When I was a child, every fifteenth day of the first month, my mother always had to mix with fine and soft glutinous rice noodles, and then mixed with black sesame seeds, red date paste, white sugar, lard, etc. to make a filling, she wrapped out a large basket of round and white tangyuan, one by one into the steaming pot, sinking and floating for a few rolls, and then put into the blue flower bowl.
Looking at the white and bright, reunion tangyuan, we have already salivated, stretched out the chopsticks to clip one, sighed and bitten a bite, soft glutinous, fragrant sweet, mother's tangyuan is the most delicious! While eating, we sang nursery rhymes with our mother: "The fifteenth month of the first month is round, and the whole family sits and eats tangyuan." You have a bowl, I have a bowl, eat the tangyuan in the heart sweet, eat the tangyuan everything is round..."
The first month is the first month of the lunar calendar, the ancients called "night" as "supper", the fifteenth day of the first month is the first full moon night of the year, so the fifteenth day of the first month is called "Lantern Festival". The necessary program for the Lantern Festival is that every family eats tangyuan, which means family reunion and the consummation of everything. Tangyuan is also known as Lantern, also known as tang dumplings, dumplings, water balls, floating balls, lactose yuanzi and so on.
The Lantern Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and the late Northern Song Dynasty poet Chen Dasu wrote a "Recipe for Vegetables in the Heart", which recorded snacks called "water balls", which were made of "flour wrapped in sugar" and "fragrant soup bath". And composed the "Sixteen Character Praise of the Water Tuan" Cloud: "Tuan Tuan Flour, a little bit of cane cream, bathed in sinking water, sweet and fragrant." "Speaking of its ingredients, shape, boiling and taste, it is the prototype of the tangyuan."
However, at that time, tangyuan was rare and expensive, and only rich and noble families could eat this "treasure". The Southern Song Dynasty poet Jiang Kui wrote in the "Watching the Lantern Slogan":
Your guests hook curtain to see the royal street, the treasures of the city for a while.
The flower stand in front of the curtain has no way, and no money is allowed to return.
This "treasure in the city" refers to the Lantern Festival, that is, tangyuan, which needs to be bought at a lot of money like the flower lantern. He also wrote a poem:
The Lantern Scramble to see the lotus boat, bmw incense car to pick up the falling tungsten.
In the middle of the stormy night, people dispersed, and the lone lamp still called for the sale of soup yuan.
In addition to describing the lively atmosphere of the Lantern Festival, this simple and straightforward poem also writes the hardships of selling Lantern people on stormy nights, from which it can also be seen that the precious snack of lantern is not something that ordinary people can eat, and selling Lantern is only a means for poor people to make a living.
The earliest poem dedicated to Tang Yuan should be the Southern Song Dynasty writer Zhou Bida. He wrote a poem "Lantern Boiled Floating Circle", the title of which is "The predecessors do not seem to have tried to give this sitting room into four rhymes", it seems that the poet also thinks that the previous generation has not written the "floating circle" poem. Poetry:
This night knows what night, and the reunion is the same.
Tang Guan looked for the old taste, and the stove maid was surprised by the new skill.
In the dark clouds, the beads float in the turbid water.
When he was young, he made up a miscellaneous chant, with this saying family style.
The poem clearly states that eating this special food tangyuan during the Lantern Festival is a custom inherited, expressing people's yearning and expectation for reunion and happy life. Then it is written that the poet and his family covet this delicacy, and the maid of the family burns the fire to cook the rice balls.
Shi Hao, who was rehabilitated by the Three Dynasties of the Southern Song Dynasty and rehabilitated Yue Fei's unjust case, also wrote two poems praising Tang Yuan, which are more vivid and vivid. The first is "The Full Moon of Man, Yong Yuanzi", the words are:
Proud clouds do not gather in the sky, and dense snow flies in the air.
Beauty slim hands, suddenly created, beads in the plate.
Six street light market, the circle bucket is small, and the jade bowl is frequently supplied.
Fragrant blue musk, cold tooth cheeks, pink face red.
The word not only describes the process of the beautiful person wrapping tangyuan and rolling the dumplings, but also writes the shape of the tangyuan and the tangyuan that are sold in the lamp market, and the most beautiful thing is the "pink face and red" appearance of the little girl who sells the tangyuan. The second is "Pink Butterfly Wing Yuanzi", word cloud:
The jade crumbs are light and spread all over the place.
Look at Xian'e and change some gods.
In a row, such as sprinkling, a string of pearls.
The fire is clear, the soup is first rolled, and the noodles are floating.
