| Dumpling is one
of the main dishes in the Chinese New year eve
dinner. Its history dates back to 200 B.C. with
its ancestor Han Dynasty's "Wonton”. Wonton
acquires its shape for commemorating the creator
of the world in the famous fable, Pan Gu. In
the fable, Pan Gu ends the chaotic states by
separating the world into two half-egg shaped
parts: sky and earth.
The earliest record of dumpling in ancient literature
was during 500 A.D., which says Wonton "shaped
like half moon and food was passed around the
world." At that time, due to undeveloped
cooking method and lack of cooking equipment,
dumpling, with wrap and stuffing, was considered
an extremely delicate food. Its delicacy made
it an exclusive dish to savor. People ate them
with soup and the style is still popular in
some areas, however, different places have different
soup bases. Eating dumplings without from soup
started in the Tang Dynasty.
In 1972, Chinese archaeologists discovered dumplings
in a Tang grave near Tulufan, Xinjiang.
Its shape was similar to the modern dumpling.
Dumplings gradually became the ideal Spring
Festival food in the northern part of China
during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
During the Spring Festival, every house have
tables filled with white and shiny dumplings.
The first Spring Festival dumpling meal must
be eaten by the midnight of Chinese New Year’s
Eve.
People associate different meanings with dumplings.People
stuff dumpling with items to express good expectations
of the New Year. For example, stuffing with
gold jewel expresses “best wishes for next year”;
sugar and honey mean “more happy days in the
future”; shelled peanut means “good health and
longevity (peanut is also called long-live
nut)”; jujube and chestnut means "to
have a child soon.” Also, as dumpling's shape
is like that of gold ingot (ancient Chinese
money), eating dumpling during the Spring
Festival means to "gather money."
|
