As archaeologists pored over ancient tombs in Turfan in western China, they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened from over 1,000 years, there sat little crescent-shaped dumplings.
当考古学家考察 位于中国西部吐鲁番的古墓时, 他们惊奇地发现了 许多保存完好、熟悉的文物。 虽然经过 1000 多年的淬炼, 但那里依然有着 一些小小的新月形水饺。
Exactly who invented dumplings remains a mystery. But some scholars suspect they were first spread around parts the ancient world by nomadic Turkic peoples living in western China and Central Asia. This is thought to be the case because “manti,” meaning “dumpling” or “steamed bun” in many Turkic languages, appears to be the root word for dumpling in several other languages. Ancient Turkic people probably stuffed their dumplings with meat. But it’s unclear when this practice began, or whether they learned the art of dumpling-making from others. However this happened, dumplings certainly gathered steam in ancient China.
到底是谁发明了饺子 仍然是一个谜。 但也有学者猜测, 它们最早是由生活在中国西部 以及中亚的游牧突厥民族在古时候 将其传播至世界各地的。 之所以这样认为,是因为 在突厥系语言中 “manti” 的意思是 “饺子” 或者 “包子”, 然后它似乎在其他几种语言中 也作为饺子的词根。 古代突厥人可能是用肉馅包饺子, 但目前尚不清楚这种做法 是从什么时候开始的, 或者他们是否从别人那 学会了包饺子这门艺术。 然而无论如何,饺子肯定是在 中国古代开始获得了人气。
That’s where they first appear in the written record: more than 1,700 years ago, in a mouthwatering rhapsody by scholar Shu Xi. In his poem, Shu alludes to certain cooking methods coming from alien lands. He describes a steamed wheat product as “mantou.” And he reverentially chronicles the preparation of kneaded dough balls called “lao wan.” They’re packed with pork, mutton and aromatics, dipped in black meat sauce, then quickly gobbled up, leaving people downwind to drool and fantasy-feast.
饺子第一次由文字记载了下来: 1700 多年前, 在文人束皙的一场 令人垂涎的狂想曲中, 束皙在他的诗中提及了某些 来自异域的烹饪方法, 他描绘了一种用小麦蒸成的食物 名为 “馒头”。 他虔诚地记录了 揉面团的制作过程,称作“烙丸”。 丸子里装满了猪肉、羊肉和香料, 而后蘸一点黑肉酱,一口下肚, 让人口水直流,好似梦之盛宴。
Dumplings continued to take off and diversify in China over the next thousand years. Instead of the traditional meat filling, some communities opted for vegetarian dumplings. People developed new cooking methods. And because wheat was harder to cultivate 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 tricky to trace, but food historians have made their best guesses based on available clues.
在接下来的一千年里, 饺子在中国不断发展, 一些地区不再使用传统的肉馅, 而是开始包素馅饺子。 由于小麦在中国北方以外地区更难种植, 人们还发明了新的烹饪方法。 其他地区的人开始用米饭、 木薯粉和红薯来制作水饺。 中国不同地区的饺子与历史的联系 很难准确追溯, 但是食品历史学家 根据现有的线索做了最可能的推测。
Turkic tribes spread and eventually established the Ottoman Empire around 1300 CE, bringing wrapped morsels west with them. In what’s now Turkey, most people wouldn’t have stuffed dumplings with pork due to Islamic restrictions. Instead, manti would come to be filled with ingredients like lamb, drizzled with garlic, yogurt, and melted butter, then topped with herbs and spices.
突厥部落分布 最终在公元 1300 年左右 建立了奥斯曼帝国, 并将包裹好的食物带到了西方。 在现在的土耳其,大多数人 由于伊斯兰教的饮食限制, 不会用猪肉包饺子。 而是由淋上大蒜、酸奶 和热黄油等配料的羊肉来做饺子馅, 然后再撒上香草和香料。
Some scholars believe that the Mongol Empire also helped disseminate dumplings, perhaps introducing them to parts of Eastern Europe. These dumplings could have come by way of China or directly from some of the Turkic peoples the Mongols hired to run their empire. One theory is that this gave rise to dumplings like Russian pelmeni, and the larger pierogi and vareniki, eaten in Poland and Ukraine, stuffed with things like potato, cabbage, cheese, and cherries. The Mongol Empire also controlled Korea and might have likewise introduced dumplings there, where “mandu” may be eaten with regional ingredients like kimchi.
有学者认为蒙古帝国 也帮助传播了饺子, 也许是他们将饺子带到东欧部分地区。 这些饺子可能来自中国, 或直接来自蒙古人雇用来管理 其帝国的一些突厥人。 有人认为这就是为何出现了 像是俄罗斯饺子, 还有更大的波兰饺子和乌克兰饺子, 主要食材是土豆、 卷心菜、奶酪和樱桃之类的东西。 蒙古帝国也控制了朝鲜, 并可能也在那里引入了饺子, 在那里 “mandu” 可以跟泡菜等地方食材同食。
Later, after Chinese dumpling varieties 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 knödel and matzo balls, they would’ve had no filling. So, the word was actually confusingly imprecise, but it stuck, nonetheless. When Japan occupied China during the Second World War, Chinese “jiaozi” were brought to Japan, where they in turn became known as “gyoza” and were more typically pan-fried.
后来,当品种多样的中国饺子 被介绍到更多国家之后, 说英语的人开始叫称之为 “dumplings”(饺子)。 这个词的意思是 “小肉块”, 并且认为最早始于 16 世纪的英国, 是被用来描述掉在液体中的面团球。 像德式土豆饺 (Knödel) 和脆饼面丸, 它们没有馅。 所以,这个词实际上是 令人困惑的不准确, 但它仍然被记住了。 当日本在二战期间占领中国时, 中国的 “饺子” 被带到了日本, 在那里它们又被称为 “gyoza” 并且通常是被煎炸的。
So what about the fact that every region in Italy has its own variety of dumpling-like stuffed pasta? Some historians think that Arab conquerors brought dumplings when they reigned over Sicily between the 9th and 11th centuries. But the jury's still out.
那么在意大利的每个地区 为什么都有自己各式各样的意大利饺呢? 一些历史学家认为阿拉伯征服者 在 9 世纪和 11 世纪之间 他们统治西西里的时候带来了饺子。 但并非所有人都认同此观点,
It’s unlikely that all dumpling-esque dishes came from the same root tradition. In many cases, it may simply be that culinary visionaries from different cultures shared a similar revelation: that cooking fillings encased in dough would be delightful. Either way, we can appreciate these plump pockets of perfection— and the tangled, mysterious historical web that’s made dumplings so diverse and divine.
不太可能所有饺子式的 菜肴都是来自同一个传统根源。 在许多情况下,它可能只是 是来自不同文化的 烹饪家共享了相似的灵感: 把烹饪馅料包裹在面团中会很好吃。 无论如何,我们都感谢 这些丰满的完美口袋—— 以及让饺子多样和神圣的 错综复杂的、神秘的历史网。
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