Why do we eat dumplings during the Winter Solstice?
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 to commemorate the "Medical Saint" Zhang Zhongjing who gave up medicine during the winter solstice.
Zhang Zhongjing was from Gendong, Nanyang. He wrote Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases, which is a collection of medical achievements and is 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. He asked his disciples to set up a medical tent and a large pot in Dongguan, Nanyang, and make "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" to treat chilblains on the winter solstice. He put mutton, chili peppers and some cold-repelling medicinal herbs in a pot and boiled them. Then he took out the mutton and the medicinal herbs, chopped them into pieces, and used bread to make ear-shaped "jiao ears". After cooking, he distributed them to those who came to seek medicine. Each person has two "Jiao Er" and a large bowl of broth. People ate "Jiao Er" and drank "Qu Han 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". To this day, there is still a folk song in Nanyang, "If you don't bring dumpling bowls during the winter solstice, your ears will freeze off and no one will care".
The origin of eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice
Dumplings are a traditional food loved by the Chinese people. Its preparation method is to first use flour to make thin and soft dumpling skins, then chop fresh meat, cabbage, etc., mix with condiments as fillings, wrap them up, and cook until the dumplings float to the surface. It is characterized by thin skin, tender filling, delicious taste, unique shape, and you will never tire of eating it.
The original name of dumplings is "Jiao Er", which was first invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a Chinese medical saint.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, disasters occurred in various places and many people suffered from diseases. There was a famous doctor in Nanyang named Zhang Ji, also known as Zhongjing. He studied medical books diligently since he was a child, learned from others' strengths, and became the founder of traditional Chinese medicine. Zhang Zhongjing not only had excellent medical skills and could cure all difficult and complicated diseases at his fingertips, but also had high medical ethics. He treated both poor and rich seriously and saved countless lives.
When Zhang Zhongjing was an official in Changsha, he often cured diseases for the people. One year when the local plague was prevalent, he built a big pot at the yamen gate and gave up medicine to save people. He was deeply loved by the people of Changsha. After Zhang Zhongjing retired from Changsha and returned to his hometown, he walked to the bank of Baihe River in his hometown and saw many poor people suffering from hunger and cold, and their ears were rotten by the frost. He felt very sad and determined to save them. When Zhang Zhongjing returned home, there were so many people seeking medical treatment that he was very busy, but he always kept in mind the poor people with rotten ears from the cold. He imitated the method in Changsha and asked his disciples to set up a medical shed and a large pot on an open space in Dongguan, Nanyang. They opened it on the winter solstice and gave medicine to the poor to treat their injuries.
Zhang Zhongjing's medicine is called "Quhan Jiaoer Soup". The method is to boil mutton, pepper and some cold-dispelling medicinal materials in a pot. After cooking, these things are taken out and chopped. , wrap the dough into an ear-shaped "Jiao Er", boil it in a pot and distribute it to patients begging for medicine. Each person has two charming ears and a bowl of soup. After people take the Quhan Decoction, their whole body feels warm, their blood becomes smooth, and their ears become warm. After taking it for a period of time, the patient's rotten ears will be cured.
Zhang Zhongjing continued to give medicine until New Year's Eve. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people celebrate the New Year and the recovery of rotten ears. They make New Year's food like Jiao Er and eat it on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. People call this kind of food "dumpling ears", "dumplings" or partial eclipse, and eat it on the winter solstice and the first day of the new year to commemorate the day when Zhang Zhongjing opened shed medicine and cured patients.
Zhang Zhongjing was born nearly 1,800 years ago, but the story of his making "Jiao Er Soup to dispel cold" has been widely circulated among the Han people. Every winter solstice and New Year's Day, people eat dumplings and still remember Zhang Zhongjing's kindness in their hearts. Today, we no longer need to use Jiao'er to treat frozen rotten ears, but dumplings have become people's most common and favorite food.