Chapter 2 Worse than Zongzi

Zongzi, like moon cakes, is a representative of seasonal food of the Han nationality.They are two different foods, belonging to two different seasons of the year, and they are also two different metaphors in Chinese culture, one pointing to the sky, and the other reflected in the bottom of the water. Peel off the zongzi leaves and cut up the mooncakes, and the next moment is a warm moment for Chinese families to reunite with each other. However, the origins of zongzi and mooncakes are not so warm, but full of hatred, anxiety, grievances and violence. Although the word "moon cake" first appeared in "Meng Liang Lu", until the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival food still focused on melons and fruits for the festival, and moon cakes were not popular, at least they had not yet formed a custom.What has become a credible history in the moon cake world is a piece of unofficial history recorded in "Ye Ke Cong Tan": "In the summer of the twenty-sixth year from the Yuan Dynasty to Zhengzheng... until the Mid-Autumn Festival, Liu Bowen put 'August' in the moon cakes. The Fifteenth Killing Tartars' note made an appointment to start an incident, and Hu people from all over the country were killed every night. On Mid-Autumn Eve, the folks all drank at night, and they took advantage of the wine to do it, and it was like a bamboo ear! The Hu people didn't know Chinese characters, so they fell."

Regarding the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, the most primitive saying of the Dragon Boat Festival is that it originated from the "orchid bath" of the three generations in ancient times.According to the explanation in "The Book of Rites Xia Xiaozheng", the purpose of "stocking orchids for bathing on May 5th" is to "store and collect all kinds of medicines on this day to get rid of poisonous gas." The ancients believed that the yang energy on May 5th To the extreme, everything is flourishing, and it is the day when the "poisonous gas" is the most prosperous.However, the simple "interaction between heaven and man" was later replaced by the complicated "interaction between everyone" in Chinese folklore.Commemorating Wu Zixu is one of various legends.Wu Zixu was a hero who assisted King Helu of Wu to complete his hegemony. After Helu died, Wu Zixu gradually fell out of favor. Fucha, the new king of Wu, listened to the slander of Uncle Dazai {Xi No}, gave him a sword to commit suicide, and put his body on the fifth day of May. Throw it into the Qiantang River on this day.So the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas worship it on the fifth day of May every year.

Rumor 2, see Cai Yong's "Qin Cao": "Jie Zisui cut off his thighs to scoop Chong'er. Chong'er restored the country, and Zisui alone had nothing to gain. He was very resentful, so he wrote a song of dragon and snake to feel it, so he He fled into the mountain. Duke Wen was surprised to welcome him, but he refused to come out. Duke Wen ordered the mountain to ask for him, and Zisui hugged a tree and burned him to death. Duke Wen ordered the people not to get angry on May 5." Rumor three, see "Huaiji Dianlu": "The woman Cao'e went to Shangyu in Kuaiji. Her father can sing and sing as a witch. On May 5th, the second year of Emperor Han'an in Jiangyi County, Tao Yingbo God drowned, and there was no corpse. On the tenth day of the E year Fourth, Naiyuan River wailed and cried day and night for seven days, then threw himself into the river and died."

It is not difficult to find that regardless of whether the person being commemorated is a man or a woman, a citizen or an official, these people almost have a common cause of death, one word: injustice!Of course, the most popular, most educational, and most directly related to zongzi among the folk customs of the Dragon Boat Festival naturally belong to the theory of "commemorating Qu Yuan". Compared with Wu Zixu, Jie Zisui and Cao E, the three "unjust friends" of men and women, Qu Yuan can't be regarded as the most unjust death.Although Wu Zixu, Jie Zi, and Qu Yuan all died due to the high asymmetry of "investment and return", in terms of "investment", Qu Yuan's contribution to Chu State is far less than that of Wu Zixu, Wu, Jie Zisui and Zhou. ——But in my opinion, the one who died the most unjustly was neither the above-mentioned three men nor the little girl Cao E, but Cao E's father.As a "clergyman" in the Han Dynasty, Cao E's father was wronged because of "the God of waves facing the waves drowned", and this legendary "God of Waves" was none other than Wu Zixu, one of the "Four Dragon Boat Festival Injustices". . The honorable title of "Boshen" was given to Wu Zixu by the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang after his body was thrown into the Qiantang River.

