Eating dumplings

吃餃子

A legend has it that at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220), "Medical Saint" Zhang Zhongjing saved many people in Henan province from a typhoid epidemic and their ears' from being frostbitten around Start of Winter.

傳說(shuō)在東漢末年（公元25-220年），“醫(yī)圣”張仲景在河南治好了很多傷寒病人，還讓他們的耳朵在立冬之際免于生凍瘡。

He cooked mutton, hot peppers and herbs to dispel the cold and increase body heat. He wrapped these ingredients into a dough skin and made them into an ear shape. Since then, people have learned to make the food which became known as "dumpling". Today there is still a saying that goes "Eat dumplings on Start of Winter Day, or your ears will be frostbitten".

張仲景的方法是用羊肉、辣椒和驅(qū)寒暖身的藥草一起燉煮，煮熟后用面皮包成耳朵形狀。從那以后，人們學(xué)會(huì)了制作這種食物，也就是后來(lái)俗稱的“餃子”。時(shí)至今日仍然有“立冬不端餃子碗，凍掉耳朵沒(méi)人管”的說(shuō)法。