头伏饺子 Jiaozi on the First Height Day of Summer

头伏饺子可能是中国北方的习俗，至少在我的老家是这样。每年头伏，我们家一般都会包饺子。小的时候，我们不常吃饺子，只有逢年过节的时候才会美美地吃上一顿饺子。所以头伏吃饺子也算是不小的节日。

Jiaozi on the first height of Summer is a tradition in the North of China, at least it is in my hometown. According to Chinese conceptualizations, there are three hottest periods in the Summer, or the three heights from mid-July to mid-August, each lasting around 10 days. On the first day of the first height of Summer, we would usually make Chinese dumplings, or jiaozi. When I was young, we didn’t usually eat jiaozi, and we would only be able to feast on jiaozi during the New Year, the Chinese Spring Festival and other festivals. Therefore, the first day of the First height of Summer has also been regarded as a ‘fetival’ of some sort, because we could eat jiaozi again.

头伏是初伏的第一天，也是农历夏天的开始。三伏包括初伏，中伏和末伏。三伏天是一年当中最热的季节。头伏有十天。俗话说夏练三伏冬练三九，也就是说意志坚定的人，即使是三伏天和三九天也坚持锻炼身体。 “头伏饺子”来自北方的一句俚语，叫做“头伏饺子二伏面，三伏烙饼摊鸡蛋”。这可能与北方人爱吃面食有关。炎炎夏日，人们总会做些又开胃又解馋的东西来吃，自然可以理解。这一习俗早在《魏氏春秋》就有记载。即所谓的 “伏日食汤饼，取巾拭汗，面色皎然”。

‘First height day’ (or Toufu in Chinese) is the first day of the first period of ten days of the hottest Summer. It is also the beginning of the Summer according to the lunar calendar. The ‘three heights’ include the first height (Toufu), the middle height (Zhongfu), and the end height (Mofu). The days of the ‘three heights’ are usually the hottest throughout the Summer. The first height has ten days. A Chinese proverb goes like ‘exercising during the three heights in the Summer and the ‘three nines’ in the Winter. That is to say, people with a strong will and determination persist in doing physical exercises, even during the hottest three heights and the coldest three ‘nine’ days in the Winter.  Jiaozi on the first height day has become part of a proverb in the North of China, which is ‘Making jiaozi on the first height day, and noodles on the first second height day, and making thin pancakes and scrabbling eggs on the first third height day’. This may have something to do with the fact that people from the North love eating flour-based food. On the hottest Summer days, it is natural for people from the North to make some varieties of food that are appetizing and delicious, pleasing both the taste-buds and stomachs. Such a tradition has been documented in “Wei’s Spring and Autumn” (written by an ancient Chinese scholar, Sun Sheng (302-373 AD), documenting the chronicles of the Wei Dynasty). It says ‘Soup and thin pancakes are consumed during the ‘height’ days in the Summer, and facecloths are used to wipe sweats, and faces are as bright as the moon’.

又一年的头伏天快要到了，但我人在海外所以也并没有感觉到，因为南北半球的季节正好相反。北半球的夏季正是南半球的冬天。头伏的头一天晚上，我给母亲打电话。妈问我：“明天该包饺子了吧？能不能吃到饺子啊？”我问为什么。妈说：“又到头伏了。头伏饺子，二伏面嘛” …

Another first height of Summer was fast approaching, however, because I was overseas, and I wasn’t quite aware of it, and also because the seasons between the Southern and Northern Hemispheres are exactly the opposite. The Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is precisely the Winder down under in the Southern Hemisphere. A day before the first height of Summer, I happened to ring my mother. She asked, “You’ll make jiaozi tomorrow, won’t you? Will you be able to make jiaozi?” I asked “why, mum?” without realising that it would be the first height of Summer the next day. My mother responded “Another first height of Summer. Jiaozi for the first day of the first height, and noodles for the first day of the second height of Summer” …

一年四季，春夏秋冬，年复一年，周而复始。时间就是这么不经意地过着。有一天，我跟墨尔本的同事聊天，是关于时间流逝的。本地的同事说Time flies（时间飞逝），德国的同事说Time runs（时间奔跑），而法国的同事却说Time flows（时间流淌）。大家都笑了，纷纷觉得，“时间流淌”比较好，好像也没有过得那么快。据我所知，中国人表达时间的流逝则有更多的说法，比如光阴似箭，日月如梭，白驹过隙，岁月如流等等。

Four seasons in a year: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Year after Year, time travels in a cycle. Time is spent without much of our awareness. One day, I was chatting with my colleagues in Melbourne, and it was about how time passes. The local Australian colleague said ‘Time flies’, and then a German colleague said ‘Time runs’, followed by a French colleague, saying ‘Time flows’.  We all laughed, agreeing that ‘Time flows’ seemed to be more appropriate, so that time wouldn’t go that fast. As far as I know, Chinese also have a few more expressions regarding how time passes, e.g., time flies as an arrow, the Sun and the Moon (meaning time) travels like a weaver’s shuttle, Time passes quickly like a white pony's shadow across a crevice, the Year and Month (meaning time) flows like a stream.

