The legend of dumplings

Every year on the winter solstice of the lunar calendar, dumplings are an essential holiday meal for everyone, rich or poor. A proverb goes: "On October 1st, when the winter solstice arrives, every household eats dumplings." This custom was left in memory of the "Medical Saint" Zhang Zhongjing who gave up medicine during the winter solstice.

Zhang Zhongjing was a native of Gengdong, Nanyang. He wrote Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases, which was a collection of medical achievements and was regarded as a classic by doctors of all ages. Zhang Zhongjing has a famous saying: "If you advance, you will save the world; if you retreat, you will save the people; if you cannot be a good prime minister, you should also be a good doctor." During the Eastern Han Dynasty, he served as the prefect of Changsha, visiting patients and administering medicine, and practicing medicine in the lobby. Later, he resolutely resigned and returned to his hometown to treat his neighbors. It was winter when he returned home. He saw that the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River were sallow and thin, hungry and cold, and many of them had their ears rotten by the cold. So

he asked his disciples to set up a medical tent in Dongguan, Nanyang, set up a big pot, and use "Quhan Jiaoer Soup" to treat chilblains on the winter solstice. He put mutton, chili peppers and some anti-cold medicinal materials in a pot and boiled them. Then he took out the mutton and the medicinal materials and chopped them into pieces. Then he used bread to make "jiao ears" like ears. After cooking, Distribute two "jiao ears" and a large bowl of broth to each person who comes to ask for medicine.

People ate "Jiao Er" and drank "Quhan Tang", their whole bodies became warm, their ears felt hot, and their frostbitten ears were cured. Later generations imitated the appearance of "Jiao Er" and wrapped them into food, also called "dumplings" or "flat food".

Eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice is to remember the kindness of the "Medical Saint" Zhang Zhongjing's "Quhan Jiao Er Soup". There is still a folk song in Nanyang to this day: "If you don't bring dumpling bowls during the winter solstice, your ears will freeze off and no one will care."

A long, long time ago, there was a confused emperor in ancient China. Because a sixty-year-old minister in his court made a mistake and made him unhappy, he arbitrarily thought: Once a person gets old, he is useless. So a stupid law was made: when a person reaches the age of sixty, he must be buried alive, otherwise the nine tribes will be implicated.

Unfilial people are secretly happy about this, but filial people are secretly sad about it.

In this way, this confused law set by this confused emperor has been implemented for many years.

This news was later known by a rat spirit in the Himalayas. It is said that this rat spirit did not dare to eat living people at the time, but only relied on eating animals to increase its power. When it heard the news, it was almost happy. He fainted and shouted: "God help me!"

The rat spirit dug a rat hole along the bottom of the Himalayas and came to the bottom of the palace at that time. List, he got the news as soon as possible. After the person was buried alive, it would eat the person as soon as he stopped breathing, and its power would greatly increase as a result.

When the rat spirit has eaten one hundred thousand fresh dead people, this rat spirit will be able to come out at night to eat people.

The news about goblins coming out to eat people spread like wildfire, and the news reached the palace. There was a chaos in the palace, and people fled the palace one after another. When the goblins found out, they appeared in the palace that day and ate several people in a row. The palace maids and guards threatened to eat the emperor. The frightened emperor hurriedly posted the imperial list to recruit capable people to succumb to the demons. It was getting dark but no one came to reveal the imperial list. The emperor was so frightened that he almost peed his pants. Seeing the goblin It was about to come out, and the evil spirit filled the entire palace, creating a gloomy scene; the emperor kept scolding the ministers for their incompetence, and they were a bunch of losers; at this time, the rat spirit hid in a dark corner and spoke: "Foolish emperor, no need to shout, this is you I found it myself, no need to blame anyone." When the emperor heard this, he said to the rat spirit aggrievedly: "I didn't invite you here, how can you say it was caused by me?" The rat spirit smiled wildly and said, "I ordered it from you. When I buried people alive, I was ready to eat you, but you haven't been buried alive yet. I thought that when I could come out to eat people alive, I would eat you again. You are not an ordinary mortal. Ah, if I eat you, my power will be greatly enhanced. Then I can go out and eat people during the day!" The confused emperor suddenly realized when he heard this, and hated himself for not making this stupid decree, but it was too late. Now, it's too late! Just waiting to die.

