Dough figurines are a traditional art project in the fourth batch of representative projects of Huai'an's municipal intangible cultural heritage. Historical evolution and distribution Dough figurines have a long history. According to literature and scientific records, dough figurines have already existed in the Han Dynasty. The Song Dynasty's "Dream Lianglu" records the custom of using dough figurines on festive days such as the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and weddings and birthdays. The earliest existing ancient dough figurines are dough-made female figurine heads, male figurine upper body figures, and dough pigs found in the Astana Tomb in Turpan, Xinjiang, which was excavated in the fourth year of the Yonghui reign of the Tang Dynasty (653 AD). In the Qing Dynasty, craftsmen who made a living by making dough figurines appeared. Today, the craftsmanship and customs of making dough figurines are still preserved in most parts of northern China, and the dough figurine craftsmanship in Xuyi County is also well inherited. Basic content and characteristics Dough figurines are generally divided into ornamental dough figurines and edible dough flowers (or ritual buns). Dough figurines for viewing are usually made of refined flour, glutinous rice flour, salt and sesame oil, while dough figurines for eating are made of wheat starch, cornstarch and the like. The difference in materials makes the production process of these two types of dough figurines slightly different. The tools for making edible dough flowers are simple and rely entirely on ingenuity. The method is to first rub and knead the white flour into dough, and then use scissors, kitchen knives and combs to shape the dough. The dough figurines in Xuyi area are mainly ornamental. The method of making ornamental and decorative dough figurines is to pour boiling water into flour and glutinous rice flour and stir with chopsticks, and then knead the dough repeatedly to make it even. Then add colors such as magenta, magenta yellow, magenta blue, large, and pot smoke black to the dough to make a variety of colored noodles, and then use kneading, rubbing, cutting, picking, pressing, and sticking to shape the image. You can also use some feathers, cotton, etc. to decorate the hair and beard of the dough man, so that a complete image appears. Dough figurines are rich in color, small in size, easy to carry, made of cheap materials, and have a relatively low production cost. After long-term exploration by dough figurine artists, dough figurines today do not mold, crack, deform, or fade. They have become part of Chinese culture and folk art. They are also physical materials that cannot be ignored in the study of history, archaeology, folklore, sculpture, and aesthetics.