1. Commemorating Qu Yuan

Qu Yuan

According to the "Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng" in "Historical Records", Qu Yuan was a minister of King Huai of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated the promotion of talents and empowerment, enriched the country and strengthened the military, and advocated uniting Qi to resist Qin. However, he was strongly opposed by the nobleman Zilan and others. Qu Yuan was dismissed from his post, expelled from the capital, and exiled to the Yuan and Xiang rivers. In exile, he wrote immortal poems such as "Li Sao", "Heavenly Questions" and "Nine Songs", which were concerned about the country and the people. They were unique in style and had far-reaching influence (therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Poet's Day). In 278 B.C., the Qin Army conquered the capital of Chu. Seeing his motherland being invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he still could not bear to abandon his motherland. On May 5, after writing his final work "Huaisha", he bouldered into the Miluo River and died, risking his own life. Composed a magnificent patriotic movement.

It is said that after Qu Yuan died, the people of Chu State were extremely sad and flocked to the Miluo River to pay their respects to Qu Yuan. The fishermen rowed their boats and fished for his true body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out the rice balls, eggs and other food prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that when the fish, lobsters and crabs were full, they would not bite Dr. Qu's body. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took a jar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying it was to stun dragons and water animals so as not to harm Doctor Qu. Later, for fear that the rice balls would be eaten by dragons, people came up with the idea of ??wrapping the rice with neem leaves and wrapping it with colored silk, which developed into zongzi.

Since then, on the fifth day of May every year, there has been the custom of dragon boat racing, eating rice dumplings, and drinking realgar wine to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

2. Commemorating Wu Zixu

Related figures in the legend of the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival: Qu Yuan and Wu Zixu

The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. , commemorating Wu Zixu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC). Wu Zixu was a member of the Chu State, and his father and brother were killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side, and rushed to the Wu State to help Wu attack Chu. After five battles, he entered Yingcheng, the capital of Chu. At that time, King Ping of Chu was dead, so Zixu dug up the grave and whipped three hundred corpses to avenge the death of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his son Fucha succeeded to the throne. The Wu army had high morale and won every battle. The country of Yue was defeated. King Goujian of Yue asked for peace, and Fucha agreed. Zixu suggested that the Yue Kingdom should be completely eliminated, but Fu Chai refused to listen, and the Wu State slaughtered him. He was bribed by the Yue Kingdom and framed Zixu with slanderous words. Fu Chai believed it and gave Zixu a sword, and Zixu died with it. Zixu was a loyal man and regarded death as home. Before he died, he said to his neighbors: "After I die, dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Wu Jing to watch the Yue army enter the city and destroy Wu." Then he committed suicide and died. After hearing this, he was furious and ordered Zixu's body to be packed in leather and thrown into the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

3. Commemorating the filial daughter Cao E

The third legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who saved her father and threw himself into the river in the Eastern Han Dynasty (23-220 AD). Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and her body was not seen for several days. At that time, her filial daughter Cao E was only fourteen years old and cried along the river day and night. Seventeen days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5th. Five days later, he took out his father's body. This was passed down as a myth, and then passed down to the county governor, who ordered Du Shang to erect a monument for it and his disciple Handan Chun to write a memorial in praise of it.

The tomb of the filial daughter Cao E is located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today. It is later said that the stele of Cao E was written by King Yi of the Jin Dynasty. In order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, later generations built the Cao E temple where Cao E threw herself into the river. The village and town where she lived was renamed Cao E town, and the place where Cao E died for her father was named Cao E river. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E.

4. The theory of totem sacrifice originating from the ancient Yue people

A large number of unearthed cultural relics and archaeological research in modern times have confirmed that in the vast areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in the Neolithic Age, there was a kind of geometrically printed pottery. Characteristic cultural remains. Experts infer that the tribe that remains is a tribe that worships the dragon totem - known as the Baiyue tribe in history. The patterns on the unearthed pottery and historical legends indicate that they had the custom of breaking their hair and getting tattoos, lived in water towns, and compared themselves to being descendants of dragons. The tools they produce include a large number of stone tools, as well as small bronze tools such as shovels and chisels. Among the pots and jars used as daily necessities, the printed pottery tripods for cooking food are unique to them and are one of the symbols of their ethnic group. Until the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were still Baiyue people, and the Dragon Boat Festival was a festival created by them to worship their ancestors. In the history of thousands of years of development, most of them

5. Dragon Festival Theory

This theory comes from Wen Yiduo's "Dragon Boat Test" and "Dragon Boat Festival Historical Education" . He believes that the fifth day of May is the day when the "dragon" tribe in the ancient Wuyue region held totem sacrifices.

