Jiaozi
(Dumpling)
 Jiaozi
or dumpling is a traditional and popular
food with a long history in China. There
is a popular saying in China: "There
is nothing more delicious than Jiaozi."
so you could imagine how much Chinese love
it.
In the later years of Eastern
Han Period, an official called Zhang Zhongjing
created a kind of food to help poor people
keep warm in cold winter. It was made with
all kinds of fillings such as mutton, hot
pepper and some medicinal materials. Afterwards
people began to make dumplings as well.
Jiaozi is the food that will
no doubt appear on tables during Spring
Festivals. Generally, people prepare it
before midnight on the last day of the passing
lunar year and eat it after the New Year's
bell is sounded.
 Jiaozi
looks like shoe-shaped gold and silver ingots
so when people eat it during festivals they
really hope it could bring fortune and good
luck to them, and this, of course, is their
best wishes. Sometimes people will add some
sweets, Chinese dates and chestnuts in fillings
of some dumplings to express their wishes.
They hope those who get sweets could have
a sweeter life. Those who get dates and
chestnuts could have babies early, because
dates (Zao), are homonymic with early in
Chinese, so are chestnuts (Zhenzi). Zi is
homonymic with children.
Today Jiaozi has already become
an important part of Chinese cuisine.
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