中國糖王周毅: 溫故知新，走向世界

吳洋

《山海經(jīng) · 大荒東經(jīng)》有云：“青丘之國，其山有狐，九尾?！?西晉著名文學(xué)家郭璞說九尾狐：“太平則出而為瑞?！痹诠糯袊?，見到九尾狐是子孫繁盛、國安邦寧的祥瑞征兆。據(jù)東漢趙曄《吳越春秋》記載，當(dāng)年大禹治水來到紹興涂山，見到涂山女兒九尾仙狐，根據(jù)涂山神諭，大禹便娶其為妻，成就了一番興國安邦的大事業(yè)。然而，隨著歷朝歷代的演義，九尾狐的傳說也在不斷演變，最著名的當(dāng)是《封神演義》中的九尾狐控制了妲己，魅惑紂王，最后弄得殷商天下大亂，忠臣冤死，百姓生靈涂炭。

九尾狐，純潔神圣而又嫵媚妖嬈，似仙似妖還似人。這一蘊(yùn)藏復(fù)雜而豐富文化內(nèi)涵的神話形象，被一位笑聲爽朗、性格溫和的“80后”青年用一個(gè)翻糖蛋糕（起源于英國的藝術(shù)蛋糕）作品唯美具象地展現(xiàn)了出來。

這位青年名叫周毅，他還有一個(gè)人們口中熟悉的稱呼——中國糖王，曾斬獲該領(lǐng)域多項(xiàng)國際大獎(jiǎng)，《九尾》則是他目前最滿意的翻糖蛋糕作品。

突破畫虎畫皮難畫骨

溫故知新是關(guān)鍵

“我想通過另一種方式再現(xiàn)中華傳統(tǒng)文化之美，同時(shí)又被更多年輕人所喜歡。比如做九尾狐形象，首先在主色調(diào)的選擇上，大家更喜歡美好寓意的事物，所以我用了白色去體現(xiàn)飄飄欲仙的圣潔神秘之感;同時(shí)作為狐，如果失去魅惑之韻，好像又沒有了魂，于是就以粉色作配合，并在表情和眼神上進(jìn)行微妙處理，去體現(xiàn)狐的妖媚和狡黠。形象塑造上，則更偏向于國潮風(fēng)和國漫風(fēng)。”周毅介紹說。雖然九尾狐形象并不止妲己一個(gè)，但很多人熟悉的封神榜故事與商朝有關(guān)，因此他為作品配制了“青銅”底座。

談到選用彼岸花提升整體效果，周毅說：“關(guān)于彼岸花花語的傳說在全世界有很多版本，其中比較普遍的說法是‘有花不見葉，葉生不見花，花葉兩相錯(cuò)’，雖然有點(diǎn)悲傷，但其實(shí)與九尾狐這一神話形象多舛的命運(yùn)有著深層次的契合感?！?/p>

通過《九尾》，不僅可以體會這位青年創(chuàng)作者對每一個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)近乎苛刻的考量，還能感受到他對古典書籍、神話歷史的熱愛，更能參悟國潮、國漫崛起背后的一些市場邏輯?！坝眯娜コ尸F(xiàn)和表達(dá)的東西，相信大家都能體會到，也都會喜歡。創(chuàng)作過程中，我會沉浸到要塑造的人物角色和心境中，去思考她的立場，揣摩她的神態(tài)以及一顰一笑間的肢體語言。”

老話常說，“畫虎畫皮難畫骨”。如何畫好骨？周毅提出要“溫故而知新”，他認(rèn)為，這也是在當(dāng)下更好地繼承和發(fā)揚(yáng)中華優(yōu)秀傳統(tǒng)文化的關(guān)鍵所在。

從傳統(tǒng)非遺技藝起步

因一個(gè)契機(jī)與翻糖蛋糕結(jié)緣

周毅出生于四川省一個(gè)普通家庭，父母待人敦厚而溫和。在他童年記憶中，父親下班回到家，總愛琢磨工藝美術(shù)方面的小玩意兒?；蛟S就是這樣的童年印象，在他的心里埋下了手藝創(chuàng)作的“小火種”。后來，周毅進(jìn)入四川旅游學(xué)院（原四川烹飪高等?？茖W(xué)校）烹飪系，并師從四川省工藝美術(shù)大師、傳統(tǒng)非遺技藝面塑傳承人王龍，也是從那時(shí)起他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在工藝美術(shù)上的天分。

