The Lost Skill ＂Beating the Iron Flower＂ reappears the Taoist cultural homeland.

　　BEIJING, Zoucheng, Feb. 20 (Zeng Jie, Wang Chongyin) Since the ninth day of the first lunar month, the lost skill "Tie Tie Hua" has reappeared in Gelushan, Zoucheng, Shandong Province, the hometown of Taoist culture. With the gradual decline of the iron smelting industry in the last century, the blacksmith’s artistic performance "Beating the Iron Flower" once disappeared from people’s field of vision.

　　In an interview with Gelushan in Zoucheng on the night of the 21st (the 12th day of the first month), the reporter saw that 71-year-old Kong Lingfa and 46-year-old Kong Lingshuang went into battle shirtless and danced "flower sticks" with thousands of degrees of molten iron in various postures in the sound of gongs and drums. Iron juice splashed on a nearby prop-a big willow with many branches, and then turned into a giant flower with the help of wicker posture. The onlookers held their breath first, then cheered and screamed, calling it the most "thrilling" performance in the first month.

　　"How can the first month of Gelushan not be spent while the iron is hot?" While the iron is hot, Hua returned to Gelushan, which made Kong Lingfa in seventy years of age feel very excited. He told reporters that his family was engaged in iron smelting in the late Qing Dynasty, and playing iron flower was a "talent" performance that his family was proud of. As the fourth generation of his family, he witnessed the prosperity and decline of playing iron flower.

　　Kong Lingfa introduced that the cultural origin of Gelushan and Taoism was recorded in the Old Records of Zouxian County. In ancient times, five craftsmen of gold, silver, copper, iron and tin called each other brothers and respected the old gentleman on the Grand Master as the ancestor. During the Spring Festival, they sacrificed while the iron was hot. Since the Ming Dynasty, many famous iron smelting craftsmen have emerged here, and the performance of Gelushan while the iron was hot continued from the Ming Dynasty to the 1980s.

　　By the time the young Kong Lingfa "played with a flower stick", folk customs such as dragon dancing, playing bronze wares and knocking on gongs and drums had been absorbed, and striking iron flowers became the most imposing and joyful program in the first month of Gelushan.

　　It is reported that Tie Hua was listed in the national intangible cultural heritage list as early as 2008. There was no inheritor of this skill in Gelushan at that time. Kong Lingfa, who gave up the iron smelting business, has already become an out-and-out farmer.

　　Gao Dewen, director of Zoucheng Cultural Center, told reporters that Kong Lingfa and Kong Lingshuang, who are stunted, were discovered by Zoucheng Intangible Heritage Protection Center in 2015 and selected as inheritors. The Spring Festival of the Year of the Monkey is the first time that they started their "acting career" as non-genetic inheritors.

　　Kong Lingfa is from Beige Village, Dashu Town, Zoucheng, and Kong Lingshuang is from Henghe Village, Daping Town. These days, the two are leading more than a dozen young people to step up rehearsals for the official performance of the Lantern Festival. According to Gao Dewen, it can be seen from the recent audition that while the iron is hot, flowers are loved by the audience.

　　"Playing while the iron is hot once brought people infinite joy and excitement." Gao Dewen, who has been engaged in the rescue of intangible cultural heritage for a long time, said that playing while the iron is hot has strong entertainment and appreciation. Although the iron smelting industry in Gelushan area has declined now, playing while the iron is hot should return to the public’s field of vision and become an artistic performance in festivals.

　　Gao Dewen said that the metallurgical culture in Taoist alchemy pharmacy and the prosperous history of iron smelting industry in this area have been written into the newly compiled Zoucheng Literature and History Materials, and the flower while the iron is hot has also gone down in history as a cultural symbol here. (End)