Over 300 years after it was first built, the oil mill in Dazichang Village, Haikou Sub-district, Xishan District, is still filled with the smell of fragrant oil.
穿越300余年而来,西山区海口街道达子长村的榨油坊遗迹,依然油香四溢。
Dazichang Village Oil Mill, built in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty over 300 years ago, is located in Zhongping Community, Haikou Sub-district, Xishan District. It has been renovated several times, and the existing building, originally a local mansion, was rebuilt in the early years of the Republic of China. The entire oil mill, with its simple architectural style and an earth and wood structure, is a quadrangle courtyard with three principal rooms and four side rooms, covering an area of 400 square meters. The main house is a two-floor building that is three rooms wide and one room deep. Its timber framework resembles a bucket (a beamless structure that only has posts and sloping rafters to support the roof). There are side rooms on each side of the main house, and a patio in the middle.
达子长村榨油坊位于昆明西山区海口街道中平社区,始建于清康熙年间,距今已有300多年。榨油坊历经多次修建和改建,现存建筑为民国初年当地大宅改建。整个榨油坊的建筑样式简单,为土木结构,四合院样式,三间四耳,占地400平方米。正房二层,举架较高,面阔三间,进深一间,为穿斗式梁架,正房两侧各有一耳房,中为一天井。
Making oil cakes. By Du Wenlei 做油饼。杜文蕾摄
According to relevant data, the layout of the oil mill and the arrangement of the oil extraction equipment in the room are basically the same as the Longtou Street Oil Mill drawn by famous Chinese architect Mr. Liang Sicheng. It is the only known well-preserved oil mill in Kunming.
资料显示,榨油坊的布局和室内榨油器具的放置与中国著名建筑大师梁思成先生所绘制的龙头街榨油坊的格局基本一致,是目前昆明市范围内已知唯一一个完整保留的榨油坊。
When the pomegranate flowers bloom, the “squeezing sound” fills the village again. It is just as if the turning of the waterwheels and the grinding of the stone mills are turning back the clock.
石榴花开时,油坊的“榨声”又响了。水车翻转,碾磨飞舞,进入油坊,宛若时光倒流。
Grinding the seeds. By Du Wenlei 磨籽。杜文蕾摄
Inside the mill, Wu Lianshu, one of the inheritors of the ancient method of oil extraction, is busy extracting oil along with three or four other workers. With fire burning on the stove and the old ox pulling the millstone, the workers are making oil cakes with earnest attention, The fragrance of rapeseed oil drifts in the air. The dark rapeseeds, which have been sun-dried, fried, ground, steamed and wrapped in oil grass, are stuffed into the wooden press. With the thud of the oil hammer and the workers’ chants, shiny golden oil flows out of the wooden press, releasing a strong fragrance.
坊内,古法榨油传承人之一武连书师傅带着三四位工人正在忙碌。灶上炉火正旺,一侧老牛吭哧拉碾,工人聚精会神制作着油饼……阵阵菜籽油香扑面而来。黑黝黝的菜籽,晒干、炒熟、碾碎、蒸熟、用油草包扎好,塞进木榨肚里,在油锤“哐当”的撞击声和“哎嗨吆喔”的打油号子声里,亮闪闪的金色油丝从木榨里流出来,散发出浓郁的油香。
Delicious food requires time and effort. Wu Lianshu is very picky when it comes to buying rapeseeds, and with decades of experience, he has developed a pair of piercing eyes. The rapeseeds should be dark and shiny, and the grains should be round and full without any impurities. They shall also be fully dried. Wu Lianshu always makes sure to check it out himself.
美味的获得,总是需要付出时间和心血。在收菜籽的时候,武连书会变得非常严苛,几十年的经验,练就一双火眼:菜籽色泽需黝黑发亮,颗粒圆润饱满,不掺杂任何杂质,尤其干燥程度,武连书必须亲自把关。
The master turned the winch and put down the suspended "oil hammer". By Du Wenlei
师傅转动绞盘,将悬吊的“油锤”放下。杜文蕾摄
Frying the seeds is the first step. High temperature is necessary to destroy the cell structure of the rapeseeds and reduce the adsorption force of the proteins to facilitate the oil separation process.
炒籽是第一步。高温破坏菜籽的细胞结构,降低蛋白质对油脂的吸附力,使油脂分离变得容易。
Making oil cakes requires advanced skills. After the rapeseeds are ground, the next step is to steam them. Controlling the moisture and temperature control is all a matter of experience. How evenly the oil cake is pressed directly affects the oil yield. For the people of Dazi Village who are accustomed to the handmade rapeseed oil from the old oil mill, all delicious dishes start with the first drops of oil. This oil extraction technology, which has been passed down for hundreds of years, still shines with its original vitality.
制坯暗藏玄机。磨碎的菜籽蒸汽熏蒸,水分和温度的控制全凭经验。坯饼压得是否厚薄均匀,直接影响出油率。对于习惯了老油坊手工菜籽油的达子村人来说,一切的美味都是从榨取第一滴油开始的。这榨油技术传承了百年,依然焕发着原始的生命力。
Oil squeezers are busy steaming oil rice and making oil cakes. By Du Wenlei
榨油师傅们在忙碌着蒸油饭、做油饼。杜文蕾摄
Now, the oil mill is mainly used to pass down the farming culture and allow citizens and tourists to learn about this traditional oil extraction process. “This ancient oil extracting method has low yield and output. From an economic point of view, it is a losing business. But this is also a cultural heritage, which we are all willing and happy to pass down,” Wu Lianshu said.
现在,油坊主要作用在于传承农耕文化,让市民游客体验传统榨油工艺。“这样的古老榨法,出油率低、产量不高,从经济学角度是贴本的生意。但作为文化传承,有个技法我们都愿意把它传承下去。”武连书说。
The passing down of the oil extraction skills for generations relies on the painstaking effort made by people like Wu Lianshu. What they pass down is not only the craft, but also their belief in life and the diligence and perseverance flowing in their blood.
榨油这手艺,几辈了,是一个又一个“武连书”的心传,除了世代相传的手艺,还有生存的信念以及流淌在血脉里的勤劳和坚守。
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文|李杭蓉
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母语校审 | Oskar Wetterberg
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