The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is a traditional folk festival in China-Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanyang Festival, Pujie Festival, Tianzhong Festival, Large Intestine Festival, Mulan Festival, Daughter's Day and Children's Day. It is one of the traditional festivals of the Han nationality. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival and Duanyang. In addition, there are many nicknames for the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: Noon Festival, Chongwu Festival, May Festival, Magnolia Festival, Daughter's Day, Zhongyuan Festival, Dila Festival, Poet's Day, Dragon Festival, Ai Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Summer Festival. Although the names are different, on the whole, the customs of people everywhere are more similar than different. Today, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular grand festival among the people of China.
For more than two thousand years, the Dragon Boat Festival has been a traditional habit of China people. Due to its vast territory and numerous ethnic groups, some Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Buyi, Korean, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, She, Lahu, Shui, Naxi, Daur and Mulao. Its contents mainly include: daughter going back to her mother's house, hanging a statue of Zhong Kui, welcoming the ghost boat, hiding in the afternoon, sticking afternoon leaves, hanging calamus and wormwood, traveling in all diseases, wearing sachets, preparing sacrificial bowls, dragon boat races, competitions, playing ball games, swinging, painting children with realgar, drinking realgar wine and calamus wine, eating poisonous cakes, salted eggs, zongzi and seasonal fresh fruits. Some activities, such as dragon boat racing, have made new progress, breaking through the boundaries of time and geography and becoming international sports events.
The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival
There are many opinions about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: in memory of Qu Yuan; In memory of Wu Zixu's theory; In memory of Cao E; From three generations of summer solstice; The theory of exorcising evil days on the moon, the theory of national totem sacrifice in wuyue and so on. Each of the above has its own source. According to the archaeological research of more than 100 ancient books and experts listed in Wen Yiduo's "Dragon Boat Festival Examination and Dragon Boat Festival History Education", the origin of Dragon Boat Festival is a totem festival held by Wuyue people in the ancient south of China, earlier than Qu Yuan. However, for thousands of years, Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit and touching poems have been deeply rooted in people's hearts, so people "cherish and mourn them and discuss their words in the world so as to pass them on from generation to generation". Therefore, the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan has the widest and deepest influence and occupies the mainstream position. In the field of folk culture, China people associate the dragon boat race and eating zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival with commemorating Qu Yuan.
Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival, which started in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Dragon Boat Festival has many origins and legends. There are only the following four kinds:
To commemorate Qu Yuan
According to Records of the Historian Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, Qu Yuan was a minister of Chu Huaiwang in the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated promoting talents, empowering them and making them rich, and advocated uniting against Qin, which was strongly opposed by others. Qu Yuan was forced to leave his post, was driven out of the capital and exiled to the Yuanxiang Valley. During his exile, he wrote immortal poems such as Li Sao, Tian Wen and Tian Wen, which have a unique style and far-reaching influence (therefore, Dragon Boat Festival is also called Poet's Day). In 278 BC, Qin Jun conquered Kyoto of Chu. Seeing that his motherland was invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he never had the heart to give up his motherland. On May 5th, after writing his masterpiece Huai Sha, he threw himself into the river and wrote a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life.
Legend has it that after Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu were very sad and flocked to the Miluo River to pay homage to Qu Yuan. The fisherman paddled the boat and fished for his real body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other foods prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that the ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs were full and would not bite the doctor's body. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that he would stun the dragon water beast with drugs to avoid hurting Dr. Qu. Later, for fear that rice balls would be eaten by dragons, people came up with the idea of wrapping rice with neem leaves and wrapping rice with colored silk to make it develop into brown seeds.
After that, on the fifth day of May every year, there are customs of dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine. In memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
Commemorating Wu Zixu.
