Why don’t we say “Happy Dragon Boat Festival”? Is the Dragon Boat Festival commemorating Qu Yuan? Netizens' "curiosity for knowledge", whether serious or funny, prompted reporters to interview several experts in the field of history and culture to decipher the "truth" about the Dragon Boat Festival.
Why not say "Happy Dragon Boat Festival"?
"It is now clear that it is inappropriate to wish relatives and friends a 'Happy Dragon Boat Festival', just like Qingming Festival, no one wishes anyone a happy one..." said netizen "Sunshine Youth Xiaomin".
Why? Zheng Tuyou, a professor of folklore at Fudan University, said that the Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which is the beginning of summer (noon month). The ancients described it as an "evil month and evil day" and "all five poisons", so people pray for peace and good fortune. Customs to resolve disasters. The weather in summer is hot and dry, making it easy for people to get sick and epidemics. In addition, snakes and insects multiply and can easily bite people, so be very careful.
On this day, there is usually one eating, two tying, and three picking. One is to eat "five yellows", which are foods with the word "yellow" in their names, which means "picking up" when "green and yellow are not connected"; there is also the custom of drinking realgar wine. As the old saying goes, "drinking realgar wine, all diseases will go away." The second is to eat realgar wine. Tie gourds and brooms, and hang pictures of the five poisons. The third is to pick mugwort and insert the whole mugwort on the door. There are also folk customs such as wearing colorful ropes, hanging small peppers, wearing tiger shoes, and writing the word "王" on the children's heads. They all have the meaning of driving away disasters and plagues, and seeking health and good fortune.
From this perspective, the Dragon Boat Festival can be said to be an important node in the prevention of diseases and epidemics in ancient times, similar to today's "Public Health Day". Therefore, it is obviously much more appropriate to say "Dragon Boat Festival is auspicious" and "Dragon Boat Festival is healthy".
On May 28, on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, Laojun Mountain, a Taoist holy land in Luoyang, Henan, held an annual Dragon Boat Festival gift-giving activity to pray for blessings. Hundreds of Taoist priests gathered around the giant Tai Chi Bagua formation to wrap up toast bags in front of the statue of Laozi. Zongzi, the scene is spectacular. Photo by China News Service reporter Wang Zhongju
Who does the Dragon Boat Festival commemorate?
It is reported that there are more than 20 other names for the Dragon Boat Festival, including Duanyang Festival, Chongwu Festival, Calamus Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Bath Orchid Festival... The most famous one is naturally commemorating Qu Yuan Day.
"I take a long breath to cover my tears, and mourn the hardships of the people's livelihood." Due to the death of Qu Yuan, the Dragon Boat Festival has a strong tragic color and "sacrifice" custom. In fact, it is also the anniversary of another ancient hero Wu Zixu.
Ma Xiaokun, a professor at the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University of Technology, said that at that time, King Wu Fu Chai ignored the advice of his assistant minister Wu Zixu and instead listened to the instigation of treacherous ministers, allowing him to commit suicide and throwing his body into the river on May 5. As a result, Wu Zixu became the wronged soul that the people must remember on this day.
In some areas in the south, the Dragon Boat Festival also means "a day of filial piety". Ma Xiaokun said that during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the fourteen-year-old Miss Cao E cried and searched for her father when she drowned in the river. However, she threw herself into the river because she could not see the body. The bodies of the father and daughter floated up on the fifth day of May, and Cao E's hands actually hugged the father's body from behind. Therefore, Cao E is known as a model of "filial daughter" and is remembered by the villagers.
At the same time, the Dragon Boat Festival is also one of the ancient remembrance days of the dead. Zhu Dake, a professor at the Cultural Criticism Research Center of Tongji University, said that on this day, the world should mourn those restless ghosts and pray for them to leave. This Memorial Day of the Dead was later displaced due to the introduction of Buddhism and was replaced by the Bon Festival on July 15th.
“The original function of the Dragon Boat Festival has become ambiguous over the years. Only the custom of hanging calamus, mugwort, pomegranate and garlic on the door to dispel evil spirits still vaguely hints at its relationship with ghosts. "Zhu Dake said that the calamus leaves are shaped like swords, and the alchemists called them "water swords" and later extended to "pu swords". It is said that it can kill all kinds of monsters and monsters.
