My master and I had the pleasure of visiting the production process of Ruyang Liu brush, and then played in Xiangcheng for a few days, and the master took a job to Huaiyang, so he simply packed up his things and set off.

Huaiyang County has now been changed to Huaiyang District, and it is less than an hour away from Xiangcheng, so it will be a place quickly.

The master said that the Taihao Mausoleum here in Huaiyang, every February when the second dragon raises its head or other important festivals, the temple fair in the square in front of the Taihao Mausoleum will be full of stalls, and there will be quite a lot of people who come to the Taihao Mausoleum to worship and pray for blessings. Some of these stalls sell "antique" souvenirs, some sell statues for blessings, and some sell compressed buns of different sizes and sweet and salty flavors. There are also a variety of small toys and clay sculptures.

"Is the clay sculpture the kind I want to make of loess?"

"The clay sculpture I am talking about is not the same as you think, the clay sculpture I am talking about is one of the intangible cultural heritage of Huaiyang."

"So powerful? Tell me about it."

Today's event probably started in the afternoon, so the master simply told me about the deeds of Huaiyang clay sculpture in my urging.

Speaking of Huaiyang clay sculptures, many Zhoukou people should not have much image, but if you talk about Huaiyang clay dogs, Zhoukou people are well-known.

Huaiyang clay sculpture is also called Huaiyang mud dog, and is also known as "Ling Dog" or "Spirit Dog". It is the general name of the mud toys in the "Humanities Society" in Taihao Mausoleum, Huaiyang District, Zhoukou City, Henan Province, and is a kind of primitive totem abstract and deformed monster complex, with more than 200 kinds of conventions.

Because of its clumsy, absurd, illusory and mysterious shape, Huaiyang mud dog has a unique charm in many folk arts. In addition, more than 200 kinds of "mud dog" works were selected in "Huaiyang "Mud Dog", which systematically reflects this traditional folk art with a primitive style.

Huaiyang was called "Wanqiu" and "Chen" in ancient times, and Chenzhou where Su Shi arrived at that time was here, so the place lived in the Yang of Huaishui, so it was called Huaiyang.

Legend has it that Huaiyang was the "head of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors" in ancient times, the old capital of the Fuxi clan. It is recorded in "Zuo Chuan: The Seventeenth Year of Zhao Gong": "Chen, the ruins of Datan. ", "The Five Emperors" has also been recorded: "Emperor Taihao Fuxi, Chengji people, Mude Ji Tian and king; Du Wanqiu". "Compendium of Easy Knowledge: Taihao Fuxi" contains: "Taihao Fuxi's work is in Chen, and he is buried in Chen. ”

So until now, there has been a legend that Taihao Mausoleum is the former capital of Fuxi, and there is a Fuxi tomb buried in Taihao Mausoleum. Every February on the day when the second dragon raises its head, there will be a lot of people who drive to Taihao Mausoleum, and many people rush to pray for blessings on the incense, so as to seek good weather within a year.

According to the "Chenzhou County Chronicles, Volume 2, Folk Customs", it is recorded: "On the second day of February, Liyin, the gray circle was used to make the shape of the country to be a mega year. Children hit the tile platform, and the residents of the day said that the Daxiao Tomb entered the incense and laid the animals, until March 3". It is a pottery vessel that holds wine in ancient times, and it is a musical instrument that is said to have been made by Ge Tianshi.

If you arrive at the temple fair, or you just arrive at the second day of February when the dragon raises its head to visit the Taihao Mausoleum, then you will see a sea of people, and the people in the entire Taihao Mausoleum are you sticking to him when walking, and she is next to you. In the Taihao Mausoleum, you can see the statues of Fuxi and Nuwa, and in another room next to it, you can see a large stone turtle.

