Fuzhou Boasts Rich Customs at the Beginning of Summer Customs
May 5 marks the solar term of the Beginning of Summer. What are the customs in Fuzhou? A reporter interviewed a local folklore expert to find out.
Eating pot side paste. “Fuzhou people attach great importance to the Beginning of Summer, with a tradition known as Zuoxia (Doing Summer), meant to bring blessings, ward off illness, and avert misfortune. In Poems on Fuzhou Customs, written by Zheng Dongkuo during the Qing Dynasty, there is a description: ‘The gardenias bloom as swallows raise their first broods. The lingering chill of the Beginning of Summer still brings some worries. People enjoy eye-brightening rice cakes and foot-strengthening bamboo shoots. Fresh clams were bought and boiled for pot side paste preparation.’ this scene precisely captures the custom”, explained Mr. Qiu Denghui, a Fuzhou folklore expert. During the Beginning of Summer, every household in Fuzhou prepares pot side paste, often sharing it with neighbors as a gesture of goodwill, hoping for harmonious relations where “one swipe and you’re close.”
According to A Historical Discussion of Fujian Cuisine and The Twenty-four Solar Terms and Fuzhou Customs, Dingbianwen is a local delicacy popular in both Fujian and Taiwan. The character “鐤” (pronounced ding) is a colloquial Fuzhou word for an ancient cooking vessel, later replaced by the modern character for “pot” (锅), though the local dialect retained the archaic pronunciation. “抆” (wen) refers to the motion of swiping rice batter along the pot’s edge. Today, Dingbianwen is referred to in standard Chinese as pot edge or pot side paste.
The custom of making pot side paste during the Beginning of Summer dates back to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The Republican-era Records of Tengshan documents: “On the day of the Beginning of Summer, every household prepares pot side paste, steams bowl cakes, and performs ancestral rites - these are known as doing summer.”
In honor of Qi Jiguang’s contributions, locals associate the origins of pot side paste with him. Legend has it that during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, Qi Jiguang led troops into Fujian to suppress Japanese pirates. Upon reaching the southern suburbs of Fuzhou, villagers intended to offer food to the soldiers. Just then, enemy remnants struck. The quick-witted villagers used ground rice batter to make pot side paste. After the troops had their fill, they successfully eliminated the remaining enemies.
Eating bowl cakes. Among the Fuzhou people, there is a belief that eating bowl cakes or well cakes at the Beginning of Summer can brighten one’s vision. As such, these cakes have become symbolic seasonal offerings, expressing respect for the elderly and affection for children.
Eating seaweed jelly. In the coastal areas of Lianjiang, fishermen consume a jelly made from sea stone flower, a plant that grows in the sea and clings to rocks. Rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other trace elements, this seaweed jelly is highly nutritious and affectionately dubbed “the bird’s nest of the sea” by the local fishing community. (Zheng Ruiyang and Lin Shuying, Reporters of Fuzhou Evening News)