陕西奶奶蒸出一笼花园，轻轻一口，四下生香 | Flower Buns

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Spring Festival is often the busiest time for Lu Huiling, inheritor of the Intangible Cultural Heritage called "Shaanxi flower buns."

春节前后，是陕西花馍非遗传承人芦会玲最忙的一段时间。

Flower buns, or ritual buns, is one of the special New Year goods in Shaanxi Province, and has a history of more than 200 years. In the beginning, it was merely a substitute for dessert. As the steamed buns looked too simple, people racked their brains to make them more beautiful and delicate.

陕西花馍，又称礼馍，是一种陕西特有的民俗年货，已经有两百多年的历史。最早，它是用来代替点心的礼品。因为馍馍本身很朴素，当地人就变着花样，把馍馍越做越美，越做越精致。

Nowadays, no matter how expensive the presents are, the locals always bring flower buns when visiting each other. The buns that have no stuffing are like the symbol of sincerity. 

演变到现在，当地人走亲访友时，无论别的礼物多贵重，花馍都必不可少。少了这实心的花馍，就少了送礼人的一份诚心。

Lu is now 76 years old. She began to make flower buns at about 13. Starting from her grandmother, the skill has been passed down for four generations. Lu makes buns with her family for the reunion dinner every Spring Festival.

今年76岁的芦会玲从十二三岁开始做花馍。在她的家族里，这个手艺从她的姥姥算起，已经传承到了第四代。每年的团年饭，都是她与家人一起做花馍的时候。

Lu Huiling (in red) is making the flower buns with her family. /By CGTN

"We didn't have flour in the past, and we were short on food, so we used mud to make all kinds of flower buns and dried them under the sun." says Lu. "After 1960, the situation got better. We began to use flour to make pastries."

“原来没有这面，粮食短、少，（我们就）把泥和成泥巴，做成各种各样的花馍，拿太阳晒干。”芦会玲说，“1960年以后粮食不太紧张了，花馍就是用这面做的。”

When her mother steamed the buns, Lu learned, and gradually became skilled at it.

她的母亲蒸馍的时候，她就 45 32904 45 14939 0 0 3349 0 0:00:09 0:00:04 0:00:05 3348着学，渐渐熟能生巧。

There are various traditional buns for different occasions. Red date cake means "getting rich soon," while round buns symbolizes reunion. There are lucky animals for festivals, auspicious characters for weddings, and peaches for  birthdays of the elderly. Young people prefer the shapes of piglets, rabbits, hedgehogs and roses, etc.

根据不同的场合，作为礼物的传统花馍有很多讲究。枣糕寓意“早发”，圆包子寓意圆圆满满。在花式上，除了讲究喜庆的花鸟鱼虫、龙凤呈祥，还有专门庆贺新婚的双喜、娃女花馍，祝寿的时候有寿桃形花馍。根据现代年轻人的审美，还有各种可爱的福猪、兔子、刺猬等动物形象和玫瑰等花样。

There are a lot of techniques to make the perfect flower buns: "The dough should be neither sticky nor cracking. Start steaming when the water temperature is about 70 degrees. And don't steam the small ones for more than 2 minutes." The shape is also important: "We use scissors to make feet, hands and mouths. The comb is used for the patterns. The eyes are made of beans."

做出好看又好吃的花馍，也有很多技巧：“一个是做这面，不沾不裂。上笼烧的时候水是七分开，小花馍不能烧过两分钟，程序是一套一套的。”蒸完之后塑形：“脚、手、嘴都是用剪子剪，梳子做一些花纹，眼睛都是用豆子做的。”

The charm of the flower buns is more than stylistic beauty. For Lu, making buns is the best way for coming together: "Before the Spring Festival, every household would make flower buns. The neighbors would help each other out. It's such harmony."

除了样式赏心悦目，花馍的魅力还不止于此。对芦会玲来说，做花馍是团聚的最好形式：“年前家家都得蒸馍。三五家搁到一块，互相帮忙做，气氛好的很。”

The youngsters would also join their parents to make flower buns. "The birds fly into the sky. Mama would be healthy." Every single bun represents a good wish from the family members. 

家里的孩子也跟着大人一起捏花馍。“小鸟飞上天，妈妈骑康健”。每个花馍，都寄予着家庭成员之间的美好祝愿。

"The Spring Festival is joyful. Everyone is happy. When I make the flower buns, I don't feel tired or sleepy anymore." says Lu.

“过年就是热闹，气氛好。帮忙蒸馍，我也不知道乏累，不知道瞌睡了。”芦会玲说。

For ingenuity, for good health, for harmony and happiness… The flower buns carry all kinds of good wishes. The taste of the Chinese New Year has already been implanted in these tasty little buns.

心灵手巧，健康和睦，祈福消灾……花馍有多少种花样，其中就蕴含着多少种心意。中国年的韵味，就蕴含在这些小小的物件中。

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过年喽

Cameraman: Kang Songwei

Film editor: Qi Mantong, Chang Weicheng

Story written by: Zhu Siqi

English editor: Henry Weimin

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