The main reasons are:

(1) The two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, eating rice dumplings and racing boats, are both related to dragons. Zongzi thrown into the water are often stolen by dragons, while dragon boats are used for the ferry races.

(2) The ferry race is particularly closely related to the ancient Wuyue region. Moreover, the people of Wuyue still have the custom of cutting off their hair and getting a tattoo "to resemble a dragon son".

(3) In ancient times, there was a folk custom of "tying arms with colorful silk" on the fifth day of May. This should be a relic of the "dragon son-like" tattoo custom.

6. The theory of evil day taboos

People in the Han Dynasty believed that May 5th was an evil month and evil day, and there was a custom of "not raising the fifth day of the fifth month", that is, May 5th The babies born, whether male or female, cannot be raised as adults. Once raised, the male will harm the father and the female will harm the mother. There are even sayings such as "If you get an official position in May, you will not move until you are exempted from it", "Building a house in May will make you bald" and other sayings.

This custom became popular in the Warring States period at the latest and continued to flourish in the Han Dynasty. This custom is widely recorded in "Lunheng" by Wang Chong of Han Dynasty, "Customs of Customs" by Ying Shao and "Book of the Later Han Dynasty".

May 5th is the evil month and evil day, which is used to ward off plagues, drive away evil spirits, and seek good luck. Therefore, related cultural activities have emerged, forming the distinctive Dragon Boat Festival.

7. Theory of Summer Solstice

The person who first advocated the theory of Summer Solstice was Mr. Huang Shi. In 1963, he proposed in the book "History of Dragon Boat Festival Etiquette and Customs" (published by Qinxing Book Company, Hong Kong, 1963) that Dragon Boat Festival The festival is like trickling water. It originated in ancient times. It merged into rivers in three dynasties, expanded into rivers in Qin and Han Dynasties, and incorporated hundreds of rivers into lakes and seas in Tang and Song Dynasties.

After hearing that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the Summer Solstice, scholars have discussed hundreds of schools of thought and studied it from a broader perspective. In 1983, Mr. Liu Deqian, in "Another Theory of the Origin of the Dragon Boat Festival" ("Literary and Historical Knowledge" Issue 5, 1983), believed that the Dragon Boat Festival came from the summer solstice in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and proposed that the Dragon Boat Festival included "fighting against hundreds of herbs" and "collecting herbs". "Miscellaneous medicine" and so on have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. Liu Deqian put forward three main reasons in "Another Theory of the Origin of "Dragon Boat Festival"" and "Interesting Talks about Traditional Chinese Festivals": (1) The authoritative book "Jingchu Suishui Ji" does not mention the beginning of May It is a festival custom to eat rice dumplings on the fifth day, but eating rice dumplings is written in the Summer Solstice Festival. As for the boat race, the "Jade Candle Book" written by Du Taiqing of the Sui Dynasty listed it as an entertainment activity on the summer solstice, which shows that it was not necessarily to salvage the great poet Qu Yuan who threw himself into the river. (2) Some contents in the Dragon Boat Festival customs, such as "stepping on hundreds of herbs", "fighting on hundreds of herbs", "collecting miscellaneous herbs", etc., actually have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. (3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in "The Scenery of the Year" is: "The sun and leaves are in the sun, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in the middle of summer. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival can also be called the Tianzhong Festival. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival The earliest origin of the festival is the summer solstice.

At an international academic conference held in Seoul, South Korea, in December 2006, Mr. He Xingliang, a researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, once again improved the theory of the summer solstice. It is proposed that the Dragon Boat Festival is the summer solstice.

8. It originated from orchid bathing

According to "Book of Rites", the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the ancient people picking orchid and bathing in May in the Zhou Dynasty. It is popular to bathe in orchid soup to remove toxins. "Dadai Liji·Xia Xiaozheng" says: "In May,... boil plums for beans, and store orchids for bathing. "Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs·Yun Zhongjun": "The orchid soup is bathing in the fragrance, and the flowers and clothes are like a flower. "Jingchu's Chronicles of the Years of Jingchu" written by Zongmao of Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties said: "May 5th is called the Orchid Bathing Festival. "This custom spread to the Tang and Song Dynasties, and it was also called the Dragon Boat Festival as the month of bathing orchids.

9. Commemorating Jiezi's theory

According to Cai Yong's "Qin Cao" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the sage Jie Zitui

10. It originated from Gou Jian’s theory of training the navy

The Dragon Boat Festival originated from an article published in the "Jiyuan of Things" by Gao Cheng of the Song Dynasty. The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the Yue King Gou Jian in the Spring and Autumn Period. So the navy practiced.