Legend has it that Nuwa and Fuxi were originally a pair of brothers and sisters, but Nuwa and Fuxi were in love with each other, and God couldn't stand it and wanted to arrest Nuwa and Fuxi, so when Fuxi and Nuwa were cornered, they met a giant tortoise, and the giant tortoise said to Fuxi and Nuwa: "You two prepare some food to feed me, and then you two hide in my stomach, and you can come out after the heavenly soldiers and generals are gone." ”

Fu Xi and Nuwa didn't want to believe it, but the situation was urgent, so they simply gambled, according to what the giant turtle said, Fu Xi and Nuwa found a lot of food to feed the giant turtle, and then both hid in the giant turtle's belly. Since the giant tortoise had the food prepared earlier in its stomach, Fu Xi and Nuwa would not go hungry during the few days when they were hiding from the heavenly soldiers. After the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals left, the giant turtle opened its mouth and spit out Fuxi and Nuwa. Of course, there are some deviations in the content of the legends in various places, for example, in the "scriptures" (prayer shrines) that I am going to write next, there are many differences from the legends I heard from my classmates.

Later, in order to commemorate and thank the giant tortoise, people built the giant tortoise statue for worship. Thanks to the giant tortoise for preserving our ancestors.

Walking further into the depths of the Taihao Mausoleum, you will see a huge mountain bag, the mountain bag is thrown around the incense and paper ingots that have not been burned out, and it is said that Fuxi is buried here, so there will be people to worship every festival.

There are prayer trees and Yue Fei statues in the side doors at both ends of the Taihao Mausoleum, as the name suggests, the prayer tree is full of red ribbons, and each red ribbon is a wish and a marriage request.

In the courtyard of Yue Fei Temple, kneeling Qin Hui and Qin Hui's family Wang, everyone who has visited Yue Fei will consciously walk in front of Qin Hui and pat Qin Hui with his hand, implying to drive away their own discomfort.

In 1993, archaeologists excavated the ancient name site of Wanqiu in the Longshan culture period more than 4,500 years ago in the southeast eight miles of Huaiyang City; It has made a strong corroboration for historical legends. Mr. Guo Moruo explained in his edited "Chinese Historical Manuscripts of Clans and Tribes in Ancient Chinese Legends": "The legendary Tai Hao (Tong Hao) is slightly later than Emperor Yan, Tai Hao, called Fu Xi Clan....... according to records, it should be the imaginary ancestors of the clans and tribes in the Huai River Valley. ”

Therefore, there is a grand meeting in the middle of spring and February in the lunar calendar every year, commonly known as the "February meeting", also known as the "ancestor meeting". It can be inferred from this that it is very likely that the activity of sacrificing Fuxi existed before the Han Dynasty. the second day of the second lunar month; According to China's folk customs, it is "the dragon raises its head", and it is rumored that Taiwu Yixi's "human head snake body", "dragon shape", "snake body", "scale body", "that is, the dragon as a totem".

During the February session; Every day, there are hundreds of thousands of descendants of Futai, from Anhui, Shandong, Hebei, Hunan and other provinces, gathered here to worship their ancestors. They (they) held high the yellow silk and green dragon flag, held the "Xianglou", "flagpole", shouldered the "flower basket", and the sound of suona; The sound of gongs and drums, the sound of firecrackers, and the smoke of cigarettes are very spectacular. The pilgrims called Fuxi "the grandfather of the people"; Call the female snail "human grandmother" and bow down sincerely. After burning incense and worshiping ancestors, silently pray (asking for children, healing, praying for peace), all those who worship ancestors and enter the incense must bring a handful of soil from their hometown, and sprinkle it on the Fuxi mausoleum after entering the incense, implying that the ancestors continue to burn incense; Children and grandchildren prosper and prosper.

Some people may think that these myths and stories do not have much to do with the clay sculptures we are going to talk about today, but if you want to think so, you are very wrong.

Nuwa is the oldest god of motherhood in the Chinese nation. In ancient times, there were various legends about Nuwa, among which everyone heard of the auspicious thing than Nuwa kneading the soil to create people.

