China Travel Forum

[reedxili]

Zongzi (Glutinous rice in bamboo leaves)
Zongzi is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival.
They can be bought commercially and are commonly eaten as a snack food, but during this festival you are likely to receive homemade ones. The glutinous rice is very sticky and may be filled with bean paste, brown sauce, or a sam amount of ham. In any case, each one is wrapped in reed leaves and steamed for a long time.
The origin of Zongzi is as strange as the food itself. It seems there was a Chinese poet Quyuan and official(Chinese official in ancient time were always poets; that was the mark of an educated and capable person) named Yu Yuan. He was an official in the kingdom of Chu, in about 340-278 BC, before China had been unified into a nation. China has a tradition of ministers who give advice to the king or emperor, and Qu Yuan was such a minister. Qu Yuan advised the king of Chu to prepare for war because the state of Qin was poised to attack his state. However, the King thought he was safe since the emperor Qin seemed to be focusing on other, weaker states. But, eventually, Qin did attack Chu, and the Chu Kingdom was defeated.
Qu Yuan was so distraught over this that he committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo River. His countrymen, upon learning of this tragedy, rushed to the scene in small boats and tried to find his body. They failed to find it, so they made the dumplings wrapped in reed leaves and threwthem into the river so the fish would eat the dumplings and not Qu Yuan’s body. Later, it became a ritual to eat the Zongzi on the anniversary of Qu Yuan’ s death and to hold dragon boat races.