The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, commemorates Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Wu Zixu, a famous Chu, and his father and brother were all killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark and went to Wu to help Wu conquer Chu, and entered the capital city of Chu in the Five Wars. At that time, King Chu Ping was already dead. Zi Xu dug a grave and whipped 300 bodies to avenge his father and brother. After the death of He Lu, the king of Wu, his son Fu Cha succeeded to the throne. Wu Jun's morale was high and he was defeated by Yue. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, made peace, and Fu Cha agreed. Zi Xu suggested the complete elimination of Yue, but Fu Cha didn't listen. The State of Wu was massacred and bought by the State of Yue. Zixu was framed by slanderers, and Fu Cha believed it, giving him a sword, and Zixu died. Zi Xu, a loyal person, looks upon death as death. Before he died, he said to his neighbors, "After I die, I will gouge out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Jason Wu, watching the Vietnamese army enter the city to destroy Wu." Then he committed suicide. Fu Cha was furious after hearing this, so he wrapped Zi Xu's body in leather and put it into the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.
In memory of the dutiful daughter Cao E.
The third legend of Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who saved her drowning father in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 23-220). Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and didn't see her body for days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old, crying day and night by the river. 17 days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5, and fished out his father's body five days later. This was passed down as a myth, and then passed to the governor of the county government, who erected it as a monument and asked his disciple Han Danchun to make a eulogy.
The tomb of the filial daughter is in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today, followed by the Cao E Monument written by Jin. Later, in order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, Cao E Temple was built where Cao E threw himself into the river. The village where she lived was renamed Cao E Town, and the place where Cao E died was named Cao E River.
Totem sacrifice originated from the ancient Yue nationality.
A large number of cultural relics unearthed in modern times and archaeological studies have confirmed that in the Neolithic age, a cultural relic with geometric patterns and pottery ruins appeared in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. According to experts' inference, the remaining clan is Baiyue clan, a clan that worships dragon totem in history. The decorative patterns and historical legends on unearthed pottery show that they have the custom of continuous tattoos, live in a water town and compare themselves to the descendants of dragons. Its production tools include a large number of stone tools, as well as small bronzes such as shovels and chisels. As daily necessities, the printed pottery ding used for cooking food is unique to them and is also one of the symbols of their ethnic group. Until the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were still more than 100 Yue people, and the Dragon Boat Festival was a festival created by them to worship their ancestors. During thousands of years of historical development, most Baiyue people have integrated into the Han nationality, and the rest have evolved into many ethnic minorities in the south. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival has become a festival for the whole Chinese nation.
The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival
In China, Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in a grand way, and there are various activities to celebrate it. The joint activities are as follows:
Dragon Boat Racing
Dragon boat race is the main custom of Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, people who originated in the ancient Chu state were reluctant to part with the death of the sage Qu Yuan, and many people rowed boats to save people. They scrambled to catch up with each other and disappeared when they reached Dongting Lake. After that, I will row a dragon boat on May 5th every year to commemorate it. Dispel the fish in the river by rowing a dragon boat to avoid eating Qu Yuan's body. The habit of competition prevailed in wuyue and Chu.
In fact, "Dragon Boat Race" existed as early as the Warring States Period. Carving dragon-shaped canoes in drums and playing race games are semi-religious and semi-entertaining programs in the ceremony to entertain the gods and people.
Later, in addition to commemorating Qu Yuan, people from all over the world gave different meanings to the dragon boat race.
Dragon boat rowing in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is of great significance to commemorate Qiu Jin, a local-born modern female democratic revolutionary. On the dragon boat at night, the lights are decorated and the scenes are moving and interesting. Miao people in Guizhou hold the Dragon Boat Festival from May 25th to 28th in the lunar calendar to celebrate the success of transplanting rice seedlings and wish a bumper harvest. Yunnan Dai compatriots race dragon boats at the Water-splashing Festival to commemorate the ancient hero Yan Hongwo. Different nationalities and regions have different legends about dragon boat rowing. To this day, dragon boat races with different characteristics are held every year in many areas facing rivers, lakes and seas in the south.
In the 29th year of Qing Qianlong (1736), dragon boat races were held in Taiwan Province province. At that time, Governor Jiang of Taiwan Province Province held a friendly match in Heji Half Moon Pool in Tainan City. Now, Taiwan Province Province holds a dragon boat race on May 5th every year. In Hong Kong, races are also held.
