Hancheng City, Shaanxi Province, is located in the northeast part about 9 kilometers from the city center, the Yellow River is 3.5 kilometers to the east of the village and the No.108 national road is 1.5 kilometers to the west of the village. The surrounding geography of Dangjia village is the joint area of the Loess Plateau and the Qin plain, so it is a typical loess landscape. The village's location is on a river tableland and faces a small river named Bishui river, which finds its way to the Yellow River. There are many fruit trees, Chinese prickly ash trees, vegetable plots and arable land on the both sides of the river and the plateau of the southern part of the village. There are two family names mainly, Dang and Jia, but a few other family names in this village, marriage linkage has been kept between these two families for generations, so, it is a typical village for its clan marriage. In 2006, the households there were 392 and the total population was 1373, with total farmland of 2220 Chinese mu, averagely 7 mu for one family. Apart from the income from agricultural activities ( as productions of wheat, corn and Chinese prickly ash for the major income, most of the villagers heavily rely on their family members who work outside of the village or young laborers who do the odd-jobs in small towns or large cities. The middle reaches of the Yellow River where Dangjia village locates is one of the important wheat production areas in China, wherefore wheaten food is the main food for the local people there. Over a long period of time, the local females have created a very special culture presented by various ritual steamed bread or flower steamed bread. In this paper, steamed bread (Mantou) refers to the steamed food made of leavened dough, which is named ＂Mo＂ or ＂Memo＂ in Shaanxi dialect. ＂Huamo＂(flower steamed bread) means the steamed bread with various models or various colors, whereas, ritual steamed bread refers to the steamed bread or flower steamed bread used as gifts among the local people, and the so called steamed food is the general name for the all kinds of the ＂Mo＂ mentioned above.