Zhenping Zongzi

Zhenping Zongzi

　　During the Dragon Boat Festival, eating zongzi is another traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi, also known as "jiao shu" or "tong zong," has a long history and comes in a wide variety of styles.

According to records, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, glutinous millet was wrapped in reed leaves (water bamboo leaves) into the shape of an ox horn and called "jiao shu"; rice was packed into bamboo tubes, sealed, and roasted, and this was called "tong zong." By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, glutinous millet was soaked in plant ash water, which was alkaline, and then wrapped in reed leaves into a four-cornered shape, boiled, and became the Cantonese alkaline water zongzi.

During the Jin Dynasty, zongzi were officially designated as the food for the Dragon Boat Festival. At that time, in addition to glutinous rice, ingredients such as the traditional Chinese medicine Yi Zhi Ren (Alpinia oxyphylla fruit) were added to the zongzi filling, and the cooked zongzi were called "Yi Zhi Zong."

The contemporary scholar Zhou Chu recorded in his "Yueyang Fengtu Ji": "It is customary to wrap glutinous millet in reed leaves... cook it until thoroughly soft, and eat it from the fifth day of the fifth month to the Summer Solstice. It is called zong or shu." During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, mixed zongzi emerged. Fillings included a mix of meats, chestnuts, red dates, and red beans, leading to a greater variety. Zongzi were also used as gifts for social exchanges.

By the Tang Dynasty, the rice used for zongzi had become "white and translucent as jade," and their shapes included cones and diamonds. Japanese texts have recorded "Tang Dynasty zongzi." In the Song Dynasty, there were already "preserved fruit zongzi," where fruits were included in the filling. The poet Su Dongpo wrote the line “Sometimes I find bayberries inside zongzi.” At that time, zongzi were also used to create advertisements in the shapes of pavilions, towers, wooden carts, and oxen or horses, indicating that eating zongzi had become quite fashionable during the Song Dynasty. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the wrapping material for zongzi changed from reed leaves to indocalamus leaves, and later, zongzi wrapped in reed leaves also appeared. Fillings expanded to include red bean paste, pork, pine nuts, dates, walnuts, and more, making the varieties even richer and more diverse.

Up to today, every year in early May, families across China soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves, and make zongzi, with an even greater variety of styles. In terms of fillings, the north often makes small date-filled Beijing date zongzi; the south offers a range of fillings such as red bean paste, fresh meat, ham, and egg yolk, among which Jiaxing zongzi from Zhejiang is representative. The custom of eating zongzi has flourished in China for thousands of years and has also spread to Korea, Japan, and various Southeast Asian countries.