Wearing damselflies

The headdress of women during the Dragon Boat Festival was often seen in some areas in the south of the Yangtze River. This thing is said to have originated from ancient times. "Qing Jia Lu" quotes "Tang and Song Dynasty Yiji" as saying: "Whoever goes north and south of the river, the five-day hairpin head color victory system is extremely ingenious." They usually use silk threads to make mugwort leaves, or embroider them with the shapes of immortals, Buddhas, hexapods, crows, insects, fish, animals, eight treasures, flowers, etc. Crepe spiders, silkworms, phoenixes, cocoon tigers, lizards, mantises, cicadas and scorpions, gourds, melons and fruits, the colors are lifelike. Add flags, banners, precious canopies, embroidered balls and tassels, bells and bells in hundreds of shapes, or strings of them throughout. They are called damselflies, and they are incomparable. "

Hang moxa tiger

In the old days, the Dragon Boat Festival was used to ward off evil spirits and was also used as a decoration. In ancient China, the tiger was regarded as a mythical beast, and it was believed that it could ward off evil spirits and protect peace. "Customs "Tong" says: "The tiger is the penis, the leader of all beasts. It can eat ghosts and ghosts, and... it can also ward off evil. Therefore, tigers are often used by the people to ward off evil spirits. Among them, moxa tiger during the Dragon Boat Festival is the most distinctive. Moxa tiger is either braided and cut from moxa, or cut into ribbons and made into tigers, glued with The custom of wearing moxa leaves on the hairline and body during the Dragon Boat Festival has a history of more than a thousand years. Song Dynasty Chen Yuangui's "Sui Shi Guang Ji" quoted "Sui Shi Za Ji": "The Dragon Boat Festival uses moxa in the shape of a tiger, which looks like a black bean. For big ones, you might cut the ribbon into a little tiger and stick mugwort leaves on it to wear. Wang Yigong's poem "Dragon Boat Festival Post": "The hairpin-headed moxa tiger wards off evil spirits, driving the seven-treasure chariot with auspicious clouds at dawn". "The Qing Dynasty Fucha Dunchong's "Yanjing Years of the Year" says: "Every Dragon Boat Festival, the clever ones in the boudoir will use silk to make little tigers and rice dumplings... Thread them with colorful threads, hang them on hairpin heads, or tie them to children's ears. On the back, an ancient poem says: "The jade swallow hairpin head is light and the moxa tiger is light", that's what it means. ”

Forehead painting

During the Dragon Boat Festival, it is a custom to smear children’s forehead with realgar, which is said to repel poisonous insects. The typical method is to use realgar wine to draw the word “王” on the child’s forehead. The realgar is used to drive away poison, and the tiger ("king" is like the forehead pattern of a tiger, and tiger is the king of beasts, so it is used to suppress evil spirits). "Yanjing Sui Shi Ji" written by Fucha Dunzu of the Qing Dynasty says: "Every day. On the Dragon Boat Festival, from the first day of the Lunar New Year, take realgar and wine and sprinkle it, and apply it on the child's collar and between the nose and ears to avoid poisonous substances. "In addition to smearing on the forehead, nose and ears, it can also be smeared on other places, with the same intention. Shanxi's "Hequ County Chronicle" says: "Drink realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival, and smear on the child's forehead, hands, and soles... It is said that it can cure diseases and prolong life. . ”

Wearing a life-extending thread

It is worn during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is also known as a life-extending thread, a life-extending thread, a life-extending thread, a longevity thread, a hundred threads, and a soldier's thread. , colorful strands, etc., have different names, but have roughly the same shape and function.

It is customary to knot five-color silk into a rope during the Dragon Boat Festival. It can be hung at the head of the door, worn around children's necks, or tied to children's arms, or hung on bed tents, cradle, etc. It is said that it can avoid disasters, cure diseases, and protect health. , prolong life. There are generally five shapes of such knots: simple five-color silk threads are stranded into a rope and tied to the arm; the multi-colored rope is decorated with gold and tin ornaments and hung on the neck; the multi-colored rope is folded into a square and decorated on the chest; Colorful rope knots are worn by human figures; sun, moon, stars, black animals and other objects are embroidered with colorful silk threads as a tribute to the elders. This custom began in the Han Dynasty. Yingshao of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Customs and Customs·Anonymous": "At noon, the arms are tied with colorful silk to avoid ghosts and soldiers, so that people will not get sick and plague. One person will have a long life, and the other will be a soldier." From then on, it became a habit until modern times. The Qing Dynasty's Fu Cha Dunzong recorded the customs at that time: "Every Dragon Boat Festival, the clever ones in the boudoir would make little tigers and rice dumplings, gourds, cherries, mulberries, etc. out of Suluo, thread them with colored threads, and hang them On the hairpin head, or tied on the back of a child. "In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the court even gave ministers this kind of gift. According to historical records, during the Duanjie Festival of the first year of Zong Xingyuan in the Tang Dynasty, the court once gave a hundred ropes and one shaft. "History of the Song Dynasty·Book of Rites Fifteen": "On the previous day, gold life-extending belts and colorful silk life-extending belts were given to hundreds of officials. Wear them during festivals."

