Dingsheng Cake

王耀民

Dingsheng Cake，which is a kind of traditional Hangzhou dim sum，is usually made of sticky rice and sometimes have dates or nuts in it.Not only the locals but （also） visitors are fond of the Cake on account of its unique flavor.

Dingsheng cake has a long standing history.In the Tang dynasty，the Chinese character “Sheng” was different from now，which represented a person could be promoted step by step.In the Song Dynasty，people in Hangzhou hoped that their army could win in wars，so they turned that hope into Dingsheng Cake and gave it to the army on departure.The funny thing is，the amry gained the courage and defeated the enemy after they tasted the cake.Since then，the cake was called “DingSheng Cake”in honor of the victory led by Yue Fei.

The successful symbolism is based on the Chinese word “Dingsheng which stands for “promote” and “win”，thats why nowadays students always eat it before they have important examination，they wish they can have good performance in the exams.

Although the Chinese characters for Dingsheng Cake have changed for several times，it always stands for good meanings，as people always put their best wishes such as success and prosperity in the cake.

Wang yaomin