The foods and feasts of birthdays, of a baby's first month and first year, and of longevity celebrations.
The longevity peach bun is a steamed bun shaped like a peach, usually with a sweet filling, served at birthday banquets. Fillings include lotus paste, with sweet bean or sesame paste commonly used. The buns are given at milestone birthdays, weddings and other celebrations. The peach's meaning of long life is tied to the tale of the immortals' peaches; no date for the bun was found.
What
The longevity peach is a steamed bun shaped like a peach, usually with a sweet filling, eaten as a birthday-banquet treat.1,2
When
It is eaten at birthday banquets, especially for milestone birthdays, and also given at weddings and other celebrations. No start date was found.1,2
Where
The longevity peach bun can have a lotus-paste filling and is served at birthday banquets. The available sources do not specify its origin.1
How
Peach-shaped steamed buns usually contain sweet bean or sesame paste, with lotus paste also used. They have a groove and a red blush, sometimes with 2 dough leaves.1,2
Why
The peach symbolizes long life in the tale of the immortals' peaches. The Queen Mother of the West hosts a feast at Yaochi where the peaches are tasted. Chapter 5 of Journey to the West describes peaches ripening in 3,000, 6,000 and 9,000 years; the Han Wudi neizhuan includes a scene in which Emperor Wu of Han is given peaches.2,3
Impact and influence
The peach bun is served at birthday banquets and given as a gift at celebrations.1,2
Chinese Wikipedia's entry on the immortals' peach recounts the Queen Mother of the West's feast at Yaochi where the peaches are tasted, and cites peach groves whose peaches ripen in 3,000, 6,000 and 9,000 years in chapter 5 of Journey to the West. The recipe blog connects the longevity symbolism of the peach bun with the tale of the immortals' peaches; these source rows provide no account of the bun's origin.
Told in: This telling follows Chinese Wikipedia's entry on the immortals' peach and a recipe blog; the Wikipedia entry cites the peach groves described in chapter 5 of Journey to the West. That entry mentions birthday peach buns only in a See-also link.