Legend has it that after Fuxi and Nuwa got married, they felt that there were only two brothers and sisters in the world, and they were very lonely. So he used Huang Shi to pinch the little clay figurines, pinched a lot, and actually lived one by one, and left home in groups to live independently. One day it suddenly rained; Fuxi and Nu Snail hurriedly cleaned up those cute clay dolls; In the end, it was too late to clean up the remaining ones, and hurriedly pulled out the willow branches and swept them (them) into the hole, who knew that the panic was not light or heavy, and some mud dolls were damaged, so there were many strong and yellow-skinned people in the world, but there were also a few disabled people with unsound limbs. "Nuwa" cut the soil to create people, and made men and women intermingle, give birth to children, and reproduce; As a result, later generations revered Nuwa as a "divine medium", or "high medium", and worshipped as the ancestor of motherhood and the god of managing marriage.

This cave containing clay dolls was called the "descendant kiln" by later generations

The traditional custom related to the "descendant kiln" is "tethered doll". Child-seekers (mostly women and the elderly), after praying sincerely to the "old woman who sends children" and making a promise, ask for a clay doll (male), tie a red head rope (meaning to tie away), hide it under clothes, and gently call auspicious names such as "stay", "lock", and "come" while walking, and when they get home; Place the tethered doll under the quilt or pillow. If he does have a child, the child seeker must repay the wish to the "old woman" as promised, and return two clay dolls for the needs of others to ask for children. This custom is extremely common among the people of Henan, and so far, in the rural areas of western Henan, northern Henan, and eastern Henan, there are still "grandmother temples", "Niangniang temples", and "old milk temples".

The clay doll slowly developed at this time.

The clay sculptures in Huaiyang are more small and interesting mud dogs, which have ornamental value, while the mud dolls have a prayer factor, so generally only the mud dogs can be seen in the stalls of the temple fair, but the mud dolls need to be obtained in the temple.

The main production area of mud dog is concentrated in 12 villages in the east of Huaiyang District, Zhoukou City, Henan Province, which is eight miles away from the ancient Wanqiu site in the south, but only two miles to the Taihao Tomb. From the ruins of the ancient city from west to east, concentrate on the Taihao Mausoleum.

The twelve villages are: Jinzhuang, Wuzhuang, Chenlou, Qianxialou, Houxialou, Shizhuang, Xulou, Duanzhuang, Jinzhuang, Liuzhuang, Wugutai, and Baiwangzhuang.

What is puzzling is that in the other west, south, and north directions of Huaiyang District, there have been no artists who have made "mud dogs" since ancient times. This is related to the fact that the descendants of the ancient Dongyi did not violate their ancestors, and the eight directions of the world only identified the tribal gathering area with the East as the main and source, or other reasons, we do not know.

Mud dogs come in a variety of shapes, some are half-human, half-ape, zoonotic, and some are birds with nine heads and dogs with two heads. There are also some strange and peculiar animal shapes such as "monkey swallows" and "human-faced monkeys".

In the face of these supernatural and strange forms; When it comes to those puzzling dots and lines, it seems to have returned to the ancient era of chaos, wind, thunder and lightning, fierce beasts, and the coexistence of humans and beasts. All things have spirits, God and man are one, things and I forget, I don't know what is for me and what is for things.

At that time, human consciousness did not have the ability to be completely separated from the objects of nature, and their own fragility and desire for existence made them pin their hopes for protecting themselves on some birds and beasts that they regarded as great deterrents, and regarded them as carriers with souls, so they gave rise to the "totem" worship of the spirits and magic of various animals and plants in nature. These elf "totems" with the characteristics of primitive religious culture have survived for thousands of years, along with ancient religious sacrifices and folk activities, and have become the descendants of prehistoric "totem culture".

It is this clumsy and absurd clay toy, which is called "mud dog" by the locals. It appears in Huaiyang District, Zhoukou City, Henan Province, in the temple fair of the ancestors Fuxi and Nuwa, and has become a thing for people to avoid disasters and seek blessings.

When I was a child, I had enough mud dogs at home, mud dogs can not only be used to watch and play, but also can be used as a whistle to blow, each mud dog will have a small hole in the head, the tail is like a whistle, and the inside is hollow. It can both blow and play, and I loved it quite a lot when I was a child.

Holding the mud dog in your hand, you can intuitively see the characteristics of the mud dog.

