Insert calamus and wormwood leaves in the Dragon Boat Festival to drive away ghosts, smoke Atractylodes lancea, Angelica dahurica and drink realgar wine to avoid epidemics. Every family sweeps the court, putting calamus and moxa sticks in the lintel and hanging them in the hall. Wormwood, calamus and garlic are called "Three Friends of Dragon Boat Festival".
In the pre-Qin period, it was generally believed that May was a poisonous month and the fifth day was an evil day. According to legend, on this day, evil was in power and five poisons came out simultaneously. The five poisons refer to scorpions, snakes, wasps, centipedes and toads. The five poisons are popular pests among the people.
According to the Book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the orchid bathing in the Zhou Dynasty. The chapter "A Midsummer Story" in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in May. "Xia Xiaozheng" records: store medicine this day to remove toxic gas.
It is recorded in "Da Dai Li" that "storing orchids on the fifth day of May is a bath" to ward off evil spirits.
There are also many legends that the Double Five Day is the day of death. According to Records of Historical Records and Biography of Meng Changjun, Meng Changjun, a famous man in history, was born on the fifth day of May. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, thinking that the child born on this day would be bad for his parents.
Wang Zhene, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of May, and his grandfather named him "Zhen Evil". Wang Zhene, whose name is Jinglue, was a famous soldier in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He was the grandson of Wang Meng, the former prime minister of Qin Dynasty, and later returned to Jin with his uncle.
Wang Zhene is good at reading the art of war and is good at strategy, which is appreciated by Liu Yu, the general of the Chinese army and the secretary of history in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He used to be General Zhenwu and General Long Xiang. He marched south and north with Emperor Wu of Song, made outstanding achievements, made important contributions to defeating the late Qin Dynasty, and entered the ranks of General Lu.
Zhao Ji, Song Huizong, was born on the fifth day of May, so she was put in foster care outside the palace since she was a child.
It can be seen that the fifth day of May was a common phenomenon in ancient times. Since the pre-Qin period, this day has been an unlucky day. In this way, it is logical to insert Acorus calamus and Folium Artemisiae Argyi to exorcise ghosts, fumigate Rhizoma Atractylodis, Radix Angelicae Dahuricae and drink realgar wine to avoid epidemic on this day. And people call it Dragon Boat Festival to avoid the taboo of "Duanwu".
The implication of hanging wormwood on the Dragon Boat Festival:
1. Pray for good luck
Most people also have the custom of planting wormwood in front of and behind their houses for good luck. Taiwan Province folks also put up "noon couplets" during the Dragon Boat Festival, which have the same function as the talisman. Some noon couplets have the following sentence: "Holding the Aiqi to attract a hundred blessings, hanging a sword on the door to cut a thousand evils". The folk significance of Ficus microcarpa branches can make the body vigorous. "It is braver to insert Ficus microcarpa and braver to insert Artemisia argyi". There are also local customs that hang pomegranate, garlic or Shandan, and garlic is used to eliminate evil and treat insect poison; Shandan prescription can cure madness, and pomegranate flowers can avoid Huang Chao. Pomegranate flowers are the flowers of this season and also have the function of treating diseases. Pomegranate peel is a common Chinese medicine.
There is a story about the relationship between pomegranate flower and Huang Chao. During the Huang Chao Rebellion, Huang Chao once passed a village and happened to see a woman with an older child on her back and a younger one in her hand. Huang Chao was very curious and asked why. The woman didn't know Huang Chao, so she just said that because Huang Chao came and killed her uncle's family, this was the only lifeline left, so in case she couldn't take care of both, she had to sacrifice her own flesh and blood to save her uncle's flesh and blood. Huang Chao was deeply moved and told the woman that as long as pomegranate flowers were hung on the door, she could avoid the disaster of Huang Chao.
2, exorcism
There are reasons for hanging wormwood, calamus (Pujian) or pomegranate and garlic at the door of the Dragon Boat Festival. Usually, Artemisia argyi, Ficus microcarpa and Acorus calamus are tied into a bundle with red paper and then inserted or hung on the door. Because Acorus calamus is the first of the five Rui in the sky, it symbolizes the evil sword, because the growing season and shape are regarded as "the breath of a hundred yin", and the leaves are sword-shaped, which can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, alchemists called it "water sword", and later customs extended it to "Pujian", which can cut thousands of evils. In Qing Dynasty, Gu Tieqing recorded in Qing Jia Lu that "cutting Pu as a sword, cutting Peng as a whip, and hanging garlic with peach stalks on the bed, all of which were used to exorcise ghosts".
However, in the Local Records of the Jin Dynasty, it is said that "Ai is a tiger, or the ribbon is cut as a tiger, and the leaves of Ai are attached, and my wife is scrambling to cut it. In the future, it will be even more calamus, or humanoid, or Xiaojian-shaped, named Pujian, to exorcise evil spirits but ghosts. "
3, recruit a hundred blessings
"Holding the Aiqi to recruit a hundred blessings, hanging a sword on the door to kill a thousand evils". Hanging wormwood and cattail at the door of the Dragon Boat Festival is like sticking a charm, which can benefit and avoid harm. Wormwood represents a hundred blessings, and it is a kind of herb that can cure diseases. Inserting it at the door can make you healthy. In ancient China, it has always been a medicinal plant. The moxibustion method in acupuncture is to use wormwood as the main component and burn it on acupuncture points to treat diseases. The legend that wormwood can exorcise evil spirits has been circulating for a long time, mainly because it has the function of medicine. For example, Zonggu's Chronicle of the Age of Jingchu records that "when the chicken is not crowing, those who pick wormwood look like human beings, take it and collect it with moxibustion, which is very effective." It is the day when Ai Cai takes the form of a human figure and hangs on the door, which can poison gas. "