Today, when visiting the Summer Palace, I met a blown sugar master.
今天在圆明园里逛的时候，遇到了一个吹糖人的师傅。
Blown sugar is a traditional art of old Beijing. Street hawkers walk around the street selling animals made of blown sugar just like blown glasses.
吹糖人是旧时北京的一个行业。小贩们肩挑挑子走街串巷，挑子一头是一个带架的长方柜，柜子下面有一个半圆形开口木圆笼，里面有一个小炭炉，炉上的一个大勺里放满了糖稀（是麦芽糖溶化所得）。
According to lengend, the art of blown sugar was discovered by Liu Bowen, a prime minister of Ming Dynersty, China. It is said that the emperor of Ming Dynersty was planning to kill all the founding generals in order to pass down his throne from generation to generation. Liu Bowen was the prime minister and was expected to be executed. But he escaped by making up himself as sugar dealer in the street. In order to make sugar more popular among children, Liu Bowen creatively heated sugar to soften it, and then maked it into the shape of animals like dogs, cats & cows, and so on. The children rushed to buy them. On the way, many sugar dealers came to Liu Bowen to learn this skill. So more and more people mastered this skill. This art is said to have reached 600 years of history.
据传，吹糖人儿祖师爷是刘伯温。据说朱元璋为了自己的皇位能一代代传下去，要把开国功臣一个个都杀死。刘伯温侥幸逃脱，被一个挑糖儿担子的老人救下，两人调换服装，从此刘伯温隐姓埋名，天天挑糖人担换破烂。在卖糖的过程中，刘伯温创造性地把糖加热变软后制作各种糖人儿，有小鸡小狗什么的，煞是可爱，小孩子争先购买。在路上，许多人向刘伯温请教学吹糖人儿，刘伯温一一教会了他们，于是，这门手艺就一传十、十传百的，传到现在据说有600多年的历史了。
The master I meet today is more creative than ever before. He let the children blow, he himeself is only responsible for pinching Sugar.
这次遇到的吹糖人的师傅手艺更好。他让小朋友们吹，他只负责捏糖人。
The children were able to personally participate in the process of blown sugar. They are definitely more excitement and have more a sense of accomplishment.
小朋友们能够亲自参与到吹糖人的过程当中，更兴奋更有成就感了。
Look at this girl blowing out a giraffe.
看看这个小朋友正在吹一个长颈鹿。
Look at this boy blowing out a dog.
这个小朋友正在吹一个小狗。
A kid blew his grandfather a gourd, symbolizing lucky.
有个小朋友为他的爷爷吹了一个葫芦，象征着有福气。
That is absolutely awesome. I have never seen art like this before. What a gift this craftsman has.
话说，吹糖人，真还没见过呢。
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