Seeking movement in stability--- the dynamics of Huaiyang mud dog are mainly steady, there is almost no excessive momentum, and the shape of the characters is basically positive. In the steady, an inner momentum is transmitted. As if the word "steady as Mount Tai" describes, the ground is very strong and unshakable. This dynamic is like being able to exist for a long time, creating a sense of time-space eternity.

Combination of square and circle - The combination of square and circle itself has a kind of philosophy. The head of the Huaiyang mud dog is summarized into a circle, while the body is treated into a square, the arms are made cylindrical, and the feet are made into a square shape. The combination of generosity and roundness is particularly feminine. Huaiyang mud dog is to convey the richest things with the most refined shape.

Straight and straight - Huaiyang mud dog line is very strong, straight and straight, not dragging mud and water, not a little pretentious, with a point is also very resolute, sonorous and powerful, categorical.

"Mud Dog" is a kind of black clay toy, black and then applied red, yellow, blue, white, strong color contrast, but not lose harmony. Among the clay toys in various parts of China, toys with white backgrounds are very common, and toys with black backgrounds are rare. In the article "Thinking about the "Mud Dog" from the Aspect of Sacrificial Etiquette" published at the 9th Annual Meeting of the Chinese Folk Arts and Crafts Committee, the Japanese Saburo Ito made a double composition hypothesis about the deep cultural connotation of Chinese mud play. He believes that the culture of the "white" clay play genre belongs to the surface culture (Han culture); The culture of the "black" clay play genre is close to the grassroots culture of the Chinese nation (the culture of ethnic minorities in the southwest). The two schools of culture influenced each other and continued to develop.

"Mud Dog" is based on black, and then decorated with red, green, yellow, and white, collectively referred to as "five colors". Red and cyan are gorgeous, white is yin, and yellow is a neutral color (now mostly used advertising colors and magenta), which are bright and eye-catching in the inclusion of black, and have a strong visual impact effect. The "five colors" originated from the "five colors" of the Chinese nation and has a long history.

The shaping and drawing of Huaiyang mud dogs are related to the purpose of worshipping ancestors, entertaining gods, and praying for children. Its ornamental patterns are essentially obscure symbols, which are abstract deformations of drawings with a certain meaning. The appearance of this form is actually a reflection of its content, and the mysterious inheritance is the core of the mud dog's connotation. Huaiyang mud dog painted such symbols precisely to reflect a strong desire for survival worship. There are many types of ornamentation, which are summarized as rope-like patterns, basket-like patterns, fold patterns, triangular patterns, diamond patterns, leaf patterns, flower patterns, gourd patterns, sun patterns, hoof prints and so on.

Each form of the Huaiyang mud dog has its mythological origin, and it is not deliberately fabricated by folk artists for the sake of grandstanding. The reason why Huaiyang mud dog's sense of form is so attractive is that it is created by artists for the service of content.

Its form and content are perfectly combined, containing bizarre myths and legends, but also full of strong modern colors.

Its creative ability can be described as high-level, and it is something that contemporary people engaged in art should boldly learn from. Absorbing the form of folk art can develop personal creative space and enhance the national concept of artists.

Not only the art form of Huaiyang clay toys is worthy of our study, but all the folk artworks in our country are worthy of people to absorb and learn from the concept of open innovation. This not only enriches the cultural heritage of modern people, but also integrates it into the new image they create.

As an ancient folk art, the mud dog has been passed down to the present, which is essentially a continuation and expansion of the original totem culture, giving people the impression of eternal life.

It is not only an extremely typical and rare artistic treasure in the folk culture of the Chinese nation, but also truly records the various trajectories of prehistoric human lifestyle and culture, reflecting the kinship between folk art and traditional culture. At the same time, it also confirms to the world the historical fact that folk art and primitive art are isomorphic and interpenetrating.

"Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties" contains "Bo Ping Youyu Painting" and quotes "Cai Chuan" as saying: "Color, green, yellow, red, white, black. Those who are lustful, words are given to monks. Painted on clothes, embroidered on clothes, all decorated with 'five colors', thought to be 'five colors'. ”

"Painting Theory" quotes "Winter Official Examination Work Record": "The things of painting are mixed; The east is green, the south is red, the west is white, the north is black, the sky is mysterious, and the earth is yellow. ”

Jia Gongyan said: "Tianxuan and Northern Black are much the same. "There is an ancient saying that ink is colorful."

