The Story Behind Dumplings: Origins Unveiled
Within film, food can bridge a character’s heritage to their character. In the media and within our lives, food becomes a character and is something we can become attached to on a personal level.
In DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda (2008), dumplings serve as a driving force for the protagonist “Po” as well as giving a cultural connection to the audience.
While dumplings are what guides Po to becoming a kung fu master, they serve the real world as a key to large cultural events. From kung fu fighting to prosperity and fortune, the dumpling’s representation in history stretches over a thousand years.
Dumplings as a Character
Within the world of Kung Fu Panda, the dumpling becomes a symbol of motivation and family bonding. Po’s relationship with his adoptive father, Mr. Ping, is crafted through the admiration of food, specifically dumplings and noodles.
Their character ties are set within Ping’s noodle shop where they craft food together for most of Po’s life. The food they make represents their love and connection and conveys a strong theme within the movie, chosen family.
Within the story, dumplings become a sort of character from silly scenes of eating as many dumplings as possible, to Po becoming a kung fu master simply because he wants a dumpling. Food is a large piece of this story as Po is shown to love food and refuse to sacrifice it despite his size being a joke to many.
Po finds food, specifically dumplings, to be a driving force and does not believe that he needs to sacrifice that to become strong.
Po’s kung fu teacher, Shifu, realizes the passion within Po’s eating habits and uses that to his advantage during training. In an awesome scene, Shifu and Po fight for the last dumpling using kung fu and chopsticks.
Po’s hungry urge allows him to prevail and beat his master. Using his passion and the techniques from Shifu, he connects who he is with kung fu.
Instead of food being deemed as a detriment to being a warrior, food as a passion is respected and is an arc for surrounding characters. Size becomes less of a factor within their fighting art and instead, they focus on passion and dedication leading to the results.
This sends a strong message that to forward our passion, we do not need to leave behind what others deem unnecessary.
In the first film, Po eating dumplings is seen as disgusting to the elite warriors known as The Furious Five. In the sequel film, they embrace Po’s dumpling habits and even play games to see who can eat the most.
Despite the dumplings being seen as a negative habit, they grow into their kung fu culture and represent something positive between the characters.
Significance of Dumplings
Dumplings are popular in all parts of the world regardless of where you are from. It can range from being a comfort meal to an entree for dinner or lunch.
It even takes the form of a family activity to make the dumpling, as well as bring many family members back together from many different parts of the world.
A Chinese dumpling in the simplest sense is a piece of dough that is filled in the middle and either fried or boiled to eat.
Chinese dumplings, also known as Jiaozi, began in the early years of the Tang Dynasty (3600 B.C.) and Han Dynasty (200 BC) and are known for being one of the oldest foods we have available to us today.
In China during this period, wheat was considered a rare item to find and eat, therefore only nobles and wealthy individuals would be allowed to consume it.
In several places, dumplings were introduced into their cultures to utilize the meats available to suffice for a meal for families or individuals, rather than just giving them a piece of meat. (Arlene, 2021)
Furthermore, this dish was known to be designed in Northern China, however after some time it was given to Cantonese.
They introduced the dish to America, as they were the first Chinese immigrants to enter. The most popular time you would see this dish being made would be during the Lunar New Year celebrations, where dumplings represent fortune in people’s future. (Unamicart, n.d.)
Moreover, dumplings are made in a specific way. Using a circle cut a piece of dough, which is folded in half and closed by pinching the corners to secure the filling inside.
There can be several specific pleats that could be used, such as the pleat method used in the pictures given. The filling can be many different items such as meats, herbs, and vegetables as well.
When people first think of dumplings, they immediately think of Chinese items like dim sum or Jiaozi, but dumplings are any type of savory dish that is wrapped with a filling inside.
Even though the Chinese discovered it many years in advance, it has evolved into many different ways of making and naming it based on how it suits many cultural backgrounds.
Dishes like Ravioli, Indian samosas, polish pirogi, and empanadas from South America are a few of the dishes that were created indirectly from the original Chinese dumplings. (Arlene, 2021)
In essence…
Through history and movies, food is a bridge between people and their culture. Whether for celebration or fortifying family, the intention behind food such as dumplings is to build relationships.
In our own lives, we all have some sort of food that is carved into who we are, from making homemade pizzas with your family to that one restaurant you went to on your birthday.
Food is a character in life and although it might not speak to us, it is valuable and carries a part of who we are.
The representation of dumplings in Kung Fu Panda while being a somewhat minor piece of the story gives deeper meaning and is a symbol for the movie franchise.
By utilizing food, this film successfully acknowledges dumplings as a character while also making any viewer eager to try this historical dish.
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References
Morollo, M. K. (2021, May 28). A short history of dumplings. Home. Retrieved February 22, 2024, from https://www.arlene.world/blog-posts/a-short-history-of-dumplings
Stevenson, J. & Osbourne, M. (Directors). (2008). Kung Fu Panda [Film]. Retrieved February 22, 2024, from DreamWorks Animation.
What is a dumpling? the history behind this delicious food. Umamicart. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2024, from https://umamicart.com/blogs/recipes/dumpling