In addition, the dragon boat race was introduced to Japan, Vietnam and Britain for the first time. From 65438 to 0980, the dragon boat race was included in the national sports events in China, and the "Qu Yuan Cup" dragon boat race was held every year. 1991June 16 (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), the first International Dragon Boat Festival was held in Yueyang, China, the second hometown of Qu Yuan. The "Dragon Head Festival" was held before the competition, which not only retained the traditional ceremony but also injected new modern factors. The "dragon head" was carried into Quzi Temple. After the athletes painted the dragon head red (wearing red ribbons), the priest read out the sacrificial ceremony and "lit up" the dragon head. Then, all the people who participated in the Dragon Boat Festival bowed three times, and the dragon head was carried to the Guluo River and rushed to the dragon boat race. More than 600,000 people participated in competitions, fairs and parties, which was unprecedented. Since then, Hunan has regularly held the International Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat races will be widely spread all over the world.
Eat zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival.
Eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival is another traditional custom of China people. Zongzi, also called "corn millet" and "Zongzi". It has a long history and various models.
According to records, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, millet was wrapped into horns by leaves of zinia latifolia, which was called "horny millet" at that time. Rice packed in bamboo tubes is sealed and baked, which is called "tube zongzi". At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, millet was soaked in plant ash water. Because the water contains alkali, millet is wrapped in leaves and cooked, which becomes Guangdong sour rice dumplings.
In Jin Dynasty, Zongzi was officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, in addition to glutinous rice, Alpinia oxyphylla was added to jiaozi's raw materials, and the boiled jiaozi was called "Yizhi jiaozi". According to the Records of Yueyang Local Customs written by Zhou Ren, "It is customary to wrap millet with leaves, cook it and cook it thoroughly. From May 5 to the summer solstice, one is Zongzi and the other is Xiaomi. " During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, miscellaneous zongzi appeared. Rice is mixed with animal meat, chestnuts, red dates, red beans and so on. And there are more and more kinds. Zongzi is also used as a gift for communication.
In the Tang Dynasty, the rice used for zongzi was "white as jade", and its shape appeared conical and rhombic. There is a record of "Da Tang Zongzi" in Japanese literature. In the Song Dynasty, there were already "sugar dumplings", that is, fruits entered jiaozi. The poet Su Dongpo has a poem "See Yangmei in Zongzi". At this time, there were also advertisements for building pavilions and wooden chariots and horses with zongzi, which showed that eating zongzi was very fashionable in the Song Dynasty. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the wrapping material of zongzi changed from leaves to leaves. Later, zongzi wrapped in reed leaves appeared, and additional materials such as bean paste, pork, pine nuts, dates and walnuts appeared, and the varieties were more colorful.
Until today, at the beginning of May every year, people in China have to soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and wrap zongzi, and there are more kinds of colors of zongzi. Judging from the stuffing, there are many Beijing jujube jiaozi in the north; In the south, there are many kinds of fillings, such as bean paste, fresh meat, ham and egg yolk, among which Zhejiang Jiaxing Zongzi is the representative. The custom of eating zongzi has been popular in China for thousands of years and spread to South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.
Peixiangnang
Children wear sachets on the Dragon Boat Festival, which is said to mean to ward off evil spirits and drive away epidemics. Actually, it is used to decorate the inner head. There are cinnabar, realgar and fragrant medicine in the sachet, which is wrapped in silk cloth and full of fragrance, and then tied into a rope with five-color silk thread to make a string of bracelets with different shapes, all kinds of exquisite and lovely.
calamus
There is a folk proverb that says, "Willows are inserted in Qingming Festival, and Ai is inserted in Dragon Boat Festival". During the Dragon Boat Festival, people put wormwood and calamus as one of the important contents. Every family sweeps the courtyard, puts calamus and moxa sticks between their eyebrows and hangs them in class. Acorus calamus, Folium Artemisiae Argyi, Liu Hua, garlic and dragon boat flower are made into human or tiger shapes, which are called Ai Ren and Ai Hu. It is made into garlands and decorations, which are beautiful and fragrant, and women compete to wear them to ward off evil spirits.