Purse

< p>Dai Xiang Bao

Dai Xiang Bao, also known as sachet, sachet, purse, etc., is made of five-color silk threads or sewn with rags, and is filled with spices (made from the Chinese herbal medicine Angelica dahurica, Angelica dahuricae, etc.) Made from Ligusticum chuanxiong, Baicao baicalensis, Paicao, Shannai, Gansong and Gaobenxing), wear it on the chest, and the fragrance is fragrant. Chen Shiliang's "Sui Sui Guang Ji" quoted from "Sui Sui Za Ji" mentioned a kind of "Duan Wu made of red and white colors like a bag, with colored threads running through it, and the twitching makes it look like a flower." and another kind of "clam pink bell". : "On the fifth day of the Dragon Boat Festival, put clam powder in the silk and decorate it with cotton, like a few beads. Let the children wear it to absorb sweat." The contents of these portable bags have changed several times, from clam powder to absorb sweat, talismans to ward off evil spirits, copper coins, and realgar powder to repel insects, to sachets filled with spices. The production has become increasingly sophisticated, becoming a unique folk custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. Artwork.

Wearing a sachet is very particular. In order to prevent diseases and keep fit, the elderly generally like to wear flowers in the shape of plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, peaches, apples, lotus flowers, dolls riding fish, dolls hugging roosters, double lotuses and other shapes, which symbolize the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers, all the best, love between husband and wife, and family harmony. Children like birds and animals, such as tigers and leopards; monkeys on poles, cockfights and rabbits, etc. Young people are particularly particular about wearing sachets. If they are passionate lovers, then the passionate girl will carefully make one or two unique sachets and give them to her lover before the festival. The young man wearing the sachet given by his sweetheart will naturally arouse comments from the men and women around him, praising the young man's ingenuity.

Avoid Five Poisons

Five Poisons

The Dragon Boat Festival is a poisonous and evil day in the minds of the ancients. This idea has been passed down in folk beliefs, so There are various customs for seeking peace and avoiding disasters. In fact, this is because the weather in summer is hot and dry, making people prone to illness and epidemics. In addition, snakes and insects breed and can easily bite people, so we must be very careful and this habit is formed.

Collecting herbs

This is one of the oldest Dragon Boat Festival customs. "Xia Xiaozheng" records: "On this day, medicine is stored to remove poisonous gases." Volume 22 of "Sui Sui Guang Ji" "Collecting Miscellaneous Medicines" quotes the lost text of "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji": "On May 5th, there was competition to collect miscellaneous medicines." Medicine can cure all kinds of diseases. "In "Qimin Yaoshu·Zaji" of the Later Wei Dynasty, there is a record of catching toads in May, which are also used for medicine. Later, many areas had the custom of catching toads during the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, Jiangsu collected toads on the Dragon Boat Festival, pricked the foam, and made the traditional Chinese medicine toad cake. People in Hangzhou also gave toads to children, saying that they could cool down the fire and prevent sores and boils in the summer. In addition, on the fifth day, put an ink tablet in the mouth of a toad, hang it up to dry, and it will become a toad tablet, which can be applied to the abscess to dissipate it. This custom of catching toads to make medicine originated from the legend of "toads preparing soldiers" in the Han Dynasty. Another example is the Hubei Jianli "collecting hundreds of herbs" during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is also the custom of collecting medicinal herbs. The custom of collecting herbs was formed on this day because the stems and leaves of herbs mature around the Dragon Boat Festival and have good medicinal properties.