彼時(shí)的他還在酒店上班，每天上完班回到宿舍已經(jīng)是晚上9 點(diǎn)多了，接著練習(xí)食品雕刻技法一直到第二天凌晨4 點(diǎn)多，只睡兩個(gè)小時(shí)左右又要趕去上班，這樣的日子堅(jiān)持了好久，他那時(shí)的最大心愿是“能好好睡一覺”。這樣勤奮鉆研的精神，更為其日后成為專業(yè)領(lǐng)域的大師奠定了重要基礎(chǔ)，由于在雕刻、面塑人物形象上擁有極強(qiáng)的感染力，周毅收獲了一大批粉絲?；貞浧鸪跞敕堑案庑袠I(yè)的契機(jī)，周毅說：“有粉絲問我能不能幫他完成心愿，把面塑人物做成翻糖蛋糕，起初我對翻糖是完全陌生的，于是做了大量的國內(nèi)外資料調(diào)查和研究，然后自己研制配方，最終完成了第一個(gè)作品?！?/p>

周毅說：“母校和老師的教授，賦予我在形象塑造技法上的基本功，培養(yǎng)了我對食品工藝美學(xué)的濃厚興趣。翻糖制法盡管與之截然不同，但其實(shí)也是一門大學(xué)問，要求創(chuàng)作者必須了解人體結(jié)構(gòu)、骨架構(gòu)造、五官雕刻、服飾配飾、園林布景、建筑設(shè)計(jì)和國畫繪畫?！?/p>

國際頂級蛋糕大賽中屢創(chuàng)佳績

全場被中國之美震撼

2017年年末，周毅憑借作品《武則天》和《醉臥忘憂境》等在英國國際蛋糕比賽（CAKE INTERNATIONAL）上獲得了三金兩銅的好成績，其中一個(gè)還是全場最高獎(jiǎng)?！耙恍┩鈬钨e和評委不停地說，Amazing，amazing！這是中國人第一次在世界最大最權(quán)威的翻糖蛋糕比賽里拿到最高獎(jiǎng)，當(dāng)時(shí)的感覺就是為國爭光了！”周毅至今仍對評選結(jié)果宣布那激動時(shí)刻記憶猶新。

在很多人包括周毅自己看來，那次比賽中《醉臥忘憂境》雖然獲得了銅獎(jiǎng)，但意義卻超越了金獎(jiǎng)?！凹讶俗砼P湖中石，壺中憂歡知不知”，作品贏得了眾多評委的喜愛，有人甚至俯下身子以便更仔細(xì)地觀賞其中細(xì)節(jié)。然而，因?yàn)橹谱骱玫耐该魈菈K太厚，無法切割，不符合參賽蛋糕可切割的要求，《醉臥忘憂境》差點(diǎn)遭遇被淘汰的命運(yùn)，為了不讓這件超乎想象、精美絕倫的作品明珠蒙塵，評委們搬著她斡旋于各個(gè)參賽組，幾經(jīng)波折破了例，終于為她爭取到一個(gè)銅獎(jiǎng)。

據(jù)周毅回憶，當(dāng)時(shí)有一位英國評委，直接找到他說：“你的作品，讓我看到了太多的中國元素，我非常喜歡中國文化?！奔?xì)聊之后發(fā)現(xiàn)，這位評委老師還熟諳中國書法、工筆畫、紅木桌椅、青花瓷、香爐等，喜歡中國穿漢服的年輕人，這一切都讓他無比向往。