In any case, these four people all died on the fifth day of May (the day Cao E’s father drowned on this day, and Cao E himself threw himself into the river seven days later), however, only Qu Yuan’s death directly or indirectly created for us Or maintain the custom of eating zongzi.The "commemoration of Qu Yuan" about eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival first appeared in Liang Wujun's "Continued Qi Xie Ji": "Qu Yuan threw himself into Miluo water on May 5th, and Chu people mourned him. To this day, rice is stored in bamboo tubes and thrown into water as a sacrifice. In Jianwuzhong of the Han Dynasty, Changsha District Hui suddenly saw a scholar from Yun Sanlu doctor. He said: "I heard that you should see the sacrifice, it is very kind. It has been stolen by Jiaolong all the year round. If it is beneficial now, you should stuff it with neem leaves. Above, wrap it with green silk. These two things are feared by flood dragons. According to his words. Today, on May 5th, I make rice dumplings with neem leaves and five-flower silk, which is a legacy."

There is little dispute that Qu Yuan died on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 278 BC.However, some people are skeptical about the statement that "Jiaolong fears".For example, Professor Wen Yiduo insisted that all kinds of Dragon Boat Festival rituals and customs, including zongzi and dragon boats, are actually related to "ancestor worship day of the nation with dragon totem worship".In other words, the zongzi that sank into the river was probably purely for worshiping the Jiaolong, rather than as a depth bomb to "intimidate" those Jiaolong who were unfavorable to Qu Yuan or divert their attention.

Although the "commemorating Qu Yuan theory" of eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival is not entirely credible, even the "commemorating Qu Yuan theory" itself has undergone unavoidable mutations in the folk language over the years.The most notable variation is that "Jiaolong" has become a fish and shrimp, and "Dread Jiaolong" has been changed into "feeding fish and shrimp".When I was a child, I heard adults say that throwing zongzi into the water was for fear that Qu Yuan's body would be eaten by "fish".In the tourism promotional materials of Hunan Province, there is this saying: "It is said that the local people were very sad when they heard the news (that Qu Yuan threw himself into the river to die for his country), and they rowed boats to rescue him. If he drops it, he wraps the rice into rice dumplings and throws them into the river to feed the fish." Or it is said: "People are afraid that the fish and shrimps in the river will eat Qu Yuan, so while rowing to rescue Qu Yuan, they throw the rice dumplings on their own boat into the river to feed the fish. This has formed the custom of rowing dragon boats and eating rice dumplings in the Dragon Boat Festival of the Chinese nation. However, a generation of patriotic poets could not save their lives. Qu Yuan was only caught by fishermen a few days after he threw himself into the river. Part of his head had been eaten by fish, and his daughter and son-in-law paid for him. It was buried with a half-golden head, and the son-in-law suspected that someone had dug up the tomb and robbed the gold head, so he built suspicious tombs with skirts and soil, and with the help of God, twelve suspicious tombs were built overnight."

These twelve suspected mounds (twenty hill-like mounds, also a bit like twenty huge zongzi) are scattered on Miluo Mountain, five kilometers east of Yuji Mountain on the north bank of Miluo River, four kilometers northwest of Miluo City, in front of the mounds. There is a stone tablet of "the tomb of the old Chu Sanlu doctor". Whether it is "dreading the dragon" or "feeding the fish", the purpose is to sacrifice and summon the soul.In fact, according to the Chu cultural tradition of Qu Yuan's era, Qu Yuan himself had prepared two written materials for calling back souls before his death, namely "Chu Ci" and "Da Zhao".In these texts, we can find that the materials needed for spiritual work are very complicated and can be called extravagant.The only one thing to eat includes whole grains, pigs, dogs, turtles, chickens, birds and animals, and fine wines.At the same time, waiting for Hunxi's return include sixteen "red lips and bright teeth, plump flesh and slight bones, small waist and thin neck, beautiful and charming, beautiful bodies, beautiful eyes, and kind to keep guests" The beauties and stunners in the world are for this noble wandering soul to "do whatever he pleases".Since I have studied "The Songs of Chu" carefully, every time I eat zongzi, I am embarrassed by the small pile of leaf-wrapped rice in our bowl that looks shabby by comparison.However, I still think it is a good taste to throw zongzi into the water to call back the soul of the drowned. At least, it is much more elegant than we are busy salvaging some "black boxes" in the water today.