When there was only a little bit of light left in the sun, someone ran in from outside and shouted: "Someone has revealed the emperor's list! We are saved!"

The emperor was stunned when he heard the excited voice. Changed, he stood up and shouted: "Please come quickly! Please come quickly!"

When the man who unveiled the emperor's list came in, the emperor was stunned. Standing in front of him was a man in rags. The country woman didn't care about the incident, so she became furious and shouted: "Get out of here!"

The country woman was infuriated and pointed at the emperor's nose desperately and said: "You fool!" , How many people have been harmed, and you still don’t repent when you are about to die? I think you are more terrifying than the rat spirit, so let the rat spirit eat you!" After that, he turned around and left. As he spoke, the sun set, and the gigantic rat-spirit howler burst out of the ground, opened its fishy and smelly bloody mouth and pounced on the emperor. By this time, the emperor had already peed his pants in fear, and could only cry out for help. , three of the palace maids were frightened to death on the spot, and several were frightened to death. At this critical moment, a meow of "meow" came from the country woman's sleeve. Upon hearing this, the rat spirit immediately turned around and fled back to the cave. Half an hour later, the rat spirit emerged from the hole again, but its body was more than twice as small as before. It was breathing heavily and stared at the emperor with two blood-red eyes. The frightened emperor rushed towards the countryside. The woman screamed for help. At this time, another meow of "meow" came from the sleeve of the country woman, and the rat spirit retracted its head with a "ouch"; the palace suddenly became silent, and everyone was stunned. He didn't dare to take a breath, as if the air was about to freeze.

About midnight, the rat spirit peeked out of the hole again, but its body had shrunk to the size of a pig. The rat spirit stared with a pair of fierce eyes. , approaching the emperor little by little, suddenly jumped up and rushed towards the emperor. At this critical moment, another meow of "meow" came from the country woman's sleeve, and a yellow civet cat burst out of the sleeve at the same time, Rushing straight towards the rat spirit, the rat spirit was so frightened that it immediately revealed its true form. It turned out to be a big rat that had lost its fur due to old age. Before the big rat could recover, the civet cat bit off its neck.

At this time, everyone present seemed to have woken up from a nightmare. They knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the country woman: "Thank you Bodhisattva for your blessing! Thank you Bodhisattva for your blessing!" I saw the country woman smiling at everyone. Said: "You are mistaken. I am not a Bodhisattva. I am indeed an ordinary woman. Get up quickly and listen to me what is going on."

It turns out that this woman is called "Xiangxiang" and she is the emperor. A well-known filial daughter-in-law at the foot of Chenggen.

Back when the stupid emperor promulgated the stupid laws, many people dared not speak out. In order to save the next generation, people had to sacrifice their parents who had raised them for many years, even when some of them were still healthy. He was buried alive.

Xiangxiang got along very well with her parents-in-law. When the Muddleheaded Emperor promulgated the Muddleheaded Law, Xiangxiang’s father-in-law was already sixty years old. Seeing that the time to bury her father-in-law alive was approaching day by day, Xiangxiang I was so distraught that I couldn't sleep at night. Suddenly, one night in the middle of the night, Xiangxiang had a strange dream. She dreamed that her father-in-law was talking to her through a small hole in a small house. When she woke up, she was puzzled and she quickly shook her dreaming child awake. The husband told her husband everything in the dream. The young couple thought about it and finally came up with a bold idea that they couldn't agree on.

