Legend of rice cakes It is said that rice cakes came from Suzhou. There is a legend about its origin: According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Wu Zixu helped He Lv seize the throne of the State of Wu, and made it prosperous all the year round. But later, He Lv was full of ambition and ordered Wu Zixu to build "He Lv City" to show his merits.

After the completion of the city wall, the king of Wu held a feast to celebrate. During the dinner, the ministers indulged in drinking and having fun, thinking that with a strong city, they could rest easy. See these, China's prime minister Wu Zixu is very worried. He called his entourage and said, "The civil and military officials in the Qing Dynasty now think that high walls can protect the peace of the State of Wu. Although the city wall can resist enemy soldiers, the people inside will be equally restrained if they want to go out. If the enemy does not fight around, isn't Wu trapped in a cocoon? If you get carried away, you will be in trouble. If anything happens to me, Wu is trapped and food and grass are scarce, you can go to Xiangmen City to dig three feet to get food. " The entourage thought that Wu Zixu was drunk, but he didn't take it seriously.

Soon, He Lv, the king of Wu, died, and Fu Cha succeeded to the throne, listening to slanderers. Wu Zixu urged the King of Wu to refuse the peace of Gou Jian, the King of Yue, but he was rejected and was sentenced to death. After Wu Zixu committed suicide, Gou Jian, the King of Yue, sent troops to attack the State of Wu, surrounded Gusu City, the capital of the State of Wu, and Wu Jun was trapped in the city, with women and children crying in the streets. At this time, the waiter remembered Wu Zixu's previous instructions, and quickly called the neighbors to dig food outside Xiangmen. When he dug three feet deep under the city wall, he found that the city brick was made of glutinous rice flour. People were so excited that they knelt down to the wall and thanked Wu Zixu. These glutinous rice noodles saved the people in the city. So under the auspices of the Wu Zixu family, it was distributed to the hungry people in the city, and everyone spent the famine temporarily. Suzhou people admire Wu Zixu's patriotism and love for the people. Since then, every winter, they will prepare rice cakes to show their memory of Wu Zixu and share them with friends and family during the Spring Festival. Therefore, the shape of Suzhou rice cake is similar to that of city bricks, which is not greasy after cooking, does not crack after drying, and does not go bad for a long time.