Of course, just like the Dragon Boat Festival and Zongzi, there has always been great controversy among literary historians as to whether these two articles in "Chu Ci" related to calling back souls are Qu Yuan's "original works". Although Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River (originated in Xiushui County, Jiangxi Province, and flows westward through Pingjiang County and Miluo City in Hunan Province, and the Mishui River and Luo River enter Xiangjiang River after converging in Xiangyin County), the capital of Chu State Ying is in Jiangling County, Hubei Province. However, the origin of the most popular zongzi in the market today is neither Hunan nor Hubei, but Huzhou in Zhejiang.

In terms of types, zongzi can be roughly divided into five schools: "Beijing, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Fujian, and Guangdong".Huzhou zongzi in Zhejiang is recognized as the king of zongzi.The products of "Wufangzhai" in Jiaxing mainly focus on Huzhou and Jiaxing rice dumplings.As long as you go to the major supermarkets in Guangzhou these days, almost all the products of "Wufangzhai" are piled up on the counters selling rice dumplings.Under the majesty of this "dragon crossing the river", the local "wrapped steamed rice dumplings" in Guangdong seem to be a little timid, although this "local snake" used to have a lot of background: , today’s horn millet.” (See "Biao Yi Lu") As a Zhejiang native, Jin Yong never let go of every opportunity to praise and promote Huzhou zongzi in his novels: "Wei Xiaobao smelled a burst of meat and sugar. Fragrant. Shuang'er held the wooden basin with both hands, and opened the tent with his arms. Wei Xiaobao was overjoyed when he saw four peeled rice dumplings on the plate... He picked up the chopsticks and ate it. It tasted delicious and incomparable. He ate it in two bites He picked up half of one and said, "Shuang'er, this looks like Huzhou zongzi. It tastes really good." The rice zongzi produced in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province is soft and delicious, which is unparalleled in the world. The Huzhou zongzi shop in Yangzhou, Lichun Courtyard has customers, and they often send Wei Xiaobao went to buy it. The whole zongzi was wrapped in a zongzi, so it was very difficult for Wei Xiaobao to steal the original, but he always squeezed some rice grains out of the corner of the zongzi, and tasted it. Ever since he arrived in the north, he ate these Huzhou zongzi It's not here."

Jin Yong actually meant that Huzhou zongzi is unparalleled in the world, not only loved by prostitutes, but also by knights.See: "The sweet one is lard bean paste, the salty one is ham and fresh meat, and the one served is extremely delicious. Yang Guo was applauded while eating it." Yang Guo wanted to use zongzi to flirt with her, that is, he tied the leftover zongzi with a thread and threw it out to stick to the shredded paper he wrote "Since I see a gentleman, Yunhu doesn't like it". up. Huzhou rice dumplings are actually a little bit good-looking and not delicious. As a hopeless meat eater, the meat rice dumplings in southern Fujian have always been my favorite.Because he is big enough to "burn" and enjoyable. In fact, except for the southern Hokkien rice dumplings, both Beijing style and Zhejiang style rice dumplings are a bit sweet.Of course, zongzi was sweet at the beginning. According to Song Ji Twelve: "Guiyou, the emperor commanded the Yulin soldiers to beg Yigong, kill him, and his four sons. Cut off the branches of Yigong, split the stomach, and pick out the eyes. , soaked in honey, it is called 'guimu rice dumpling'".Southern Fujian is rich in honey pickles, but honey pickled rice dumplings have never been used.Choose high-quality glutinous rice to stir-fry meat dumplings, choose three-layered pork to marinate, then add mushrooms, lotus seeds, salted egg yolk, shrimp, preserved radish, marinated meat juice and a little sugar fried with wine, soy sauce and sesame oil. Dried scallops and dried clams will be added, and finally wrapped in zong leaves and steamed, dipped in garlic, mustard, red chili sauce, radish and other condiments and eaten. Meat dumplings are pronounced as "burning meat dumplings" in Hokkien. In fact, the word "burning" here does not refer to the method, but emphasizes that it must be eaten while it is hot.People from other provinces suddenly heard that the pronunciation of the word "meat dumpling" in Hokkien is somewhat similar to that of "grasshopper" in Mandarin. Chicken, Huzhou or Jiaxing rice dumplings will really be reduced to "grasshoppers".According to Lu Xun, the latter's small size is comparable to the "little zongzi feet" of old Chinese women.