The Origin of Dumplings and How They Got Their Name

The original name of dumplings is "Jiao Er", which is said to have been first invented by Zhang Zhongjing, the "Sage of Medicine" in China. The story of how he made the soup to get rid of the cold has been passed down in folklore to this day.

Zhang Zhongjing was a native of Nanyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Since childhood, he studied hard and learned from many sources, and became the founder of Chinese medicine. He wrote the Treatise on Typhoid and Miscellaneous Diseases, a collection of medical writings, which has been regarded as a classic by successive generations of medical practitioners. Zhang Zhongjing's famous saying is: "To enter is to save the world, to retreat is to save the people; if you can't be a good prime minister, you should also be a good doctor." Zhang Zhongjing was not only a skillful healer who could cure all kinds of diseases, but also had a noble medical ethics, saving countless lives by treating both the poor and the rich.

The story goes that when Zhang Zhongjing was the governor of Changsha, he often treated the people. One year, when the local plague was prevalent, he built a cauldron at the entrance of the government office and saved people's lives by giving them medicine, which was y loved by the people of Changsha. After Zhang Zhongjing returned home from Changsha in time for the winter solstice, he walked to the bank of Baihe River in his hometown and saw that many poor people were suffering from hunger and cold, and their ears were frozen. It turned out that typhoid fever was prevalent at that time, and many people died of the disease. He felt very hard in his heart and was 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 remembered those poor people with frozen ears in his heart. He followed the example of Changsha, and asked his disciples to set up a medical hut and a cauldron in a vacant lot in Dongguan, Nanyang, and opened the hut on the winter solstice, giving medicine to the poor to cure their wounds.

Zhang Zhongjing's medicine is called "Cold-removing Jiao Er Tang", which summarizes more than 300 years of clinical practice in the Han Dynasty, and its practice is to use mutton, chili peppers and some cold-removing herbs in the pot boiled and simmered, boiled, and then fished out and chopped up, wrapped in dough to form an ear-shaped "Jiao Er", boiled in a pot and then cut into pieces. After boiling, these things were fished out and chopped up, wrapped in dough and made into ear-shaped "Jiao Er", which was then boiled in a pot and distributed to patients begging for medicine. Each person was given two ears and a bowl of soup. People ate the soup to get rid of cold body heat, blood flow, two ears warm. The people ate it from the winter solstice to New Year's Eve, warding off typhoid and curing their frozen ears.

Zhang Zhongjing sheds medicine until the 30th day of the New Year. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people celebrated the New Year and the recovery of the rotten ear, so they made New Year's food after the appearance of the ear and ate it on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. People called this food "dumpling ear", "dumpling" or "flat food" and ate it on the winter solstice and the first day of the new year to commemorate the day when Zhang Zhongjing opened the shed and cured the patients. It has been nearly 1,800 years since Zhang Zhongjing's death, but the story of his "Cold-removing Jiao Er Soup" has been widely circulated among the people. Every winter solstice and the first day of the Lunar New Year, people eat dumplings and still remember Zhang Zhongjing's kindness in their hearts. Today, we don't need to use the delicate ear to cure frozen ears, but dumplings have become the most common and favorite food of the people.

Legend

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The origin of dumplings, in addition to historical records, there is another folk legend. Once upon a time there was an emperor, all day long ignore the government, only focus on pleasure, the court of treacherous ministers in favor, loyal and good victims, causing the country's poverty, the people complained a lot. One day, known as "Pan Su Shui" of the treacherous Pan Qi knocked on the emperor, said he had a good idea, can make the emperor immortal. When the Emperor heard this, he was full of love. Busy asked: "Pan Aiqing, what a wonderful method, quickly speak with me to listen!" Pan Qi played: "If people can eat a hundred kinds of rice, you can increase life and prolong life into a god, the emperor can be ordered in various places to recruit a chef, let him do three meals a day to make a new kind of meal, eat to a hundred kinds of rice, not as you wish?" The emperor listened and nodded repeatedly, that is, out of the notice, the country to recruit.

In a few days, a lot of famous chefs from all over the country have been sent to the capital, after the palace test, the high craftsmanship of the chef Su Qiaosheng was selected. From then on, Su Qiaosheng with their superior skills for the emperor to do ninety-nine fancy meals, the emperor is very satisfied. This night, Su Qiaosheng was very happy. Thinking to herself, "Tomorrow morning, if she cooks another meal, she can leave this hateful dimwitted emperor and go home to be reunited with her loved ones." But when it came time to cook, he didn't know how to cook the last meal. He thought of committing suicide to escape, and also thought of poisoning this dim-witted ruler who ate and drank the blood and flesh of his people. Being sad, he suddenly saw some of the remaining mutton and vegetables on the vegetable case, then took up the knife to mutton and vegetables together chopped, haphazardly shelved seasoning, with white flour wrapped many small corner corner, and then placed in the pot of boiling water to cook, as the last meal to the emperor to end to. Su Qiaosheng is sitting dumbly waiting to die, who knows that the emperor ate this meal, even wearing pajamas ran into the kitchen and said: "Today's meal is the most fragrant, what's the name of this?" Su Qiaosheng heard, a long sigh, and then looked up and saw this kind of flat things, faithfully replied, "This is the folk top grade ---- flat food." The emperor and stay Su Qiaosheng continue to give him cooking, Qiaosheng on this insatiable dim king angry, the next day will sneak away. The descendants learned to wrap flatbreads and eat them in honor of this chef. In this way, from generation to generation, it has been passed down to the present day.