Ai, also known as Ai and Artemisia argyi. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oils. Its unique fragrance can repel mosquitoes, flies, insects and ants and purify the air. In traditional Chinese medicine, wormwood is used as medicine, which has the functions of nourishing qi and blood, warming uterus and eliminating cold and dampness. Processing Artemisia argyi leaves into "moxa wool" is an important medicinal material for moxibustion treatment.
Acorus calamus is a perennial aquatic herb, and its long and narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oil, which is a good medicine for refreshing the brain, strengthening bones and resolving stagnation, killing insects and sterilizing.
It can be seen that the ancients inserted Artemisia argyi and Acorus calamus to prevent diseases. Dragon Boat Festival is also a "health festival" handed down from generation to generation. On this day, people sweep the courtyard, hang mugwort leaves, hang calamus, sprinkle realgar water, drink realgar wine, stir up turbidity, remove rot, sterilize and prevent diseases. These activities also reflect the fine traditions of the Chinese nation. Collecting herbs during the Dragon Boat Festival is a common custom of all countries and nationalities in China.
Hanging bell statue
It is the custom of Dragon Boat Festival for Zhong Kui to catch ghosts. In the Jianghuai area, every household hangs bells and statues to ward off evil spirits. Emperor Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty returned to the palace after giving a lecture on martial arts in Lishan Mountain, and malaria was rampant. He dreamed that two ghosts, one big and one small, wore red crotch pants, stole Yang Guifei's sachet and Yu Di of the Ming Dynasty, and ran around the temple. GREAT GHOST, wearing a blue robe and a blue hat, grabbed the child, gouged out his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. The Ming emperor asked GREAT GHOST, "My surname is Zhong Kui, that is to say, I am the best martial artist." . I am willing to exorcise your majesty. When the Ming emperor wakes up, malaria will be cured. So I asked the painter Wu Daozi to draw a portrait of Zhong Kui catching ghosts according to what he saw in his dream, and ordered all people to post it during the Dragon Boat Festival to exorcise evil spirits.
Hanging purse-string five-color silk thread
Ying Shao's "Customs Pass" records: "On the fifth day of May, people tied their arms with multicolored silk, which was called Changshi silk, one for renewing life, one for making soldiers fight, one for making five-color silk, and one for Zhu Suo to fight soldiers and ghosts, so that people would not get sick."
In ancient China, five colors were worshipped, which were auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first important thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color lines around their wrists, ankles and necks. Children are not allowed to talk when tying the thread. The five-color line cannot be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river during the first heavy rain in summer or the first bath. It is said that children wearing five-color lines can avoid the harm of snakes and scorpions; Throwing it into the river means letting the river wash away plagues and diseases, so that children can be safe and healthy.
The eighth volume of Meng's Dream of China in Tokyo records: Dragon Boat Festival supplies, hundreds of ropes, mugwort flowers, silver drums, exquisite painting fans, fragrant candy, small dumplings and white balls. Perilla frutescens, Acorus calamus and papaya are all chopped, mixed with incense and medicine, and packed in plum red boxes. Peaches, willows, sunflowers, cattail leaves, Buddha statues, Taoism and wormwood are sold from May/Kloc-0 to the day before the Dragon Boat Festival. The next day, every household put it out at the door and supported it with five-color water polo, tea and wine. He also nailed Ai Ren to the door, and scholars held a banquet for him.
Jing Shi Guang Ji quoted Sui Shi Miscellaneous Notes as saying: "The Dragon Boat Festival is red and white, worn with colored threads, shaped into flowers, or nailed to the door to make it red and white, which is called Qian Chu." There is another kind of "mussel powder clock": "On the fifth day, mussel powder is placed in silk and decorated with cotton, if you count the beads. Let the children take it to absorb sweat. " The contents of these carry-on bags have changed several times, from sweat-absorbing mussel powder, exorcism symbols, copper coins and realgar powder to sachets filled with spices, and they have become increasingly exquisite and become a unique folk art of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Similarly, drinking realgar wine: this custom is very popular among people in the Yangtze River valley. Wandering about all diseases: This custom prevails in the Dragon Boat Festival custom in Guizhou.
