Pure Brightness Food

The origins of Qingtuan are closely connected with the Cold Food Festival. During the period when fire was forbidden, people needed foods that could be prepared in advance, carried easily, and still taste good when eaten cold; Qingtuan emerged naturally within this culinary setting. The earliest references to Qingtuan date to the Tang dynasty. Bai Juyi wrote: “寒食青团店，春低杨柳枝。” During the Song dynasty, as the customs of Cold Food and Qingming gradually merged, Qingtuan became increasingly common as an ancestral offering. In the Ming dynasty, under the influence of Daoist ideas surrounding “eating green,” Qingtuan came to represent Qingming’s green-food tradition. By the Ming and Qing periods, it was widely used in Qingming rituals. The Qing writer Xu Dayuan wrote in 《吴门竹枝词》: “相传百五禁烟厨，红藕青团各祭先。” The Qing gastronome Yuan Mei also recorded its preparation in 《随园食单》: “捣青草为汁，和粉作团，色如碧玉。”

Folk tradition offers several explanations for the origins of Qingtuan. One associates it with Yu the Great and his control of the floods: around Qingming, winter wheat returns to green, and coloring glutinous rice flour green was said to express remembrance of Yu’s achievements in taming the waters. Another story connects Qingtuan with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. According to legend, Chen Taiping, one of Li Xiucheng’s generals, was being pursued by Qing troops when a farmer gathered mugwort, made Qingtuan, concealed them among green plants, and carried them through a checkpoint to feed him. A third explanation holds that the popularity of Qingtuan was inseparable from the rise of “eating green” culture in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, a tradition closely linked with Daoism. 《太平经》 states: “夫道，乃天也，清且明，不欲见污辱也” and considers Qingming a time when “生气方盛”, when vital energy is flourishing; people were therefore encouraged to draw yang qi from Heaven and Earth, with green foods regarded as nourishment for that energy.

Qingtuan has developed a rich variety of names and preparations across different regions:

| Region | Name | Characteristics |
| ———————————— | ——- | ————————————– |
| Shanghai, Ningbo | 青团 | Primarily filled with red bean paste |
| Suzhou-Hangzhou | 青团子 | Colored with wheatgrass juice |
| Nanjing | 春团、清明团 | Traditionally sweet fillings |
| Wenzhou, Zhejiang | 清明饼 | Larger in size; may be sweet or savory |
| Shaoxing, Zhejiang | 青麻糍 | More often made with mugwort |
| Taizhou, Zhejiang | 青餣 | More glutinous outer texture |
| Quzhou, Zhejiang / Shangrao, Jiangxi | 清明粿 | Dumpling-shaped, mainly savory |
| Guizhou | 清明粑 | May be pan-fried or steamed |
| Cantonese and Hakka regions | 艾糍、艾粄 | Stronger mugwort flavor |
| Southern Fujian / Chaoshan | 草仔粿、鼠麴粿 | Made with cudweed |
| Hong Kong | 清明仔 | Chicken-vine tea cake |

Lin’an in Zhejiang also preserves a custom known as “Qingming Dogs.” Tender lotus is mixed with glutinous rice flour, shaped into small dogs, and steamed; one is made for each member of the household, and everyone eats one. A folk saying goes: “吃了清明狗，一年健到头”—eat a Qingming Dog and remain healthy throughout the year. In Suzhou and Shanghai, 《清嘉录》 records: “市上卖青团、熟藕，为居人清明祀先之品……今俗用青团红藕，皆可冷食，犹循禁火遗风”, noting that Qingtuan and cooked lotus root were sold as offerings for Qingming ancestral rites and could be eaten cold, preserving the legacy of the old fire prohibition.

The characteristic green of Qingtuan comes from plant juice kneaded into glutinous rice dough. Wheatgrass, mugwort, and cudweed may all be used. Mugwort is at its most tender around Qingming, making it both highly seasonal and especially suitable for producing green juice. Methods vary slightly by region: Jiangsu and Zhejiang commonly use cudweed, while Ai Miguo and Ai Ci are more often made with mugwort. Mugwort is also widely used in Zhoushan and elsewhere.

