The Dragon Boat Festival, the Spring Festival, the Qingming Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival are also known as the four traditional Chinese folk festivals. Since ancient times, Dragon Boat Festival has included dragon boat racing and rice dumpling eating. The following are the classic folklore of the Dragon Boat Festival that I carefully recommend, for reference only, welcome to read!
Classic folklore of the Dragon Boat Festival
The evil day taboo
People in the Han Dynasty believed that May 5th was an evil month and an evil month. On May 5th, there is a custom of "not raising children in May", that is, babies born on May 5th, whether they are boys or girls, cannot be raised. 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 eliminate plague, drive away evil spirits, and seek good luck. Therefore, related cultural activities have emerged, forming the distinctive Dragon Boat Festival.
Summer Solstice Theory
The person who first advocated the Summer Solstice theory 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 the Dragon Boat Festival is as follows: The trickling water originated in ancient times. It merged into rivers in three generations, expanded into rivers in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and formed lakes and seas in the Tang and Song Dynasties. After hearing about the theory that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the Summer Solstice, scholars 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. Xing's work "The Chronicles of Jingchu" and There is no mention of the festival custom of eating rice dumplings on the fifth day of May, 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 and Beauty of the Years" is: "The sun and leaves are in the sun, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in the middle of summer, so the Dragon Boat Festival can also be called the sky. Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, the earliest origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is the summer solstice.
The historical origin of the Dragon Boat Festival
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the "Dragon Boat Festival", a traditional festival in China. It means "beginning" and "beginning". The fifth day of the lunar calendar is based on the Earthly Branches. The first month is Yin, the second month is Mao, and the fifth month is Wu, so the fifth month is called Wu month. "Wu" is connected with "Wu", and "Wu" is the number of Yang, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival, Chongwu, Duanyang, Zhongtian, Chongwu and Wuri. In addition, some places also call the Dragon Boat Festival the May Festival. , AI Festival, and Summer Festival. From a historical perspective, the word "Dragon Boat Festival" was first seen in "Fengtu Ji" written by Zhou Chu of Jin Dynasty: "Dragon Boat Festival in midsummer, cooking millet" is a traditional festival for the Han people in my country. The essential activities gradually evolved into: eating rice dumplings, racing dragon boats, hanging calamus and moxa leaves, smoking atractylodes and angelica, and drinking realgar wine. It is said that eating rice dumplings and racing dragon boats were to commemorate Qu Yuan, so the Dragon Boat Festival was named after the liberation. "Poet's Day" is to commemorate Qu Yuan. As for hanging calamus, moxa leaves, smoked herb and angelica, and drinking realgar wine, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is a very great festival. The solar terms originated from the discovery of the astronomical phenomenon of the summer solstice 5,000 years ago. This was the Chinese nation's great astronomical discovery of mankind. Second, ancient people derived the 24 solar terms by observing the sun, and derived the 12 lunar months by observing the moon. Combining the lunisolar calendar and counting the years with the zodiac signs, the Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which reflects this ancient invention. Thirdly, the Dragon Boat Festival also comes from the worship of dragons by the ancient Wu and Yue people, which embodies the unity of nature and man, the unity of diversity, and harmony. Different philosophical ideas, the Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat race embodies the movement of heaven and the gentleman's constant self-improvement. Hanging mugwort and calamus shows the earth is strong and the gentleman carries things with kindness. The Dragon Boat Festival is a festival that advocates filial piety and kindness, embodying the Chinese culture. Fourth, the Dragon Boat Festival also embodies the great feelings of the Chinese nation. With the development of history, from the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, people have attached great importance to Qu Yuan, Wu Zixu, Gou Jian, the filial daughter Cao E, and Taoist figures Zhang Tianshi and Zhong Kui. The story is superimposed on the Dragon Boat Festival. In the 1940s, during the period of national crisis, the Dragon Boat Festival was recognized as the Poet's Day, which made the Dragon Boat Festival even more profound.
Because it has been endowed with many cultural factors, the Dragon Boat Festival has become more important. The folk customs of the festival are also very rich. Zhao Shu explained one by one that as a poet's festival, the first thing to do during the Dragon Boat Festival is to worship gods, ancestors and ancestors, and secondly to recite classic poems. In ancient times, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month was also regarded as the festival. Because 70% of people die in the summer weather after the summer solstice, the Dragon Boat Festival is also a health festival. It requires bathing in orchid soup and removing five poisons. As a sports festival, the Dragon Boat Festival has two major folk customs. Dragon boat racing is held in the south. This is called dragon boat racing in Beijing and is just a performance.
Since the Liao and Jin dynasties, a sports activity called stone ball has been popular during the Dragon Boat Festival in Beijing. In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival is also a social festival, also called Girl's Day. In ancient times, five kinds of gifts were given on the Dragon Boat Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival is also a food festival, mainly eating rice dumplings, Wudu cakes, and rose cakes.