Dragon Boat Festival Orchid Bathing Ceremony

Mulan Tang

Bathing in orchid soup on Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient custom recorded in "Dadaili". But the orchid in the article is not an orchid, but a species of Asteraceae, which has a fragrant aroma and can be boiled for bathing. "Jiu Ge·Yun Zhongjun" also has the sentence "Bath in orchid soup will bring out fragrance". "Records of the Years of Jingchu": "On May 5th, it is called the Orchid Bathing Festival." "Wuzazu" records that people in the Ming Dynasty took five-color grass and brushed it for bathing at noon because "orchid soup was not available." Later, I usually take a bath with fried pudding, mugwort and other herbs. In Guangdong, moxa, cattail, impatiens, magnolia and other flowers and plants are used; in Hunan, Guangxi and other places, cypress leaves, galanthemum root, mugwort, cattail, peach leaves, etc. are boiled into medicinal water for bathing. Regardless of men, women, old or young, the whole family washes it. This custom still exists today. It is said that it can cure skin diseases and remove evil spirits.

Drink Pu wine, realgar wine, and cinnabar wine

Drink Pu wine, realgar wine, and cinnabar wine, and sprinkle it with wine. "Records of the Age of Jingchu": "Use calamus (a perennial herbaceous plant that grows by the water, with light red rhizomes underground, leaves shaped like swords, and spadix inflorescences. The rhizomes can be used as spices and medicine) or hollowed or scraped, "Cold wine." The wine is fragrant and refreshing. Later, realgar, cinnabar, etc. were added to the wine. "Wuzazui" written by Xie Zhaozhe in the Ming Dynasty: "You can also drink calamus wine...and drink it with realgar." "Yue Ling Guangyi" written by Feng Yingjing in the Ming Dynasty: "Use cinnabar wine for five days to ward off evil and detoxify, and use the wine to dye the forehead, chest, hands, feet, and heart , there will be no danger of snakes (a poisonous snake mentioned in ancient books). You can also sprinkle the walls, doors and windows to avoid poisonous insects." This custom is widely spread.

To this day, in Binyang, Guangxi, bags of medicinal ingredients are sold during the Dragon Boat Festival, including realgar, rhubarb, cypress, peach kernel, cattail leaf, mugwort leaves, etc. After soaking in wine, people use calamus and mugwort to sprinkle on walls, corners, doors and windows. , under the bed, etc., and then use wine to smear the child's ears, nose, and navel to drive away poisonous insects and pray for the child's safety. In addition, in some areas, powdered realgar wine is used to draw the word "王" on children's foreheads, so that the children bear the mark of the tiger, in order to use the tiger to ward off evil spirits. From a health perspective, these activities still have scientific rationale. Realgar mixed with water and wine and sprinkled indoors can be disinfected and sterilized, and drinking it is also beneficial.

Picking tea and making herbal tea

In some areas in the north, people like to pick young leaves and wild vegetable leaves during the Dragon Boat Festival and steam and dry them to make tea. In the Chaozhou area of ??Guangdong, people go to the countryside to collect herbs and make herbal tea to drink. It's also good for health.

Hang herbal medicines

Hang mugwort, calamus, and banyan branches

Moxa, calamus, and garlic are known as the "Three Friends of the Dragon Boat Festival." During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Dragon Boat Festival was also called the "Mulan Festival", and there was a custom of picking mugwort in Jingchu. To gather mugwort, you have to start before the rooster crows. Select the mugwort with the most human shape to take back and hang on the door. Some even tie the mugwort into a tiger shape and paste mugwort leaves on it. Mugwort and calamus contain aromatic oils, which have the same bactericidal effect as garlic. During the Dragon Boat Festival, it is close to the summer solstice. It is the time when the cold and hot weather alternate between each other. You must pay attention to everything from diet to dressing and movement. There is a proverb in Baoshan County: "If you have not eaten the Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings, you cannot give away cold clothes; if you have eaten the Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings, you will have to freeze for three days." In ancient times, people lacked scientific concepts and mistakenly believed that diseases were caused by ghosts and evil spirits. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival On this day, people use calamus as a sword, moxa as a whip, and garlic as a hammer, also known as the "three weapons". They think they can repel snakes, insects, germs, and kill demons.

There are also places where mugwort, calamus (Pujian) or pomegranates and garlic are hung at the door during the Dragon Boat Festival. Usually mugwort, banyan and calamus are tied into a bunch with red paper and then inserted or hung on the door. Because the calamus is the first of the five auspicious signs in the sky, it symbolizes the sword that drives away bad luck. Because of the growing season and shape, it is regarded as a "hundred-yin spirit". The leaves are sword-shaped and can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, the alchemists called it the "Water Sword", and later customs extended it to the "Pu Sword", which can kill thousands of evil spirits. There is a record in "Qing Jia Lu" written by Gu Tieqing of the Qing Dynasty that "cut cattails to make swords, cut pods to make whips, use peach stems and garlic as accessories, and hang them on the bed, all to ward off ghosts." In the "Feng Tu Zhi" of the Jin Dynasty, there is "Use moxa in the shape of a tiger, or cut a ribbon into a small tiger, and post it with moxa leaves, and people compete to cut it. Later, calamus was added, either in the shape of a human or in the shape of a sword, named Pujian. , to drive away evil spirits and expel ghosts.”