就在一年后的2018年，周毅從全球十萬名優(yōu)秀蛋糕師中脫穎而出，摘得被譽(yù)為“蛋糕界的奧斯卡獎(jiǎng)”——蛋糕大師組織 （CAKE MASTERS）評選的雙料冠軍——國際人偶蛋糕最高獎(jiǎng)（MODELLING EXCELLENCE AWARD）和年度國際翻糖蛋糕設(shè)計(jì)全場最高藝術(shù)家獎(jiǎng)（CAKE ARTIST OF THE YEAR），成為獲此殊榮的中國第一人。周毅分享了晚宴中頒獎(jiǎng)時(shí)的高光時(shí)刻：“當(dāng)時(shí)現(xiàn)場有幾千名來自全世界各個(gè)國家和地區(qū)蛋糕界的嘉賓、評委和業(yè)內(nèi)大咖，全場的人都在給我們鼓掌，掌聲持續(xù)了將近3分鐘。還有一位行動不便的英國老爵士，甚至被人攙扶著從輪椅上站起來，從他站起來那一刻開始，幾乎所有人都站起來鼓掌?！?/p>

學(xué)生遍布海內(nèi)外

立志將中國國潮推向世界

周毅及其作品在國際上贏得較高知名度后，更是吸引了一些國際友人和旅居海外的華人專程漂洋過海前來拜師。杭州蕭山人韓露就是其中的一位。碩士畢業(yè)后韓露曾就職于澳洲第二大建筑產(chǎn)品公司，出于對烘焙的熱愛和對夢想的執(zhí)著追求，她毅然辭去工作，師從周毅，開啟了海外創(chuàng)業(yè)生涯，并成為意大利球王皮埃羅欽點(diǎn)蛋糕師、澳大利亞百大杰出華人，翻糖蛋糕作品甚至在悉尼歌劇院展出。

除了學(xué)生遍布海內(nèi)外之外，通過翻糖蛋糕讓更多人了解中國傳統(tǒng)文化的努力還體現(xiàn)在他對國潮風(fēng)和國漫風(fēng)的鐘愛上，周毅的很多創(chuàng)作靈感都來源于此，“在很多世界級博覽會上，以前看到最多的是美漫和日漫的作品，真的非常希望中國國漫也能在國際上收獲越來越多人的喜歡”。

什么是中國國潮風(fēng)、國漫風(fēng)？概括地說，就是中國傳統(tǒng)文化的年輕化，即傳統(tǒng)文化“老樹開新花”;所謂年輕化又并不單指受年輕人喜愛，而是意味著更接地氣。這個(gè)時(shí)代的審美正在發(fā)生變化，越來越趨于個(gè)性化需求，如何在傳統(tǒng)和現(xiàn)代審美之間找到平衡，做出符合時(shí)代審美的創(chuàng)意作品，并將它推向世界，展現(xiàn)中國傳統(tǒng)文化的創(chuàng)新之美，這是周毅和他的團(tuán)隊(duì)一直以來積極探索的方向。

“我們今年推出了第一款全球限量版手辦《“Don’t cry”——美人魚》，前幾天已經(jīng)售罄了。曾經(jīng)有一位80歲的爺爺打電話給我說，好喜歡我的翻糖蛋糕。我所理解的文化傳承和發(fā)揚(yáng)最好的外在表現(xiàn)之一就是傳統(tǒng)文化通過可視化的東西走進(jìn)千家萬戶，甚至走入世界各國各地區(qū)的普通家庭中。”周毅說，未來團(tuán)隊(duì)還將進(jìn)一步開拓海外市場。

通過承襲面塑、雕刻之技藝內(nèi)核，深挖優(yōu)秀傳統(tǒng)文化之精髓，培養(yǎng)德藝雙修人才、助力他們開辟事業(yè)新天地，并借用翻糖蛋糕這一起源于西方的食物作為文化載體擴(kuò)大中華文化的國際影響力，周毅的努力收獲了無數(shù)成功，也為傳統(tǒng)非遺技藝的發(fā)展找到了一條獨(dú)具匠心且更為時(shí)尚、新穎的路子。用他自己的話說，“溫故知新”，是讓中華傳統(tǒng)文化傳下去這一課題的應(yīng)有之義。

China’s Sugar King Wows the World

By ?Wu Yang

“In the mountains of Kingdom of Qingqiu [Green Hill]， there lived foxes with nine tails，” according to the “Classic of the Great Wilderness： The East” （“Dahuang Dongjing”）， a chapter in the Classic of Mountains and Seas （Shanhai Jing）， a classic Chinese text and a major source of Chinese mythology. ?Guo Pu （276-324）， a famed literary figure during the Western Jin dynasty （265-317） and one of the foremost commentators on Shanhai Jing， said of the nine-tailed fox： “Its appearance in time of peace is an auspicious omen.” In ancient China， sightings of the nine-tailed fox were signs of fortune， prosperity and stability.

