jiaozi is a traditional special food deeply loved by China people, also known as dumplings. It is the staple food of the people in northern China, the local snacks, and also the New Year food. There is a folk song called "A slight cold, eat jiaozi for the New Year." Jiaozi is often boiled with flour and leather bag stuffing. Jiaozi originated in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In jiaozi, cold water and flour are used as agents. Noodles and water are mixed together, kneaded into large rough dough, covered with dry wet gauze or towel, left for about an hour, cut by knife or picked by hand into several small doughs, which are kneaded into long strips with a diameter of about 3 cm, cut by knife or picked by hand into small dough pieces, and rolled into small dough pieces with a small rolling pin. Dumpling skin can also be made of hot noodles, crispy noodles or rice noodles; The stuffing can be vegetarian, sweet and salty; Mature methods can also be steamed, baked, fried, fried, etc. Meat stuffing includes three fresh, shrimp, crab roe, sea cucumber, fish, chicken, pork, beef, mutton, etc. Vegetarian stuffing can be divided into mixed vegetarian stuffing and ordinary vegetarian stuffing. Jiaozi is characterized by its thin skin and tender stuffing, delicious taste, unique shape and insatiable appetite. Jiaozi's raw materials are full of nutrients, and the cooking method ensures less loss of nutrients, which is in line with the connotation of China's color, flavor and diet culture. Jiaozi is a kind of folk food with a long history, which is very popular among the people. There is a saying among the people that "it's delicious but not as good as jiaozi". During the Spring Festival, jiaozi has become an indispensable delicacy.

[ Edit this paragraph] Origin

jiaozi originated from the ancient slot. As early as the Three Kingdoms period, this kind of food was mentioned in the book Guangya written by Wei Zhangyi. According to textual research, it was developed from the "crescent-shaped wonton" from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty and the "dried meat with double corners" in the Southern Song Dynasty, with a history of more than 1,4 years. According to the historical records of the Qing Dynasty, "On New Year's Day, when people are happy, they will leave together, such as eating flat food and being famous, and taking the meaning of making friends at a younger age." He also said: "Every year on the first day of the lunar new year, no matter how rich or poor, white flour is used to make dumplings, which is called cooking cakes, which is the same in the whole country. A rich family is hidden in a treasure trove of gold and silver. If it is successful, those who have food for their families will be lucky in the end. " This shows that people eat jiaozi in the Spring Festival, which means good luck, to show that they will bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. "Clear barnyard grass banknotes" edited by Xu Ke, a close friend, said: "There is stuffing in it, or it is called powder horn-both steamed food and fried food can be eaten, and boiled soup is called dumplings." For thousands of years, jiaozi, as a New Year's food, has been loved by people, and has been passed down to this day.

the historical development of jiaozi

jiaozi was called a "corner" in the Song Dynasty, which was the etymology of the word "jiaozi" in later generations. This way of writing, in the following Yuan, Ming, Qing and Republic of China, we can still see that the Yuan Dynasty called jiaozi a "flat food". During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Bang's Miscellaneous Notes of Wan Department recorded: "New Year's Day, New Year's greetings, making plaque food". Liu Ruoyu's "Deliberation in Records" states: "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, eating fruit snacks is also a plaque." The "plaque" of the "plaque food" in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties has now been commonly used as "flat". A "flat food" may come from Mongolian.

According to Guangya written by Zhang Yi, a Wei native of the Three Kingdoms, there was a crescent-shaped food called "Wonton" at that time, which was basically similar to the shape of jiaozi now. By the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, wonton was "shaped like a crescent moon, and the world was full of food". It is speculated that when jiaozi was cooked, it was not fished out and eaten alone, but mixed with soup in a bowl, so people called jiaozi "wonton" at that time. This way of eating is still popular in some areas of China. For example, people in Henan and Shaanxi eat jiaozi, so they should put some small ingredients such as coriander, chopped green onion, shrimp skin and leek in the soup.

