Zhang Zhongjing (150-2 19), whose real name was Zhongjing, was a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty and was honored as a "medical sage" by later generations. Zhang Zhongjing's famous Treatise on Febrile Diseases has made great contributions to the development of later medicine, and the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment established in Treatise on Febrile Diseases is the soul of traditional Chinese medicine. Zhang Zhongjing not only has excellent medical skills and made great contributions to medicine, but also has a very kind heart.
Zhang Zhongjing worked as a satrap in Changsha, and later retired to his hometown, which was in the cold winter. The wind was cold on the way, and many poor people were sallow and emaciated, and their ears were frozen stiff. Zhang Zhongjing was very uncomfortable when he saw this scene. So Zhang Zhongjing asked his disciples to set up a cauldron in an open space, and prepared to cook some cold medicine for these poor people for free. It is said that the boiled medicine is called "cold-dispelling pepper soup": mutton, pepper and some cold-dispelling and warm medicines are put into the pot and boiled; After cooking, chop up the mutton and the cooked medicine, wrap it in a flour bag and make it look like a "charming ear". Wait until these "charming ears" mature and then distribute them to the poor. After eating, people are warm and their ears are burning. Miraculously, after half a month, everyone's frozen ears were all cured.
After the winter, the people deeply remembered Zhang Zhongjing's kindness. So in order to commemorate this "medical sage" who gave his life to save lives, on the solstice of every winter, people imitated Joule and made today's jiaozi out of flour, which was called Joule or Shi Ping at that time. Later, there was a legend that eating jiaozi on the winter solstice won't freeze your ears, so every winter solstice, people will eat jiaozi anyway, and this custom has been preserved to this day.