The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue （Wuyue Chunqiu）， an unofficial history on the battles between the states of Wu （ca. 12th century-473 BC） and Yue （2032-222 BC） during the Spring and Autumn period （770-476 BC）， made references to the nine-tailed fox as well. In the book， the Eastern Han （25–220） author Zhao Ye wrote that when Yu the Great， one of Ancient China’s “Sage Kings”， went to Tushan （in present-day Shaoxing） during his time taming the great flood， met a nine-tailed fox fairy and， obeying the oracle， married her， which had contributed greatly to his success. However， the images of the nine-tailed fox had undergone dramatic changes over the years. The best-known one is perhaps Da Ji in The Investiture of the Gods （Fengshen Yanyi）， a popular 16th-century Chinese novel. The body of Da Ji， originally a concubine of King Zhou of the Shang dynasty （ca 16th century-11th century BC）， was said to have been taken control of by a nine-tailed fox spirit， who then bewitched the king and eventually led to his （and the dynasty’s） downfall.

It seems the nine-tailed fox can be both pure， holy and tempting， seductive， sometimes a fairy， sometimes an evil spirit， and sometimes humanlike. Now， such a mythical and complex creature， full of cultural significance， has been turned into exquisite fondant figurines — all artworks — in the hands of a Chinese patissier born in the 1980s.

Zhou Yi， one of China’s most talented cake decorators and a globally recognized master baker， is more popularly known as China’s Sugar King. For his elaborate works， Zhou has won multiple international awards. The Nine Tailed is among his many masterpieces， and it is by far Zhou’s favorite creation.

“What I was trying to do was to reproduce the beauty of traditional Chinese culture in another way， making it more appealing and more attractive to the young generation at the same time，” explained Zhou of his conception of The Nine Tailed. “When creating the image of the nine-tailed fox， for example， first of all， I chose while as the main color， which symbolizes sanctity and pureness， and is mostly applied on things with a more positive connotation.”

“On the other hand， without a tinge of seductiveness， the fox will seemingly lose the soul， so I have put the color of pink into the mix， and made a few subtle and delicate changes to the figure’s facial and eye expressions， to reflect the bewitching and cunning side of the fox，” Zhou added. In terms of the overall image， the figure has taken on a more guochao （literally “national tide”， which implies a Chinese-culture-focused fashion trend） and guoman （literally “national aminations”， or Chinese animations） styles. Thanks to the popularity of the tales in The Investiture of the Gods， Da Ji the concubine is often considered as the nine-tailed fox. Therefore， Zhou made a bronze （the hallmark of the Shang dynasty when Da Ji lived） pedestal for the figurine.

The Nine Tailed shows not only the young artist’s rigorous — sometimes to the point of exacting — standards for every detail， but also his love for China’s classics， mythology and history. Behind the public recognition for The Nine Tailed and Zhou’s other works also lies the reason why the guochao and guoman trends are rising in the market. “I believe everyone can appreciate and enjoy the creations， as they have been done and presented with all my heart，” said Zhou. “In the process of creation， I will immerse myself in the characters and their ‘minds’， to think about their positions， figure out their attitudes and body language.”

As an old Chinese saying goes， “It is difficult to get to the bones when painting a tiger.” To get to the kernel of the matter， according to Zhou， it is essential to “review the old so that one can learn the new”， which he believes is the key to better inherit and carry forward the best of traditional Chinese culture.

Zhou was born into an ordinary family in Sichuan province， and his parents are kind and gentle. His father is in fact already a dough sculptor， who seemed to be always trying new ideas to make his pastries both mouthwatering and eye-catching. Those pastries and childhood memories have probably got Zhou interested in making creative pastries. Later， Zhou enrolled in the Sichuan Tourism University （formerly Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine） and studied with Wang Long， a Master of Sichuan Arts and Crafts and an inheritor of making dough figurines， an intangible cultural heritage. It was at that time that he discovered his talent in bringing flower buns and dough sculptures to life.