Song Lou Wine Market, tonight ren Aesop summoned.
How was that beautiful man born to see?
Add more sugar, fold the book, and serve him a few bowls.
Lang'ermen, I have to make these convenient.
The upper film is written about the little girl who sells tangyuan boiling tangyuan in the snow, and the next film is written about the scene of the girl sending tangyuan for the guests, the tangyuan is sweet and soft and eager, winning the praise of the guests, the girl is happy in her heart, and even thank you.
Wang Qianqiu of the Southern Song Dynasty who lived in Jinling was touched by the Lantern Festival customs in the Jiangnan area and wrote "Partridge Heaven and Its One Round Son":
Green spoon silver pot for a night tour. Wan Lantern was first built in the last month.
The dissolved amber is slippery, and the splendid beads float on the surface.
Incense to the hand, warm to the urn. Still the old style of The Capital Kingdom.
Cui'e and put the cup slowly, although the sweet taste is strong and less left.
Although it is a scene of singing and dancing, cups and plates, people enjoy the lanterns and taste the Lantern Festival, but this "old wind of the Capital Country" is after all in the turbulent world of wind and rain, "although the sweet taste is strong" or less drunk and dream of death.
The Southern Song Dynasty female lyricist Zhu Shuzhen is a talented woman with personality and courage, and her "round son" has a taste in her heart.
Light round is better than chicken head meat, smooth and greasy crab eye soup.
Even if there is nowhere to say, has lost the soup cake to try Ho Lang?
- "Round Son"
The poet uses the metaphor of "round son" to express his dissatisfaction with arranged marriages and his resentment against the vulgar husband. This is similar to her other song, "Sorrow":
Gulls and herons make a pool, and it is necessary to know that the wings are not suitable.
Dongjun is not dominated by flowers, and it is like Hugh Shenglian branches.
In the Qing Dynasty, Tangyuan entered the homes of ordinary people, the custom of lantern diet tangyuan became common, the variety of flowers and colors was also enriched, and some places also formed a brand. Fu Zeng, a representative poet of the Zhejiang school in the Qing Dynasty, once composed a poem "Shangyuan Bamboo Branch Words", poem Yun:
Osmanthus fragrant stuffing wrapped in walnuts, river rice like pearl well water tao.
See said that the Ma family drop powder is good, try the lantern wind to sell lanterns.
The tangyuan filling in the poem has osmanthus flowers and walnuts, and uses the middle rice in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and "Majia Tangyuan" is the most prestigious and sells the best, and the poet can't help but make a sales advertisement.
The Lantern and Tangyuan are roughly similar, but after the Ming Dynasty, the northerners called it "Lantern", and the south was called "Tangyuan" and "Tang tuan". There is also a story about the lantern changing its name to Tang Yuan. It is said that after Yuan Shikai became the president, he was still unwilling and wanted to be emperor, but because his dreams could not come true, he was troubled all the time. It was the night of the Lantern Festival, his aunt and wife shouted to eat the Lantern, Yuan Shikai was furious after hearing it, and threw up his hands and rewarded his aunt with a slap. It turned out that "Lantern" and "Yuan Que" were harmonized, which was a big taboo for Yuan Shikai. Since then, the people no longer say "Lantern", but changed to "Tangyuan". Later generations wrote a poem of oil based on this to ridicule, which said:
Shi Yin Yuanzi traces back to the previous dynasty, and floats on the water when steaming and boiling.
Hong Xian issued a ban that year, and it was forbidden to shout the Lantern Festival along the street.
Nowadays, regardless of the east, west, south, north, and north, the variety of tangyuan is more and more diverse, and the production flavor is becoming more and more abundant, in addition to the sesame tangyuan, peanut tangyuan, osmanthus tangyuan that we are familiar with, sweet and salty and light, and what guizhou Xingyi chicken tangyuan, Jiangsu Suzhou five-color tangyuan, Changzhou wine stuffed tangyuan, Zhejiang Ningbo lard tangyuan, Chaoshan four-style tangyuan, Sichuan Pengshui lung tangyuan, Yunnan Zhenxiong triangle tangyuan, etc., can be described as a variety of varieties.
No matter what style and taste of tangyuan, it is as round as sweet as it is. Little Tangyuan has been passed down for thousands of years, telling endless stories and countless poems, but people's wishes for reunion, happiness and happiness will never change!
-Author-
Liu Qirui, male, a native of Tancheng, Shandong, a veteran literature lover, published the essay collection "The Song of that year", "Nostalgia is a Curved Blue Moon" and the short story collection "Hedong Hexi".