Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chongwu Festival, Tianzhong Festival, etc., is a folk festival that integrates the worship of gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and warding off evil spirits, celebrating and entertaining, and eating and drinking.
The Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival was originally created by the ancestors of Wu Yue in the south of the country for the purpose of worshipping the Dragon Ancestor. Because of the legend of the Warring States period of the Chu poet Qu Yuan jumped Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month to kill himself, and later people also Duanwu Festival as a festival to commemorate the Qu Yuan; also commemorates the Wu Zixu, Cao E, and Jie Zi Tui and other sayings.
Introduction of the festival
Duanwu literally has the names "Duanwu", "Chongwu", "Chongwu" and so on.
Duanwu literally has the names "Duanwu", "Chongwu", "Chongwu", etc. The ancient Chinese word "duan" has the meaning of beginning and initial, and "duanwu" is also known as "the first five". Feng Tu Ji said: "Midsummer Dragon Boat Festival. The first five days of the month are the first five days of the month, and the first five days of the month are the first five days of the month. There are three five days a month, the first five days is the "end of five". Ancient people used to call the first few days of the month of May by the end, the Yuan Dynasty Chen Yuanliang, "the time of the year Guangji" cloud: "the capital city dust people, the first day of the month of May for the end of the first, the second for the end of the second, the number of five to the five is called the end of the five."
Ancient chronology of the Universal Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, according to the order of the Earth's branches, the lunar calendar, the beginning of the first month for the c month, according to the Earth's branches, "Zi Umber, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Ohio," the order of the projection, the fifth month is the "month of the month of the month of the month of the month of the afternoon" and the afternoon for the "Yang Chen", so the Dragon Boat Festival is also called "Duan Yang". Afternoon, the ancients and "five" universal, so the Dragon Boat Festival and the end of five synonymous. And because of the same number of days of the month, people also called the Dragon Boat Festival for "heavy five festival" or "heavy noon festival".
According to statistics, the name of the Dragon Boat Festival called more than twenty, such as Duanwu Festival, Duanyang Festival, heavy five festival, heavy Wu Festival, when five floods, days in the Festival, Summer Festival, May Festival, Calamus Festival, Pu Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Bathing Orchid Festival, qu yuan day, Wu Day Festival, Daughter Festival, Dilah Festival, the Poet's Festival, the Dragon Day, the Day of Noon, Festival, the Festival of Lights, the Festival of the Five Eggs, and so on.
Duanwu's multiple names:
1, the Dragon Boat Festival "end" word has the meaning of "initial", so the "end of the five "The first five days of the year is the first five days of the year. And according to the calendar in May is the "Wu" month, so "Duanwu" has gradually evolved into "Dragon Boat Festival". Yanjing Youshi ji (Records of the Years and Times of Yanjing) recorded: "The fifth day of the month of May is the fifth day of the month of May, which is the transcription of the word "Duan"."
2, Duanyang Festival, according to the "Jing Chu chronicle" records, because of the mid-summer, Shunyang in the upper, May is the mid-summer, it is the first day of the first afternoon is the day to ascend to the Shunyang weather is good, it is known as the fifth day of the month of May for the "Festival of the Dragon Boat Festival".
3, heavy Wu Festival Wu, belonging to the twelve branches of the earth, the lunar calendar in May for the month of Wu, Wu, Wu homophonic, five, five heavy, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the "heavy Wu Festival" or "heavy five festival", some places are also known as the "May Festival! "
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4, Dragon Boat Festival Dragon Boat Race is an important activity of the Dragon Boat Festival, in southern China is very popular, especially in Guangdong, Guangdong region called picking dragon boat. It is the earliest when the ancient Yue people sacrificed to the god of the water or the dragon god of a sacrificial activity, its origin may have begun in primitive society. Dragon boat race has a long history, has been passed down for more than two thousand years, is China's traditional folk sports and entertainment programs on the water, mostly held in festivals, is a multi-person collective paddle race. After spreading abroad, it is loved by people from all over the world and has formed an international competition.
5, when the five floods in Shanghai part of the countryside, by the north shore of Hangzhou Bay area, such as Fengxian, Nanhui and other areas, customarily referred to as "Duanwu Festival" as "when the five floods".
