Source: Yangtze Evening News
Sun Huaisheng performed in the Qingming Shanghe Garden Scenic Area.
In some tourist attractions and performance activities, tourists can often see amazing fire-breathing performances. The performer holds a torch, opens his mouth suddenly, and shoots out orange flames several meters high. Onlookers can even feel the heat on their faces in an instant. Coupled with various acrobatic movements, the scene is very shocking. How is this kind of performance accomplished? Can the mouth really withstand such high temperatures? Ziniu News of the Yangtze Evening News recently interviewed Sun Huaisheng, a "fire-breathing" performer. The 46-year-old has been engaged in fire-breathing performances for 34 years. His daily performances at the Qingming Riverside Garden in Kaifeng City, Henan Province were photographed and posted online by netizens, which aroused admiration. However, behind the cheers was a bitterness that is unimaginable to ordinary people. "My mouth has been peeled more than a thousand times due to burns, and I may have to drink up to a thousand kilograms of kerosene every year. In severe cases, I even need gastric lavage once a month."
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In the Qingming Shanghe Garden Scenic Area, Sun Huaisheng is famous far and wide. During his daily performances, he is dressed in Song Dynasty opera costume. According to records, the fire-breathing performance originated in Bianliang City during the heyday of the Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,000 years.
I saw Sun Huaisheng walking around the venue carrying an oil bowl. He extended the bowl to the tourists and let them smell it. Judging from the expressions of the tourists, there is indeed a pungent smell. Sun Huaisheng took a sip, made a swallowing motion, and then said a few words to prove that he had drank the kerosene. He waved the small torch, then steadied his horse, roared, and only heard a "poof-" sound, and a fire dragon spurted out, and the flames were accompanied by thick black smoke. The reporter learned that the branches and leaves of the old locust trees next to the place where he often performed were blackened. In addition to performing fire-breathing performances, Master Sun will also perform some tricks, such as swallowing fire in his mouth and tourists putting cigarettes into his mouth to light cigarettes; he will also perform fire-breathing kebabs.
Quick Questions and Answers
●Is the white lips caused by heat? Shopkeepers who knew him well near
said that Sun Huaisheng earned not only hard-earned money, but hard-earned money in exchange for good health. The whiteness of his lips was caused by a fever. Although he applied ointment every day, it never seemed to be completely healed. In this regard, Sun Huaisheng said: "Burns are inevitable. The scars on the corners of the mouth are caused by burns, but the whitening of the lips is not caused by burns, but caused by corrosion of kerosene."
● Do you really have to swallow kerosene?
He said that he has practiced breathing fire for decades, and the action of swallowing is performative. He usually holds kerosene in his mouth, but it is inevitable that he will swallow the kerosene accidentally. I have to have my stomach washed once a month because kerosene contains high lead and I am afraid of harming my health. In addition to insisting on practicing Qigong to improve metabolism and detoxify, he heard that eating vegetables may have the effect of detoxifying lead, so he often ate fruits and vegetables.
●Can other flammable liquids be used instead?
Sun Huaisheng said that he has been looking for alternatives for many years, but nothing can replace kerosene. "We are using aviation kerosene now, which has a higher degree of cleanliness. Ordinary cooking oil will definitely not work, nor will alcohol." He said that alcohol is very dangerous and will explode, and the flame of alcohol turns blue, and the flame is basically invisible during the day. It is not as good as Kerosene has a large flame and smoke, which makes it look more impactful.
Behind the stunt
Now he has lost part of his sense of taste
Sun Huaisheng's hometown is Ancailou Town, Caoxian County, Shandong . He said that in the past, their place was also a hometown of martial arts, and all the children in the village were interested in practicing martial arts. When he was young, he became a disciple of the Sun family in the village. The master had learned some martial arts routines in the Shaolin Temple , and he followed him to learn hard qigong. and boxing. When Sun Huaisheng was 12 years old, he was already a master, teaching other children in the village to learn martial arts. At this time, he met his master Kuai Chuanzhi, who later taught him the fire-breathing stunt. The master was a member of an old acrobatic troupe in Shanghai, and he happened to be looking for apprentices at Ancai Tower at that time.
"At that time, my family made a living by growing wheat and cotton. There were too many brothers and sisters, and the burden on the family was heavy, so I followed my master to a big city to learn acrobatics."Sun Huaisheng said that he stayed in Shanghai with the troupe for several years, and later traveled with the troupe to Beijing and Tianjin, until it was later disbanded and he came to Kaifeng alone.
Sun Huaisheng said that back then, his master taught him the unique skill of breathing fire. You must have some basic skills. "First practice drinking kerosene, eating fire, and breathing fire. The learning process is very painful. The skin has peeled off thousands of times in the mouth. Even drinking hot water hurts when there are wounds in the mouth. Sun Huaisheng said that nowadays, he occasionally encounters sudden changes in the wind direction, burning his eyebrows and hair. Because his mouth is exposed to kerosene every day, eating has no taste.
