Chongyang cake () is a

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

cake eaten on the

Chongyang Festival The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar. According to Wu Jun, it dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD). According to the ''I Ching'', ''nine' ...

. A mixture mainly made up of rice flour and sugar is baked and steamed, then decorated with jujube, chestnuts and almonds. As the word for "cake" () sounds like the one for "height" () in Chinese, people regard it as a lucky food.

History

''Chongyang cake'''s popularity began in the

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

. In the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

, the cakes became popular in

Bianjing Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east- central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is most known for having been the Chin ...

(now called

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

), in Linan (now

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

and other major cities. To this day, the sweet remains popular throughout China. The food symbolizes the appreciation and memory of families and friends who have passed, while also reminding people to value and highlight the importance of

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

relationships.

Legends of the origin

The first version to the story of the origins of the cake says that before Liu Yu became an emperor, he was in the

Pengcheng Xuzhou ( zh, s=徐州), also known as Pengcheng () in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area m ...

. When he became the emperor, he made a law that allowed people to ride, shoot and review the troops every year on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. The Chongyang cakes were given out to the soldiers. The other version says that Kang Hai (the Zhuangyuan of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, from

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

, attended the imperial ranking examination in August. However, he became ill, and got stuck in

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

. He was not at home when a reporter went to his hometown to tell him the good news, but Kang Hai was still in Chang'an, and the reporter was unwilling to leave without a reward. When he came back, it was the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the day of the Chongyang Festival. As a reward, he gave the reporter money and some cakes to celebrate his success. Because the cakes were used to celebrate his success, families who had children who were going to take school exams would give out cakes to them and the neighborhood as a symbol of good luck, and as such the custom of eating Chongyang cakes spread.

References

External links

* *{{cite web, url=http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2011-10/05/content_1493550.htm, script-title=zh:说说重阳糕, trans-title=Say something about Chongyang cakes, access-date=2011-10-05, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005192647/http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2011-10/05/content_1493550.htm, archive-date=2011-10-05, url-status=dead Chinese cakes Holiday foods

History

Legends of the origin

See also

References

External links