Dumplings
Half-moon dumplings of pork and cabbage, or pork and chives, boiled and dipped in vinegar. In the north the whole family folds them on Lunar New Year's Eve.
Life in Mainland China
Winter Solstice: a Chinese conversation with pinyin and English
Winter Solstice: about 21 or 22 December, by the solar calendar. Dumplings or rice balls.
The conversation
Speakers: Haoran and Wanqing.
- Haoran
冬至不端饺子碗，冻掉耳朵没人管。
If you don't eat dumplings on Dongzhi, your ears will freeze right off and nobody will care.
- Wanqing
你这一上来就神神叨叨的。
You're talking in riddles the second you open your mouth.
- Haoran
今天是冬至啊！北方老话讲了，吃饺子才能护住耳朵。
It's Dongzhi today! As the northern saying goes, you've got to eat dumplings to keep your ears safe.
- Wanqing
那你们哈尔滨冬天过去，街上得有多少人丢了耳朵？
By the time winter's over in Harbin, how many people do you think are walking around missing their ears?
- Haoran
一个都没有。说明防冻工程绝对到位。
Not a single one. Goes to show our cold-weather insulation engineering is totally solid.
- Wanqing
那南方人这天晚上不吃饺子，吃点啥？
So since southerners don't eat dumplings on tonight, what do they have instead?
- 汤圆 tangyuan
- 凉面 cold noodles
- 烧鹅 roast goose
Answer
汤圆 tangyuan
- Haoran
汤圆呗。我也吃过，感觉正经饭吃出了一股甜品味。
Tangyuan, right. I've had 'em, but eating what feels like a proper meal that tastes like dessert just throws me off.
- Wanqing
热乎又香甜，这可是全年中夜最长的一晚。
Warm and sweet, and it is the longest night of the entire year after all.
- Haoran
我姥姥以前总说，过冬至就算长了一岁。
My grandma used to say that getting through Dongzhi means you're officially a year older.
- Wanqing
江南确实有这种说法。那提前祝你生日快乐咯。
They actually do say that down south. Well then, happy early birthday to you.
- Haoran
那我今天是不是能理直气壮吃两碗？
Does that mean I can totally justify having two bowls today?
- Wanqing
行吧。你吃你的饺子，我吃我的汤圆，咱俩谁也别冻着耳朵。
Fine, fine. You eat your dumplings and I'll eat my tangyuan, and let's make sure neither of us freezes our ears off.
- Haoran
好歹熬过头了，白天这就该一天比一天长了。
We finally made it past the worst of it; from here on out the days are gonna get longer every day.
Words in the conversation
饺子dumplingHSK 2北方the northHSK 2冬天winterHSK 2说明to explainHSK 2南方southHSK 2感觉feelingHSK 2可是butHSK 2全年the whole yearHSK 2以前beforeHSK 2快乐happyHSK 2上来to come up toward hereHSK 3才能an innate talentHSK 3过去the pastHSK 3绝对absoluteHSK 3确实indeedHSK 3提前ahead of scheduleHSK 3工程a large engineering projectHSK 4耳朵earHSK 5说法claimHSK 5就算even ifHSK 6
Notes
- When
- About 21 or 22 December, by the solar calendar
- On the table
- Dumplings or rice balls
- Public holiday in mainland China
- No
The longest night. The north eats dumplings, said to keep your ears from freezing; the south eats rice balls in syrup. Some say you become a year older at the solstice.