Guandong Candy/Stove Candy/Sugar Melon

type

status

date

slug

summary

What are Guandong candy, stove candy, and sugar melon?

GuanDong candy is an ancient traditional delicacy and also an offering for the worship of the Kitchen God. It is also known as Stove Candy, Big Chunk Candy, and Maltose, which is a sugar product made by simmering malt and millet. According to the "Record of Beijing's Seasonal Customs" written by people in the Qing Dynasty, there were "GuanDong candy" and "sugar cakes" among the offerings during the Kitchen God worship in the Qing Dynasty. In rural and urban areas in the northeast, on the streets and markets, there are vendors shouting: "Big chunk candy, big chunk candy, crispy and fragrant big chunk candy." GuanDong candy is generally three inches long, one inch wide, flat, and strip-shaped, milky white. When a freshly made big chunk candy is bitten, it is crispy and fragrant, sticky, with a special flavor. Both men and women, old and young in the northeast, greatly love this kind of candy, but it is only available for sale before and after the Minor Spring Festival.

In some regions, Kanto sugar is shaped like a persimmon, hence it is also known as "sugar melon".

The earliest record of sugar melon can be found in the "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" during the Jin Dynasty, known as "jelly tooth sweet", and there are records of using "sugar remedy" to worship the kitchen god in the Ming Dynasty. In the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, Pan Rongbi's "Emperor's Yearly Market Sale" has clear records about sugar melon. On the basis of traditional craftsmanship, the Shandong Laiwu Chenlou sugar melon and Gansu Linxia Hezhou sugar melon, which have exquisite craftsmanship, have been developed. These two sugar melons have become intangible cultural heritage products.

The sugar melon is used as an offering to the kitchen god, carrying a long-standing folk culture and embodying the people's prayers for peace and happiness. According to folk tales, the kitchen god's mouth is sweet after eating the sugar melon, and people ask it to say good things to seek blessings, hence the saying "speak good things in heaven, and keep peace in the world". Another use of sugar melon is to be eaten by people, especially children, after worshiping the stove. Because the sugar melon is very sticky, it seals the child's mouth, preventing the children who are ignorant and like to talk nonsense from saying unlucky words during the Spring Festival, also for the sake of "great luck".

Legend

According to the legend, the Kitchen God was called Zhang Sheng, and he was very rich. Although his wife Li was virtuous, she could not conceive, and was divorced by Zhang Sheng. She worked hard and became a wealthy woman. Zhang Sheng's second wife was lazy and squandered all their wealth. The second wife starved to death, and Zhang Sheng lived by begging. When Zhang Sheng came to beg at Li's house, they met again. Overwhelmed with shame, Zhang Sheng plunged into the stove and was burned to death. After ascending to heaven, Zhang Sheng admitted his errors to the Jade Emperor and was named the Kitchen God. Now, the kitchen god worshipped in rural areas of Guandong has evolved into the brother of the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor bestowed upon him the title of the Kitchen God, making him the messenger between heaven and earth, serving as the eyes and ears of the Jade Emperor. Every year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, he returns to the Heavenly Palace, reunites with the Jade Emperor, and reports on the deeds of the family for the year. The Jade Emperor rewards or punishes the family based on the report.

Origin

The earliest record of Tanggua was in the "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" during the Jin Dynasty, when it was called "Jiaoya Xian". The Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi also wrote in a poem: "After the year, push the Orchid Tail wine, and the Spring Dish first recommends Jiaoya Xian." Liu Si of the Ming Dynasty recorded in "Di Jing Jing Wu Lue": "On the 24th, use sugar, cakes, Tai, dates, chestnuts, walnuts, and broad beans to worship the stove. With the forage grass as a horse for the Stove Lord, it is said that the Stove Lord will go to heaven the next day. White home for a year, celebrate the day: good to say more, not good to say less." Folk use sugar to worship the stove. According to the "Tianjin Wei Zhi" in the Kangxi period, it is recorded: "On the 24th, it is said that the Stove Lord is facing the sky, and candies are set up to see him off." This is a historical record of Tianjin's tradition of worshiping the stove. The "Tianjin County Annals" in the Qianlong period recorded: "On the 24th, prepare cakes and syrup to worship the stove." It shows that the Tianjin area has begun to use similar "syrup" to Tanggua to worship the stove during the Kangxi period. Pan Rongbi's "Emperor Jing Sui Shi Ji Shi · City Sale" in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty "Twenty days outside, selling sugar gourds, sugar cakes, glutinous rice bamboo cakes, Guandong Tang, fried beans with lees, it is the 23rd day to send the copper god horse of the stove." The clear record about the name of Tanggua has appeared. Zhang Tao, a Qing Dynasty, recorded in his "Jinmen Miscellaneous Records" during the Guangxu period: "The Jin custom is to send the Stove God to heaven every evening on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. Prepare sticky cakes and syrup, named Tanggua, for it. Pray: Speak good things in heaven, return to the palace to bring good luck." The tradition of using Tanggua to worship the Stove God on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is still popular today.