By about the Tang Dynasty, jiaozi had become exactly the same as jiaozi now, and it was fished out and eaten alone on a plate.

jiaozi was called "Jiao Er" in Song Dynasty, which was the etymology of the word "jiaozi" in later generations. This kind of writing can still be seen in the following Yuan, Ming, Qing and Republic of China.

The Yuan Dynasty called jiaozi a "flat food". During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Bang's Miscellaneous Notes of Wan Department recorded: "New Year's Day, New Year's greetings, making plaque food". Liu Ruoyu's "Deliberation in Records" states: "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, eating fruit snacks is also a plaque." The "plaque" of the "plaque food" in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties has now been commonly used as "flat". A "flat food" may come from Mongolian.

During the Qing Dynasty, new appellations about jiaozi appeared, such as "dumpling", "water snack" and "boiled cake". The increase of jiaozi's name shows that its spreading area is expanding, and the custom of eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival has been quite popular in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Generally, jiaozi should be wrapped up before 12 o'clock in the evening of New Year's Eve and eaten at midnight. At this time, it is the beginning of the first day of the first lunar month. Eating jiaozi means "making friends at a younger age", and "zi" is homophonic with "dumpling", which means "happy reunion" and "good luck". There are many legends about eating jiaozi in the New Year, one of which is to commemorate Pangu's epoch-making. In addition, it is also said that eating jiaozi's folk language is related to Nu Wa's making people. When Nu Wa's soil caused people, the ears of the loess people were easily frozen off because of the cold weather. In order to make the ears not be fixed, Nu Wa put a small eye in the ear, tied it with a thin thread, and put the other end of the thread in the mouth of the loess people to bite it, so as to make the ears well. In order to commemorate the achievements of Nu Wa, ordinary people wrapped jiaozi, shaped it into an adult's ear with flour, wrapped it with stuffing (thread) and ate it with their mouths.

[ Edit this paragraph] Allusions

jiaozi was originally named "Jiao Er", and it is said that it was first invented by Chinese medical sage Zhang Zhongjing. His story of "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" has spread among the people to this day. Zhang Zhongjing

Zhang Zhongjing was born in Nanyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Since childhood, he has studied medical books hard and learned from others, becoming the founder of traditional Chinese medicine. He wrote Treatise on Febrile Diseases, which is a masterpiece of doctors and regarded as a classic by doctors in past dynasties. Zhang Zhongjing has a famous saying: "If you advance, you will save the world; if you retreat, you will save the people;" You can't be a good doctor, but also a good doctor. " Zhang Zhongjing not only has a good medical skill, but also has a noble medical ethics. He has treated the poor and the rich seriously and saved countless lives.

According to legend, when Zhang Zhongjing was the prefect of Changsha, he often cured diseases for the people. One year, when the local plague prevailed, he built a cauldron at the entrance of Yamen, giving up medicine to save people, which won the love of Changsha people. After Zhang Zhongjing retired from Changsha, he just happened to catch up with the winter solstice and walked to the bank of the Baihe River in his hometown. He saw many poor people suffering from hunger and cold, and their ears were frozen. It turned out that typhoid fever was prevalent at that time, and many people died. He was very upset and determined to treat them. When Zhang Zhongjing came home, there were many people seeking medical treatment. He was as busy as a bee, but he always remembered the poor people with frozen ears. Following the example of Changsha, he told his disciples to set up a medical shed and cauldron in an open space in Dongguan, Nanyang, and open it on the day of the winter solstice to give medicine to the poor to cure their injuries.

Zhang Zhongjing's medicine named "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" is a summary of the clinical practice in the Han Dynasty for more than 3 years. Its practice is to boil mutton, pepper and some cold-dispelling medicinal materials in a pot, then take them out and chop them up after cooking, and make them into ear-shaped "Jiaoer" with flour bags, and then cook them in the pot and distribute them to patients begging for medicine. Each person has two charming ears and a bowl of soup. After eating Quhan decoction, people feel warm all over, their blood is smooth, and their ears get warm. The common people ate from the winter solstice to New Year's Eve, resisted typhoid fever and cured their frozen ears.