Sun Huaisheng told the Ziniu News reporter that he only eats the most delicious breakfast every day. , and the richest, because there is no smell of kerosene in his mouth in the morning. He usually eats something simple at noon and evening, drinking some soup, and then eats lunch and dinner. Only saliva is secreted in his mouth. Only then will some sense of taste be restored.
I once choked on kerosene in my eyes and ears.
“Beginners will inevitably get injured during the learning process. I remember that I joined a theater troupe with my master when I was 12 years old, and later learned to breathe fire. The first time I drank kerosene into my mouth, the master asked me to hold my breath and spit it out. As a result, I didn't master the luck method, and the kerosene choked into my six orifices and my eyes were broken. There was kerosene coming out of my nostrils and ears, and I felt so uncomfortable that I felt like I wanted to die. "Sun Huaisheng's strong Shandong dialect sounded very heroic. He recalled with a smile that when he was learning from his master when he was young, even he admired his perseverance.
"There was one time when I didn't have good luck, and I was sucked in. , my mouth was severely scalded and covered with blisters. The largest blisters did not disappear for a month, and it was very painful to eat. Master applied an herbal ointment to me every day and I ate completely liquid. "Sun Huaisheng said, "Master also advised me not to force myself to go on stage, but I knew that at that time the troupe could not remove the programs that had been broadcast at will. That day, I hesitated and forced myself to go on stage amidst the sound of gongs and drums. After this experience, I have nothing to fear. "
" For decades, I cannot do without my wife's care of me. "Sun Huaisheng said that at first his wife did not know that spitting fire would suffer so much. Once she saw blisters on his mouth, she was so distressed that she burst into tears and persuaded him to change his career. "When the children were young, they thought I was great. They would excitedly tell other kids that my dad breathed fire. Now I am often advised not to do it, or to do something else, as it is too harmful to my health. Sun Huaisheng told reporters, "I am still passionate about this stunt, otherwise I wouldn't be able to persist." "
It's too hard and no one wants to learn anymore
Before contacting Sun Huaisheng, the Ziniu News reporter called the performing arts department of the scenic spot many times. Every time, the staff said that Master Sun Huaisheng was performing. The staff also said that Master Sun was performing in the morning There are performances in the afternoon and evening. He comes every day and has never been absent on vacation.
Talking about his work status of working full time without asking for leave throughout the year, Sun Huaisheng said that he is from Shandong and has no relatives or friends in Kaifeng. He has been practicing since he was a child. Wu is in good health and never gets sick. Besides, he is the only one who can breathe fire. Many tourists come here because of his reputation. He said that he insists on performing six times a day regardless of wind or rain. Seven performances, monthly income of 7,000 to 8,000 yuan. “This income mainly comes from the audience’s on-site rewards, which are as little as 50 cents. There are also generous viewers who give 100 yuan, but I am very satisfied. "Sun Huaisheng said.
In Sun Huaisheng's view, this fire-breathing performance that has been passed down for more than 1,000 years is mysterious, entertaining, and more attractive to the audience. He confidently believes that although there are also fire-breathing performances in some acrobatic performances, it reaches There are not many people with this level of acting. As early as five years ago, he felt that he couldn't do it anymore and wanted to recruit a successor. Over the past five years, some people came to inquire about it and thought it was cool when they saw a bowl of kerosene and a torch. It's simple, but I heard that during the practice, you have to drink kerosene into your mouth and hold your breath. Once you don't hold your breath, the kerosene will come out of your nose, ears, and corners of your eyes. The smell is so suffocating that aspiring students are discouraged.
Nowadays, Sun Huaisheng is discouraged. I no longer worry about whether I can recruit an apprentice."My son doesn't want to learn, and he can't bear the hardship. I don't want to teach him. I can't bear to let my son endure the hardship, and other parents are even more reluctant to send their sons to learn this!" Sun Huaisheng said, still hoping that his children will study more and learn more in the future. There are other good ways out, don't follow his path.
■Doctors remind that the human body is susceptible to tumors after long-term stimulation
Hua Yongzhi, deputy chief physician of the gastroenterology department of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine , believes that the group of fire-breathing performers is very small, and there is no statistical sample of such occupational incidence in medicine, so it is impossible to Determine from the data whether there is a high incidence rate in this occupation. Theoretically speaking, long-term stimulation by foreign bodies and high temperature will cause damage to the oral mucosa and digestive tract mucosa. During the repeated repair process of the human body, cell mutations may occur, which may accumulate to a certain extent to form tumors. The World Health Organization attributes the frequent ingestion of food above 60 degrees Celsius as a factor related to tumor occurrence. On the surface, although the fire-breathing performer violently sprays fire outwards, aspiration is inevitable, and the irritated temperature may even exceed 60 degrees Celsius. The mouth, throat and even lungs may be severely irritated. Performers need to master skilled techniques to resist the occurrence of injuries. Therefore, if you don’t have skilled techniques, don’t try it easily. (Photo provided by Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Ren Guoyong and interviewee)
Original title: "The fire-breathing artist "drank" thousands of kilograms of oil in a year and his oral burns have never healed in 34 years"
