The History of Zongzi
Happy Monday everyone… How was your Monday? Most of the people said that Monday is a MONster DAY. How about you? I hope you can enjoy your Monday like I did. For me Monday is the starting point of your week. If you can past this day as good, you will through the whole week as good as the Monday.
Today, I want to share about the history of Zongzi. Do you know what is Zongzi? Zongzi is Chinese food that made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo, reed, or other large flat leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling. In the Western world, they are also known as rice dumplings or sticky rice dumplings. In my country, Indonesia zongzi is usually called as bacang. Zongzi usually served in the Dragon Boat Festival or Duan Wu Jie, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar.
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| Image taken from: whatsonxiamen |
In the ‘Chinese Culture’ class I ever learned about the history of Zongzi, and I think it is so much interesting to know that the simple food that you often made is originated from very touching story. Because like what I told you before, every food is life with us, and has a soul.
All Chinese people over the world, eat Zongzi in the Daragon Boat Festival in the commemoration of Qu Yuan death day. Qu Yuan was a Chinese poet and minister who lived during the Warring States period of ancient China. Qu Yuan was an official of the Chu state.
Qu Yuan can predicted that Qin State will attack his country. He told he Emperor that the best way to survive from Qin State’s attack was make cooperation with Qi State, but the emperor got him wrong. This caused Qu Yuan's exile to the regions south of the Yangtze River.
In the isolation, he wrote a lot of poet about his lovely state. Some of the most famous are Li Sao（離騷）and Tian Wen（天问）. The way he wrote his poet was called Chuci（楚辭）.
When his prediction was happened that Qin State take over Chu State. In 278 BC, learning of the capture of his country's capital, Ying, by General Bai Qi of the state of Qin, Qu Yuan is said to have written the lengthy poem of lamentation called "Lament for Ying" and later to have waded into the Miluo river in today's Hunan Province holding a rock in order to commit ritual suicide as a form of protest against the corruption of the era. The ritual suicide at Miluo River was the consequence of his despair by the fall of his birthplace and misery of his fellow countrymen.
In that day the villagers carried their dumplings and boats to the middle of the river and desperately tried to save Qu Yuan after he immersed himself in the Miluo but were too late to do so. However, in order to keep fish and evil spirits away from his body, they beat drums and splashed the water with their paddles, and they also threw rice into the water both as a food offering to Qu Yuan's spirit and also to distract the fish away from his body.
These packages became a traditional food known as zongzi, although the lumps of rice are now wrapped in leaves instead of silk. The act of racing to search for his body in boats gradually became the cultural tradition of dragon boat racing, held on the anniversary of his death every year. Today, people still eat zongzi and participate in dragon boat races to commemorate Qu Yuan's sacrifice on the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional lunar solar Chinese calendar.
Such a really good story right? Even im not a Chinese, but when I eat zongzi I can feel how Qu Yuan loves his state, and how the people love Qu Yuan. Zongzi is made because of the people love Qu Yuan. So I think in the modern day we can learn a lot from this food and this history. About patriotism, about honesty and about the way you loving. Lets spread the love…
Zaijian (see you)…
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