Long-necked Dough Figurines of Shenmu and Fugu Counties in Shaanbei.
府谷和神木壹帶的過去是地廣人稀的溝壑高原、梁峁草灘交錯之地，是貧困和艱辛的苦寒之地，然而這裏的人們又是生性浪漫，極喜好飲酒和唱歌的。與起伏的大山壹起、與舞動的黃河壹起生存著，令他們的表達不能止息於艱辛的生活，在他們表情深遠的面容下包藏著壹種無法抑制的創造的激情。長脖子面人，在經歷這裏的時間和空間所賦予的諸多象征意義的過程裏，其實也就如他們的靈魂壹樣、是萬能而多變的神和符咒，他們來自於天地自然和人。
Previously, the Shenmu and Fugu region was a vast and sparsely populated plateau with incised gullies, hill ridges and grass flat, a hardscrabble and bitterly cold land.However, the local people here are romantic in nature, very fond of drinking and singing. They live together with the undulating mountains and the meandering Yellow River, this has made their representation surpasses all the rigors of life, and hiding under their far-reaching facial expressions is a kind of unbridled creative zeal. After having gone through the various symbolic significances bestowed by the time and space here, the long-necked dough figurines are just like the souls of the local people, they are the almighty, variable deities and charms that come from universal nature and man.
從面人人身體的裝飾上，我們可以看到人們對於土地的贊美，其上有花、有草、有飛鳥、有動物、有“紅男”之彩亦有“綠女”之色，讓這個人的身體上充滿大地的無限生機。這裏的人們壹旦擁有這種人們認為具有神奇功效的語言，他們就會用它來建構安寧的家園或者布防與身體的內外。無論如何這種足有兩三斤的面人, 最終是會落到孩子們手裏的，這種情形在那些饑餓的年月裏要勝過任何壹種色香味美、造型別致的蛋糕！
We can detect praises of the land from the body ornaments of the dough figurines; the flowers, grasses, birds and animals, the colorful ‘red males’ as well as the ‘green females’, all these make the bodies of the figurines full of boundless vitality of the mother earth. Once the local people possess this kind of language which they consider having a magical effect, they will apply it to the construction of a serene homestead or the protection of their bodies internally and externally. In any event, these dough figurines which weigh about two to three pounds will be subsequently ended up in the hands of the children; during those starving years, this would be so much better than any type of aromatic, delicious and well-shaped cakes!
這種神聖的、沈甸甸的面人帶給兒童的絕不僅僅是壹頓美餐，它對孩子心靈和身體的影響是無比深遠的，這無異於將壹顆神話的種子埋進孩子的身體之中，在今後的成長中，任意壹種機遇都將會觸動他們神奇的萌發。而且在人們看來這種面人被孩子們吃掉，就像把這壹符咒畫入他們的身體內壹樣，之後的佑護是由內到外的，是每時每刻的，這會讓這種符咒變得無比靈驗。
These sacred and heavy dough figurines offer not merely just a sumptuous meal to the children, but also a very far-reaching effect on their minds and bodies. This is just like nothing short of burying a mythical seedling inside the body of a child, during his growth in the days to come, any opportunity will trigger its magical sprouting. Moreover, after the dough figurines have been eaten up by the children, people consider it like a charm has been placed inside the body, the protection is from the inside out at all times, and the charm will become highly efficacious.
制作面人的步驟：
Procedures of making dough figurines
多地方都有捏制面人的傳統習俗，這顯然是農耕文化發展過程裏呈現出的壹種較為普遍的現象，在以面食為主的黃河流域尤為盛行。陜西、青海、甘肅、河南、寧夏、山西、山東、河北都有不同樣式的面花。陜西叫面花，陜北及內蒙壹帶叫“寒燕燕”；山東叫“兔子”、“面老虎”；山西叫“寒人寒馬”；河北人叫“面羊”、“面虎”。總之這團面捏成什麽就叫什麽，時日壹長叫“寒燕燕”時，捏什麽都叫“寒燕燕”。 陜北的綏德、米脂以及延安壹帶是不做面人的，因為面塑通常還是用來吃的，而將面人蒸著吃了的事在他們看來是不可思議的！人怎麽可以吃人呢？
The kneading of dough figurines is a traditional custom of many places. Obviously, this is a common phenomenon that emerges from the development process of farming culture, it is especially popular in the Yellow River basin where the staple food is prepared with wheat flour. There are different types of 'wheaten flowers' in Provinces of Shaanxi, Qinghai, Gansu, Henan, Ningxia, Shanxi, Shandong and Hebei. It is called ‘mianhua’ in Shaanxi, and ‘hanyanyan’ in the regions of Shaanbei and Inner Mongolia, in Shandong it is called ‘rabbit’ and ‘wheaten tiger', in Shanxi the name is‘hanren hanma’ and the people in Hebei call it ‘wheaten lamb’ and ‘wheaten tiger’. All in all, whatever shape the dough is kneaded into, it is called as such; but when a name is called for a long period of time, such as ‘hanyanyan’, then all the kneaded dough will be called ‘hanyanyan’ irrespective of the actual shapes. However, there are no dough figurines around the regions of Suide, Mizhi and Yanan in Shaanbei; the reason is that dough modeling is meant to be eaten, so the people there feel that steaming and eating dough figurines is inconceivable! How can you eat human beings?
但是地處陜北東北角壹帶的神木和府谷卻另有壹番講究。神木和府谷兩地捏面人的日子幾乎都是在饑餓狀態下完成的。人們對於面和面人的感覺是非常迫切的，他們不僅僅是為了吃掉這塊面，而是他們覺得面比泥更讓人動心。自從上天在人間不再設米面場無故下米下面之後，白面在天寒地凍的陜北的得之不易是別處所無法體會的。因此捏面人在這裏從來都不是壹種生日蛋糕式的抒情方式，而是壹種神奇語言的敘述過程。
But the people in the areas of Shenmu and Fugu at the north-eastern part of Shaanbei are particular about it. As the kneading of dough figurines in these two regions are done in an acute hunger state, the people have a very eager feeling towards dough and dough figurines; other than wanting to eat this piece of dough, they also feel that dough is more alluring than mud. Ever since the Providence has spared no more rice and wheat freely on earth, the difficulty of getting wheat flour in the freezing weather of Shaanbei is impossible for people in other areas to understand. So the kneading of dough figurines here is never like the lyrical style of a birthday cake, but rather a narrating process of an amazing language.
英語牛人團