Now that foreign festivals are dominant and Western culture is one-sided, reshaping traditional Chinese festival traditions such as the Dragon Boat Festival can trace the humanistic genes of the Chinese nation, strengthen national cohesion, reshape Chinese values, and even highlight China’s role in the world. Cultural status has become increasingly important. In 2004, South Korea included the "Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival" in the national heritage list, and was later declared by UNESCO as a "Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity". The Chinese people were deeply stimulated, and the Dragon Boat Festival was "accelerated". In 2006, the "Dragon Boat Festival" and 70 folk customs became my country's national intangible cultural heritage. In 2008, the Dragon Boat Festival officially became a statutory holiday. In 2008, China organized experts to evaluate the projects submitted to UNESCO, and finally determined that 35 projects were selected for the Dragon Boat Festival. The application materials were jointly "packaged" by the three provinces of Hubei, Hunan and Jiangsu, with Hubei Province taking the lead in the application. After going through an arduous application process, UNESCO has made two major changes to the evaluation rules for world heritage applications: the previous biennial application has been changed to once a year, and a country can only apply for one item at a time. Multiple declarations. China's "Dragon Boat Festival" has become China's first festival to be selected as a world intangible cultural heritage. This time, it is also listed as the 22nd Chinese project in the "World Representative List of Human Intangible Cultural Heritage". As one expert said, the successful application for World Heritage is not the ultimate goal. The goal is to remind the Chinese people to cherish the essence of their national culture, inherit it and carry forward it.
Customs of the Dragon Boat Festival
1. Eating Zongzi
Zongzi were originally used for sacrifices. In order to prevent the fish in the river from eating them, Dr. Qu Yuan of Chu State Because of his body, he threw the rice dumplings into the water, which gradually became a traditional food during the Dragon Boat Festival.
2. Dragon boat racing
Dragon boat racing is now not only a folk custom activity, but also a formal sports competition. It is very popular in many ethnic minority areas and the Yangtze River Basin.
3. Order realgar wine
Soak realgar in wine, and then apply realgar wine on people’s forehead, ears, nose, palms, etc., hoping to keep away poisonous insects and eliminate disasters and prevent diseases. .
4. Wearing sachets
When the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, give children a sachet or purse to ward off evil spirits and stay away from the plague. It is also a good decoration. decorations.
5. Hanging mugwort
During the Dragon Boat Festival, people like to hang mugwort on both sides of the door, which means to eliminate diseases, drive away bad luck, attract good fortune, and keep the family healthy and healthy. good luck.
6. Tie colorful ropes.
In ancient times, five colors were considered auspicious colors, so during the Dragon Boat Festival, five-colored ropes were tied around children's wrists, ankles or necks, which meant to avoid disasters, stay away from diseases, and live in peace and longevity.
7. Forehead Painting
During the Dragon Boat Festival, it is a custom to paint children’s foreheads with realgar to repel poisonous insects. The typical method is to use realgar wine to draw the word "king" on the child's forehead. One is to use realgar to drive away poison, and the other is to use tiger ("king" resembles the forehead pattern of a tiger, and tiger is the king of beasts, so it is replaced by tiger). evil. Qing Dynasty's Fucha Dunzuo's "Yanjing Years' Notes": "Every Dragon Boat Festival, starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, take realgar and wine and sprinkle it, and apply it on the children's collar and between the nose and ears to avoid poisonous substances." Except on the forehead, nose and ears. In addition to smearing, it can also be smeared on other places with the same intention. Shanxi's "Hequ County Chronicle" says: "Drinking realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival and smearing it on children's forehead, hands, and soles... is said to cure diseases and prolong life."
8. Peking Damselfly
< p> Women’s headwear during the Dragon Boat Festival in the old days. More common in Jiangnan. In some areas, they are also called Jianren. It is said that this thing originated from the ancient Bu Yao, and it is said that it is a different form of Ai people. "Qing Jia Lu" quotes "Relics of the Tang and Song Dynasties" as saying: "Whoever is north or south of the river, the preparation of the five-day hairpin head colorful victory is extremely ingenious. Anyone who uses silk and pins to make moxa leaves, or embroiders immortals, Buddhas, He, Wu Insects, fish, animals, eight treasures, flowers and the like. Crepe spiders, silkworms, phoenixes, cocoons, grass lizards, mantises, cicadas, gourds, melons and fruits, all with realistic colors. The treasure cover is decorated with hydrangeas and hundreds of bells, or strings of them, which are called damselflies. "Other Customs of the Dragon Boat Festival
There are other customs on the Dragon Boat Festival. There are other customs such as hiding from the Dragon Boat Festival, wearing a life-long thread, wearing a sachet, avoiding the five poisons, collecting herbs, drinking wine (realgar wine, cinnabar wine), Dragon Boat Festival rain, dancing with bells and kui, fighting grass, playing polo, visiting the Temple of Heaven, etc. .
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