6, day in the festival this name according to the yin and yang magic. The Ming Dynasty Tian Rucheng "West Lake Excursions Zhiyu - Volume 20 - Xichao music": "Dragon Boat Festival for the days in the festival, because the afternoon sun line to the middle of the sky, reaching the highest point, especially at noon, so it is called the days in the festival". Japan to May 5 for the "Men's Day", may also be based on Tianzhong Festival, because it is believed that only men uphold the heaven and earth in the gas.
7, Bath Orchid Festival Dragon Boat Festival in mid-summer, is the season of skin diseases, the ancients to orchid soup bath stain for the custom. Han Dynasty "Dadailei" cloud: "noon to orchid soup bath".
8, the dumplings section of the ancient Dragon Boat Festival when eating dumplings, there are comparisons between the length of the dumplings under the leaves, the longer for the winning game, so there is also a "dumplings Festival".
9, Daughter Festival Ming Shen list "WAN Department of Miscellany": "May Daughter Festival, the Department of Dragon Boat Festival, wear Ai leaves, five poison talisman. Wan custom from the first to the fifth day of May, decorated with small girls, all state extremely research. Married women also return to the Ning, called for the Daughter's Day."
10, Duanli Festival in southern Hunan along the ancient custom, in the coming of summer in the "fifth of May", hanging leaves on the door, with the leaves to bathe in a baptism to drive mosquitoes. People believe that after the baptism, can drive away malaria, can be safe through the summer mosquito season.
11, Calamus Festival Dragon Boat Festival in addition to the ancient totem festival is also "disease prevention" of the festival. Ancient people believe that the "heavy noon" is a taboo day, when the five poisons out, so the Dragon Boat Festival customs to drive away evil spirits to avoid poison, such as hanging calamus on the door, Ai leaves, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the "calamus festival".
Historical Origins
The word "Duan" has the meaning of "initial", so "Duanwu" means "first five". "The first five days of the month of May are the first five days of the year. According to the calendar, May is the month of "Wu", so "Duanwu" gradually became "Duanwu". Yenching chronicle recorded "the first five for the May single five cover the word of the end of the transcription." The origin of the legend about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is summarized as follows.
1, from the Orchid Bathing Festival
Ancient people picked orchids in May and practiced to orchid soup bath, in addition to the poisonous custom. Xia Xiaozheng" "May ...... cooking plum for beans also stored orchids for the bath also." Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs? "Bathing in the orchid soup is like taking a bath in a fragrant flower, picking clothes and then going to England." Southern Liang Dynasty, "Jingchu Yearly Record" of the hours of service "May 5 is called the Orchid Bathing Festival." This custom has been passed down to the Tang and Song dynasties, which also called the Dragon Boat Festival the month of the orchid bath.
Da Dai Li Ji (The Record of the Rites of the Great Dai) was compiled by Dai De, a renowned scholar of rituals during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, and is a valuable source of information for the study of ancient societies. If this is true, the Dragon Boat Festival has appeared in the pre-Qin era and has lasted for more than 2,000 years.
2, "evil day" said
Han Dynasty people believe that the fifth of May for the evil month, the evil day and there is a "do not lift the May child" custom that is born on the fifth day of the fifth of May, whether the baby is a man or a woman can not raise adults. Can not raise adults. Once raised, the male harm father, female harm mother. Even the emergence of the "May to the official to avoid not moving" "May building people bald" and other sayings. This custom at least from the Warring States began to popular until the Han Dynasty prevailed. This custom was recorded in the Han Dynasty in Wang Chong's "Lun Heng", Ying Shao's "Customs", and the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty".
The Historical Records of the Grand Historian (史记-孟尝君列传), records the birth of Meng Chang Jun (孟尝君), who was famous in history for being born on the fifth day of the fifth month. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, believing that "a child born in May will be unfavorable to his parents if he grows up in the household."
The anonymous article in the book "Customs" says, "It is commonly said that the birth of a child on the fifth day of the fifth month is detrimental to the father and the daughter, and to the mother".
Wang Chong, author of Lun Heng, also noted that "it is taboo to lift the first month, the son of May to the first month, the son of May to kill the father and mother may not be lifted." The Eastern Jin general Wang Zhenxu was born on the fifth day of the fifth month, his grandfather named him "Zhenxu". Song Huizong Zhao Ji was born on the fifth day of the fifth month from a young foster outside the palace. Can be seen in ancient times to May 5 for the evil day is a common phenomenon. Can be seen from the pre-Qin after this day are unlucky day. So in this day insert calamus, moxa leaves to drive away ghosts lavender atractylodes, dahurica and drink andrographis to avoid the epidemic is a logical thing. And people also avoid the "five" taboo called "Dragon Boat Festival".