Taking mugwort Qingtuan as an example:

1. Gather tender mugwort, wheatgrass, or cudweed; wash, blanch to remove bitterness, then pound.
2. Mix the green juice with wet-milled glutinous rice flour and knead into a smooth green dough.
3. Divide the dough into small portions and wrap around sweet fillings such as red bean paste, lotus seed paste, or sesame.
4. Steam until cooked, then lightly brush with cooked vegetable oil or sesame oil after removing from the steamer.

Freshly steamed Qingtuan are bright green and lustrous, like polished jade. The outer layer is soft, resilient, and glutinous, while the filling is rich and aromatic; the two complement one another in the mouth, producing a layered texture without becoming greasy. In recent years, salted egg yolk with pork floss has become a representative example of modern Qingtuan flavor fusion.

Qingtuan carries rich and profound cultural meanings. First, ritual and remembrance. It began as a cold food of the Cold Food Festival and later became an offering in Qingming ancestral rites. Placing Qingtuan before ancestral graves expresses remembrance and reverence for those who came before. Second, eating green for seasonal nourishment. Qingming was considered a time when “生气方盛”, vital energy was flourishing, and green foods were believed to nourish yang qi. Eating Qingtuan was also said to help dispel spring drowsiness. Third, praying for blessings and avoiding misfortune. The round shape of Qingtuan suggests reunion and completeness. During the Ming and Qing periods, because “清明” and “聪明” were linked through wordplay, carrying young children to neighboring homes to ask for “Qingming dumplings” became a folk custom. People believed that eating Qingtuan could ward off evil, avert disaster, and prevent illness. In many parts of southern China, the idea still survives that spring is not truly complete until one has eaten Qingtuan at Qingming.

Sanzi is among the oldest foods associated with Qingming. As early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Cold Food Festival required three days without fire in memory of the loyal Jin figure Jie Zitui. People therefore fried ring-shaped dough foods in advance to serve as provisions during the days of cold eating. This was the earliest form of Sanzi, known in ancient times as “寒具.” 《齐民要术》 calls it “细环饼”, while 《本草纲目》 refers to it as “捻头.”

Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei described the preparation of Hanju in detail in 《齐民要术》. During the Song dynasty, Su Dongpo wrote a poem entitled 《寒具》: “纤手搓成玉数寻，碧油煎出嫩黄深。夜来春睡无轻重，压褊佳人缠臂金”, vividly depicting the slender golden strands of Sanzi and comparing their elegant form to the gold ornaments wound around a woman’s arm. From the ancient “膏环” to today’s northern and southern varieties, Sanzi has carried the cultural meaning of remembrance and respect for the past.

Over time, Sanzi developed clear differences between north and south. Northern Sanzi is bold and generous in form, usually made from wheat flour, with thicker strands and a larger finished size. Southern Sanzi is more delicate and intricate, often made from rice flour and prized for an especially crisp texture. Both northern and southern China preserve the tradition of eating Sanzi at Qingming. Today, it is no longer limited to the festival and has become an everyday snack in many northern regions, commonly sold in streets and markets.

1. Use high-gluten wheat flour. Dissolve salt thoroughly in water, add it to the flour, knead, and allow the dough to rest for twenty minutes.
2. Cut the rested dough into long strips, allow them to rest again, then roll them into round strands about five millimeters thick.
3. Coil the strands layer by layer in a well-oiled basin, brushing each layer with oil to prevent sticking, then allow a third resting period of two hours.
4. Wind the strands around both forearms and stretch them into fine, even threads.
5. Heat the oil to about sixty percent of full frying temperature, lower the strands into the oil, and gently turn them with chopsticks.
6. Fry until golden and crisp, then remove and drain.

Sanzi are bright golden in color, arranged in layered coils, fragrant and crisp. They may be eaten on their own or softened in soy milk or milk.

The symbolism of Sanzi centers on two themes. First, commemorating worthy figures. Its origins are associated with the remembrance of Jie Zitui and therefore reflect admiration for loyalty, integrity, and moral clarity—virtues that have been valued for centuries. Second, preserving the legacy of Cold Food. Sanzi was born directly from the fire prohibition of the Cold Food Festival and carries the memory of that tradition. Although the prohibition itself has gradually faded, the crisp flavor of Sanzi remains a deeply rooted taste of nostalgia.