我来墨尔本的前一年，头伏的那一天，我从美国参加学术会议回来，一个人在香港。老婆和女儿那个时候还在加拿大的亲戚家裡。我就一个人包饺子。历夏经秋，一转眼，我来到了墨尔本。刚到这里的那几个星期，我还是一个人，老婆和女儿在西澳珀斯。七月的某一天，又到了北半球的头伏。头伏包饺子，已经成为我生活的一部分，或者说是我的中国文化“情结”。有位朋友曾经说过，生活要多少有些“仪式感”。对我来说，生活的仪式感，就是逢年过节包饺子，正月十五吃元宵，五月初五吃粽子，八月十五吃月饼。这些中国文化的习俗，已经根深蒂固地成为我生活的有机元素。所以无论走到哪里，无论我的相貌和心态如何，我的中国情结就是在中国传统的日子里，营造些气氛，身体力行创造几分“仪式感”与国内同步，就是所谓接地气吧。所以，凡是包饺子，包元宵，包粽子，我都会买些原料回来，亲手去做。

The year before I came to Melbourne, on the first day of the first height of the Summer, I was alone in Hong Kong after I came back from a conference in the United State. My wife and daughter at that time were visiting our relatives in Canada. I began to make jiaozi on my own. A year later, I was in Melbourne. For the first few weeks, I was also alone one my own, while my wife and daughter were in Perth. Some day in July, it was the first height of Summer (in the Northern Hemisphere again). Making jiaozi on the first height day has been a part of my life, and it has also been my (Oedipus) ‘Complex’ of Chinese culture. A friend of mine once said, life should every now and then be filled with ‘rituals’. To me, rituals in life are mostly about making cultural specific foods, such as making jiaozi during festivals including the Spring Festival, making yuanxiao on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, making zongzi on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and eating mooncakes during the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month. Such Chinese cultural traditions have become deep-rooted in my life as organic elements. Therefore, wherever I am and whatever my appearance and mood are, my Chinese (Oedipus) ‘Complex’ embodies itself in those traditional Chinese festivals where I create some atmosphere, following my ‘rituals’ synchronously with China, which I’d call ‘earth-connecting’ with my homeland. So, whenever I make jiaozi, yuanxiao, and zongzi, I’d prefer to go shopping for the ingredients and DIY ourselves.   

包饺子对我来说是轻而易举的事情。从小就跟着家人一起包饺子，无论是和面，拌馅儿，擀皮儿，还是包饺子，煮饺子，我都耳濡目染，样样精通。可是，来墨尔本后的第一个头伏包饺子，我却颇有几分巧“夫”难为无“厨具”之炊。初来乍到，我几乎全部的家当还没有海运到墨尔本。我的面板，擀面杖和其它包饺子的工具不在身边，这头伏饺子的“仪式感”则充满不确定性。那一天，我在电话里跟妈讲，在老家是头伏，可是墨尔本这里是冬天，不是夏天，所以没有头伏的气氛，也没有“三九”冬天的寒冷。妈也许不知道自己的儿子真地走了很远，与老家有了时差，到了赤道的南边，而且季节不同，正好相反。 不过，电话那头的妈还是跟我说，“冬天也可以吃饺子。如果不吃饺子，就做点别的什么好吃的给自己吃吧”。母亲的话里充满着对儿女的疼爱。

Making jiaozi, to me, is as easy as turning my palm. Since my childhood, I have been making jiaozi together with my family. No matter it is making the dough, or the fillings, or the jiaozi skins, or the actual wrapping of jiaozi and boiling of them, I know all the details because of the years of immersion. However, on the first day of the first height of ‘Summer’ in Melbourne, I was not equipped with the necessary ‘tools’ or utensils for making jiaozi, just as a Chinese saying goes, ‘even a clever woman (housewife) cannot cook a meal without rice’, and neither can a man (househusband) in my case. Having recently arrived in Melbourne, almost of my ‘belongings’ were possibly still on the ocean being shipped on their way to Melbourne. Without the necessary jiaozi making tools, such as a wood panel for doughwork, a rolling stick for jiaozi skin making, my first height day ‘ritual’ was full of uncertainties. On that day, I spoke to my mom over the phone, it was Winter down under in Melbourne, although it was the first day of the first height in Summer back home. It was not Summer, as I explained to my mom, there was not any first ‘height’ atmosphere, and nothing like the chilling ‘three nines’ of Winter either. My mom might not quite figure it out that her son had really gone so far that there was a time difference with our hometown. I was indeed over the equator down the South, with the seasons exactly the opposite. However, at the other end of the line, my mom said to me, “You can still eat jiaozi during Winter. If there’s no jiaozi, you can always cook something good for yourself.” I could feel the motherly love, care and warmth from the words and the way my mom spoke to me.

