xv, 3 Groff: Soy Sauee in Kivangtung 309 



is 32 inches. The brick oven constructed around this pan costs 

 about 100 dollars local silver additional (Plate I). 



Mold room — The mold room is usually placed to the north so 

 that the doors which control the light and ventilation, very es- 

 sential to good mold, can be opened to the south and plenty of 

 sunlight allowed to enter. This room can be made almost com- 

 pletely dark by the closing of these doors. It contains wooden 

 racks on which the trays of beans and flour are placed to mold 

 (Plate II, fig. 1). 



Jars. — Brown earthenware cylindrical jars known as Shiu- 

 hing kong (ij? Jg g£) — now no longer manufactured — are the 

 ones preferably used to sun the beans, salt, and water (Plate V, 

 fig. 2). The Tsinguen kong (^ g£ ££), a brown earthenware 

 jar of inferior quality but with the same contour as the Shiu- 

 hing jar, is now the only jar obtainable on the market. These 

 jars are so named because they are manufactured in Shiuhing 

 and Tsinguen, cities of Kwangtung. The Tsinguen jar leaks very 

 easily, and the manufacturers prefer repaired Shiuhing jars to 

 this inferior Tsinguen jar. The latter jar, 19.5 inches in diam- 

 eter and 18.5 inches deep, with a capacity, of 180 catties, can 

 be purchased for 1.70 dollars local silver. About one thousand 

 of these jars are kept in the sunning yard at one time, although 

 at times only about two-thirds of them are in use. The Chinese 

 believe that the jars are greatly improved by long sunning, and 

 when space permits the jars are allowed to sun in the court yard 

 for months at a time. 



Racks. — The mold room is filled with crudely constructed 

 wooden racks with horizontal partitions every 5 inches, on 

 which are placed the trays of beans for molding (Plate II, fig. 2) . 



Trays. — Two types of trays are used, the commonest being 

 the circular bamboo tray, wo (^ ), made in Canton (Plate VII, 

 fig. 1). This tray can be purchased in any size, but the most 

 commonly used for soy making is about 3 feet in diameter with 

 a rim of 1.5 inches. This tray is in general use in Canton for 

 the making of many different sauces and the drying of vege- 

 tables. In order to save space many manufacturers construct 

 light wooden frames with horizontal strips of bamboo placed 

 close enough to support a very inferior quality of matting (Plate 

 IV, fig. 1). These trays are made so as to fit the racks snugly. 

 They are usually about 5 feet 2 inches long and 3 feet 9 inches 

 wide. The matting for this size of tray can be purchased for 

 60 cents local silver. This seems to be an excellent method, for 

 the matting can be replaced when worn out. 



