1, in memory of the legend of Qu Yuan

According to legend, Qu Yuan advocated using talents and empowering people to make them rich, and urged them to unite against Qin, which was strongly opposed by others. Qu Yuan was deposed, expelled from Beijing, and exiled to Yuan and Xiang river basins. During his exile, he wrote poems such as Li Sao, Tian Wen, Jiu Ge and so on, which were concerned about the country and the people.

In 278 BC, Qin Jun invaded Kyoto, Chu. Qu Yuan was heartbroken to see his motherland being invaded, but he was reluctant to give up his motherland. On May 5th, after he wrote his last poem "Huai Sha", he plunged into the Miluo River and wrote a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life.

After Qu Yuan jumped into the river, the local people immediately rowed for help after hearing the news, but Qu Yuan's body was never found. In order to mourn, people rowed on the river, and later it gradually developed into a dragon boat race. People were afraid that fish in the river would eat his body, so they went home and threw rice balls into the river to prevent fish and shrimp from ruining Qu Yuan's body. Later, eating zongzi became a custom.

2. Commemorate the legend of Wu Zixu.

Wu Zixu was very talented and won the trust of He Lv, the prince of Wu. He was loyal and helped the king of Wu to break the strong Chu in the west, unite the gold in the north and serve the Vietnamese in the south, and the national strength of Wu reached its peak. After the death of Yan Lu, the king of Wu, he continued to assist Fu Cha to ascend to the throne and helped Wu defeat Yue. Wu Zixu analyzed that due to the limitation of natural conditions, wuyue can only have one of the two, so he advocated that the state of Yue must perish. However, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, prided himself on his exploits, listened to Bo's slanderers and let Yue live. And put Wu Zixu to death.

On the fifth day of May, Zixu's body was taken away, wrapped in leather and put into the river. Three years after Wu Zixu's death, Wu was destroyed by Yue, and Fu Cha hid his face and committed suicide. The people of Wu miss Wu Zixu, the pillar of the country. For thousands of years, there has been a saying in Jiangsu and Zhejiang that after Wu Zixu's death, his faithful soul will never die, which became Shen Tao's saying. The Dragon Boat Festival is a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

3. Commemorate the legend 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 her body was not seen for several days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old and cried 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 to the governor of the county government, who made it a monument for disciple Han Danchun to make a eulogy. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E.

4. Commemorate the legend of meson push

Jiezitui is the protagonist of the Cold Food Festival and the legend of the origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day, but some people think that the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is related to Jiezitui. According to Cao Qin written by Cai Yong in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the sages.

The Historical Origin of Dragon Boat Festival

The origin of ancient traditional festivals is related to ancient primitive beliefs, sacrificial culture, astronomical phenomena, calendars and other humanistic and natural cultural contents. According to the research results of modern anthropology and archaeology, the two most primitive beliefs of human beings are the belief in heaven and earth and the belief in ancestors. Most of the ancient festivals were formed in the activities that the ancients chose auspicious days to offer sacrifices to thank the gods of heaven and earth and the ancestors for their kindness.

The early festival culture embodies the humanistic spirit of the ancients, such as advocating nature and seeking the source. A series of sacrificial activities contain profound cultural connotations, such as respecting morality, ritual and music civilization, etc.

The origin and development of festivals is a process of gradual formation, subtle improvement and popularization. The customs of ancient north and south are different, and the Dragon Boat Festival activities in the pre-Qin period are rarely recorded in the Central Plains literature, so it is impossible to directly verify the source of the existing literature. According to the written records about the Dragon Boat Festival, the word "Dragon Boat Festival" first appeared in the local customs of the Jin Dynasty, but the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival have existed for a long time, such as dragon boat racing and sacrifice.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Dragon Boat Festival