The Zitui Bun is a traditional Qingming food of Shanxi, named in memory of Jie Zitui, the celebrated figure of the State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period. The day before Qingming was traditionally the Cold Food Festival, when fire was forbidden and only cold food could be eaten in remembrance of Jie Zitui. As the Cold Food and Qingming festivals gradually became linked and eventually merged in practice, the custom of steaming Zitui Buns before the festival was preserved.

Jie Zitui was a man of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period, remembered for “cutting flesh from his thigh to serve his lord” and later withdrawing from public life without seeking office or reward. Duke Wen of Jin, Chong’er, wishing to persuade him to return to service, ordered Mianshan set on fire. Jie Zitui, however, chose to die in the flames rather than emerge to accept an official position. Later generations designated the day of his death as the Cold Food Festival. Zitui Buns were created to preserve the memory of this moral integrity.

Zitui Buns are generally larger than ordinary mantou, weighing around 250 to 500 grams. They keep well and could meet the need for several days of cold eating during the Cold Food Festival. In some regions, a large bun was made using twelve liang of white flour, representing the twelve months of the year.

To prepare them, flour and water are kneaded together, shaped into swallows, steamed, then left to cool before eating. For this reason they are also called “Cold Swallows.” On Qingming, willow twigs are threaded through the buns and hung above the doorway in memory of Jie Zitui. Some buns contain walnuts, red dates, and peanuts and are called “子福”, symbolizing ancestral protection and the continuation of the family line. An egg may also be placed on top after steaming.

Zitui Buns are often decorated with elaborate dough flowers, hand-shaped from white flour into birds, flowers, fish, insects, the Four Treasures of the Study, ancient mythical creatures, the twelve zodiac animals, and other forms. Each motif carries its own origin and interpretation. Snakes and scorpions express prayers for ancestral protection against the Five Poisons, while dragons and phoenixes embody hopes that children will grow into capable and accomplished adults. The tools used are simple household objects—combs, scissors, awls, tweezers—while red beans, black beans, Sichuan pepper seeds, and food coloring serve as decorative materials.

The process is labor-intensive, and several households often gather to make large quantities together. Children help their mothers nearby, and in this way the craft is passed from one generation to the next.

The symbolism of the Zitui Bun is profound and varied. First, commemorating a loyal minister. The bun is named in memory of Jie Zitui. Second, praying for ancestral protection. “子福” expresses the wish that the ancestors will protect the continuity of the family line. Third, distinctions between men and women. Zitui Buns are traditionally not reheated and should not be cut with a knife; they are broken apart by hand. In some regions, shape marks gender and marital status: men eat round buns, married women eat elongated ones, and unmarried girls eat zhuaji buns. Elsewhere, the distinction is made through dough-flower decoration: men eat buns decorated with snakes, tigers, and similar motifs, women eat buns adorned with flowers, while children receive more flexible and playful designs. The more elaborate the decoration, the deeper the feeling it is understood to convey.

The custom of eating eggs at Qingming has a history of several thousand years and may be traced back to the pre-Qin period. In some regions, fire was forbidden for several days, and boiled eggs were among the best foods to prepare in advance for the period of cold eating. Easy to carry, easy to preserve, and nutritionally rich, eggs became an important food during Hanshi.

The custom is also linked with the ancient Shangsi Festival, held in the early part of the third lunar month. People seeking children and fertility boiled eggs of various birds and painted them in different colors, calling them “Five-Colored Eggs.” They then went to the river and cast the eggs into the water, while people waiting downstream competed to retrieve, peel, and eat them, believing that doing so could bring fertility. When the Cold Food and Qingming festivals later merged, this egg-eating custom continued as part of Qingming.

Qingming eggs generally fall into two types. One is the “painted egg,” decorated with various designs on the shell; the other is the “carved egg,” in which patterns are cut into the shell. Painted eggs may be eaten, while carved eggs are more often ornamental. The most common folk preparation is to dye boiled eggs red, producing “red eggs” that symbolize auspiciousness and celebration. Children may also draw flowers and small animals on the shells and compare whose egg is the most beautiful.

Eggs carry three principal meanings at Qingming. First, the symbolism of life. In ancient Chinese culture, the egg represented fertility and life, and eating eggs at Qingming expressed reverence for life and reproduction. Second, the wish for completeness. Today, Qingming eggs symbolize wholeness and fulfillment. Third, hope for new life. As a symbol of life, the egg represents renewal and hope. Folk tradition regards eating eggs at Qingming as important as eating Zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival, Mooncakes at Mid-Autumn, or dumplings at the Lunar New Year.

