Jiaozi

Jiao zi

饺子

Jiaozi, a kind of dumpling, is a favorite food of Chinese people. It is usually a semicircular wheaten food with stuffing. In most areas of China, jiaozi is made when people celebrate the Spring Festival or other festivals and entertain relatives and friends. 

饺子，一种面团布丁，是中国人十分喜爱的食物。它是一种用小麦制成的有馅料的食物，通常呈半圆状。在中国的大部分地区，制作饺子是用来庆祝春节或者其他节日和款待亲戚朋友。 

Jiaozi dates back many centuries. It originated in the Yellow River valley where wheat was grown. During the spring and Autumn Period, about 2,500 years ago, people already knew how to grind wheat into flour, make wheaten food with stuffing and steam it in bronze pots. 

饺子有着渊源的历史，起源于黄河山谷这一带小麦生长的地方。大约在2500年前，即春秋战国时期，当时的人们就已经知道怎样将小麦磨成面粉，来制成带内陷的小麦食品，然后放到青铜器里蒸煮。 

The earliest jiaozi known was made more than 1,300 years ago and was found in a tomb of the Tang Dynasty unearthed in Urumqi, Xinjiang in the 1970s. The semicircular jiaozi was about five centimeters long. The wrappers were made of flour and the stuffing was made of vegetables. It was almost the same as the jiaozi of today. 

最早被发现的饺子是在1300多年前制做的，而且被埋在一个唐朝的坟墓里，直到1970年才在新疆乌鲁木齐出土。那只饺子呈半圆型，大约有5厘米长，饺子皮是用面粉做成的，内馅是蔬菜，跟现在的饺子基本一样。 

The Chinese love jiaozi not only because it has a great variety of tastes. The main reason is that over the centuries it has become a kind of food implying the auspicious. 

中国人爱吃饺子不只是因为它有各种口味，最主要的原因是饺子经过数百年的历史沉淀，已经成为一种带有吉祥象征的食物。 

The jiaozi wrapper is “yuan” (circular). The Chinese hope for “tuan yuan” (reunion) and “yuan man” (perfection). Jiaozi is oblate, similar in design to a shoe-shaped gold or silver ingot in ancient times. When a family gets together to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new, they enjoy reunion and eat jiaozi to imply that they will acquire more wealth and have a better life in the new year. Jiaozi are filled with stuffing to contain various auspicious messages. When a couple gets married, the jiaozi are filled with peanuts and chestnuts to express the hope that they will soon have a baby. 

饺子外皮是圆的，是因为中国人希望“团圆”和“圆满”。饺子的形状是扁圆的，在古时候，它被设计成类似于鞋型的金或银锭。当一个家庭告别旧的一年，迎接新的一年的时候，他们团聚在一起吃饺子，这样意味着在新的一年里，他们会得到更多的财富，拥有更好的生活。包着馅的饺子含有各种各样的吉祥讯息。当一对情人结婚的时候，饺子里会包着花生和栗子，表示希望他们早生贵子。 

The little jiaozi carries with it so many auspicious messages so it has close ties with traditional Chinese customs. Since ancient times, people have followed the traditional custom of eating jiaozi on the eve of the Spring Festival, on the fifth day of the first lunar month and on the day of the Winter Solstice. 

小小的饺子带有这么多吉祥的讯息所以它跟中国的传统习俗有着密切的联系。自古时候开始，人们就已经遵循传统习俗在春节前夕，第一个正月的第五天和冬至当天吃饺子。 

In present-day society, great progress has been made in the making of jiaozi. People have more options ranging from quick-frozen jiaozi to a rich variety of jiaozi feasts. As it is a kind of food with uniquely Chinese characteristics, jiaozi is also enjoyed by people from other countries. 

在现代社会，制作饺子已取得重大的进展。人们有更多的选择，从速冻饺子到丰富多样的饺子宴。因为它是一种有独特中国特色的食物，饺子也同样受来自外国人们的欢迎。 

As a carrier of culture, jiaozi is typical of traditional Chinese cuisine culture. It is different from Western food. A hamburger is sandwiched with beef or an egg. It can be seen clearly from the outside. But jiaozi is quite different. You can’t know its stuffing from the outside. You can only find out when you eat it. It is identical to the spirit of traditional Chinese culture, especially the reserved and moderate character fostered by Confucianism. 

作为文化的载体，饺子是典型的中国传统饮食文化。它不同于西方的食物。汉堡包是用牛肉或蛋制作的三文治。从表面它就能被清楚的看到它里面组成。但是饺子就很不同。你不可能从外表知道它里面的是由什么馅制作而成的，只有当你吃了它你才能知道。这相当于中国传统习俗的灵魂，特别是儒学的保留和儒学对温和性格的培养。 

Jiaozi is probably not the representative of delicious Chinese food, but the psychological enjoyment is just as important, if not more so. This aspect cannot be displaced by any other food. Jiaozi has been with the Chinese people over so many auspicious occasions and it has become the most representative example of Chinese cuisine.

饺子可能不是中国美味食物的代表，但是精神上的享受同样重要，即使不是更重要。这方面不能被其它食物代替。饺子已经与中国人民度过了很多个吉祥的时刻，它已经成为中国美食最具代表性的食物。