Hiding the Dragon Boat Festival

It is a custom during the Dragon Boat Festival to bring newly married or married daughters home to celebrate the festival. It is called "Zang Wu" for short, also known as "Zang Dragon Boat Festival". It is customary to regard May and May 5th as evil months and evil days, and many things need to be avoided, because there is a custom of taking daughters home to hide in the Dragon Boat Festival. This custom seems to have been formed in the Song Dynasty. Lu You's poem "Feng Sui" contains the sentence "Yangqiang wine and baskets compete to welcome women, and drums and dragon boats are sent to compete with gods." "Jia Jing Long Qing Zhi" also records: "The married daughter is summoned back to celebrate the festival." Also, "Luanzhou Chronicles": "When a newly married woman welcomes her home at the end of the moon, it is called 'hiding in the Dragon Boat Festival'".

Dragon Boat Festival

It is a folk custom to divine fortune every year during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is believed that if it rains during the Dragon Boat Festival, it is unlucky; otherwise, it is auspicious. This common belief existed a long time ago. Chen Yuanliang's "Sui Sui Guang Ji" quotes "Sui Yuan Lu" as saying: "On May 5th, if people expose the medicine, there will be no disasters. If it rains, ghosts will expose the medicine, and people will get sick. This is a proverb in central Fujian." Xu Yueqing's "Ci Yun Shu" The annotation of "Li Shizhou Fu Dragon Boat Festival" says: "People in Linchuan say that it rains on the Dragon Boat Festival, which means that ghosts and people will cause disasters. The annotation of Zhao Huaiyu's poem in the Qing Dynasty also quoted the proverb "No rain on the Dragon Boat Festival means a good year."

Yuan· Wu Tinghui: "Dragon Boat Winning"

Dragon Boat Racing

The word dragon boat was first seen in the fifth volume of the ancient pre-Qin book "The Biography of Emperor Mu": "The emperor rode a bird boat and the dragon boat floated on the swamp. "In advance of "Nine Songs of Xiangjun", "I am riding a flying dragon to the north today, and I am on my way to Dongting", "The stone is shallow, and the flying dragon is graceful." Scholars also believe that "flying dragon" is a dragon boat. "Xiangjun" is that The poem describes the Hunan people riding a dragon boat and sinking jade pendants into the river (similar to throwing rice dumplings into the river) to mourn a certain historical figure. This coincides with the "soul boat" and the image of the Chu State's "Silk Painting of Figures Yulong." This can be confirmed by each other. "Jingchu's Chronicles" records: "On May 5th, it is called the Yulan Festival. ...It was a day of racing and collecting miscellaneous medicines. ”.

During dragon boat rowing, there are many dragon boat songs spread to add to the fun. For example, when dragon boat rowing in Zigui, Hubei, there is a complete singing tune. The lyrics and music are based on local folk songs and chants. The singing voice It is majestic and exciting, and is a legacy of the tradition of "bowing to each other in harmony". Another example is the dragon boat song in Nanxiong County, Guangdong, which is sung after the dragon boat is launched and ends at the Dragon Boat Festival.

< p>Zhong Kui and Alarm Clock Dance: Since the Jin Dynasty, Zhong Kui and Alarm Clock Dance have been an important part of the Dragon Boat Festival and Spring Festival. 2. Hanging Zhong Kui paintings is the earliest. It is said to be the work of the painting sage Wu Daozi. According to Shen Kuo of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty was ill for nearly a month. He suddenly dreamed of two ghosts stealing the emperor's jade flute and Yang Guifei's purple sachet and running away. He caught the little ghost and cut off its eyes, then smashed it and ate it. The big ghost said: "I am Zhong Kui, a man who is not successful in martial arts. I swear to your majesty to rid the world of evildoers." "After Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty woke up and recovered from his illness, he summoned the painter Wu Daozi and asked him to draw a picture of Zhong Kui catching ghosts according to the scene in his dream. Daozi completed it with just a stroke of his brush. When Emperor Ming saw it, it was exactly the same as in his dream, and he was amazed.