Selected poems of Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Festival
(Tang) Wenxiu
The festival is divided into Dragon Boat Festival and is said to be Qu Yuan.
I can laugh when the river is empty, but I can't wash it when it is straight.
Seven laws. Dragon Boat Festival
Yin (Tang)
Teenagers are more affectionate in festivals, but when they are old, they will feel sad;
It's useless, but it's good to pray for good wine.
Add white hair to your temples, and pomegranate blooms every year;
Thousands of years of sages and fools are instantaneous, and a few people are lost in a few names.
Du Jing's Songs (Excerpts)
(Tang) Zhang Jianfeng
On May 5, the sun was shining, and Huayang sang Xiaoying by the river.
Before the monarch left the county seat, he heard the harmony on the river long ago;
When the monarch came out, he was accurate and the horse was led by the red flag;
The clothes on both sides of the strait smell fragrant, and the silver hairpin shines on the frost blade;
The drums sounded three times and the red flag opened, and two dragons jumped out of the water;
Shadows and waves fly to Wan Jian, and drums and waves sound like thunder;
The drums are getting closer and closer, and the eyes of the two dragons are like an instant;
The people on the slope were shocked by the thunder, and the rainbow on the telephone pole fainted;
The front boat won the bid, and the rear boat lost momentum.
Jielingmen. Dragon Boat Festival
(Qing) Li Jingshan
Cherry mulberry and calamus, and buy a pot of realgar wine
There is yellow paper hanging outside the door, but I suspect that the account owner is afraid of charm.
Seven laws. Dragon Boat Festival
Lao She
The Dragon Boat Festival is full of storms, and the children in the village are still wearing old clothes.
Invite a hat, dare to love the thatched cottage for the mud;
There are flesh-and-blood guests who have no money to buy wine for sale;
At that time, the fish was three feet, not as delicious as the beans today.
Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four major festivals throughout the year. May is the poison month, the fifth day is the poison day, and the noon on the fifth day is the poison time, ranking at the bottom of the three poisons. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called "the end of May". May is the beginning of the whole hot day. Five poisonous snakes are active and ghosts will be rampant, which will bring disaster to people, especially unscrupulous and defenseless children. Therefore, people call May Day Children's Day or Doll's Day.
The activities of the Dragon Boat Festival are very rich, starting from dawn in the morning and continuing until noon.
On the morning of the end of May, every family eats zongzi to commemorate Qu Yuan. Usually dumplings are wrapped the day before, cooked at night and eaten in the morning. Jiaozi is mainly made of tender reed leaves and bamboo leaves, which are collectively called zongye. The traditional form of zongzi is a triangle, which is generally named after the inner pulp. Glutinous rice is called rice dumplings, red bean dumplings are called red bean dumplings, and jujube dumplings are called jujube dumplings. Jujube jiaozi homophones "junior high school", so it eats the most. Children who plan to study can win the championship early. In the past, scholars ate jujube jiaozi on the morning of the imperial examination. Up to now, on the morning of the entrance examination for middle schools and universities, parents have to wrap up jiaozi for the candidates.
You must cook eggs in the rice dumplings pot. If possible, you should cook some duck eggs and goose eggs. After eating sweet zongzi dipped in sugar, you should eat eggs dipped in salt. It is said that eating boiled eggs in zongzi pot at the end of May will not cause sores in summer; At noon, put the duck eggs and goose eggs cooked in the zongzi pot in the sun for a while before eating, so that you won't have a headache all summer.
The Dragon Boat Festival was officially applied as an intangible cultural heritage by South Korea, and it was successful, which is also a profound lesson for China to protect its cultural heritage.
