What does zongzi mean?

Zongzi, or Zongzi Zan, is a kind of Zan, also known as "corn millet" and "tube Zongzi", which is steamed by wrapping the leaves of Zongzi with sticky rice and is one of the traditional festival foods of the Chinese nation. Zongzi appeared before the Spring and Autumn Period and was originally used to worship ancestors and gods. In the Jin dynasty, zongzi became the food of the Dragon Boat Festival. The custom of eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival has been popular in China for thousands of years, and spread to South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. [ 1][2]

The main materials of Zongzi are rice, stuffing and bamboo leaves (or Hiragi leaves). Because of the different eating habits in different places, zongzi has formed a north-south flavor; In terms of taste, zongzi can be divided into salty zongzi and sweet zongzi. The custom of eating zongzi, for thousands of years, every year on the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people in China have to soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and make zongzi. Zongzi, as one of the traditional foods with the deepest historical and cultural accumulation in China, is widely spread. [3]

According to folklore, Zongzi is eaten to commemorate Qu Yuan, and it is said that Zongzi was handed down to commemorate Qu Yuan who threw himself into the river. There are many kinds of zongzi. Judging from the stuffing, there are Beijing jujube zongzi wrapped in dates in the north. In the south, there are many kinds of fillings, such as mung bean, pork belly, red bean paste, eight treasures, ham, mushrooms, egg yolk and so on. Among them, Guangdong bacon zongzi and Zhejiang Jiaxing zongzi are the representatives. 20 12 zongzi was selected as one of the second series of food in the documentary "China on the tip of the tongue-the story of staple food".