Later, Zhong Kui's paintings gradually became popular among the people. Most of Zhong Kui's paintings were painted on the Dragon Boat Festival in May, or a few days before and after the Dragon Boat Festival. By the Qing Dynasty, most residents in the Jiangnan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas hung up Zhong Kui pictures on their gates or halls for a month during the fifth lunar month, in order to drive away evil spirits and bring good fortune.

Fighting with grass

Qing Dynasty Jin Tingbiao's sketch of a group of infants fighting against each other

There was no grass fighting before the Han Dynasty. ("A Study of Popular Things in the Past Dynasties·Shang Binghe") The origin is unknown, but it is generally believed to be related to the emergence of traditional Chinese medicine. Ancient ancestors struggled to survive and lived a monotonous life. In their spare time, they entertained themselves by fighting insects, fighting grass, and fighting animals. After the legendary "Shen Nong tasted a hundred herbs" formed traditional Chinese medicine, groups went out to the countryside to collect herbs every Dragon Boat Festival. It has become a custom to relieve the poisonous epidemic caused by summer heat. After harvesting, competitions are often held to exchange the names of flowers and grasses in the form of a duel. The one with the most wins, which combines the fun of plant knowledge and literary knowledge; children Then use the petioles to hook each other, pinch each other and pull each other. The one who breaks is the loser, and another leaf is replaced to fight. Bai Juyi's poem "Guan'erxi" says: "Clicking dust or fighting grass, having fun all day long."

"Wu Yuan" says: "It began in the Han Dynasty." According to Liang Dynasty's Zong Nao's "The Chronicles of Jingchu": "On May 5th, all the people stepped on the grass together, and there was also a grass fight." "Nian Hua Ji Li": "Dragon Boat Festival knotted the house to store medicine, and fought against the grass." , wrapped with five threads."

In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was called "Tai Baicao", and in the Tang Dynasty, it was called "Ducao" or "Dou Baicao". "Liu Binbin's Jiahua" says: "In the Zhongzong Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty, Princess Anle fought with hundreds of herbs for five days." In the Song Dynasty, it was expanded to include fighting at any time on weekdays. There are many descriptions of this in the works of literati in the past dynasties.

The "Sketch of a Group of Infants Fighting" is collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing. The gameplay is roughly as follows: both sides of the competition first pick grass with a certain degree of toughness. (Lolan case: mostly plantain, plantain is a perennial herbaceous plant. , often grown on roadsides, beside ravines, on field ridges, etc., without stems and with many slender fibrous roots; leaves are clustered from the rhizosphere, thin and papery, with five main veins, entire or wavy edges, or sparsely toothed, up to 15 years old. -30 cm; with green and white sparse flowers, four-lobed corolla and four stamens; when mature, the fruit will open like a lid and release four to six brown-black seeds. Its long flower axis is good for weeding. Materials.) Then cross each other to form a "ten" shape and pull hard, the one who keeps doing it wins.

Other customs

Playing polo

There is an archery show during the Dragon Boat Festival. "History of the Jin Dynasty·Li Zhi": "Due to the custom of the Liao Dynasty, it was important to plant willows on five days in the Jin Dynasty. Go to the ground about a few inches, peel off the skin and make it white. First, a man will ride the horse in front, and then the horse will shoot the willow with a horizontal cluster of arrows. The next best thing is to catch the bird and shoot it with a drum to boost its energy. "In the Ming Dynasty, birds were stored in gourds and shot. Playing polo is also one of the Dragon Boat Festival dramas. Polo is played by riding on a horse and holding a stick. It was called Juju in ancient times. There is a sentence in "Famous Capitals" written by Cao Zhi of the Three Kingdoms: "Strike the soil continuously". In Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty, there was a large stadium, and emperors such as Xuanzong and Jingzong were all fond of polo. The "Polo Picture" in the tomb of Prince Zhanghuai depicts the prosperity of polo in the Tang Dynasty: in the picture, more than 20 horses are galloping, their tails are tied up, and the player wears a scarf on his head, boots on his feet, and holds a ball. The sticks hit each other ball by ball.