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month, commonly known as the Dragon Boat Festival, means "beginning" and "beginning". The fifth day can be called Dragon Boat Festival. In the lunar calendar, the earthly branch marks the moon, the yin is built in the first month, February is the foundation, and May is noon in turn, so May is called noon month, and "five" is connected with "noon", and "five" is also the yang number, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival, Worship for Wu, Duanyang, Noon, Worship for Wu and Noon Day. In addition, it is also called May Festival, Ai Festival and summer in some places. According to historical records, the word "Dragon Boat Festival" first appeared in the local custom of Jin people in Zhou Dynasty: "Dragon Boat Festival in midsummer, cooking millet." Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival of Han nationality in China. The basic activities of this day gradually evolved into: eating zongzi, racing dragon boats, hanging calamus and mugwort leaves, smoking Atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica, and drinking realgar wine. Both eating zongzi and dragon boat racing are to commemorate Qu Yuan, so after liberation, the Dragon Boat Festival was named "Poet's Day" to commemorate Qu Yuan. As for hanging Acorus calamus, Artemisia argyi, smoked Atractylodes macrocephala and Angelica dahurica, drinking realgar wine is said to suppress evil spirits.
Since 2008, Dragon Boat Festival has been a national legal holiday. The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20th, 2006, this folk custom was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
About the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, to sum up, there are roughly the following statements:
Welcome to Tao Shen, a monument to Cao E from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and didn't see her body for days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old, crying day and night by the river. 17 days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5, and fished out his father's body five days later. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of the State of Wu, died unjustly and became Shen Tao. The world mourned and sacrificed him, so the Dragon Boat Festival came into being.
Dragon Boat Festival, this statement comes from Wen Yiduo's Dragon Boat Festival Examination and Dragon Boat Festival History Education. He believed that the fifth day of May was the day when the "Dragon" tribe in ancient wuyue held totem sacrifices. The main reason is: (1) Eating zongzi and running are the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, both of which are related to dragons. Zongzi is often stolen by dragons when it is thrown into the water, and dragon boats are used in competitions. (2) The relationship between Tudu and ancient wuyue is particularly deep. Besides, Wuyue people have the custom of tattooing constantly to be "like a dragon". (3) The ancient folk custom of using "colored silk to tie arms" on the fifth day of May should be a relic of the tattoo custom of "Ru Long".
Bad day, in the pre-Qin era, it was generally believed that May was a poisonous month and May 5th was a bad day. According to legend, evil came to power on this day, and the five poisons came out at the same time. According to the Book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the orchid bath in the Zhou Dynasty. Midsummer in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in May. "Xia Zheng Xiao" records: "Store medicine this day to get rid of poisonous gas." It is recorded in "Da Dai Li" that "the livestock orchid is a bath on May 5", and there are many legends that the fifth day is a taboo day for bathing to exorcise evil spirits. The famous Meng Changjun in Historical Records and Biography of Meng Changjun was born on May 5th. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, thinking that "a child born in May is longer than a family, which is not good for his parents." "Custom Pass" was lost. "It is said that on May 5th, a child was born, and the male harmed his father and the female harmed his mother". Wang Chong, the author of Lun Heng, also described: "The first month and May are taboo; Killing father and mother in the first month and May is not allowed. " Wang Zhene, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of May. His grandfather named him Zhen Xie. Song Huizong Evonne was born on May 5th, and was put in foster care outside the palace since he was a child. It can be seen that it is a common phenomenon to regard the fifth day of May as an evil day in ancient times. It can be seen that this day has been an unlucky day since the pre-Qin period. In this way, it is logical to insert calamus and mugwort leaves to exorcise ghosts, smoke atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica and drink realgar wine to avoid the epidemic on this day. People also avoid the taboo of "Dragon Boat Festival" and call it "Dragon Boat Festival".