"On the one hand, (the people) carefully comfort the souls of the undead, and on the other hand, they drive out evil spirits with great fanfare. This method constitutes the real theme of the Dragon Boat Festival customs." Zhu Dake said.
The Dragon Boat Festival "Southern Dragon Boat Race" is even more popular in the north
Many areas in the south have the custom of Dragon Boat Race on the Dragon Boat Festival. A roar makes the gongs and drums roar; a stroke of an oar brings thunderous cheers; colorful flags flutter and colorful balls soar into the sky; firecrackers blast in celebration...
So, what do northern people do during the Dragon Boat Festival? Folklore experts say that in the north, people shoot willows, fight grass, and play polo during the Dragon Boat Festival, which are also very sporty.
What is Sheliu? Someone in the Ming Dynasty once recorded a "play method" of shooting willows - put the pigeon in the gourd, then hang the gourd high on the willow tree, bend the bow and shoot the gourd, and the pigeon will fly out. The height of the flying pigeon is judged. Win or lose.
It is reported that shooting willows is a classic project that can be "played" from Qingming Festival to Dragon Boat Festival. Even Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty never forgot about this. He wrote in "Chenyuan Jilue": "On the Dragon Boat Festival in May of the 11th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, I drove to Dongyuan and watched the balls shooting willows... The Dragon Boat Festival in the 14th year The festival is also a blessing."
Children enjoy "fighting with grass", which means "pulling the roots of grass". Cross and hook the tough grass roots or leaf roots, and then pull them at the same time to see whose roots are thicker and longer... Regarding fighting grass, Bai Juyi wrote "Guan'erxi": "Get dust and fight grass, and have fun all day long."
“When you think that the Dragon Boat Festival is a 'sleeping festival', when you are about to bite into the fragrant glutinous rice pork belly, and think that the Dragon Boat Festival is a 'zongzi eating festival', go out and exercise first! Netizen "Binka" said.
More than 100 residents of Huishan Economic Development Zone gathered together to make rice dumplings, and the scene was lively. Photo by Sun Quan
Is eating rice dumplings to commemorate Qu Yuan?
Eating rice dumplings is obviously not just to commemorate Qu Yuan. According to expert interpretation, "Zongzi", also known as "Jiao Millet" and "Tong Zong", is made of steamed glutinous rice wrapped in Zong leaves and has appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Jin Dynasty, rice dumplings became a festive food during the Dragon Boat Festival. The "Records of the Years of Jingchu" written in the Northern and Southern Dynasties records people's custom of eating rice dumplings during the summer solstice.
Food, beautiful scenery, poetry and songs constitute the atmosphere of traditional Chinese festivals. Han Kesheng, founder of the WeChat public account "Baby Reading Poems" and founder of Shanghai Jiangdong Academy, said that during the Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, there are so many good poems that a bright moon is enough to recite them endlessly. There are relatively few poems and songs for other festivals, and even fewer poems for the Dragon Boat Festival. For poetry lovers, Su Shi's "Huanxisha·Dragon Boat Festival" expresses comfort: "Light sweat slightly penetrates the blue sky, and I bathe in fragrant orchids during the Dragon Boat Festival in the Ming Dynasty. The flowing fragrance fills the Qingchuan, and colorful threads gently wrap around the ruby ??arms. . The green clouds hang side by side, and the beautiful women have met for a thousand years."
The "zongzi" that carries the feelings of family and country, incorporates true feelings, and has come from the long history, has become more and more rich in flavor. It has become an important carrier for people to commemorate and remember.
Looking at it this way, it is actually okay to say that the Dragon Boat Festival is the "Zongzi Festival".
“During the Dragon Boat Festival when I was a child, my mother would cook the rice dumplings early, wrap them in a plastic bag, put them in my schoolbag, and let me eat them during recess. After the Dragon Boat Festival, there were many rice dumplings. "You can eat it for a week." Netizen "Liao Xiaocheng" said: "Now, the Dragon Boat Festival is just a phone call and a text message. The rice dumplings eaten away from home will never be as good as the rice dumplings made by my mother at home.
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