3, memorial historical figures said
(1) to commemorate the Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan
According to the Records of the Grand Historian, "Qu Yuan Jiasheng biography" records, Qu Yuan, a minister of King Huai of Chu in Spring and Autumn period. He was a minister of King Huai of Chu. He advocated for the promotion of the virtuous and the capable, the enrichment of the country and the strengthening of the army, and advocated for the alliance of Qi against Qin, but was strongly opposed by the aristocrat Zilan and others, Qu Yuan was gluttonously dismissed from his post, driven out of the capital city, and was exiled to the Yuan and Xiang valleys. During his exile, he wrote such immortal poems as "Li Sao", "Heavenly Questions", and "Nine Songs", which are unique and far-reaching (thus, the Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the Poets' Festival). In 278 B.C., the Qin army attacked the capital of Chu. Qu Yuan saw his motherland being invaded, and his heart was cut to pieces, but he could not bear to give up his motherland, and on the 5th of May, after writing his final poem "Huai Sha", he threw himself into Miluo River and died, composing a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life.
Legend has it that after Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu were in mourning and flocked to the Miluo River to pay homage to him. Fishermen rowed up their boats and salvaged his real body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out for Qu Yuan prepared rice balls, eggs and other food, "flop, flop" thrown into the river, said that the fish and lobsters and crabs eat enough, will not go to bite the body of Dr. Qu. People see have followed suit. An old physician to bring a altar of yellow wine poured into the river, said to be drug stunned dragon water beasts, so as not to harm Dr. Qu. Later, for fear of rice balls for the dragon to eat, people came up with neem leaves wrapped rice, wrapped around the colorful silk, the development of dumplings.
After that, on the fifth day of May every year, there is a dragon boat race, eat zongzi, drink xionghuang wine custom; as a way to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
(2) In Memory of Wu Zixu
Wu Zixu
The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is widely circulated around Jiangsu and Zhejiang, commemorates Wu Zixu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Wu Zixu, a native of Chu, had his father and brother killed by the king of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned his darkness and ran to Wu to help Wu conquer Chu, and entered Ying City, the capital of Chu, in five battles. At that time, King Ping of Chu had already died, and Zixu dug up his grave and whipped his body 300 times to avenge the killing of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his son Fu Chai succeeded to the throne. The Wu army had high morale and won a hundred battles, and the Yue kingdom was greatly defeated, and King Goujian of Yue asked for peace, which Fu Chai agreed to. Zixu suggested that the state of Yue should be completely destroyed, but Fu-chai refused to listen to him, and Wu's Dazai, who had been bribed by the state of Yue, framed Zixu with slanderous rumors, and Fu-chai believed him and gave Zixu a sword, which he used to kill himself. Zixu was a loyal man, and he was very happy to die. Before he died, he told his neighbors, "After I die, I will dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Wu Jing to see the Yue army enter the city to destroy Wu", and then he killed himself. Fu Chai was furious at the news, and he ordered to take Zixu's body and put it into a leather bag to throw it into a big river on the fifth day of the fifth month, so it is said that Duanwu Festival is a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.
(3) Commemorating the Filial Piety of Cao E
This is from the Eastern Han Dynasty's "Cao E Stele". Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and the body was missing for several days. At that time, the filial daughter Cao E was only 14 years old, day and night along the river crying. After seventeen days, she threw herself into the river on May 5 and carried out her father's body five days later.
4, sacrifices to the dragon totem said
Dragon this argument from Wen Yiduo's "Dragon Boat Festival Examination" and "Dragon Boat Festival of the history of education". He believes that the fifth day of May is the ancient Wuyue region, "dragon" of the tribe held a totem sacrifice day. The main reasons are:
(1) The two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, eating zongzi and racing, are both related to the dragon. Zongzi into the water is often stolen by the dragon and the race is used in the dragon boat.
(2) the race and the ancient wu yue local relationship is particularly deep and wu yue people also have broken hair tattoo "to like the dragon child" custom.
(3) in ancient times on the fifth day of the fifth month with "colorful silk arm" folk custom which should be "like the dragon child" tattoo custom remains.
5, from the summer solstice said
The first advocate of the summer solstice said Mr. Huang Shi, in 1963, he was in the "history of Dragon Boat Festival rituals and customs" (Hong Kong, Chin Hing Books published in 1963), a book, the Dragon Boat Festival, such as a trickle of water originated in the ancient times, the three generations of the confluence of the river, the Qin and Han Dynasty, the expansion of the river, the Tang and Song Dynasty, the hundreds of rivers into the lake and the sea.
