Mooncakes are one of the time-honored traditional Han Chinese snacks and seasonal delicacies of Mid-Autumn Festival. Among them, Beijing-style, Guangzhou-style, Suzhou-style, Chao-style, Dian-style moon cakes are loved by people from all over China, north and south. The mooncake is round, round, and eaten by the whole family, symbolizing unity and harmony, and is a must-have on the Mid-Autumn Festival. In ancient times, mooncakes were eaten as an offering at the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that the custom of eating mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival started in the Tang Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was popular in the court, but also spread to the people, and was commonly known as "small cakes" and "moon balls" at that time. Development to the Ming Dynasty has become a national **** with the purchase of food customs. To this day, more varieties, flavors vary from place to place.
Moon cake in China has a long history. According to historical records, as early as in the Yin, Zhou period, Jiang, Zhejiang, there is a commemorative master Wen Zhong's thin side of the heart of the thick "Master Cake", which is the Chinese moon cake "ancestor".
There is a theory that the moon cake was called Hu cake, from the Western region into the Central Plains, is the Han Dynasty Zhang Qian out of the plug brought back, the local people with walnuts as a filling, to make a kind of round cake, it is called Hu cake. Another theory is that, during the years of Tang Gaozu, Li Jing led the army to conquer the Turks, and returned in triumph, so Tang Gaozu held a banquet on August 15 to celebrate the success. A Turpan merchant presented the emperor with a special product from his hometown: a round cake with a filling in the center. Tang Gaozu thought it was similar to the bright moon in the sky, and said, "I should invite the toad to the Hu cake." He rewarded his ministers with the cake, and they all said it was delicious. From then on, the cake was popularized, and every August 15, they would eat the cake while enjoying the moon.
Later, when Emperor Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei were enjoying the moon together, they ate hu cake while looking at the moon. Tang Xuanzong said, "Hu cake is not a good name." Yang Guifei looked at the big, round moon and said, "This cake is very much like the moon in the sky, how about calling it moon cake?" Tang Xuanzong said, "Good." From then on, Hu Cake was renamed Moon Cake. But these are all legends. In the Northern Song Dynasty, mooncakes were popular in the court, but also spread to the people, then commonly known as "small cakes" and "moon ball". Later evolved into a round, meaning reunion, reflecting people's good wishes for family reunion, but also on the deep thoughts of friends and relatives. Northern Song Dynasty Royal Mid-Autumn Festival like to eat a "palace cake", folk commonly known as "small cakes", "moon ball". Su Dongpo has a poem: "small cakes such as chewing the moon, there are crispy and Yi".
Southern Song Wu Zimu's "Dream Sorghum Records" book, the word "mooncake", then the mooncake is diamond-shaped, and chrysanthemum cake, plum cake, five kernel cake at the same time, and it is "all the time, any easy to ask for, do not miss the main customer". It can be seen that the mooncake at that time, not only in the Mid-Autumn Festival to eat. To the Yuan Dynasty, it is rumored that people had used the opportunity to gift mooncakes, mooncakes with a note, agreed to the night of August 15, at the same time, to drive away the Mongolian "Tartars". The description of Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, eating mooncakes, is the Ming Dynasty's "West Lake Excursions" only recorded: "August 15 is called Mid-Autumn Festival, the folk to mooncakes to leave each other, to take the meaning of reunion". The custom of eating mooncakes in the mid-autumn gradually spread among the people. At that time, the clever baker, the Chang'e moon mythological story as a food art pattern printed on the mooncake, so that the mooncake has become more popular Mid-Autumn Festival must-have food. Mooncake symbolizes reunion, should also be the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty about the moon cake and Mid-Autumn Festival folklore information, should be able to see the moon cake meaning reunion of the historical trajectory: Mid-Autumn Festival after the moon festival, the whole family are sitting around together to share the moon cake and for the moon fruit. Because the moon is full and the mooncake is round, and it is eaten by the whole family, the symbol of the mooncake representing the reunion of the family was gradually formed.
During the Qing Dynasty, there were more records of mooncakes, and the production became more and more elaborate. During the Qing Dynasty, eating mooncakes at mid-autumn had become a common custom, and the production skills became more and more sophisticated. Qing Dynasty Yuan Mei "with the garden food list" introduced: "crispy moon cakes, with pine nuts, walnuts, melon seeds, and rock sugar, lard for filling, eat without feeling sweet and fragrant, soft and creamy, very different from the ordinary". Folk legend has it that Cixi very much like to eat moon cakes. However, because the "moon cake" and "moon disease" sound close, Cixi is a woman, that is not elegant, so renamed "moon vegetable cake". Mid-Autumn Festival, in the Cixi curtain period, but the big day, *** three days. August 14 is "welcome the moon", August 15 "moon worship", August 16 is "send the moon", these three days are the Mid-Autumn Festival. At that time, Beijing's mooncake is the former door Zhimei Zhai made for the first. Throughout the country, has formed Beijing, Tianjin, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Chao five flavor series, and around the Mid-Autumn Festival also produced a moon worship, moon viewing and other local folklore.
To modern times, the moon cake in quality, variety, there are new developments. Raw materials, modulation methods, shape and other differences, so that the moon cake is more colorful, the formation of the Beijing-style, Suzhou-style, Guangzhou-style varieties with their own characteristics. Moon cake is not only a unique flavor of the holiday food, but also become a four seasons of the exquisite pastry, quite popular