2018年CRI Chinese food documentary booms hand-made iron pans industry

 

A popular documentary about Chinese food culture has given rise to the surge in purchases of traditional hand-made iron woks² in China.

The third season of 'A Bite of China' features a workshop where woks are made by hand in the Zhangqiu district of the city of Jinan in Shandong province. The television series has brought the disappearing craft back in the public eye.

For more on this story, here's CRI's Li Yi.

83-year-old Wang Lifang is a blacksmith in Zhangqiu, a district famous for iron work since the Han Dynasty about 2,200 years ago. Wang has spent almost all his life here making handmade woks.

He said that it takes 12 different steps to make a Zhangqiu iron wok¹, which needs to be hammered 36,000 times until it is as clear as a mirror.

"Exactly 36,000 times. The iron wok can't be made by being hammered by one less time. If you don't treat it seriously, you will not get a good-looking wok," said Wang.

Wang's story and his experience of making handmade iron woks was featured in the newest season of A Bite of China, a food culture documentary with an audience in China of hundreds of millions of viewers.

Liu Zimu is head of the iron wok factory featured in the documentary. He said all 2,000 woks in his workshop were sold only 10 minutes after the episode was broadcast.

"We were told that so many visitors came to our shop and pushed on the door to see if the shop was open during the Spring Festival holiday that the door was slightly broken. So we came to check if everything is okay. Visitors have been swarming³ into the shop since we opened the door," said Liu.

Liu Zimu's workshop has received hundreds of thousands of orders for handmade iron woks in less than 10 days since the broadcast of A Bite of China, with sales from online shop increasing by 6,000 times.

The handmade wok industry has long been threatened by the development of modern machines and has seen a shortage of qualified⁴ craftsmen⁵.

Almost all the wok making workshops were closed about 20 years ago.

The burst in popularity for handmade iron woks stoked by A Bite of China has shored up confidence for the industry but also has aroused concerns.

Liu Zimu said it will take the workshop two years to fulfill⁶ all the orders since there are only about 50 craftsmen working and it takes a lot of time to make an iron wok.

"I hope that people do not buy woks blindly, so that people who truly understand the charm of the creations of our craftsmen and in need of them can get access to the wok," said Liu.

The craftsmanship⁷ of blacksmiths has been listed as part of Shandong's intangible cultural heritage.

1 wok   

n.锅，炒菜锅

参考例句：

• I'm not teaching my students how to use a wok.我不是教我的学生们如何用炒菜的。
• He threw the meat into his biggest wok to cook.他把肉扔到最大的一口锅里煮。

2 woks   

n.锅，炒菜锅( wok的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He woks on the even surface. 他在平滑的表面上工作。 来自互联网
• Inverter loop PID controller woks not very well if PID controller parameters are not designed well. 分析表明如果设计方法欠佳，PID控制器不能发挥优良调节能力，使逆变器单环控制系统性能不很理想。 来自互联网

3 swarming   

密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
• The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

6 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

7 craftsmanship   

n.手艺

参考例句：

• The whole house is a monument to her craftsmanship. 那整座房子是她技艺的一座丰碑。
• We admired the superb craftsmanship of the furniture. 我们很欣赏这个家具的一流工艺。