The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the summer solstice said after the world, scholars spit out a hundred, from a wider perspective to study. 1983, Mr. Liu Deqian in the "Dragon Boat Festival origin and another" ("Knowledge of literature and history" 1983, No. 5), that the Dragon Boat Festival from the Xia, Shang, Zhou period of the solstice, and put forward the Dragon Boat Festival in the "bucket of grass", "and suggested that the Duanwu Festival has nothing to do with Qu Yuan.
Liu Deqian in "" Dragon Boat "" and "" Chinese traditional festivals "", put forward three main reasons:
(1) the authoritative work of years and times "" Jingchu years and times "" did not mention the fifth of May to eat zongzi holiday custom, but to eat zongzi written in the summer solstice. As for the race, the Sui dynasty Du Daiqing made the "jade candle BaoDian" it into the summer solstice recreational activities, can be seen is not necessarily in order to salvage the great poet qu yuan cast into the river.
(2) Some of the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as "treading on a hundred grasses", "fighting with a hundred grasses" and "picking various kinds of medicines", actually have nothing to do with Qu Yuan.
(3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in the book "The Times and Customs of the Year" is: "The sun is shining in the sun, and the Dragon Boat Festival is the middle of the summer, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the Festival of the Middle of the Sky.
The earliest origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is the summer solstice.
In December 2006, at an international conference held in Seoul, Korea, Mr. He Xingliang, a researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, once again perfected the summer solstice, and proposed that the Dragon Boat Festival is the summer solstice.
6, the Dragon Boat Festival said
One said that the Dragon Boat Festival is the festival of the dragon. Mr. Wen Yiduo "Dragon Boat Festival" test Dragon Boat Festival is the ancient Wu Yue folk festival held totem festival that the Dragon Boat Festival is actually a dragon festival.
The second theory is that the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, the patriotic poet of Chu. According to the "continued Qi Harmonious Records" account of the Qu Yuan in the fifth day of the fifth month of May into the Miluo River and death of the Chu people mourn the every day of this day to the bamboo tube containing rice thrown into the river to sacrifice.
Thirdly, according to the Book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated in the Zhou Dynasty.
The fourth theory is that according to the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Yong's "Qin Cultivation", the Dragon Boat Festival is in honor of the sage Jie Zi Tui.
Cai Yong
Fifth, that the Song Dynasty Gao Cheng "things of the source of the publication of the Dragon Boat Festival from the Spring and Autumn period, King Goujian so the day of the training of the navy.
The sixth theory is that Liang Zong's "Record of the Years and Seasons of Jingzhou" recounts that the Dragon Boat Festival was held to welcome Wu Zixu, the "god of the waves". In the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, it is also written that on the fifth day of the fifth month of the month, Cao Xu, a witch from Zhejiang Province, danced on the Cao'e River to welcome Wu Zixu. Later, the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang went upstream to hold various ceremonies in memory of Wu Zixu at the Dragon Boat Festival.
The seventh theory is that the fifth day of the fifth month is the day of ancestor worship as contained in the Book of Dao.
The eighth theory is that according to the book "Huiji Dianshu", the Dragon Boat Festival was held in honor of Cao E, who died in search of her father by throwing herself into the river.
Nine said that the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival in the Xia, Shang and Zhou period of the summer solstice. At that time, the day of midsummer, everything is full of summer solstice Yin gas shade born in fear of things are not hard to do so in the first five days of May to the five-color seal for the portal decorated to punish the evil gas. Ten said that there is a folk legend that the Dragon Boat Festival originated in Hubei Shinyang Shahu had four heroes specializing in robbing the rich to help the poor after being besieged by the local officials and soldiers in a raid on the fifth day of May to the river and died. The local people are very sad that this day will be designated as the Dragon Boat Festival to mourn.
Overall, the Dragon Boat Festival originated in the ancient ancestors to choose the "dragon ascends to the sky" auspicious day to sacrifice the dragon ancestor, injected into the summer seasonal "disease prevention" fashion, the Dragon Boat Festival as a "bad month, bad day! "The Dragon Boat Festival originated in the Northern China Plains, and was attached to commemorating Qu Yuan and other historical figures. Duanwu custom formation can be said to be the product of the fusion of northern and southern customs.