在墨尔本的第一个头伏就这么平平静静地在一个独特的冬天和独特的地方慢慢地铺开了。在这个陌生的地方，每个人都有各自心思意念和生活轨迹。这一天，也许只有我的心里才有头伏饺子“情结” 。我从小到大都爱吃饺子，而到了头伏该吃饺子的时候，自然会惦记着饺子。不过工作的忙碌，使我也顾不得生活的“仪式感”。一大早出门上班，整个上午都在不停地工作，与同事交流。肚子饿了，看看表，才知道中午到了，该吃饭了。我下楼来到校园服务中心。这里有很多商店，也有邮局、银行、电影院和几处小吃店。我走来走去，不知道吃点什么好，虽然鱼片薯条，三明治，比萨饼，炒米饭和炒面应有尽有，我心里还是放不下头伏饺子。

The first height day in Melbourne was quiet and peacefully passing by in such a unique Winter and place. In an unfamiliar Otherland, everyone has their own thoughts and life experiences. On such a day, perhaps it was only me who would have a (Oedipus) ‘Complex’ for first height jiaozi. Jiaozi has always been my favorite food throughout my childhood up until now. When it comes to the first height of Summer, I am naturally keen for jiaozi. However, due to the usual busy-ness of work, sometimes I could hardly manage to observe any ‘rituals’ in life. From early morning when I got to work, I have been fully obsessed with work, and communication with colleagues. Then I felt a bit hungry, looking at my watch, realizing that it’s lunch time, for a bite or two. I then walked downstairs to the Campus Centre, where there are shops, a post office, a bank, a cinema and a few little cafes or restaurants. I walked around, not knowing that to order, although there was a variety of foods, including fish and chips, sandwiches, pizzas, fried rice and noodles. What I had in mind was indeed the ‘first height of Summer jiaozi’.

  

我相信人的心思意念是有某种气场的，或称为意念场。人的观念、信仰、环境，还有所交的朋友，生活起居，和所吃的食物等等都会在某种程度上决定着一个人意念场的能量和效力。民间所谓的“说曹操曹操到”和“心想事成”都是某种意念场在运作的结果。

I believe that people’s minds may set certain atmosphere or field, or mind-field. People’s beliefs, religions, environments, and the friends they make, the live and daily routines they follow, and the food they eat all determine to a certain extent their mind-field or executive effect. Chinese folk expressions such as ‘speaking of Caocao, Caocao appears’ (or the English equivalent of ‘speaking of devil’) and ‘what one wishes comes true’ operate in such mind-fields.

就在我犹豫不定想吃什么的时候，猛然看到了饺子。身处异地他乡，能看到一盘既熟悉又陌生的饺子，我感觉很亲切，就像在梦里。走近定睛一看，饺子旁边写着‘Shanghai Dumplings’ ，原来是一盘“上海饺子”，而且仅此一份。我不再犹豫，买了下来。然后，找个座位，心里充满感恩之情：我居然可以在“头伏”吃到饺子，真乃天助我也！对于我来说，初来乍到，在这人生地不熟的地方，不管是上海饺子，北京饺子，香港饺子，或者其他甚麽地方的饺子，只要是饺子就好，都是“中国” 饺子。我充满“仪式感”地认认真真品味每一个饺子，颇有几分神圣和庄严。这饺子不仅仅是美味，更是一种中国元素，知音和乡情。头伏吃饺子，除了果腹，更是一种心灵的满足。

Just when I was walking around wondering around what to eat, I spotted jiaozi. I felt like in a dream when I saw jiaozi, which seemed both familiar and strange, yet intimate, in such an Otherland. I walked closer and found it was ‘Shanghai Dumplings’. It was jiaozi packed in a lunch box, and there was only one portion left. I bought it without much hesitation. I then grabbed a seat, with much graititude appreciating and tasting the jiaozi: it must have been the Heaven who helped me with jiazo on this first Summer height day! For me, in such an unfamiliar place, no matter it was Shanghai dumplings, Beijing dumplings or Hong Kong dumplings, whatever jiaozi they are, as long as they are jiaozi, they are ‘Chinese’ jiaozi. I ate every jiaozi with a sense of observing a ‘ritual’, with grace and dignity. The jiaozi are more than mere delicacies, but also Chinese elements, smells, tastes and China complex. Having jiaozi on the first Summer height day is not only an act of satisfying my stomach, but a ritual to cater for the needs of my heart and soul.

不论我走到哪裡，走得有多远，无论冬天还是夏季，在我的心裡，只要到了这一天，都会念念不忘这 “头伏饺子”。这也许在某种意义上就是我中国情结的最具体、直接和朴素的表达吧。

No matter where I go, how far I travel, and whether it is Summer or Winter, when it comes to this day of the first height of Summer, I would always be obsessed in my heart with the ‘first height of Summer jiaozi’. To a large extent, this is a concrete, direct and humble expression of my China Complex.