The legend of eating dumplings during the winter solstice
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a famous doctor named Zhang Zhongjing in Nanyang. His medical skills are very high, and he can cure all difficult diseases at his fingertips. People praise him as a medical saint who can rejuvenate people.
Zhang Zhongjing was an official in Changsha. That year he retired and returned to his hometown. It was winter, the wind was biting and snowflakes were falling. He walked to the bank of Baihe River and saw the poor villagers running around for a living. They were sallow and skinny, and they were not fully clothed. Many of them had their ears rotten by the cold. He felt very sad.
As soon as Zhang Zhongjing got home, many people came to seek medical treatment. Although he was very busy, he always kept in mind the poor folks whose ears were rotten by the cold. He asked his disciples to build a shed in an open space in Dongguan, Nanyang, put a big pot on it, opened it on the day of the winter solstice, and gave medicine to the poor to treat frostbite. She's medicine is called "Qu Han Jiao Er Decoction". The method is to boil mutton, chili pepper and some anti-cold medicinal materials in a pot. After cooking, take out the mutton and chop it into pieces, wrap it in dough to form an ear-shaped "Jiao Er" and put it in the pot. Then it was distributed to the people who came to ask for medicine, and each person was given a large bowl of soup and two delicate ears. After people ate Jiao Er and drank the cold dispelling soup, their whole body felt warm and their ears felt hot.
Besides, when Zhang Zhongjing was an official in Changsha, he often treated local people's illnesses and was loved by the people there. After he retired and returned to his hometown, the people of Changsha missed him. Every year, they selected several respected old people to visit him with the feelings of the villagers. That year, Zhang Zhongjing was seriously ill. The old man in Changsha said: There is a good place in Changsha, and he wanted to bury him in Changsha when he died. How can the people of Nanyang be willing to obey? A quarrel broke out over this matter within a few moments. Zhang Zhongjing said: "I have eaten Changsha water, and I have never forgotten the love between my parents in Changsha; I was born in Nanyang, and I have never forgotten the kindness of my hometown. When I die, you carry my coffin and walk towards Changsha. Where did the spiritual rope break? , Just forget about where I am buried. "When everyone heard this, they stopped arguing.
On the winter solstice that year,
Zhang Zhongjing passed away. Many people came to Changsha to mourn and wanted to transport his body to Changsha. In accordance with his will, people from Nanyang and Changsha carried the coffin on the road. When they reached the place where the "Qu Han Jiao Er Tang" was left, the spiritual rope suddenly broke. All the people were busy digging graves, placing coffins, and filling graves. You pick it up, I pick it up, and the stream flows continuously day and night, making Zhang Zhongjing's tomb very big. A temple was built in front of Zhang Zhongjing's grave, which is now the Medical Saint Shrine.
Zhang Zhongjing died on the Winter Solstice, and it was on the Winter Solstice that he opened Zhangshe's "Quhan Jiao Er Soup". To commemorate this day, every winter solstice every household makes dumplings and eats them, saying that they eat dumplings during the winter solstice. , the ears will not freeze off.
The legend and culture of dumplings
It is said that dumplings were first invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a Chinese medical sage. For a long time, dumplings have been loved by people as a New Year food and have been passed down to this day.
In fact, dumplings originated from ancient slots. In the Song Dynasty, dumplings were called "Jiao'er", which is the etymology of the word "dumplings" in later generations. This way of writing can still be seen in the Yuan, Ming, Qing and the Republic of China. The Yuan Dynasty called dumplings "Bianshi". "Wanshu Miscellaneous Notes" published during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty records: "On New Year's Day, we make a plaque to pay New Year's greetings." Liu Ruoyu's "Zhuizhongzhi" records: "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we eat fruit snacks, which are plaque foods." The "bian" in "bianshi" in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties is now commonly known as "bian". The name "Bianshi" may come from Mongolian.
During the Qing Dynasty, new names for dumplings appeared, such as "dumplings", "water dim sum" and "boiled dumplings". The increase in the names of dumplings shows that their spreading areas are constantly expanding. The folk custom of eating dumplings during the Spring Festival was quite popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Dumplings are usually made before 12 o'clock in the evening on New Year's Eve and eaten at midnight. This is the beginning of the first day of the first lunar month. Eating dumplings means "Gengsui Jiaozi", and "子" means "子". "Shi", which is homophonic with "dumplings", has the meaning of "happy reunion" and "good luck". There are many legends about eating dumplings during the New Year. One is to commemorate Pangu's founding of the world and the end of chaos; the other is to take it from "Hun" The homophonic pronunciation of "hoard" means "full hoard of food". In addition, there is also a folk saying that eating dumplings is related to Nuwa's creation of human beings. When Nuwa kneaded earth to create a human being, the loess people's ears were easily frozen due to the cold weather. In order to keep the ears in place, Nuwa pierced a small eye in the human ear and tied the ear with a thin thread. , put the other end of the thread in the mouth of the loess and bite it to complete the ears. In order to commemorate the achievements of Nuwa, the common people made dumplings, shaped into the shape of human ears with dough, filled with stuffing (thread), and ate them with their mouths.
Dumplings are a kind of delicacy. When you mention the representative of Chinese cuisine to your friends, they will all mention it. Every part of it contains Chinese national culture. It is a must-have delicacy for every New Year's Eve night, expressing people's yearning for a better life. Various dumplings have different meanings. For example, the dumplings stuffed with celery are called Qincai dumplings, which are blessings for hard work and pragmatism; the dumplings stuffed with leeks are called Jiucai dumplings, which mean wishing people long-term health, harmony, joy, and happiness; the ones stuffed with cabbage are called Baicai. Dumplings are a blessing for all kinds of wealth, and are also good wishes for newlyweds to grow old together; mushroom stuffed dumplings are called Gucai Dumplings, which are good wishes for prosperity or for younger generations to succeed.