The poem describing the iron flower is as follows:
1. The earth does not love the precious juice flowing in the water, the iron flower and the iron tree dew three or five times. ——Fan Shi's "Daye Iron Mountain Song"
2. Baoqi even spends iron as money, and fragrant wheels chase water beads as nets. ——Wang Luo Bin "A gift from the female Taoist Priest Wang Lingfei to Taoist Priest Li Rong"
3. The rock wall is embroidered with iron flowers, and the murderous silent frog strides. ——Su Shi's "Huqiu Temple"
Extended information
The iron flower is a traditional folk firework spread in the Henan-Shanxi region and one of the national intangible cultural heritages. Ironwork is a large-scale traditional folk firework. It is a folk cultural performance technique discovered by ancient Chinese craftsmen during the process of casting utensils. It began in the Northern Song Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It has a history of more than a thousand years. Iron flower is mostly spread in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and is most popular in Henan and Shanxi. Kaifeng Iron Flower is even known as the top ten folk arts in the Yellow River Basin.
During the Iron Flower performance, a six-meter-high double-layered flower shed was set up in an open space. The shed was densely covered with fresh willow branches, and it was tied with fireworks, firecrackers, and goods. A six-meter-high old pole is erected in the middle of the shed, making the total height of the garden shed more than ten meters.
There is a furnace nearby to melt the molten iron. More than ten performers take turns using flower sticks to hit the molten iron with a temperature of more than a thousand degrees onto the shed, forming an iron flower more than ten meters high, which is then ignited. Fireworks and firecrackers, coupled with the performance of "Dragon Wearing Flowers", create a spectacular scene that is thrilling, festive and lively.
Inheritance and Protection
The art of blacksmithing has a long history, the performance is majestic and the scene is grand. The flower-arranging artist can move shirtless in the iron flowers that are more than a thousand degrees and can move forward and retreat freely without being burned. The dazzling brilliance of modern fireworks and the mystery and thrill of traditional stunts are intertwined, which is breathtaking.
The iron flower contains Taoist culture, business customs, folk crafts and other contents, enriches the treasure house of folk art of the Chinese nation, and plays an important role in activating the cultural life of the people, improving national pride and enhancing national cohesion. effect.
In November 2019, the "List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Project Protection Units" was announced, and the Queshan County Cultural Center was qualified as a protection unit for the "Tiehua" project. On October 31, 2023, the "List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Project Protection Units" was announced, and the Queshan County Cultural Center, the "Tiehua" project protection unit, passed the assessment.