The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanyang Festival, Chongwu Festival, Tianzhong Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, etc., is a major folk festival that integrates praying for blessings, worshiping ancestors, and eating delicious food. Regarding the legends of the Dragon Boat Festival, the most widely spread is the legend in memory of the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan; followed by the legend in memory of the loyal minister Wu Zixu; and the legend in memory of the filial daughter Cao E.

The story and legend of the Dragon Boat Festival?

1. Commemorating Qu Yuan?

Around 340 BC, the famous patriotic poet Qu Yuan was born in Chu He belongs to an aristocratic family in the country. He is not only knowledgeable, but also has the world in mind. When he was a doctor in Chu State, he always put himself in Chu State's national interests. Qu Yuan vigorously advocated reform and rectification of officialdom internally; externally, he united with Qi to fight against Qin. However, a big tree attracts trouble. Qu Yuan's series of reform measures infringed on the interests of the old aristocratic class of Chu State. Qu Yuan himself was retaliated and attacked by the aristocratic class of Chu State. They framed and discredited Qu Yuan in front of King Chu Huai, which caused King Chu Huai to gradually alienate Qu Yuan and drove Qu Yuan out of Yingdu and exiled him to remote areas. In response to this, Qu Yuan wrote in "Li Sao" the famous line "All the women were jealous of me, and rumors spread that I was good at lewdness", expressing his contempt and disdain for the villains who falsely accused him.

While in exile, he could not let go of his motherland in his heart, and hoped that one day he could be recalled by the monarch and serve the country again. After the Chu capital was captured by the Qin army, Qu Yuan realized that he had no way to serve his country, so he committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Qu Yuan used his own life to compose a story that has been passed down through the ages. In order to commemorate Qu Yuan, people eat rice dumplings and race dragon boats on the fifth day of May to express their praise for Qu Yuan's lofty patriotism. This later developed into the Dragon Boat Festival.

2. Commemorate Wu Zixu?

Wu Zixu was born in 559 BC. He was a native of Chu and a senior official of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period. His father Wu She was the teacher of Prince Jian of Chu Ping during his lifetime, but he was killed on the order of King Ping of Chu because he was slandered by others. Wu Zixu fled to the state of Wu alone, wandering all the way. Fortunately, he got acquainted with Prince Guang of the State of Wu and helped him ascend the throne of the State of Wu. Prince Guang became the later King Helu of Wu. After King Helu of Wu came to the throne, he continued to reuse Wu Zixu, and Wu Zixu also used his talents to help the development of Wu. First of all, he suggested that Helu build a capital city, set up garrison soldiers in the city, enrich the warehouses with food, smelt weapons and forge armor. Today's Suzhou City is the capital of the Wu Kingdom that Wu Zixu personally selected, planned and built.

During the reign of Wu King Helu, Wu Zixu won his trust and loyally helped Helu develop and expand the national power of Wu. He also introduced the famous military strategist Sun Wu to the King of Wu to train his soldiers. Wu Zixu Together with Sun Wu, he led the Wu army to defeat the Chu army, broke through the Chu capital Yingdu, dug up King Chu Ping's grave, and whipped King Chu Ping's body three hundred times to avenge his father's murder. Relying on the talents of Wu Zixu and others, Wu State conquered Jingchu in the west and Qilu in the north, and its national power reached its peak.

After the death of King Wu Helu, King Wu Fucha came to the throne. Wu Zixu continued to assist Wu King Fu Chai to defeat the invading Yue Kingdom. He tried his best to advise Fu Chai that the Yue State should be destroyed, but King Wu Fu Chai was arrogant and believed Bo Pe's slander, leaving the Yue State a chance to breathe. He also misjudged that Wu Zixu wanted to use the power of Qi to overthrow the rule of Wu, and ordered Let Wu Zixu commit suicide. Before Wu Zixu died, he said to the guests with grief and indignation: "After I die, dig out my eyes and hang them on the east city gate. I want to see with my own eyes how the Kingdom of Wu perished!" However, King Wu Fuchai knew that After this news, Long Yan was furious and ordered Wu Zixu's body to be wrapped in Yiyi leather on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and thrown into the Qiantang River.

Later, as expected, Wu was defeated by Yue. King Wu Fu Chai was so ashamed that he thought he would have no face to face Wu Zixu in the underworld after death, so he covered his eyes with a white cloth and drew his sword to commit suicide. In order to commemorate Wu Zixu, the people of Wu State held a dragon boat race on the fifth day of May every year, riding up the waves to welcome "Wu Jun".

3. To commemorate the filial daughter Cao E?

The third legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who rescued her father by the river in the Eastern Han Dynasty (23-220 AD). Joy was from Sangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and his body was missing for several days. At that time, the filial daughter Joy was only 14 years old and was crying by the river. night. He was thrown into the river 17 days later on May 5, and his father's body was taken out five days later. This incident became a myth and was passed on to the current governor, who ordered Du Sang to erect a monument for him and commend his disciple Handan Chun. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate filial piety and joy.

?Dragon Boat Festival Customs?

1. Hanging mugwort

The Dragon Boat Festival is the first festival after summer. As the temperature rises, it is a time when diseases are common. Therefore, many years ago, people often hung a few mugwort plants in front of their homes. Because of its special fragrance, people used it to repel diseases, prevent mosquitoes, and ward off evil spirits.

2. Eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival

Every year in early May, Chinese people soak glutinous rice, wash rice dumpling leaves, and make rice dumplings, with more varieties of colors. In terms of fillings, Beijing jujube rice dumplings mostly contain jujubes in the north; in the south, there are various fillings such as bean paste, fresh meat, ham, and egg yolks, among which Jiaxing rice dumplings in Zhejiang are the representative ones.

The custom of eating rice dumplings has been popular in China for thousands of years and has spread to North Korea, Japan and other Southeast Asian countries.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese festival with a long history and cultural heritage. Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival has been a traditional habit of the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years. Due to the vast territory, numerous ethnic groups, and many stories and legends, not only have there been many different names for the festival, but there are also different customs in different places.