shirleyzzr-blog

[shirleyzzr-blog]

My hometown is Xuzhou, an ancient city located in the northwest of Jiangsu province. I am going to talk about a very unique festival called ‘The Fu Yang Festival’, which is celebrated by the local people.

As an saying goes ”If you drink the mutton soup at the festival, there is no need for a doctor.” The festival start on the day of Chufu (Chineses 初伏) which is around mid-July according to the lunar calendar and lasts for nearly a month. ”Fu” refers to the hottest day in summer. I always remember that during that period, the business of mutton restaurant will be extremely flourish. Since it is usually very hot and the ventilation system don’t work very well , people tend to stay outside and sit by an small wooden desk. Apart from mutton, people will also eat other body organ of the sheep. They really enjoy the state of being bathed in sweat as well as tasting the delicious dished and drinking beers at the same time.

The first dish” Sheep Giblet soup “is made by different parts of the sheep. Followed by the picture of the “mutton soup”、” sliced boiled mutton ”and “Slices with Scallion”. It is obvious that mutton can be cooked in many different ways in China.

Little is known that eating mutton at such hot days does good to the human body by feeding people’s appetite, saving the body from the cold and preparing your body for a long cold winter.

Thousands of years ago, Peng Zu , who puts the emphasis on diet and health had praised mutton. Legend has it that Peng Zu used the mutton delicious and created a famous dish "sheep Fang fish" which cook fish, sheep together, making it taste very delicious. Of course, due to the restrictions of materials and crafts, this dish seldom appears on the dining table of Xuzhou people. Afterwards, Han Emperor Liu Bang loves eating lamb, according to "historical records" recorded that when he was young, he killed the sheep and set wine banquet. At the same time, in a "Paochu map" unearthed in Xuzhou Hanvon town of Copper, there existed the picture of a kitchen with mutton cooked food picture. [1] the Han Stone portrait reflects the Han people's recognition and love of mutton. And in another piece of Han stone, there are people who roast mutton kebabs. So in Guo Degang crosstalk mentioned in the "Xuzhou city first eat mutton string area" should have some historical basis.

Of course, since July 11, 2002, Xuzhou held the first Fu sheep Festival delicacy, and officially named the fu sheep Festival. Since then, the folk spontaneous behavior is far more than the introduction of mutton culture value, and gradually evolved into a specific symbol of folk culture in Xuzhou. Since 2008, more attention has been paid to the combination of traditional culture and contemporary civilization, especially the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Peng Zu, which has become the cultural symbol of fu sheep festival. Hundreds of famous culinary masters dress uniform, neatly lined up, saluted, great in strength and impetus solemn looking very spectacular. Not only did the people so to see the festival to promote Peng Zu culture, the positive role of the Han culture, in 2017, "fu sheep Festival" was selected as "Jiangsu intangible cultural heritage list."". [2] I think Shi Xiuyong’s definition that "the fu sheep festival as an intangible cultural heritage category has surpassed all kinds of social facilities in the city and became a symbol to show the city's image resources" [3] is very appropriate. Today, tourists in the fu sheep Festival, apart from tasting ,they can also watch a lot of celebration performance, further deepen the understanding of Xuzhou "Han Dynasty" culture and diet culture, but also for the whole festival adds new vitality.

However some people argue about the humanity behind such behavior. They consider the festival as a disrespect for the race of sheep and criticize the local for being indifferent and cold-heart. In my opinion, taking in mutton is just the same as taking in beef and chicken and other meats since the sheep are born to be eaten. It’s kind of their destiny and there is nothing we can do unless we abandon eating all kinds of meat. Additionally, I suppose that people should focus on the raising process ,like how the farmer feed them and do they have enough nutrition and gain instant medical care instead of their unavoidable destination.

[shirleyzzr-blog]

The Fu Yang Festival

My hometown is Xuzhou, an ancient city located in the northwest of Jiangsu province. I am going to talk about a very unique festival called ‘The Fu Yang Festival’, which is celebrated by the local people.

As an saying goes ”If you drink the mutton soup at the festival, there is no need for a doctor.” The festival start on the day of Chufu (Chineses 初伏) which is around mid-July according to the lunar calendar and lasts for nearly a month. ”Fu” refers to the hottest day in summer. I always remember that during that period, the business of mutton restaurant will be extremely flourish. Since it is usually very hot and the ventilation system don’t work very well , people tend to stay outside and sit by an small wooden desk. Apart from mutton, people will also eat other body organ of the sheep. They really enjoy the state of being bathed in sweat as well as tasting the delicious dished and drinking beers at the same time.

Here are some of the pictures of the different dished made by mutton.

The first dish” Sheep Giblet soup “is made by different parts of the sheep. Followed by the picture of the “mutton soup”、” sliced boiled mutton ”and “Slices with Scallion”. It is obvious that mutton can be cooked in many different ways in China.