The "Five Colors Concept" in Chinese color science originates from Zhou Yi's "Five Elements Theory". The "Five Elements" refer to the five basic substances of nature.

"Shangshu Hongfan" is explained as: one is water, two is fire, three is wood, four is gold, and five is earth. The water is said to be salty under the stream, bitter on the flame, sour from the straight, hard from the leather (gold), and sweet from the grain.

Fuxi's "Dragon Palace", there are Spring Palace Qinglong Clan, Summer Palace Red Dragon Clan, Autumn Palace White Dragon Clan, Winter Palace Black Dragon Clan, Middle Palace Yellow Dragon Clan, is the source of "five colors".

The "quadripartite constellation" mentioned in "Huainanzi Tianwen Xun" is also composed of five colors, that is, "the green dragon in the east, the white tiger in the west, the vermilion bird in the south, the Xuanwu in the north, and the yellow dragon in the central land".

The "Five Elements" belong to the material, closely related to people's lives, and Zhou Yi's "Yin and Yang Concept" is a pair of twins in traditional culture, belonging to the naïve way of thinking, not mysterious, with primitive scientificity.

From the "five elements", the "five natures", "five colors", "five flavors", "five senses", "five organs", "five poisons", and even the "three outlines and five constants" that promote feudal ethics and the "five precepts" that enter Buddhism have become some connotations of traditional Chinese culture.

Among them, the "five-color concept" is a traditional Chinese color concept, which has been followed for thousands of years, and is still widely used in traditional Chinese paintings, colored sculptures, woodblock New Year paintings and various folk toys.

Mud dog is the general name of the mud toy in the "Renzu Society" in Taihao Mausoleum, Huaiyang District, Zhoukou City, Henan Province, which is a kind of primitive totem literature, abstract and deformed, with a variety of monster complexes totaling about 200 kinds.

Because of its clumsy and absurd shape, "mud dog" has a unique charm in many folk arts. "Huaiyang "Mud Dog"" selects more than 200 kinds of "Mud Dog" works, systematically reflecting this traditional folk art with a rather primitive style.

We can further understand the cultural connotation of the February Festival to worship the ancestors from the "scriptures" (prayer and feeding) spoken by the dancers, and the original text is now transcribed as follows: Lao Pangu is a person in the ancient world, there is no heaven and no earth, how can there be human beings, there is a Hongjun ancestor in the southeast sky, and there is a mixed old man in the southwest sky. The gods of heaven only care about the sun, moon and stars, and the gods of heaven only care about the five grains and seedlings. His brother and sister came to save the elves, but when they thought of a flood, the gods sent a turtle to rescue them. The old white turtle carried the brothers and sisters to Kunlun. Shun the will of God, Kunlun Mountain, brothers and sisters rolling and grinding to get married, long time, long days, children in groups, until now the flower basket is to come to the ancestors, and do not forget that the whole world is born of a mother.

A "scripture" of "Dancing on the Side" shows that the descendants of the "dragon" do not forget the creation exploits of Fuxi and Nuwa in "cultivating all things and creating people from the soil".

At the February meeting of Taiwu Mausoleum, there is still a kind of ancient custom of "grabbing the 'flagpole' and returning the 'flagpole'", and now, the connotation and implication of this folk behavior are almost unknown.

The so-called "flagpole" is roughly shaped by a stout wooden stick that is then passed through a flat square wooden box with no upper ceiling. From a distance, it looks like a huge wooden hammer, and the specific appearance can refer to the giant axe in the hands of Emperor Fuxi. Offering a "flagpole" is a reduction behavior after asking for a child, while grabbing a "flagpole" is the behavior of a child seeker (similar to a tethered doll).

In the early stage of primitive society, human beings had the worship of women, so there was a matriarchal society. During the transition period from a matrilineal society to a patrilineal society, the cult of men who were strong and fit for hunting, raising a family, and continuing the clan was produced. Just like the word "ancestor" in the oracle bone inscription, if analyzed from the "pictogram", it is actually the image of a person worshipping a man. The "ancestors" of the patriarchal society in the Neolithic Age, including "Tao Zu", "Shi Zu", "Wang Zu", etc., are all historical material evidence of "male worship" in the patrilineal era. This is a necessary stage in the development of human culture, and both the East and the West are no exception.

