China produces ham, with a north leg and a south leg. But the north leg is not as good as the south leg. Among the south legs, Jinhua ham and Xuanwei ham are the best. Between the two, Jinhua ham is the best.

It is said that the curing of Jinhua ham first began in the late Northern Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years. Folks in eight counties and cities in Jinhua regard Zongze, a famous anti-gold general in the late Northern Song Dynasty, as the ancestor of cured ham. Before liberation, whenever you walked into a ham shop or a ham-curing workshop, you would see a mighty statue enshrined in the hall. This statue is the portrait of Zong Zegong, the ancestor of ham. Whenever the curing begins, or if there is any important event, sacrifices must be made in front of this statue, and a furnace of incense is often offered in normal times. I hope Zong Zegong can bless the workshop to produce good ham.

Zongze was born in Yiwu, Jinhua, and was born into a peasant family in the fourth year of Renzong Jiayou's reign (1059) in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the sixth year of Yuanyou in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zongze became a Jinshi. From then on, Zongze stopped his official career. First, he served as the magistrate of Wantao County, Hebei Province. After the war between Song and Jin Dynasties, he was soon transferred to Zhejiang Longyou as the county magistrate. Because Zongze tried his best to take charge of the battle, he was excluded. Later, he was appointed as the magistrate of Cizhou, which had been lost. While Zongze was in Cizhou, in order to fight against the Jin, he recruited a large number of soldiers and trained them to fight against the Jin soldiers. It is said that during this period, Zongze purchased a large number of live pigs in order to raise food and grass so that the soldiers could eat well. But live pigs were inconvenient to dispose of, so he remembered that in his hometown, every twelfth lunar month, every household would kill pigs to celebrate the New Year. In order to make the pork long-term storage, they would marinate it with salt and many spices. The marinated pork has good color, aroma, taste and shape. It can be stored for many years and can be given as gifts to relatives and friends. So he ordered the soldiers to kill the pigs and pickle them as military rations. However, due to the long war in Cizhou at this time, it was difficult to buy pigs and salt. At this time, Zongze ordered his soldiers to go to his hometown of Jinhua, Yiwu and Dongyang, which was located in the rear, to buy live pigs for pickling. Then take the marinated pork to the front of the army for later use. Under Zongze's governance, Cizhou had sufficient military supplies. They fought many victorious battles one after another, which greatly dampened the vigor of the Jin soldiers. News of the victory in the front reached Zongze's hometown of Jinhua and Yiwu. The folks in Zongze's hometown brought their own marinated pork legs to Zongze to reward the soldiers.

At this time, bad news came in Kaifeng, Bianjing. It was said that Jin soldiers surrounded Kaifeng for the second time. Because Zongze had repeatedly won battles, Qinzong ordered Zhao Gou to be the marshal of the army of King Qin. Zongze was the deputy commander, and Zongze led his troops to join Zhao Gou and headed for Kaifeng. On the way, Zongze selected some refined pigs sent from his hometown to give to Zhao Gou. Zhao Gou was very happy when he saw that these pig legs were shaped like bamboo leaves and as bright as fire. Drinking with Zongze for food/Zhao Gou asked Zongze, what do you call this pork leg? Zongze replied that it is called "hometown meat" and was given by the folks in his hometown to reward the army. After hearing Zongze's words, Zhao Gou said, "This pig's leg is shaped like a bamboo leaf, red as fire when cut, and full of aroma, so let's call it ham from now on."

Under the leadership of Zongze, King Qin's army fought against the Jin soldiers thirteen times from Daming to Kaide and won consecutively. He also entered Weinan with a lone army and defeated the Jin soldiers in a row, winning Zhao Gou's trust. Later Zhao Gou proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing (Shangqiu) as Gaozong and reestablished the Zhao and Song regime. After Zhao Gou became emperor, he immediately made Zongze aware of Kaifeng Mansion and led his troops to Tokyo (that is, Tokyo stayed behind). At the same time, Song Gaozong thought of the ham Zongze gave him. The shape is pleasing to the eye and the taste is delicious, so Zongze is asked to pickle some of it every year and send it to the palace as tribute. From then on, the reputation of Jinhua ham spread, and Zongze became the ancestor of Jinhua ham.

The best of Jinhua hams is Dongyang’s Xuefang ham. It was Snow Boat ham that won prizes in Panama, Leipzig and the 1930 West Lake Exposition. In addition to the "Xue Fang" trademark, Jinhua Ham has also registered the trademark "Jinhua Ham" in recent years. In recent years, in order to show respect for the patriotic general and the founder of the ham industry, "Zongze Brand" Jinhua ham has been innovatively produced through technological reforms.