Flower Steamed Buns

Flower Steamed Buns

　　The ancient loess land beneath our feet boasts a profound and long-standing history and culture. The ancestors who lived on this land created a unique farming culture with their diligent and wise hands, which has been passed down through generations. To this day, these folk arts born alongside agriculture remain dazzlingly brilliant—simple yet distinctive. As one of the representatives of Eastern Gansu’s dough modeling—flower steamed buns—are among them. On various occasions such as weddings and funerals, festivals, and sacrificial ceremonies, people present dough sculptures in diverse forms and shapes.

　　Authentic Dough Artistry

　　What the “skillful housewives” of Eastern Gansu are most praised for is their mastery of dough crafts. They excel in making all kinds of wheat-based foods—steamed buns, flatbreads, noodles, fried cakes, and pastries—often coming up with novel and impressive creations. Sun Cailing, an 58-year-old from Zhaizi Township in Xifeng District, is a widely renowned “talented woman.” The flower steamed buns she makes are brightly colored and richly shaped, resembling exquisite works of art. On round steamed buns, there are sometimes two magpies perched on branches chirping joyfully, or several colorful koi swimming about, accented with vividly colored dough flowers—making it look like a watercolor painting full of life. Most dough flowers are hand-shaped, using scissors, combs, tweezers, and handmade tools to create patterns. Sun Cailing presses colored dough into floral shapes, then rolls them layer by layer. In no time, tightly closed flower buds take form. With a pinch here, a squeeze there, and a gentle nudge, the petals gradually unfurl, and the dough flower suddenly blooms as if releasing its fragrance right before your eyes. Sun Cailing says she has a special love for flowers—wherever she goes, she observes them and memorizes their shapes, often pondering how to recreate them in her craft.

　　Skill and Ingenuity

　　In Sun Cailing’s memory, her mother was a kind and capable “skillful housewife,” not only skilled in cooking but also excellent at embroidery, paper-cutting, and sachet-making. Influenced by her mother, Sun developed a strong interest in folk arts from a young age. Whether embroidery or sachets, once she saw how others did it, she would go home and experiment, often trying to create something unique that no one else had made. She says, “I’ve always loved these things. I remember what I see and know how to do it.”

　　Steaming buns may seem ordinary to others, but Sun’s daughter-in-law told us, “My mother-in-law’s steamed buns come in so many unique designs. I’ve only learned a few myself. Every time she steams buns, she tries out a new pattern—some learned from others, some her own innovations.” In recent years, Sun Cailing’s flower steamed buns have become highly sought after by neighbors, with people coming from far and wide to place custom orders.

　　In the countryside, these simple, kind, and talented housewives may not be well-educated, but they are all incredibly skillful artisans. In their eyes, everything around them is beautiful, and they can express that beauty in various forms—whether through dough modeling, spontaneous drawings, intricate embroidery, or vivid paper-cuttings on window frames. They are both inheritors and creators of folk culture, using objects to convey emotions and transforming simple feelings into living art. Birds, beasts, flowers, trees, local customs, and folk tales are all favorite themes. The raw materials are locally sourced—wheat flour mixed with a bit of food coloring to create colorful dough, which is then shaped using simple tools into various sculpted forms that can be either steamed or fried. But they never confine themselves to conventions; instead, they boldly imagine and improvise, creating vivid and whimsical images in endless variety.

　　Prayers for Blessings

　　Sun Cailing says, “For weddings and funerals, flower steamed buns serve as offerings with special significance. During festivals, they are auspicious foods that bring blessings.” There are many varieties of flower steamed buns—some are plain round buns adorned with floral decorations on top or around the sides, along with small animals or insects like magpies, birds, or butterflies. Others are shaped into flowers, birds, fish, insects, animals, trees, or round divine platters. Every flower, tree, bird, or beast carries the people’s heartfelt wishes and blessings. The finished flower steamed buns can be preserved for months.

　　On joyous occasions like weddings, the newlyweds carry a pair of flower steamed buns into the bridal chamber. The buns rest on round dough bases that are pressed with water or floral patterns. The tops are shaped according to the elders’ wishes into auspicious figures like “a harmonious union for a hundred years,” “a profusion of colors,” “fish playing with lotus,” or “dragon and phoenix pairing,” then brightly colored. These are then covered with distinctive folk paper-cuttings. For birthday celebrations, “longevity peaches” symbolize “may your fortune be as boundless as the East Sea and your life as enduring as the Southern Mountains.” The bun is shaped like a peach—large-bellied with a pointed top—and surrounded by peach branches and leaves. After steaming and coloring, it becomes a “longevity peach” rich in meaning and symbolism.

　　The most elaborate of all are the Mid-Autumn Festival “flower steamed buns.” Sun Cailing explains, “We make round dough discs of varying sizes, stacking them layer by layer—three, five, or even seven tiers—with Sichuan pepper leaves or sweet clover in between. The top layer is inlaid with dough flowers depicting birds, fish, insects, or legendary stories.” The dough flowers often revolve around the theme of “a beautiful moon and blooming flowers,” such as “Chang’e Flying to the Moon,” “The Cowherd Meeting the Weaver Girl,” or “Joy on One’s Face.” Once assembled, they are steamed and then decorated together as a family in the final “painting” step before being offered to the moon goddess with fruits. The layered cakes express people’s wishes for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest, while also carrying deep longing for loved ones.

　　Source: Impressions of Qingyang Network