The spring pancake () is a traditional Chinese food unique to the northern regions. People eat spring pancakes on the day called

lichun Traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. ''Lìchūn'', ''Risshun'', ''Ipchun'', or ''Lập xuân'' is the 1st solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315° and ends when it reaches the long ...

to celebrate the beginning of the spring. The spring pancake took its rise from the Jin dynasty and has prospered since the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

. The lichun was valued by both Chinese ancient kings and civilians. Unlike kings’ great celebrations, civilians celebrated the lichun by eating spring pancakes wrapped around fresh vegetables and meat, which is called bite-the-spring. Bite-the-spring implies that civilians are praying for a good harvest year by eating fresh vegetables and meat at the beginning of spring. In the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

, spring pancakes became a fried pancake wrapped around a filling that included

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

, chicken, pork, black dates,

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus '' Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, c ...

walnuts A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true bot ...

and sugar. In addition, spring pancakes were one of the nine desserts for the regal banquet of the Qing dynasty. The spring pancake is slightly larger than the pancake that is served with

Peking duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the di ...

. The wrapped, filled pancakes were in later times fried and served as what are called

spring roll Spring rolls are rolled appetizers or dim sum commonly found in Chinese and other Southeast Asian cuisines. The kind of wrapper, fillings, and cooking technique used, as well as the name, vary considerably within this large area, depending o ...

Miscellaneous

*The pork used to cook spring pancakes is usually bought from a store in Beijing named Tianfuhao,“Tianfuhao 天福号 braised pork hock”
TouchBeijing.com.16 Feb. 2009 which has been in business for over 270 years.

Notes

Sources

*“Chinese celebrate 'beginning of spring'” Ningbo View 5 Feb. 2009. 20 Feb. 2009 http://english.cnnb.com.cn/system/2009/02/05/005978790.shtml *“Spring Pancakes (Chun Bing)” Doule 14 Oct. 2005. 20 Feb. 2009 http://www.doule.net/commonality/ywb/LiLZ/Bas/200510/20922.html *“The breath of the spring is coming on. One of Chinese traditional food is spring pancake” Teach you How to Cook Chinese Food 20 Feb. 2009 https://archive.today/20090206122252/http://www.achinesefood.com/2009/02/03/the-breath-of-the-spring-is-coming-on-one-of-chinese-traditional-food-is-spring-pancake.html {{Portal bar, Food, Society, China Beijing cuisine Chinese pancakes Chinese New Year foods