Rice Cake Tower Production for Offerings Designated as Tainan Cultural Heritage Preservation Technique

(Central News Agency, reporter Zhang Rongxiang, Tainan, August 8) The Tainan City Government announced today that the review committee for "Tainan City Traditional Crafts and Cultural Heritage Preservation Techniques and Preservers" has newly designated the "Rice Cake Tower Production Technique" as a Tainan City Cultural Heritage Preservation Technique, and recognized Huang Tongshan and Huang Tai-lang as preservers of this technique.

The Tainan City Cultural Heritage Management Office stated today that the "Rice Cake Tower" is a highly representative sacrificial offering in the ancient city of Tainan. Related records can be found in Japanese colonial era documents, and it is widely used in folk belief activities such as the Ghost Festival and temple fairs.

The production method of the "Rice Cake Tower" involves steaming sweet glutinous rice, mixing it with syrup, and then while hot, filling it into a cylindrical mold composed of 6 wooden boards to press and shape it. The finished rice cake tower stands tall like a pagoda, reaching heights of 1 to 2 zhang (303 cm to 606 cm). It is considered a "heavenly pillar" by the public, connecting heaven and earth, and is an important and symbolic offering for the Ghost Festival.

Tainan City has designated folk activities such as the "Anping Town City God Temple Public Festival," "Anping Lingji Temple Lone Stage Festival," and "Luerhmen Mazu Temple Tuchengzi Incense Pilgrimage." The "Rice Cake Tower" is an indispensable sacrificial offering. The production process encompasses professional knowledge in rice processing techniques, mold assembly, rice cake stacking, overall shape control, and ritual arrangement, possessing artistic, religious, and folk cultural value.

Huang Tongshan, the preserver of the "Rice Cake Tower" preservation technique, is the third-generation inheritor of the Huang family at Pujidian. The family's rice food and steamed cake business, started by the first generation Huang Tu (1882-1961), gradually developed the rice cake tower production craft. The second generation, Huang Fu-xing (1919-1998), continued to refine and professionalize the business, and Huang Tongshan inherited the family's production knowledge and skills accumulated over more than a century.

Huang Tai-lang is the second-generation inheritor of the Huang family's rice cake tower production in Benyuanliao, Annan District. He learned the production techniques from his father, Huang Ma (1934-2006), from a young age. Through years of oral transmission and practical training, he mastered the complex processes of selecting rice, soaking rice, steaming rice, boiling sugar, mixing rice, and shaping it in the mold. Centered around his family, he hired women from the village to participate, forming a small work team with a tacit division of labor.

The Tainan City Cultural Heritage Management Office stated that the Huang family at Pujidian and the Huang family in Annan District are likely the only remaining families in Tainan that continue to produce rice cake towers. The preservation of this technique is highly rare and culturally representative, holding significant importance for maintaining Tainan's Ghost Festival culture and the integrity of folk rituals.

As of now, Tainan City has designated 19 preservers of traditional crafts and 10 preservers of cultural heritage preservation techniques. (Editor: Zhang Yajing) 1150708

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