A Brief History of Jiaozi ?餃子簡史

As archaeologists studied an ancient tomb in Turfan in western China， they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened over 1，000 years， there sat little crescent-shaped dumplings.

考古學家研究中國西部吐魯番某處古墓時，發現了一些保存完好且熟悉的文物。盡管經過了一千年的硬化，月牙形的小餃子還是保存了下來。

According to history， dumplings first appeared during the Han Dynasty. Around 1，800 years ago， a physician named Zhang Zhongjing returned to his hometown during a cold winter. He found his fellow villagers with frostbitten ears and made a new dish to help them warm up. The dish was made up of mutton， herbs， and spices—ingredients he chose for their warming and medicinal properties. Zhang wrapped them in pieces of dough and folded the wrappers to resemble tiny ears.

據歷史記載，餃子最早出現于漢代。大約1800年前，一位名叫張仲景的醫生在一個寒冷的冬天回到了家鄉。他發現村民的耳朵長著凍瘡，于是制作了一道新菜來幫助他們取暖。這道菜里有羊肉、草藥和香料，他選擇這些原料是因為它們具有溫陽和藥用的特性。張仲景將它們包在面皮中，然后將面皮對折包成小耳朵的形狀。

Dumplings continued to take off in China over the next thousand years. Instead of the traditional meat filling， some areas preferred vegetarian dumplings. People developed new cooking methods. And because wheat was harder to grow outside of northern China， those in other regions began making dumplings using rice， tapioca， and sweet potato. The relationship between Chinese dumplings and those in other areas is hard to trace， but food historians have made their best guesses based on available information.

在接下來的一千年里，餃子在中國不斷發展。一些地區沒有選擇傳統的肉餡，而偏好素餃子。人們研究出了新的烹飪方式。由于小麥較難在中國北方以外的地區種植，于是其他地區的人開始用大米、木薯和紅薯包餃子。中國與其他地域的餃子的關系很難追溯，但食品歷史學家根據現有的信息做出了最有把握的推測。

After Chinese dumplings were introduced to more countries， English speakers began calling them dumplings. The term means “little lumps” and is thought to have been first used in 16th-century England to describe dough balls dropped in liquid. Like kn?del， they had no filling. So， the word was actually confusingly imprecise， but it became accepted. When Japan invaded China during the Second World War， Chinese jiaozi spread rapidly in Japan， where they in turn became known as “gyoza” and were more typically pan-fried.

后來，當中國餃子被引到更多國家后，母語為英語的人開始稱它們為餃子。該詞是“小塊”的意思，被認為最早出現在16世紀的英國，用來形容在湯中的面團。像馬鈴薯球一樣，它們沒有餡料。因此，這個詞實際上是不準確的，令人困惑，但它仍然被保留了下來。日本在第二次世界大戰期間侵略中國時，中國的餃子在日本快速流行，在那里它們又被稱為“gyoza”（日式餃子），更常見的是煎炸的餃子。

It’s unlikely that all dumpling-esque dishes came from the same tradition. In many cases， it may simply be that cooks from different cultures shared a similar inspiration： that cooking fillings covered in dough would be delightful. Either way， we can appreciate these plump pockets of perfection and the mysterious historical web that has made dumplings so diverse and wonderful.

不可能所有類似餃子的菜肴都源自同一個傳統。在多數情況下，可能只是有著不同文化背景的烹飪家產生了類似的靈感：烹飪包著餡料的面團會讓人喜歡。不管怎樣，我們都可以享用到這些經過完善的飽滿“口袋”，認識到讓餃子變得如此絕妙、多樣化的神秘歷史淵源。