He was still working at a restaurant then， and usually it was already past 9 pm when he returned to the dormitory after work. Zhou would continue to practice making fondant making for another seven hours and rushed to work， sleeping for only two hours in between. During those days， Zhou’s best wish was “to have a good sleep”. The hard work laid a solid foundation for his becoming a fondant cake master. Making some of the most vivid dough figures， Zhou won a large following. “One of my fans asked me if I could help him fulfill his wish to make the dough figurines into fondant cakes，” Zhou recalled. “At first， I was completely at a loss， knowing nothing about it. So I did a lot of investigation and research from Chinese and international sources materials， and then developed my own recipes， and finally completed my first work.”

“My teachers in my alma mater have taught me the fundamental skills and techniques， and cultivated my passion in the art and craft of cooking food，” Zhou said. “Fondant-making in itself is big subject to explore， which requires the creators to understand the structure of the human body and to learn facial sculpture， clothing and accessories， landscape settings， architectural design and even traditional Chinese painting.”

At the UK’s Cake International in 2017， the works of Zhou and his team won three gold and two bronze prizes. The cake Lady in the Palace， featuring Empress Wu Zetian， the only female ruler in China’s history， won the International Best in Show prize， and Zhou became the first Chinese to win the top prize in the world-renowned competition. “Some international guests and judges kept saying ‘a(chǎn)mazing， amazing’， and I was winning honor for my country，” Zhou still remembers his excitement when the results were announced.

For many people， including Zhou himself， another entry Lie Drunk in Nepenthic Land， despite only winning the bronze， is even more significant. The cake was warmly received by the judges in the competition — a few even stooped low to observe and appreciate the details， but the crust of the cake was too thick to cut， which ran against the rules and almost got the entry eliminated. However， to get this unimaginable and exquisite artwork what it deserved， the judges did everything they could and eventually secured it a bronze prize.

“I see so many Chinese elements in your works and I’m very into Chinese culture，” a British judge went to Zhou and told him. It transpired that the judge was also a fan of Chinese calligraphy， fine brushwork painting， mahogany tables and chairs， blue and white pottery， incense burners， among others， which he yearned for.

Just a year later， in 2018， Zhou Yi won the Cake Masters Magazine Modelling Excellence Award and the Cake Masters Magazine Cake Artist of the Year， becoming the first Chinese to win the title. “Thousands of guests， judges and masters from all over the world in the cake industry were present，” Zhou said of the awarding ceremony. “All were applauding us， the award winners， and the applause lasted nearly three minutes. An old English gentleman was even helped to his feet from his wheelchair， and from the moment he stood up， everyone did the same and clapped.”

After Zhou Yi and his works won global recognition， international friends and overseas Chinese travel all the way to China to learn their trade under Zhou. Han Lu， a native from Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan district is one of them. After obtaining her master’s degree， Han worked at Australia’s second largest architectural products company. But her love for baking and her determination to pursue her dreams ultimately led her to quit the job and learn after Zhou Yi. Later， Han started her baking career overseas， and became the chosen patissier for Alessandro Del Piero， the Italian football legend. Her fondant cakes were on exhibition at the Sydney Opera House.

Zhou’s inspiration for his creation mostly comes from guochao and guoman， which are his favorites. “In many international fairs， the most popular works are often American comics and Japanese animations. I really hope that guoman， or Chinese animations， can gain more international recognition as well.”

What are the styles of guochao， the Chinese-culture-focused fashion trend， and guoman， Chinese animations？ Simply put， they result from the “youthization” of traditional Chinese culture. On the other hand， “youthization” doesn’t just equal to being liked by young people; rather， it means being more down-to-earth and relevant. In the current era， aesthetic tastes are changing constantly and getting more personalized. Zhou Yi and his team have been actively exploring ways to find a balance between the traditional and the modern， make creative works in line with the times， and promote them to the world to show the innovative beauty of traditional Chinese culture.

“This year we have issued the first global limited edition of the ‘Don’t cry’ — Mermaid garage hit， which was sold out a few days ago，” Zhou introduced. “An 80-year-old grandpa once gave me a call， just to say that he loved my fondant cakes. To my understanding， one of the best outward indicators of successful cultural inheritance is its presence in every family via visualized shapes， forms or formats.” In the future， Zhou said he and the team will further explore the overseas markets.