Zhang Zhongjing gave up medicine until New Year's Eve. On the first day of New Year's Day, people celebrate the New Year and the recovery of rotten ears. They cooked food for the new year just like jiao's ears and ate it on the morning of the first day. People call this kind of food "dumpling ears", "jiaozi" or "flat food" and eat it on the winter solstice and the first day of the new year to commemorate the day when Zhang Zhongjing opened a shed to give medicine and cure patients.

It is nearly 18 years since Zhang Zhongjing, but his story of "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" has been widely circulated among the people. On the winter solstice and the first day of New Year's Day, people eat jiaozi, and they still remember Zhang Zhongjing's kindness in their hearts. Today, we don't need to cure frozen rotten ears with charming ears, but jiaozi has become the most common and favorite food for people.

[ Edit this paragraph] Customs and culture

jiaozi is included in the New Year's Eve. It is one of the most important contents of folk Chinese New Year in the vast areas of northern China. In jiaozi on the 3th, because it is an important part of the festival, many rules and established customs have been stipulated. These customs are all to meet the needs of the atmosphere of the New Year.

The custom of eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival

When it comes to Chinese New Year, many people think of a family gathering together to wrap up in jiaozi. Jiaozi is a must on the dinner table. Especially in northern China, wrapping jiaozi and eating dumplings have become an important activity for most families to celebrate New Year's Eve. As the saying goes: "It's cold and mild, eat jiaozi for the New Year." Chinese New Year is the most grand festival in China. In order to live a good year, the old farmers began to be busy as soon as they entered the threshold of the twelfth lunar month. From the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, commonly known as the "off-year", the countdown to the New Year began, and lanterns were decorated, couplets were put up, and the courtyard was cleaned, so as to prepare for the distant relatives and have a reunion year. On the night of New Year's Eve, the most important activity is to package jiaozi with the whole family.

According to the literature, the custom of eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival appeared in the Ming Dynasty at the latest. Then it is particularly noteworthy that by the Qing Dynasty, this custom had become very widespread and had been fixed. This custom has something to do with the ancient timekeeping method in China. In ancient China, twelve earthly branches were used to record the time of each day. Let's divide every day into twelve time periods, so the beginning of every day is noon, which is equivalent to the time from 23: to 1: in the middle of the night today. Then at the end of each year, at the age of 3, this is not only the replacement of the old and new days, but the replacement of the old and new years. People in China call it "Jiaozi". People in China pay great attention to the boundaries, especially the boundary of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new year. At this time, we should make some ceremonies to pray for good luck in the coming year. So eating jiaozi, jiaozi and this "jiaozi" at this time is just a homonym, and jiaozi has such rich cultural meanings that people in China gradually form. At the Spring Festival, on the first day of the New Year, and at the moment of jiaozi, we eat jiaozi as a custom. For China people who respect family, on New Year's Eve, the snow outside the window is silent, the lights inside are warm and the pot is steaming. All my thoughts and blessings are wrapped in that thin dumpling skin! The red flame boiled the water, and the more it was cooked, the more delicious it felt. With the firecrackers to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year, jiaozi was filled with beautiful expectations for the coming year.

Pay attention to dumpling stuffing

jiaozi has long been more than just a kind of food, but when you mention the representative of Chinese food to your friends, you will always mention it. Every part of it contains Chinese culture, which is basically a must-have food for every family on the 3 th night, and expresses people's yearning and appeal for a better life. However, how can we make jiaozi's culture work? Let's introduce the culture of dumpling stuffing to you:

1) Celery stuffing-that is, diligence means diligence, so it is diligence dumplings

Diligence means diligence and diligence; Often, diligence (frequency) is constantly flowing, which is called diligence. It is a blessing for the endless material wealth; It is also a blessing to hard work and pragmatism.

2) leek stuffing-that is, it means long-term wealth, so it is called long-term wealth dumplings

long-term: that is, long time and long time, it is called long-term wealth. It is a material wealth to pray for a long time; It is also a blessing for eternity, and I hope that people will last for a long time-health, harmony, happiness and happiness.