In the clans and tribes of primitive societies, the survival of human beings is the guarantee of the survival of the tribe. But it is only when humans are still ignorant of the mysteries of existence that the worship of men who can provide stable food will arise. After entering the feudal society, due to the preference for sons, men were considered to be the "pillars" and "backbones" of the portal, and were respected as the "head of the family", so the motives and behaviors of "grabbing the flagpole" had long lost the theme connotation of the original "clan harvest".

"Survival worship" is one of the earliest ancestor worship contents in China, and "totem resort" is a place for prehistoric human sacrifice activities.

We can peep out some traces of ancient culture from the surface culture of some visible folk customs in the February meeting, and then find a way to analyze the deep cultural connotation of the "mud dog" art, so as to achieve the purpose of knowing why it is.

It is also known as a "mud dog".

"Mud Dog" is the general name of the mud toys sold in the "Renzu Society" of Huaiyang Taihao Mausoleum. Stacking two mud words, the first "mud" word is a definite word, used as a verb, that is, kneaded by hand, but also contains the meaning of kissing; The latter word "mud" is used as a noun, that is, the material of the object, "mud". Of course, this interpretation is still limited to conceptual understanding, as the name suggests.

The mud dog is also known as the "Ling Dog" or "Spirit Dog", the subject matter of the performance is very wide, the birds in the sky, the beasts on the ground are everywhere, the shape is illusory, mysterious.

Among the strange forms are the nine-headed bird, the human-headed dog, the human-faced fish, the monkey's swallow, the unicorn, the hydra, the winged fish, the winged beast, the human-faced monkey, the four elephants, and the cat-pull monkey. There are more than 200 kinds of monster complexes such as straw hat tigers, strange lions, turtles, turtles, pythons, snakes, dogs, bears, toads, lizards, bean insects, scorpions, etc., as well as various abstract and deformed monster complexes.

In the face of these clumsy, grotesque and surreal forms, it seems difficult for us to directly associate them with "toys".

So, what is the connection between "mud dog" and Fuxi and Nuwa, and why did the name "mud dog" come about? In this regard, the famous old artist Li Xiushen answered the root cause of the mud dog; We got an affirmative answer: "It was handed down from the ancestors and grandmothers who held the soil to create people." ”

Another old artist, Jia Detong, said: "Raising a dog is to take care of the house, and the tomb dog is the divine dog that protects the tomb of the grandfather!" ”

The old man Jin Huazhi (female) from Jinzhuang also told an interesting story, she said: "One year there was a great drought in Huaiyang, and people were sad; had no intention of going to the incense to worship the ancestors, so Taihao Mausoleum became deserted. Suddenly one night, the wind was blowing, the clouds were thick, and a bag of cigarettes began to rain heavily, and people were awakened by the thunderstorm, and when they looked out of the cracks in the doors and windows, they saw that the ground was dark, and it was full of 'mud dogs', and they were walking back and forth in the field, what were they doing? If you look closely, it is white, and it turns out that they are plowing and raking the ground. The next day, the sky was cloudy, people ran to the ground to see, the ground was all ploughed, and full of moisture, so everyone cheered and jumped, and went to Taihao Mausoleum to worship incense and worship. Since then, the incense of the ancestral temple has flourished. ”

In addition to these myths and legends, there are some more common sayings about "mud dogs", that is, "they can cure diseases".

It is said that pilgrims from all over the country brought the "mud dogs" back to their hometowns, and in addition to giving them to their children, grandchildren, relatives and friends, they also threw some mud dogs into the well, saying that drinking the water in the well could "clear the heart and eyes and cure all kinds of diseases".