The next day, news spread that Xiangxiang’s father-in-law had died and was buried behind his house overnight. Neighbors came to pay their respects one after another, but people never expected that , Xiangxiang’s father-in-law was not dead at all, but was secretly hidden in the grave by the young couple. In order to keep his father-in-law alive, Xiangxiang chopped various meats and vegetables every day, and mixed them with various seasonings. together, then wrap them up with dough, put them in a pot and cook them, and then send them in one by one through the small hole at the entrance of the tomb. In order to prevent his father-in-law from getting sick, Xiangxiang gave some chili and garlic to his father-in-law to help him drive away cold and dampness. Whenever he has time, Xiangxiang sat by the grave and talked to her father-in-law. The neighbors thought that Xiangxiang had lost her mind because she missed the old man.

In this way, Father Xiangxiang’s life was saved.

When the rat spirit could come out to eat people, the news also reached Xiangxiang’s family. Xiangxiang told her father-in-law. Her father-in-law asked Xiangxiang how much the civet cat at home weighed? Xiangxiang said eight pounds was enough, and her father-in-law told Xiangxiang: "An eight-jin civet cat can bring down a thousand-jin rat, but this mouse can't escape."

The next day, the imperial list was posted in the palace, and Xiangxiang He quickly picked up his civet cat and rushed to the palace. Fortunately, he arrived in time, otherwise Hunjun's life would have been long gone.

After talking about all this, Xiangxiang said: "Can you please abolish the law on burying the elderly alive? I kowtow to you on behalf of all the parents and children in the world."

After hearing this, the emperor blushed like a pepper and hurriedly stepped forward to help Xiangxiang and said: "Okay, okay, okay, abolish it immediately, abolish it immediately! I want to personally pick up the old man and see him again, and I want to apologize to the old man. ! I want to apologize to everyone in the world!" The emperor immediately ordered the abolition of this ridiculous law and apologized to the people of the country. The legislation must respect the elderly, and those who abuse the elderly will be classified as "abuse" and severely punished.

Not only did Xiangxiang’s father-in-law see the light of day again, he was also taken into the palace by the emperor, became his godfather, and lived a happy life.

Xiangxiang’s father-in-law ate all the delicacies in the palace, but he still felt that the food cooked by his daughter-in-law was the most delicious when he was in the grave. The emperor was also curious, what is more delicious than delicacies from the mountains and the sea? So Ye ordered Xiangxiang to make that special meal. Unexpectedly, after eating it, he praised it again and again: "It's delicious! Delicious!" The emperor ate a big bowl in one go, but after finishing it, he felt uncomfortable in his heart and felt sorry for the people in the world. , said to himself: "When I eat this food, I should share it with all the children in the world. I want to compare myself well with other people's sons. I want to treat my godfather well. Let's call it 'Jiaozi'." Later, someone felt that there should be a word for food next to the food, so they changed "Jiaozi" to "dumplings".

In order to promote the culture of respecting and caring for the elderly, people make dumplings to eat during the Spring Festival every year. Those who have the conditions often make dumplings for the elderly to eat, and they also dip them in minced garlic, chili, etc. as condiments. . In order to commemorate "Xiangxiang"'s virtue of respecting and loving the elderly, whenever an elderly person dies, people make bowls of dumplings and place them next to the tomb as offerings. On New Year's Eve, people make some dumplings and offer them in front of the ancestors' spiritual tablets. , to show filial piety.

People in northern my country have a custom of making dumplings when welcoming relatives and friends during festivals. Especially on the first day of the Lunar New Year, when the whole family has finished their New Year greetings, they sit together and chat while making dumplings. They talk about all kinds of things, which attracts laughter and laughter from time to time. It is a lot of fun. "Everyone loves to eat dumplings, and they are especially delicious during New Year's Eve dinner." When people eat this smooth, delicious and delicious water cake, if they know more about its origin, who can not marvel at the long-standing pasta wonders of our ancient civilization!

There are many historical records and folklore about the origin of dumplings.