3) Chinese cabbage stuffing-that is, the meaning of a hundred treasures, so it is called a hundred treasures dumplings

Hundred: a quantifier, that is, a hundred kinds of meanings, which is called a hundred treasures. Blessing for all kinds of wealth; Or to wish the newlyweds a long life together.

4) Mushroom stuffing-that is, drum wealth dumplings

Drum: that is, it rises and protrudes, and the shape of mushrooms is like an upward arrow, or it is the trend of the stock market, which means drum wealth; Or to express good wishes for the younger generation to get ahead.

5) sauerkraut stuffing-that is, counting money means counting money, so it is called counting money dumplings

Counting: checking and clearing. If the money is enough to count one night, how much is it? Call it counting money; Or for the blessing of choice, choice is greater than effort, and I hope that relatives and friends can have a good choice and choose well.

6) Dumplings with meat and vegetables-that is, dumplings with money

There is: there is. Anyone who has seen Zhao Benshan's sketches will forget "talented, so talented!" What about this famous saying? Call it wealth; I wish you wealth and even more talent.

7) Fish stuffing-it means surplus money, so it is called surplus money dumplings

surplus: surplus, extra, wishing you more money every year, which is called surplus money. What you pay is hard work, what you get is wealth, and what I leave behind is health.

8) Beef stuffing-that is, Niucai Dumplings

Niu: that is, Niuqi, which is the favorite of friends in stock trading, is called Niucai when there is a bull market every day; I wish my friends good health and full of bullishness.

9) mutton stuffing-that is, foreign wealth means foreign wealth dumplings

foreign: that is, vast and numerous; It is wider than the sea, and I wish you a fortune, which is called a fortune.

1) jujube stuffing-that is, lucky dumplings

trick: to summon, just like the god of wealth, the wealth in the world is at your disposal, which is called lucky. Traditionally, I like to wrap coins in jiaozi, and what I get is the best luck, but it is not very safe and hygienic, so I wrap big red dates and wish what I eat will be prosperous and full of enthusiasm in the new year.

11) Wild vegetable stuffing-that is, the meaning of wild wealth, so it is called wild wealth dumplings

Wild: that is, wild, or accidental. Who doesn't like a green and healthy windfall? It is called wild wealth.

12) Dish stuffing-that is, money arrives, so it means money arrives at dumplings

Money arrives: that is, money arrives, the god of wealth arrives, and it means receiving money and receiving it. Vegetable stuffing, namely vegetarian stuffing and vegetable stuffing, is called wealth.

13) sweet stuffing means adding money, so it's called adding money dumplings

adding money means adding money. That is, sweets or dumplings, moon cakes, etc.; It is even more homophonic with genius, which is called adding wealth.

Therefore, there is a message of blessing from jiaozi culture:

I wish you in jiaozi-

Be diligent in your wealth,

Be rich in your husband and wife,

Be rich at home,

Invest to boost your wealth,

Go out to make money,

Add money in your door,

Encounter wild wealth,

Recruit money every day.

[ Edit this paragraph] Legend

Apart from historical records, there are other folk legends about the origin of jiaozi: once upon a time, there was an emperor who ignored state affairs all day and only had fun, and the courtiers in the court were favored and loyal and virtuous, which caused the country to be poor and the people to complain. One day, Pan Qi, a traitor known as "Pan Sushui", called on the emperor and told him that he had a good idea to make the emperor live forever. After listening to it, the emperor was filled with love and asked, "Pan Aiqing, what's the magic method? Tell me quickly!" Panchi said, "If you can eat a hundred kinds of meals, you can prolong your life and become immortal. The emperor can order famous chefs to be recruited everywhere, so that he can cook new dishes three times a day and eat a hundred kinds of meals. Isn't that what he wants?" After hearing this, the emperor nodded again and again, and then issued a notice: the whole country called for elections.

in a few days, famous chefs from all over the country were sent one after another.