Why don't you call it a "greyhound"! Also, traveling merchants, no matter where you go to the ends of the earth, as long as you deduct a little bit of soil from the "mud dog" to make tea and drink, you can cure the water and soil or "homesickness". To this day, the elderly in my family still prepare some hometown loess in my bag when I am about to go out, in case I drink some hometown loess to "cure homesickness" when I am not accustomed to the water and soil in other places, and also to relieve my homesickness when I am alone outside.

Either way, it's my family's concern for me.

It is no wonder that the overseas children and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who came to Huaiyang to worship their ancestors before leaving, all took a handkerchief from Taihao Mausoleum and returned with yellow soil; It seems that it is also to heal the homesickness of the motherland.

Therefore, the Huaiyang "Renzu Society" took the "mud dog" as a "sacred object" to worship Fuxi.

Huaiyang people worship dogs; Respect for dogs, believe that "divine dogs" can eliminate disasters and diseases for human beings, and protect the safety of one party.

Legend Fuxi worships dogs, and the folk of Huaiyang still circulate the myth of "Fuxi and Pan Gu", to the effect that there are dogs called "five-colored dogs", which are detained in the Admiralty; Become a human head and a dog body, that is, Fu Xi's also.

Coincidentally, there are similar legends among the Miao, Yao, and Lei ethnic minorities in southwest China, such as the "Dog Emperor Song" of the She people.

This cultural phenomenon is no coincidence, and the "Feng Zen Book" records: "Degong, Fu Dog Domain, Dish Dog Yi Four Gates; In case of Gu. "It is to the effect that when sacrificing to the pastoral of the ancestor Fuxi, the dog is split in half and buried at the four gates; to prevent crops from pests and diseases. It is very shadowy, this is to regard the dog as a totemic god, a kind of town thing. Huaiyang people respect dogs, and believe that dogs can drive away evil spirits and keep peace, whether it is related to the legacy of Fuxi is worth pondering.

In addition, the natural shape of the dog is also very typical, with the basic characteristics of all reptilian beasts, many beasts are next to the big characters, it can be said that there is no "dog" can not be.

"Lü's Spring and Autumn" said: "...... Dog-like, female-monkey-like, female-monkey-like. Even the traditional character "dragon" has a way of writing "", and it has not escaped the word "dog".

Facts prove that the earliest evolution of human thinking is to detach from the subject in cognition, and take the "dog" that is with people in life as the prototype of the object of cognition, and then compare the others with dogs and divide them into categories.

So the word "class" is derived from "dog"; The shape of the character "form" is also from the dog side. Others, such as cats, wolves, lions, apes, badgers, monkeys, etc., are not listed one by one from the "dog", which is associated with the "mud dog" as a general name for all kinds of birds and beasts, and has become the "Ling dog" that guards Fuxi, which is also a reason, not unreasonable.

Huaiyang "mud dog" is the general name of the small clay sculpture in Huaiyang, Henan, which has an isomorphic and interpenetrating "blood" relationship with Huaiyang folk customs and folk customs.

Huaiyang mud dog is made of ancient materials, the shape is peculiar, the color is simple, the technique is simple, each shape is required to have a sound hole, can be blown, and its production process can be roughly divided into eight steps.

The first step is to take the soil, which is to take high clay, commonly known as "silt".

The second step is to dry the soil, which is to dry and crush the high clay soil.

The third step is to mix mud, add appropriate water, and mix it repeatedly with wooden sticks and steel rods on a large and round stone platform until it is completed.

The fourth step is to pinch the sample, according to the pre-prepared model, and knead it little by little with your hands, usually the size of a fist, until it is kneaded.

The fifth step is hollowing, that is, using a bamboo skewer to dig out two holes, so that the holes are the same in the body, and there is a hole to blow and be able to blow.

The sixth step is drying, which must be dried in a ventilated place, which is a more time-consuming step.

The seventh step is blacking.

The eighth step is painting.

As far as I know, in the 50s of the 20th century, Huaiyang mud dog appeared in the modern type of works, this type of mud dog is characterized by folk artists from real life to get creative inspiration, the theme of creation comes from life, its expression method still has the fresh yin characteristics of Huaiyang mud dog, vivid shape, exaggerated shape, casual, dignified figures, calm, with a sense of modern sculpture.

