Wufangzhaizongzi Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
In the early years of the Republic, Zhang Jinquan set up a stall selling rice dumplings at the foot of Hai'er Bridge on North Street in the urban district of Jiaxing; because of their distinctive shape and flavour they became deeply popular. In 1921 Zhang Jinquan opened the first "Wufangzhai" rice-dumpling shop at the mouth of Zhangjia Lane inside Jiaxing city, and by virtue of his consummate craft gradually became famous throughout Jiangnan, hailed as the "King of Rice Dumplings."
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The craft of making Wufangzhai rice dumplings originated in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, and radiated to the Yangtze River Delta; it is a typical representative of the traditional Chinese food-making craft. The traditional craft of making Wufangzhai rice dumplings is divided mainly into some 36 process steps — selecting materials, soaking the rice, boiling the leaves, preparing the filling, shaping the shell, wrapping, tying with string, and boiling — and has formed the special tricks and secret recipes unique to Wufangzhai, producing the marked characteristics of Wufangzhai rice dumplings: "glutinous but not mushy, rich but not greasy, tender meat and fragrant flavour, with a balanced salty-sweet." It has thus become a typical representative of Jiangnan rice dumplings. Yet, in the course of modernisation, the traditional craft of making rice dumplings inevitably faces crisis.
Documented process record
The traditional craft of making Wufangzhai rice dumplings is divided mainly into some 36 process steps — selecting materials, soaking the rice, boiling the leaves, preparing the filling, shaping the shell, wrapping, tying with string, and boiling — and has formed the special tricks and secret recipes unique to Wufangzhai, producing the marked characteristics of Wufangzhai rice dumplings: "glutinous but not mushy, rich but not greasy, tender meat and fragrant flavour, with a balanced salty-sweet." It has thus become a typical representative of Jiangnan rice dumplings.
Soaking rice and boiling leaves
Soaking gives the glutinous rice its weight and boiling softens the leaves without breaking them, setting grain and fragrance before anything else.
Shaping the shells
The leaves are pressed into conical shells that hold the filling, so the wrapping does not open and the grains do not escape.
Wrapping and tying
The filling is centred, the leaves closed and bound with thread; the tightness of the binding decides whether the dumpling keeps its shape in the pot.
Boiling
The decisive step: over-boil and the rice collapses while the filling toughens; under-boil and the centre stays hard.
South Lake water-chestnut dumplings
A Jiaxing speciality filled with water chestnuts from South Lake, one among dozens of varieties alongside pork, bean paste and ham.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The roots of Wufangzhai are in Jiaxing. In the early Republican years Zhang Jinquan first set up a stall at the foot of Hai'er Bridge on North Street in the urban district, building a reputation through shape and flavour; only in 1921 did he move into the mouth of Zhangjia Lane inside the city to open a proper shop, after which the craft spread along the waterways of Jiangnan. The water-chestnut dumplings of the South Lake area stand alongside Jiaxing's local fresh-pork dumplings and yolk dumplings as famous products; today the production and brand of a single company, Zhejiang Wufangzhai Industrial Co., Ltd., carry this set of process steps even farther.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, Wufangzhai rice-dumpling varieties number dozens, including fresh-pork, red-bean-paste, ham, yolk, chestnut, date-paste, and South-Lake-water-chestnut dumplings. The craft of making Wufangzhai rice dumplings has fairly high edible, cultural and economic value; its core lies in the close integration of the time-honoured brand culture with the traditional craft, fully embodying the unique charm of the rice dumpling as an ethnic food. On the one hand, rice-dumpling production shows a trend toward intensification and commercialisation; the scene of every household wrapping dumplings has become history, and the great majority of young people cannot wrap them. On the other hand, within the enterprise, the degree of production automation keeps rising, and the transmission of the traditional hand craft of rice dumplings has already fallen into a severe crisis, urgently requiring various measures of protection. At present Wufangzhai rice dumplings come in dozens of varieties — fresh pork, red bean paste, ham, yolk, chestnut, date paste, South Lake water chestnut and so on. Although the steps are fine, large-scale production can still hold the form steady; what really shows the skill is the heat and the feel in the stages of selecting materials, soaking the rice, boiling the leaves, preparing the filling, shaping the shell, wrapping, tying, and boiling.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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