Little is known that eating mutton at such hot days does good to the human body by feeding people’s appetite, saving the body from the cold and preparing your body for a long cold winter.

Thousands of years ago, Peng Zu , who puts the emphasis on diet and health had praised mutton. Legend has it that Peng Zu used the mutton delicious and created a famous dish "sheep Fang fish" which cook fish, sheep together, making it taste very delicious. Of course, due to the restrictions of materials and crafts, this dish seldom appears on the dining table of Xuzhou people. Afterwards, Han Emperor Liu Bang loves eating lamb, according to "historical records" recorded that when he was young, he killed the sheep and set wine banquet. At the same time, in a "Paochu map" unearthed in Xuzhou Hanvon town of Copper, there existed the picture of a kitchen with mutton cooked food picture. [1] the Han Stone portrait reflects the Han people's recognition and love of mutton. And in another piece of Han stone, there are people who roast mutton kebabs. So in Guo Degang crosstalk mentioned in the "Xuzhou city first eat mutton string area" should have some historical basis.

However some people argue about the humanity behind such behavior. They consider the festival as a disrespect for the race of sheep and criticize the local for being indifferent and cold-heart. In my opinion, taking in mutton is just the same as taking in beef and chicken and other meats since the sheep are born to be eaten. It’s kind of their destiny and there is nothing we can do unless we abandon eating all kinds of meat. Additionally, I suppose that people should focus on the raising process ,like how the farmer feed them and do they have enough nutrition and gain instant medical care instead of their unavoidable destination.

Of course, since July 11, 2002, Xuzhou held the first Fu sheep Festival delicacy, and officially named the fu sheep Festival. Since then, the folk spontaneous behavior is far more than the introduction of mutton culture value, and gradually evolved into a specific symbol of folk culture in Xuzhou. Since 2008, more attention has been paid to the combination of traditional culture and contemporary civilization, especially the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Peng Zu, which has become the cultural symbol of fu sheep festival. Hundreds of famous culinary masters dress uniform, neatly lined up, saluted, great in strength and impetus solemn looking very spectacular. Not only did the people so to see the festival to promote Peng Zu culture, the positive role of the Han culture, in 2017, "fu sheep Festival" was selected as "Jiangsu intangible cultural heritage list."". [2] I think Shi Xiuyong’s definition that "the fu sheep festival as an intangible cultural heritage category has surpassed all kinds of social facilities in the city and became a symbol to show the city's image resources" [3] is very appropriate. Today, tourists in the fu sheep Festival, apart from tasting ,they can also watch a lot of celebration performance, further deepen the understanding of Xuzhou "Han Dynasty" culture and diet culture, but also for the whole festival adds new vitality.

[shirleyzzr-blog]

eating mutton As A festival

The Fu Yang Festival (Chinese:伏羊节) is a traditional festival celebrated by local residents in Xuzhou，an ancient city located in the northwest of Jiangsuprovince.[1] The festival starts on the day of Chufu (Chinese:初伏) which is around mid-July according to the lunar calendar （about 27 days after the summer solstice） and lasts for nearly one month. In China, “Fu” (Chinese:伏) refers to the hottest days in summer. As is known to us all, mutton (including goat, sheep, lamb) is a kind of hot food which may make people sweat when they are eating——that’s why in most parts of China people choose to eat mutton in cold winter day rather than in summer. However, in Xuzhou, people act in a diametrically opposite way, they enjoy being bathed in sweat as well as tasting the delicious dishes made from mutton under the burning hot sun.

However, little is known that eating mutton cooked with pepper, chili, cumin or other hot condiments during summer days is of great benefit to people’s health according to Chinese traditional medicine in that it can save your body from the cold and prepare you well for the northern chilly weather when autumn and winter come along . This folk custom has been in existence for thousands of years and has significantly contributed to the local culture, making it more abundant, colorful and meaningful. During the one-month festival, all restaurants in Xuzhou recommend their best dishes to the diners, hoping to satisfy them and do good business.Other restaurants in the surrounding areas who own flavor characteristics are warmly welcomed to come to the city center and demonstrate their regional food. During that period of time,people in Xuzhou are also able to enjoy various kinds of displays which show the long history of their home city. For example，there are traditional opera, Shadow Play Puppet,and numbers of flower or stone or bird shows. In Fu Yang Festival,people gather for celebration. They eat mutton and drink mutton soup. This festival is very popular among all the citizens and has greatly enhanced the attractive power of Xuzhou.

However some people argue about the humanity behind such behavior. They consider the festival as a disrespect for the race of sheep and criticize the local for being indifferent and cold-heart. In my opinion, taking in mutton is just the same as taking in beef and chicken and other meats since the sheep are born to be eaten. It’s kind of their destiny and there is nothing we can do unless we abandon eating all kinds of meat. Additionally, I suppose that people should focus on the raising process ,like how the farmer feed them and do they have enough nutrition and gain instant medical care instead of their unavoidable destination.