Dumplings originated from ancient coins. As early as the Three Kingdoms period, this food was mentioned in the book "Guangya" written by Wei Zhangyi. According to research, it is a "moon-shaped wonton" from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty. It was developed from the "double-playing with dried meat" in the Southern Song Dynasty and has a history of 1,400 years. Relevant historical records from the Qing Dynasty say: "On New Year's Day, the rich food is eaten together, like eating flat food, and it is named Jiao Zi, which means "Jiao Zi". "He also said: "Every first day of the Lunar New Year, no matter rich or poor, no matter how high or low, they all use white flour to make dumplings and eat them, which is called boiled dumplings. It is the same throughout the country and there is no difference. Wealthy families secretly hide small gold and silver coins in their pastries to predict good luck, and if their family members eat well, they will have good luck throughout the year. "This shows that people eat dumplings during the Spring Festival, which means good luck and means bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. The recent author Xu Ke's "Qingbai Lei Chao" said: "There is stuffing in the dumplings, or it is called pink corners----and It can be steamed or fried, and it is called dumplings if they are cooked in water and have soup. "For thousands of years, dumplings have been loved by people as a New Year food and have been passed down to this day.

Dumplings have had many names during their long development process. In ancient times, there was "Lao Wan". Bianshi, "dumpling bait", "fenjiao" and other names. In the Tang Dynasty, dumplings were called "Tangzhongluowan"; in the Yuan Dynasty, they were called "Shiluojiao'er"; in the late Ming Dynasty, they were called "fenjiao"; in the Qing Dynasty, they were called " "Bianshi"----

Nowadays, the names of dumplings in the north and the south are different. People in the north call them "dumplings".

Many areas in the south call it "wonton". Dumplings have various names due to their different fillings, including pork dumplings, mutton dumplings, beef dumplings, three fresh dumplings, red oil dumplings, stock dumplings, floral vegetable dumplings, fish dumplings, crystal dumplings, etc. In addition, because of their different ripening methods , are still frying dumplings, steaming dumplings, etc. Therefore, eating dumplings on the New Year's Day is a good enjoyment in spirit and taste.

In addition to historical records, there is also another folk legend about the origin of dumplings. Once upon a time, there was an emperor who ignored government affairs all day long and only cared about having fun. The treacherous ministers in the court were favored and the loyal and good were harmed. The country was impoverished and the people were complaining. One day, Pan Qi, a traitor known as "Pan Sushui", came to see the emperor and said that he had a good idea to make the emperor immortal. After hearing this, the emperor liked it wholeheartedly. He hurriedly asked: "Pan Aiqing, what is your magic method? Please tell me!" Pan Qi said: "If a person can eat hundreds of kinds of rice, he can live longer and become a god. The emperor can order famous chefs to be recruited from various places. He cooks three new meals a day and eats hundreds of kinds of rice. Isn’t that what he wanted?” After hearing this, the emperor nodded repeatedly and issued a notice to recruit the whole country.

In a few days, many famous chefs from all over the country were sent to Beijing one after another. After the imperial examination, Su Qiaosheng, a highly skilled chef, was selected. From then on, Su Qiaosheng relied on his superb skills to cook ninety-nine different meals for the emperor, and the emperor was very satisfied. This night, Su Qiaosheng was very happy. I thought to myself: "If I cook another meal tomorrow morning, I can leave this hateful fool and go home to reunite with my relatives." But when it came time to cook, I didn't know how to make the last meal. He thought of committing suicide and running away, and also thought of poisoning this foolish king who ate and drank the flesh and blood of the people. When he was feeling sad, he suddenly saw some leftover mutton and vegetables on the kitchen table. He picked up a knife and chopped the mutton and vegetables together, randomly added seasonings, wrapped many small corners with white bread, and then put them in a pot of boiling water. Cook it and serve it to the emperor as the last meal. Su Qiaosheng was just sitting there, waiting for death. Unexpectedly, after the emperor finished the meal, he ran into the kitchen in his pajamas and said, "Today's meal is the most delicious. What's its name?" Su Qiaosheng sighed after hearing this. After a while, he looked up and saw this flat thing, and replied casually: "This is the best food among the people - flat food." The emperor left Su Qiaosheng to continue cooking for him. Qiaosheng was extremely angry at this greedy emperor. , and sneaked away secretly the next day. In order to commemorate this chef, later generations learned to make flat food and eat it. In this way, generation after generation, it has been passed down to this day.