It is worth mentioning that in this type of work, the characteristics of "individuality" have appeared, and the shaping techniques and formal composition have lost the consciousness of worshipping gods under the specific concept of traditional folk art and the principle of regional group consensus, showing the characteristics of doing one's own thing.

In the 90s of the 20th century, Huaiyang mud dogs began to go abroad and were successively exported to France, Japan and other countries.

As a product of the combination of primitive religion and local folk culture, Huaiyang mud dog embodies the family concept of "praying for children" and the world view of "animism, driving away disasters and evil spirits".

With the development of social culture and the improvement of people's quality of life, people's belief in "gods" has changed greatly, the traditional concept of "praying for children" and "driving away disasters and evil spirits" has gradually faded, the form and meaning of primitive sacrifices have slowly disappeared, Huaiyang mud dog symbolizes human survival, the obscure totem has gradually evolved into an ornamental symbol, and the prayer for good wishes has become more extensive and complex, and later the mud dog has gradually developed a new cultural value and become a work of art.

The existence of Huaiyang mud dog art is in essence a continuation and expansion of the original totem culture, which is not only a typical and rare artistic treasure in the folk culture of the Chinese nation, but also a "living fossil" for the study of China's original culture.

Huaiyang mud dog truly records the various trajectories of prehistoric human survival culture, reflects the blood relationship between folk art and traditional culture, and at the same time, also confirms the historical fact that folk art and primitive art are isomorphic and interpenetrating.

The shape of the Huaiyang mud dog itself is rough and clumsy, grotesque, with strong tension, and vigorous, atmospheric, it does not have too many details, there is no sharp turn, but with a refined arc directly combined, not dragging mud and water, strong sense of strength, its image is also unexpected.

The dotted and linear symbols on the shape of Huaiyang mud dogs are free and random from the perspective of the individual, and have a certain regularity and stylization from the perspective of the group, thus forming the unique regional style and aesthetic characteristics of Huaiyang's "mud dog" art.

The shape of the Huaiyang mud dog also retains the originality and tradition relatively completely, and the traditional shapes such as the zodiac, the ancestral monkey, and the two-headed beast are relatively fixed, containing the concept of yin and yang and the concept of totem, all of which have meanings.

In addition, the obscure symbols, "ten" symbols, gourd patterns, sun patterns and other decorative patterns on the Huaiyang mud dog are all inherited and maintained in ancient Chinese culture.

With the development of the times, in order to cater to the hot spots of the market, the shape of Huaiyang mud dog tends to be diverse, and images such as Peppa Pig and Da Duck have begun to appear.

The selection of materials for Huaiyang mud dog is very particular.

The raw material is yellow mastic, which is made by hand or mold in a small workshop, and the production process is very complicated, the output is limited, and the labor cost is high. The production process is shade-dried (placed in a place with no sunlight but a good ventilation environment to dry naturally), which also makes mud dogs particularly rough and brittle, making it difficult to transport them over long distances. Product development lacks the sense of innovation that keeps pace with the times, and the attraction to buyers is relatively small, and the benefits are not proportional to the cost, which hinders the promotion of Huaiyang mud dogs.

The coloring tool is the sorghum stalk that can be seen everywhere, and people use it to constantly dip the pigment for painting, and the pigment is more or less changeable, and the effect is also very different. With the diversification of people's aesthetics, the color of some mud dogs has increased, such as pink and macaron colors in the works.

Due to the development and progress of the times, there are many more interesting and easy-to-keep toys on the market, which are convenient for children to play, coupled with the complexity of the mud dog production process and the exquisite materials.

These materials and special production techniques such as coloring have led to the Huaiyang mud dog mainly using the way of old artists and apprentices, one-to-one inheritance, which on the one hand limits the scale of production, and on the other hand, it also increases the risk of losing skills.

In addition, the handicraft production process is long and complicated, the income level is low, the inheritor does not get the corresponding attention, and the traditional Huaiyang mud dog craftsman changes his occupation or grows old, facing the situation that there is no inheritance.

If one day you come to Huaiyang to play or see Huaiyang mud dogs, I believe you will be attracted by the unique performance skills and rich and gorgeous colors of mud dogs.