李立欣

酥油是中國人喜愛的食物，也是食物加工中不可或缺的油脂之一，可用來加工糖果、制作面包和蛋糕等。那么，用酥油制作的酥油花也是食品嗎？不是，它是永不凋零的“鮮花”，是青海省塔爾寺奉獻(xiàn)給世界的藝術(shù)珍品。

Butter is a beloved food in China and an essentialingredient in food processing， used to make candies，bread， cakes， and so on. So， is a butter sculpture madefrom butter considered food too？ No， it is a flowerthat will never fade， an artistic treasure offered to theworld by Ta’er Monastery （also known as KumbumMonastery） in Qinghai Province.

關(guān)于酥油花的起源，史書中沒有明確的記載。據(jù)傳說，人們用酥油花來代替鮮花作為敬奉佛祖的供品。

There is no clear historical record of the origin ofbutter sculptures. According to legend， people used?butter sculptures as offerings to replace fresh flowersfor worshipping Buddha.

酥油分動(dòng)物酥油和植物酥油，制作酥油花用的是動(dòng)物酥油。酥油通常呈黃白色，在低溫時(shí)呈凝固狀，有很好的可塑性。隨著酥油花制作技術(shù)日益成熟，藝僧們發(fā)現(xiàn)，白色酥油在顏色調(diào)和方面融合度更高，所以塔爾寺制作酥油花要求使用的酥油必須是純白色的。

Butter can be divided into animal butter andvegetable butter， and butter sculptures are made fromanimal butter. Butter is typically yellowish-whiteand solidifies at a low temperature， making it highlymalleable. As butter sculpture-making techniquesmatured， the monks discovered that white butterhad better color blending properties. Therefore， Ta’erMonastery requires the use of pure white butter formaking butter sculptures.

塔爾寺精致細(xì)膩的酥油花完全是手工制作。寺里的僧人從學(xué)習(xí)制作酥油花那天開始，便終身從藝。因?yàn)樗钟驮?5℃時(shí)會(huì)變形，25℃左右會(huì)融化，所以在制作酥油花的過程中，要分分秒秒留意溫度的變化。酥油花的制作一般需要三個(gè)月的時(shí)間，且通常是在青海冬季最寒冷的時(shí)節(jié)。為了避免體溫融化酥油，藝僧們的雙手必須不時(shí)地浸泡在刺骨的冰水中，或抓握冰塊，以始終保持雙手冰涼。所以酥油花的制作是對(duì)藝僧們身體和技藝的雙重挑戰(zhàn)。正是這一雙雙巧手，才讓酥油綻放出精美絕倫的“酥油花”。

The exquisite butter sculptures at Ta’er Monasteryare entirely handmade. Monks in the monastery arecommitted to a lifelong profession the day they beginto learn the craft. Because butter becomes malleable at15°C and melts at around 25°C， precise temperaturecontrol is crucial during the butter sculpture-makingprocess. Making a butter sculpture typically takes threemonths and is usually done during the coldest wintermonths in Qinghai. To prevent body heat from meltingthe butter， the monks’ hands must be periodicallysoaked in icy water or the monk must hold ice cubes tokeep them ice-cold. Thus， making butter sculptures isa dual challenge to the monks’ physical endurance andartistic skill. It’s the skilled hands of these monks thatbring forth the exquisite “butter flowers.”

塔爾寺設(shè)立了兩個(gè)專門制作酥油花的機(jī)構(gòu)—“上花院”和“下花院”。兩個(gè)花院相互競爭，也相互借鑒，不斷推陳出新。酥油花的題材和內(nèi)容非常廣泛，涉及佛經(jīng)故事、歷史人文、民間傳說以及豐富多彩的現(xiàn)代生活。莊嚴(yán)神圣的佛像、形神兼?zhèn)涞娜宋?、風(fēng)景秀美的山水、美輪美奐的亭臺(tái)樓閣、形象逼真的飛禽走獸、細(xì)膩傳神的花卉樹木等，都在藝僧們的手上靈動(dòng)展現(xiàn)，栩栩如生。酥油花的尺寸從小不盈寸到高至數(shù)米不等，雕塑手法從單塑到立塑和浮塑相結(jié)合，再到單塑和組塑相結(jié)合，不斷融入的科技元素讓酥油花的制作工藝更加精湛。

Ta’er Monastery has established two specializedinstitutions for making butter sculptures， the “UpperWorkshop” and the “Lower Workshop.” These twoworkshops constantly innovate by competing with andlearning from each other. The themes and content ofbutter sculptures are incredibly diverse， encompassingBuddhist stories， historical and cultural figures， folklegends， and a rich tapestry of modern life. Majesticand sacred Buddha statues， lifelike human figures，picturesque landscapes， exquisite pavilions， lifelikebirds and animals， and finely detailed flowers andtrees， all come to life in the hands of the monks. Buttersculptures vary in size from one inch to several meterstall， and the sculpting techniques range from singlesculpting to a combination of relief and dimensionalsculpting， and then to a combination of single andgroup sculpting. The incorporation of evolvingtechnologies makes the craftsmanship of buttersculpture even more exquisite.

酥油花使用的顏料與眾不同，主要是礦物染料，是用各色寶石和其他珍貴原料研磨而成的：紅色源自瑪瑙，綠色取自翡翠，白色來自珍珠，黃色出自黃金，藍(lán)色來自孔雀石，黑色則取自地下深處的木炭……這些從名山大川中獲取的天然顏料，與潔白的酥油融合成絢爛的色彩，經(jīng)由金粉、銀粉勾勒之后，永不褪色，讓酥油花精美絕倫。

The pigments used in butter sculptures areunique， primarily mineral dyes ground from variousprecious materials： red comes from carnelian， greenfrom jade， white from pearls， yellow from gold， bluefrom turquoise， and black from deep undergroundcharcoals. These natural pigments， obtained frommountains and rivers， are blended with the purewhite butter to create brilliant colors. After beingoutlined with gold and silver powders， theseeverlasting colors create extraordinarily beautifulbutter sculptures.

每年農(nóng)歷正月十五，代表中國酥油花制作技藝最高水準(zhǔn)的塔爾寺酥油花如約展出。在僧人樂隊(duì)的伴奏下，清幽婉轉(zhuǎn)的音樂在展廳回蕩，人們在祈福的同時(shí)，滿眼盡是精彩紛呈的酥油花，那是一場令人過目難忘的視覺盛宴！

Every year on the 15th day of the first lunar month， Ta’er Monastery showcases its butter sculptures， representingthe highest level of butter sculpture-making craftsmanship in China. Accompanied by the music of the monkorchestra， the serene and melodious tunes fill the exhibition hall. People， while offering prayers， are surrounded by adazzling array of exquisite butter sculptures. What an unforgettable visual feast！