The origin of zongzi:

Duanwu Festival to eat zongzi, which is another traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi, also known as "corn", "tube dumplings". It has a long history, a variety of patterns.

According to records, as early as the Spring and Autumn period, with Mizushu leaves (wild rice leaves) wrapped in millet into a horn-shaped, called "corner of corn"; bamboo tube with rice sealed and baked, called "tube dumplings". The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to grass ash water soaked in millet, because the water contains alkali, with Mushroom leaves wrapped in millet into a quadrangular shape, cooked, became the Guangdong alkaline water rice dumplings.

Jin Dynasty, dumplings were officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, the package of raw materials in addition to glutinous rice, but also add the Chinese medicine Yi Zhi Ren, cooked zongzi called "Yi Zhi Zong". Zhou Zhou, "Yueyang customs and local records" recorded: "commonly wrapped in millet leaves ...... cooked, and rotten, in the fifth of May to the summer solstice to eat, a zong, a millet." North and South Dynasty period, the emergence of mixed rice dumplings. Rice mixed with animal and poultry meat, chestnuts, jujubes, adzuki beans, etc., more varieties. Zongzi also used as a gift for interaction.

The Tang Dynasty, rice dumplings, has been "white as jade", the shape of the cone, diamond-shaped. Japanese literature recorded in the "Tang dumplings". Song Dynasty, there has been "candied rice dumplings", that is, fruit into the dumplings. Poet Su Dongpo has "in the dumplings see prunes" poem. At this time also appeared with zongzi piled up into buildings, pavilions, wooden cars, cows and horses to do the ads, indicating that the Song Dynasty to eat zongzi has been very fashionable. Yuan, Ming period, zongzi parcel material has been changed from the Mizuno leaf for Ruo leaf, and later appeared with reed leaf package of zongzi, additional material has appeared bean paste, pork, pine nuts, jujube, walnuts and so on, varieties are more colorful.

Till today, the beginning of May every year, the Chinese people have to dip glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves, package zongzi, its color varieties are more varied. From the filling point of view, the north more packages of small jujube Beijing jujube dumplings; the south has bean paste, fresh meat, ham, egg yolk and other fillings, which is represented by the Zhejiang Jiaxing zongzi.