Dumplings originate from the ancient jiaozi (角子). According to legend, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Ji, a doctor from Nanyang, was an official in Changsha and used to cure people's illnesses. After he retired to his hometown in Changsha, he went to his hometown on the bank of the Baihe River, and saw that the people were starving and suffering from the cold, and their ears were frozen and rotten, and then he asked his disciples to set up a medical hut and a cauldron in an open space at the Dongguan Pass in Nanyang, and he dispensed medicines in the winter. His medicine was called "Cold-removing Jiao Er Tang", the practice is to use mutton, some cold-expelling herbs boiled and simmered, and then wrapped into an ear-shaped "Jiao Er" with the skin, it is said that after eating the body will be warm, warm ears, later generations of people fraudulently rumored that the recipe contains chili peppers, but this is a pseudo-history because Chili peppers are native to the Americas and were introduced to China only after the end of the Ming Dynasty, but some people speculate that the recipe may have contained peppercorns.

That year, Zhang Ji's medicine distribution lasted until the 30th day of the new year. On the first day of the new year, people began to make New Year's Eve food modeled after jiao ear and ate it on the morning of the first day of the new year, calling it "dumpling ear" or "dumpling".

As early as the Three Kingdoms period, the Wei people Zhang Yi book "Guangya", mentioned this food. According to the evidence: it is from the North and South Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty period, "the crescent-shaped wontons". And the Southern Song Dynasty "dry meat double under the corner of the" development, has a history of more than 1,400 years.

The relevant historical records of the Qing Dynasty: 'On New Year's Day, when it is time to leave, the same food is served, such as flatbread, the name is Kako, which takes the meaning of the year-end. Also said: 'the first day of every year, whether rich or poor, rich or poor, all do dumplings with white food, called the boiled meat and potatoes, the whole country is the same, no difference. Wealthy families, secretly to the gold and silver ingot hidden in the meat and potatoes, in order to divine the smooth, family members to eat the person, then the end of the year is very lucky.'' This shows that people eat dumplings on New Year's Day, symbolizing good luck, to show the old and welcome the new. The recent Xu Ke compilation of the 'Qing Barnyard Banknotes' said: 'In the filling, or called the powder angle - and steamed fried food can be, boiled in water and soup is called dumplings (in Guangdong, dumplings can refer to another type of food, is filled with carrots, bamboo shoots, pork or shrimp to do the filling).' For thousands of years, dumplings have been loved as a New Year's food and have been passed down from one generation to the next.

Dumplings, a kind of stuffed food with a skin made of flour, are a more traditional food in northern China. In some places it is called flat food. Commonly, there are dumplings, steamed dumplings and fried dumplings.

Northern Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival with dumplings. Dumplings are wrapped on New Year's Eve and eaten at midnight to harmonize with the meaning of the word "New Year's Eve". Dumplings on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar are also called "reunion dumplings" because it is the first full moon after the lunar new year. In addition to this, there is also the saying "winter solstice dumplings and summer solstice noodles", and in many places in northern China, it is customary to eat dumplings at the winter solstice.

Dumplings are also commonly eaten in southern China. However, the biggest difference compared to the north is that in the south it is possible to make dumplings into rice flour skin (rice is ground into powder and made into dumpling skin). Dumplings are a common food in the south. It rarely appears on the table at New Year's festivals. It is very different from the status of dumplings in the north.

The Manchus call dumplings "the meat and potatoes of the children and grandchildren".

Jin language area, as well as Southwest Lu and other areas of the dumplings are also called "flat food" (Jin language area of the object more than boiled corner of the name.