Jujube Cake, also known as “Zitui Cake,” is a traditional Qingming pastry of northern China. According to legend, it was created in memory of Jie Zitui. The dough is fermented with distillers’ grains and steamed together with red dates, allowing the aromas of fermentation, dates, and wheat to mingle. It became an important cold food during the Cold Food Festival.

In some parts of Shanxi, people traditionally shape jujube cakes into flying swallows, thread them onto willow branches, and hang them above the doorway. They can be eaten cold and serve to commemorate Jie Zitui’s refusal to pursue fame and profit. In Hebei, Beijing, and other areas, street vendors selling jujube cakes were also once a familiar sight around Qingming.

1. Ferment the dough with distillers’ grains or yeast.
2. Press pitted red dates into the dough; in some regions, the dates are mixed directly into the flour and kneaded through.
3. Shape the dough into cakes or swallows.
4. Steam until cooked.

Jujube Cake carries several meanings. First, rising step by step. The character “糕” is homophonous with “高”, high, so eating jujube cake at Qingming expresses hopes for steady advancement in life and career. Second, commemorating a worthy figure. The cake is associated with the remembrance of Jie Zitui. Third, reunion and peace. “枣” sounds like “早”, early, symbolizing an early reunion and the early arrival of peace.

Eating Runbing at Qingming is especially common in southern Fujian, Chaoshan, and Taiwan. Families in Fujian and Taiwan traditionally used Runbing wrappers as ancestral offerings during the Tail Tooth Festival, Lunar New Year, Cold Food, and Qingming. After the ritual, family members gathered around a table, selected their preferred dishes, added peanut powder, sugar, and seaweed, wrapped everything inside the thin skin, and ate it together. This custom is regarded as a survival of the ancient Cold Food rule that forbade lighting fires for cooking.

Another legend connects Runbing with the siege of Zhangzhou in the fourteenth year of the Kangxi reign. During the siege, people lacked cooking utensils, and someone spread batter thinly, cooked it, then wrapped vegetables inside, unexpectedly creating this convenient way of eating. Runbing later spread from southern Fujian to Taiwan; another account holds that migrants from southern Fujian brought it there during the Ming dynasty. The early Qing writer Wang Shizhen recorded the southern Fujian custom of eating thin pancakes at Qingming in 《闽小记》.

Runbing is formally a type of spring pancake. Flour is worked and cooked into an extremely thin wrapper known as Runbing skin. Fillings may include shredded carrots, shredded meat, oyster omelet, coriander, peas, bean sprouts, dried tofu, sliced fish balls, shrimp, diced meat, strips of fried egg, oysters, crisp seaweed, crushed peanuts, fried vermicelli, coriander, shredded garlic, and more. Seasonal ingredients are generally preferred: carrots are especially sweet at this time; young beans, garlic shoots, chives, and coriander are at their best; and oysters are particularly plump around Qingming. To eat Runbing, a thin wrapper is spread on a plate, first sprinkled with peanut powder and crushed seaweed, then layered with vegetables and other fillings, and finally rolled into a cylinder and held in both hands.

Because of its white wrapper and red-colored fillings, Runbing has acquired the auspicious symbolism of “wrapping gold and silver,” associated with attracting wealth. It is an important food at Qingming family gatherings in southern Fujian and Taiwan. In the Minnan language, the character “润” carries a sense of moisture and gentleness and is also associated with family harmony and a warm, harmonious life.

Qingming is considered the finest season for gathering and eating river snails, because they have not yet reproduced and are at their fullest and most succulent. Hence the saying: “清明螺，赛过鹅”—Qingming snails surpass even goose. The Chinese have eaten snails for a very long time. At the Bailiandong archaeological site in Liuzhou, Guangxi, snail fossils were found with their tips deliberately broken off by human hands, indicating that people were already eating snails in the Paleolithic period.

Jiangnan households traditionally prepare Qingming snails in two principal ways. Ordinary families often make sauce-fried snails: scallion, ginger, and chili are fried until fragrant, the snails are added and tossed, and soy sauce, cooking wine, and sugar are used for seasoning, producing a richly aromatic dish. Silkworm-farming families, however, eat them differently. Rather than sucking the meat directly from the shells, they carefully pick it out with a needle and cook it separately, a method known as “挑青.” After eating, the empty shells are thrown onto the roof. It is said that the rolling sound across the tiles frightens away rats and thereby benefits silkworm raising after Qingming.