Regarding the summer solstice, Liu Deqian, who holds this view, put forward three main reasons in the Dragon Boat Festival and an Interesting Talk about Traditional Festivals in China: (1) The authoritative book The Chronicle of Jingchu's Years Old did not mention the festival custom of eating zongzi on the fifth day of May, but wrote in Summer solstice. As for the competition, Du Taiqing's Jade Candle Collection in Sui Dynasty classified it as an entertainment activity from summer to the sun, which shows that it is not necessarily to salvage Qu Yuan, a great poet who threw himself into the river. (2) Some contents in the custom of Dragon Boat Festival, such as "stepping on a hundred herbs", "fighting a hundred herbs" and "picking herbs", have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. (3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in Ji Hua is: "The sun is shining, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in midsummer, so it can also be called the Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, the earliest origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is the summer solstice. There are many controversies, and the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan has the most extensive influence. Because of Qu Yuan's outstanding personality and art, people are willing to attribute this anniversary to him.
In memory of Qiu Jin, a poetess, Qiu Ruixiong, No.1 Jianhu Xia, Xiao Gu, a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, was able to write poems, lyrics, songs and poems when she was young, and was fond of riding and fencing. She is called Mulan and Qin Liangyu. At the age of 28, he took part in the revolution and had a great influence. He was arrested by Qing soldiers while planning an uprising, and died heroically in Xuanhengkou, Shaoxing on June 5th, Guangxu thirty-three years. In order to appreciate her poems and mourn her heroic deeds, later generations merged with Poet's Day to commemorate her, and designated Poet's Day as Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
In memory of Qu Yuan, one of the greatest romantic poets in China.
Qu Yuan is one of the greatest romantic poets in China and the earliest known famous poet and great politician in China. He created the style of "Chu Ci" (that is, the style of "Ci Fu") and the tradition of "vanilla beauty".
According to Records of the Historian Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, Qu Yuan advocated talent and empowerment, while Qiang Bing, a rich country, advocated joint resistance to Qin, which was strongly opposed by Zilan, a noble. Qu Yuan was expelled from the capital and exiled to the Yuanxiang Valley. During his exile, he wrote immortal poems such as Li Sao, Tian Wen and Tian Wen, which have a unique style and far-reaching influence (therefore, Dragon Boat Festival is also called Poet's Day). In 278 BC, Qin Jun conquered Kyoto of Chu. Seeing that his motherland was invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he never had the heart to give up his motherland. On May 5th, after writing his masterpiece Huai Sha, he threw himself into the river and wrote a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life.
Legend has it that after Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu were very sad and flocked to the Miluo River to pay homage to Qu Yuan. The fisherman paddled the boat and fished for his real body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other foods prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that the ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs were full and would not bite the doctor's body. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that he would stun the dragon water beast with drugs to avoid hurting Dr. Qu. Later, for fear that rice balls would be eaten by dragons, people came up with the idea of wrapping rice with neem leaves and wrapping rice with colored silk to make it develop into brown seeds.
Later, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, there were customs of rowing dragon boats, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine. In memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
In memory of Wu Zixu: The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to commemorate Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Wu Zixu, a famous Chu, and his father and brother were all killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark and went to Wu to help Wu conquer Chu, and entered the capital city of Chu in the Five Wars. At that time, King Chu Ping was already dead. Zi Xu dug a grave and whipped 300 bodies to avenge his father and brother. After the death of He Lu, the king of Wu, his son Fu Cha succeeded to the throne. Wu Jun's morale was high and he was defeated by Yue. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, made peace, and Fu Cha agreed. Zi Xu suggested the complete elimination of Yue, but Fu Cha didn't listen. The State of Wu was massacred and bought by the State of Yue. Zixu was framed by slanderers, and Fu Cha believed it, giving him a sword, and Zixu died. Zi Xu, a loyal person, looks upon death as death. Before he died, he said to his neighbors, "After I die, I will gouge out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Jason Wu, watching the Vietnamese army enter the city to destroy Wu." Then he committed suicide. Fu Cha was furious after hearing this, so he wrapped Zi Xu's body in leather and put it into the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.
The customs related to the Dragon Boat Festival are as follows:
Eat zongzi
It is precisely because Qu Yuan threw himself into the river that people were afraid that Qu Yuan's body would be eaten by fish and shrimp, so they packed rice in bamboo tubes and threw it into the river. Later, it evolved into bamboo baskets and bamboo leaves and threw them into the river to feed fish and shrimp.
