A Sweet Art— Sugar Painting

In all around China’s southwestern Sichuan province, one can often find folk artists producing sugar paintings with liquid sugar along the streets and in the parks.

According to some academic studies, sugar painting originated from the Ming Dynasty when sugar animals and figures     1     (make) in molds (模具) as part of a sacrifice in religious ceremony. In the Qing Dynasty, sugar painting gained more     2     (popular). The production techniques were upgraded and the patterns became more various, most of     3     stood for good luck such as fish, dragon and monkey. Afterward, the folk artists in Sichuan     4     (develop) this art by adding techniques of Chinese shadow puppet and Chinese paper cutting. As time passed by, the contemporary form of sugar painting has     5     (gradual) evolved.

Although     6     number of sugar painters has decreased, due to its unique charm, a certain number of artists are making efforts     7     (preserve) it by offering classes, holding relevant activities such as sugar painting contests and applying     8     the National Non-material Cultural Heritage.

Nowadays, this art is getting support again from the general public     9     it has already been listed as Provincial Non-Material Culture Heritage by the Sichuan Government. Moreover, the sugar painting artists have gained     10     (increase) recognition.