In addition, Beijing also has the custom of visiting the Temple of Heaven. Volume 2 of "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital": "Before noon on May 5th, people enter the Temple of Heaven to avoid poison. After noon, they walk under the wall of the Horse Altar. In Wujiang City, there is a custom of silk section horn millet, and it is also horn millet. None There is also a Zhongkui competition in Shanghai, where a man is dressed as Zhongkui, brandishing a sword and holding a paper bat in front of him as if he were drinking, and then walking through the market with a full ceremonial guard. Drive away evil spirits. In addition, there are circus and duck snatching activities during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Special food

Dragon Boat Festival food album

Album of 21 pictures

The earliest Dragon Boat Festival food should belong to the Western Han Dynasty "Owl soup". "Historical Records" "The Benji of Xiaowu" is quoted as Chun Yan: "The Han Dynasty sent the owl to Dongjun, and on May 5th, he gave the owl soup to all the officials. They thought it was an evil bird, so they ate it." Probably because owls are difficult to catch, the custom of eating owl soup did not continue. Zongzi, the protagonist of the Dragon Boat Festival, appeared later in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was not until the Jin Dynasty that rice dumplings became a festival food during the Dragon Boat Festival. "Feng Tu Ji": "On May 5th, the same as the summer solstice,... on the first day of the second festival, the sticky rice is wrapped in wild rice leaves, mixed with millet, and cooked with pure and thick ash juice." At the same time, there is another story. A kind of Dragon Boat Festival diet called "gui" only appeared briefly in the Jin Dynasty and then disappeared. Only the rice dumplings called "corner millet" in "Feng Tu Ji" have become the most popular Dragon Boat Festival diet for thousands of years because they are attached to the legend of Qu Yuan.

Zongzi

Zongzi was called "corner millet" in ancient times. Legend has it that it was invented to commemorate Qu Yuan, who threw himself into the river. The real written record of zongzi can be found in "Fengtu Ji" in Jin and Zhou Dynasties; The rice dumplings with the longest history and orderly spread are Xi'an's honey cold rice dumplings, which are recorded in the "Recipe" of Wei Juyuan of the Tang Dynasty.

"The rice dumplings are fragrant, and the kitchen is fragrant. The mugwort leaves are fragrant, and the whole house is filled with fragrance. Peach branches are inserted on the door, and when you go out, you can see the yellow wheat. Here is the Dragon Boat Festival, there is the Dragon Boat Festival, and there is the Dragon Boat Festival everywhere." This is a popular saying in the old days. A ballad describing the Dragon Boat Festival. Generally speaking, the customs of people celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival are similar in various places, and eating rice dumplings on the Dragon Boat Festival has been the same in all parts of China throughout the ages.

Today’s rice dumplings are even more diverse and colorful.

Nowadays, the rice dumplings made in various places generally use Ruo shells to wrap glutinous rice, but the colors inside are determined according to the local specialties and customs. The famous ones include longan rice dumplings, meat rice dumplings, crystal rice dumplings, lotus paste rice dumplings, candied rice dumplings, chestnut rice dumplings, spicy rice dumplings. Rice dumplings, pickled cabbage rice dumplings, ham rice dumplings, salted egg rice dumplings, etc.

Realgar Wine

The custom of drinking realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival was very popular in the Yangtze River Basin in the past. An old saying once said: "Drink realgar wine, and all diseases will go away." Realgar is a mineral, commonly known as "cockscomb stone". Its main component is arsenic sulfide and contains mercury, which is toxic. The realgar wine generally consumed is made by adding a trace amount of realgar to white wine or home-brewed rice wine, and cannot be drunk purely. Realgar wine has the effect of sterilizing, repelling insects and detoxifying, and is also used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat skin diseases. In ancient times when there were no disinfectants such as iodine, soaking realgar in wine could remove toxins and relieve itching. For children who are under the age of drinking, adults will smear realgar wine on their foreheads, ears, noses, palms, soles, etc., with the intention of disinfecting and preventing diseases and keeping away insects.

Five yellows

There is a custom of eating "five yellows" during the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Wuhuang refers to cucumber, eel, yellow croaker, duck egg yolk from Gaoyou, and realgar wine. In addition, people in northern Zhejiang also eat tofu during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Cake making

The Dragon Boat Festival is a grand festival for the Korean people in Yanbian, Jilin Province. The most representative food on this day is the fragrant cake. Da Gao is a rice cake made by placing mugwort and glutinous rice in a large wooden trough carved from a single log and beating it with a long-handled wood. This kind of food is very ethnic and can add to the festive atmosphere.

Jiandui

In Jinjiang, Fujian, every household also eats "Jiandui" during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is fried into a thick paste with flour, rice flour or sweet potato flour and other ingredients. Legend has it that in ancient times, it was the rainy season in southern Fujian before the Dragon Boat Festival, and it rained continuously. Folks said that God had penetrated a hole and wanted to "repair the sky." After eating "Jiandui" during the Dragon Boat Festival, the rain stopped, and people said that the sky was healed. This food custom comes from this.