Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tang Yuan (Glutinous rice ball)

‘Tang Yuan’(Glutinous rice ball) is a product of glutinous rice. It is said that since Dynasty Tang, farmers who specialized in the cotton plantation would make these glutinous rice into round balls resembling to cotton balls. They would later have them placed on the lawn. The next day would be the namely ‘Winter Solstice’, where families would undergo their ritual practice by burning incenses for a better harvest each year. The glutinous rice would then be given to the children and they would eat them. Some may choose to have these glutinous rice balls served in soup for everyone. As time went by, they name these glutinous rice balls after the name ‘Tang Yuan’. Until present, Tang Yuan has been improved with different filling, colors and tenderness. It has become the best sought after tradition food during the Winter Solstice.

The Winter Solstice festival is also called ‘Yuan Xiao’ (元宵). There’s another version of its origin, as a result of ceasing the revolution of China, Yuan Shi Kai (袁世凯) had become the president of China. He wanted to restore and make himself the emperor of China but was worried about the objection of people. In Chinese context, both ‘元’ and ‘袁’ are homonyms as ‘yuan’;  both ‘宵’ and ‘消’ (to destroy) are homonyms as ‘xiao’. So when you put the words together, ‘元宵’ (Yuan Xiao) would sound the same as ‘袁消’ (Yuan Xiao), which in the end would appear as 袁世凯被消灭 (Yuan Shi Kai to be destroyed). Out of such worry, the president demanded that ‘Yuan Xiao’ to be called as Tang Yuan (汤圆) since the year of 1913.

Having Tang Yuan (glutinous rice balls) is one of the traditions for Winter Solstice in Jiangnan (a geographic area in China). It is a must-have food during this festival celebration. The term ‘Yuan’ (圆) has its homonym in Chinese of being united (团圆) which is pronounced as ‘Tuan Yuan’. Therefore by having Tang Yuan, it possesses an intrinsic value of being together. There’s also a saying that having Tang Yuan signifies that we are one year older than before. Tang Yuan can be made as means to honour our ancestor, improve family ties and friendship. Back then, the people in Shanghai were persistent about having Tang Yuan because they believe that it is a symbolic sign of being united and auspicious.

Tang Yuan are usually prepared before dawn so that family members could get to enjoy them right when they’re awake. In Chao Shan (潮汕 – a southeastern province in China), there’s this liturgy called ‘the maturity of age’ saying that one would get a year older. Children look forward to have Tang Yuan during the night before dawn that they tend to be awake in the wee hours longing for the dawn. Due to anxiety, children often find themselves waiting forever for the dawn because the immensity of waiting is driven by their anticipation to have Tang Yuan. So naturally, the night before Winter Solstice usually felt relatively longer because of this rationale.

During Winter Solstice, there are some who live in Chao Shan that would make Tang Yuan to worship their god, namely the ‘Commander of the public’ (司令公) or their ancestor. The act of tidying the grave of their ancestor has a term called ‘The paper of Winter’. For deceases who passed away not more than 3 years, the act of paying tribute to them is termed as ‘The Spring Paper’, the latter passage would be continued in the name of ‘Paper for passing the Winter’. If someone passed away for less than 3 years, his/her offspring would have to carry out the cleaning ritual called ‘Paper for passing the Spring’. Meanwhile, family members get to have fun and replenish their body and mind at the advantage of the weather in mountain because there is ample sunlight and hardly a downpour during the Winter.



Postscript:

It is said by many that we should have Tang Yuan every year on the 22nd December of each year, which is the Winter Solstice festival. I have loved to have Tang Yuan ever since I was little because I enjoy the process of making them. My family and I are fond of making and eating them. We would usually prepare 3 to 4 plates of these rice balls and have them served as desserts after having the reunion dinner.

Yesterday, I’d come across to an article on the newspaper saying that having Tang Yuan brings harm to our health. As we know, Tang Yuan are made of glutinous rice which isn’t easily digested. Over-consuming of these glutinous rice balls could damage our stomach. Especially for those who have difficulties in chewing, swallowing and digesting. Therefore, elders are advised to not over consume and be vigilant when comes to masticating Tang Yuan.

We all know that many choose to buy ready-made Tang Yuan don’t we? Despite being convenient and tasty, there is this use of animal(pork) fats in the making of these Tang Yuan that contributes to a higher tendency of conceiving high cholesterol in the blood. Other than that, the content of groundnuts and sesame flakes that made up the filling have a high content of phosphorus that would be unfavorable to those who have problems in kidneys because they overwork the them. Ready-made Tang Yuan are often high in carbohydrate and rich in fats, we could have the option of not having Tang Yuan with fillings. With that, we could choose to have more with just the glutinous ingredient whilst lessening the burden to the body.

After reading this article, we should be more vigilant toward our health and the consumption of food. Being the JD PICs, we are to educate our children about the importance of these aside from just teaching them how to make Tang Yuan. President Daisaku Ikeda is very concerned about us, he hopes that everyone would be healthy. Let’s not make Sensei worry about us.

After all, in the end his speeches, Sensei would often say ‘Let us healthily embrace the challenges’, or ‘I pray for the wellbeing and the happiness of our kosen-rufu comrades’!


Shared by Friendship,
Translated by SkyChin.

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Written at 10:24 PM by Paper Pilot.