② Drink realgar.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, various insects became active and the plague gradually increased. Realgar has the effect of eliminating epidemic diseases. It is precisely because of the story of the white snake that after drinking realgar wine, the white snake almost presents the shape of a snake, so people play a role as if it is effective, hoping to receive the function of eliminating evil souls.
(3) hanging branches of Artemisia argyi, Acorus calamus and Ficus.
There is a reason to hang wormwood, calamus or pomegranate and garlic at the door of the Dragon Boat Festival. Usually, mugwort leaves, banyan trees and 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 auspicious symbols in the sky, this symbol is not only an ominous sword, but also because the growing season and shape are regarded as "the breath of a hundred yin", and the leaves are sword-shaped and can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, the alchemists called it "water sword", and later customs expanded it to "common sword", which can cut thousands of evils. In the Qing Dynasty, Gu Tieqing recorded in Jia Qinglu that "chopping pu as a sword, chopping peng as a whip and hanging peaches and garlic on the bed are all used to exorcise ghosts". However, in the Records of Local Customs of the Jin Dynasty, "Mourning is a tiger, or cutting the ribbon is a tiger, and the leaves of mourning are attached, and the wife struggles to cut it. In the future, it will be a calamus, or a human form, or a small sword, called Pujian, to exorcise evil spirits. "
Wormwood represents a hundred blessings and is a kind of herbal medicine that can cure diseases. Inserting it at the door can make you healthy. In ancient China, it has always been a medicinal plant. Moxibustion in acupuncture uses wormwood as the main component and burns it on acupoints 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, Zong Yi's Chronicle of Jingchu records that when Japanese chickens don't crow, people who take wormwood like humans take wormwood and receive moxibustion, which is very effective. It's the day when Ai turns into a human figure and hangs on the door. It can poison gas. Most people also have the custom of planting wormwood before and after the house for good luck. In Taiwan Province Province, people still put up "afternoon couplets" on the Dragon Boat Festival, which has the same function as amulets. Some noon couplets have such a sentence: "Holding Aiqi attracts a hundred blessings, and hanging a sword on the door kills a thousand evils". The folk significance of fig branches can make the body strong. "It is braver to insert figs than dragons, and it is braver to insert mugwort leaves." . There are also places where pomegranate, garlic or Shandan are used to hang, and garlic is used to eliminate evil and treat insect poison; Shandan prescription cures madness, pomegranate flowers hang doors to avoid Huang Chao. Pomegranate flower is the flower of this season, and it also has the function of treating diseases. Pomegranate peel is a common Chinese medicine. And the relationship between pomegranate flower and Huang Chao, there is a story. During the rebellion in Huang Chao, Huang Chao once forced a village and happened to see a woman with a big child on her back and a small child in her hand. Huang Chao was very curious and asked why. The woman doesn't know Huang Chao, so she just said that because Huang Chao came, she killed her uncle's family, and this was the only last straw left, so when 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, the disaster in Huang Chao could be avoided.
④ Hanging Bell Statue
Because folklore is about catching ghosts, Zhong Kui seems to have the ability to make ghosts. It is said that Emperor Tang Ming dreamed that a GREAT GHOST and a kid were stealing food, and GREAT GHOST caught it and ate it. Don asked, "Who are you? GREAT GHOST said, "My name is Zhong Kui, and I am a scholar in Zhong Nanshan. I didn't get in because of my ugly hat, so I committed suicide. Now I swear to rid the world of evil for your majesty. "Ming Chengzu woke up and asked the painter Wu Daozi to paint a portrait of Zhong Kui he saw in his dream. It turned out that the statue of Zhong Kui was hung at the end of the year, and Wen Zhiming, a painter in the Ming Dynasty, painted "Cold Forest Zhong Kui". Hanging a statue of Zhong Kui on the Dragon Boat Festival may be a custom that appeared in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, but it is rare in Taiwan Province Province.