* Sauce-Fried Snails: Fry scallion, ginger, and chili until fragrant, add the snails, then season with soy sauce and cooking wine.
* Snail Meat Stir-Fried with Chinese Chives: Pick the meat from the shells and stir-fry it with Chinese chives for an especially fresh and tender dish.
* Fermented-Brine Snails: Boil the snails, then marinate them in fermented grain brine.

Qingming snails embody the dietary wisdom of “不时不食”—eating each ingredient at precisely the season when it is at its best. The custom of throwing snail shells onto rooftops to frighten away rats reflects the importance of sericulture in agricultural society. The folk saying “清明螺，赛过鹅” captures the special place Qingming snails hold in the Jiangnan imagination: a single plate of spring freshness can surpass countless rare delicacies.

Ai Ban is a distinctive seasonal snack of Qingming among the Hakka communities of Guangdong. In the Hakka dialect, “粄” is a general term for cakes made from glutinous or ordinary rice. Because Hakka communities traditionally lived amid green mountains and clear waters, the color green acquired especially rich associations and meanings, and eating Ai Ban at Qingming became an established custom.

Qingming is also known in folk tradition as a “Ghost Festival,” and mugwort has long been believed to ward off evil. Making Ai Ban during Qingming therefore also serves as a form of ancestral worship. Another folk belief holds that eating Ai Ban can protect people from wind and rain, meaning that those working in the fields need not fear exposure to the elements. Hakka regions preserve the saying: “清明前后吃艾粄，一年四季不生病”—eat Ai Ban around Qingming and remain free from illness throughout the year.

Ai Ban is made from non-glutinous rice flour, glutinous rice flour, mugwort, and other ingredients. The mugwort is cooked with alkali, soaked to remove bitterness, then pounded and kneaded into the rice flours to form a green dough. It may be filled with sweet or savory mixtures such as red bean paste, peanut and sesame, cured pork with dried bamboo shoots, and other fillings. Grapefruit leaves, bamboo leaves, or banana leaves are used as a base during steaming. Once cooked, Ai Ban becomes glossy dark green and releases the distinctive clean fragrance of mugwort.

Ai Ban derives its symbolism from two principal ideas. First, warding off evil and praying for blessings. Mugwort has long been regarded as a plant capable of repelling harmful influences. Making Ai Ban as an ancestral offering at Qingming therefore expresses the wish to drive away evil and avert disaster. Second, preventing illness and preserving health. The green plants used to make Qingming Ban are traditionally believed to dispel dampness and toxins, and eating them is said to help prevent skin sores in summer. This belief is associated with descriptions of the medicinal properties of mugwort leaves in 《本草纲目》. Ai Ban also symbolizes reunion while carrying remembrance and affection for one’s ancestors.

In southwestern Zhejiang, especially among She communities, Wuren Rice is a traditional Qingming food. It is also known as “青精饭” and is said to have originated in Daoist tradition, both as nourishment for the body and as an ancestral offering. It was originally a folk specialty of Jiangsu and was already recorded during the Tang dynasty. Du Fu wrote in 《赠李白》: “岂无青精饭，使我颜色好”, showing that Qingjing Rice was already eaten in the Tang period.

Eastern Fujian is an important region of She settlement. Every year around Qingming, She households begin preparing Wuren Rice. They traditionally present it to Han relatives and friends, and over time local Han communities also adopted the custom of eating Wuren Rice at Qingming.

Glutinous rice is soaked in filtered juice extracted from Wuren leaves, allowing the grains gradually to darken. Once steamed, the rice becomes deep black in color while retaining a rich rice fragrance and distinctive texture. When finished, the grains are glossy and dark; they may be mixed with white sugar or lard and eaten either as a staple or a snack. She people also commonly shape the rice into balls and carry them as provisions when traveling into the mountains to worship their ancestors.

Wuren Rice bears witness to cultural exchange between the She and Han peoples. It serves both as an ancestral offering and as a food associated with nourishing the body. In traditional thought, the color black corresponds with the kidneys and is believed to support kidney qi, fitting seasonal ideas of bodily nourishment during Qingming.