This festival is the day when we wrap rice dumplings. On this day every year, many families wrap rice dumplings, and many different flavors and types of rice dumplings emerge one after another in this fragrant rice dumpling season.
In fact, there have always been different opinions about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. Some people regard it as commemorating the patriotic poet Qu Yuan who threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of May. Some people say that in ancient times, this festival was a day for disinfection and avoiding epidemics.
According to records in the literature and many Dragon Boat Festival customs passed down from generation to generation, May is regarded as the "poisonous month" and "evil month". The fifth day of May is the first of the nine poisons, so this day Many special customs were spread to ward off evil spirits, disinfect and avoid epidemics, such as planting mugwort leaves, drinking realgar wine, and offering sacrifices to the messengers of the five plagues.
Later, the meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival changed. In order to commemorate the patriotic spirit and noble personality of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, people have forgotten the original meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival that has been circulated, and associated some customs such as dragon boat rowing and rice dumpling making that were not necessarily commemorating Qu Yuan to him.
Nowadays, most people only remember that the Dragon Boat Festival is related to Qu Yuan. In fact, some new generation of young people have not much impression of Qu Yuan’s story. What they know is that this is a festival for eating rice dumplings, that's all.
Regarding dragon boat racing during the Dragon Boat Festival, in fact, there are also dragon boat racing events everywhere when the Dragon Boat Festival is not here. From exorcising evil spirits and avoiding epidemics to commemorating Qu Yuan, the meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival has changed a lot.
The original meaning of this festival has been gradually "eroded" by social changes year after year.
Today, this festival has become a Chinese food festival. From the old corn millet and rice dumpling making to today's various colorful rice dumplings. Many places incorporate their own local delicacies into rice dumplings.
In fact, the main custom of the Dragon Boat Festival is dragon boat racing. Regarding the dragon boat race, written records began in "Xu Qixie Ji" written by Wu Jun of the Liang Dynasty 500 years ago. Later, written records about dragon boat racing can be found in many records. Among the thousands of local chronicles existing in various parts of China, there are only 227 local chronicles with records of dragon boat racing.
The sayings about Dragon Boat Festival and dragon boat racing include "all the boats set off together to rush to Cheng to rescue Qu Yuan." and "a shout and drum music frightened away the dragon." These are all reminiscent of Qu Yuan. Let me introduce to you some legends and stories related to the Dragon Boat Festival.
1. To commemorate Qu Yuan, this idea first comes from the records of Wu Jun of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, "Xu Qi Xie Ji" and "Jingchu Sui Sui Ji" of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It is said that Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and was trapped by dragons after his death. People mourned his death and threw colorful silk rice dumplings into the water on this day to drive away the dragons. It is also said that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, local people immediately rowed boats to rescue him after hearing the news. They rowed all the way to Dongting Lake, but Qu Yuan's body was not found. At that time, it happened to be a rainy day, and the boats on the lake gathered together at the pavilion on the shore. When people learned that they were salvaging the virtuous minister Qu, they went out in the rain again and rushed into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to express their grief, people went boating on the rivers, and then it gradually developed into dragon boat racing. 'It seems that eating rice dumplings and racing dragon boats on the Dragon Boat Festival are related to the commemoration of Qu Yuan. There is a poem "Dragon Boat Festival" by Wenxiu of the Tang Dynasty as evidence: "Who said that the festival is divided into Dragon Boat Festival? It has been rumored to be Qu Yuan through the ages. It is ridiculous that the Chu River is empty and cannot be washed away. "Zhichen is wronged."
2. Yingtao God, this saying comes from the "Cao E Stele" of the Eastern Han Dynasty. 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.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of the Wu Kingdom, died unjustly and turned into the god of waves. People mourned and offered sacrifices to him, so there was the Dragon Boat Festival. This legend is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Wu Zixu was a member of the Chu State, and his father and brother were both killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side, and rushed to the state of Wu 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 the corpse three hundred times 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 wiped out, 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. Dragon Festival, this term comes from Wen Yiduo’s "Dragon Boat Festival" 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, and the people of Wuyue also have the custom of cutting off their hair and getting tattoos "to look like dragons". (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.
4. Evil Suns. In the pre-Qin era, it was generally believed that the fifth month was a poisonous month and the fifth day was an evil day. According to legend, evil and evil were in power on this day, and the five poisons appeared simultaneously. According to the "Book of Rites", the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the orchid bathing in the Zhou Dynasty. The chapter "Midsummer" in "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in May. "Xia Xiaozheng" records: "On this day, medicine is stored to remove poisonous gases." "Dadaili" records, "On May 5th, animals are used to bathe in orchids." There are many legends about using baths to drive away evil spirits and thinking that Chongwu is the day of death. "Historical Records: Biography of Mengchangjun" records that the famous Mengchangjun in history was born on May 5th. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, believing that "if a child is born in the fifth month of the fifth month of the lunar month, he will be harmed by his parents." The lost text of "Customs" states, "It is said that if a child is born on May 5th, the male will harm the father, and the female will harm the mother." Wang Chong, the author of "Lunheng", also recorded: "It is taboo to raise the son of the first month and the fifth month; it is not allowed to kill the father and mother with the son of the first month and the fifth month." Wang Zhen'e, the general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and his grandfather named him " Suppress evil." Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and was fostered outside the palace since childhood. It can be seen that in ancient times, it was a common phenomenon to regard the fifth day of May as an evil day. It can be seen that since the pre-Qin Dynasty, this day has been an unlucky day. In this way, it is logical to plant calamus and mugwort leaves on this day to drive away ghosts, smoke atractylodes and angelica and drink realgar wine to ward off epidemics. And people also avoid the taboo of "Dragon Boat Festival" and call it "Dragon Boat Festival".
5. During the summer solstice, Liu Deqian, who holds this view, put forward three main reasons in "Another Theory of the Origin of the Dragon Boat Festival" and "Interesting Talks about Traditional Chinese Festivals": (1) Authoritative The book "Jingchu Suishiji" when he was a child does not mention the festival custom of eating rice dumplings on the fifth day of May, but it writes that eating rice dumplings is included 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 leaves are shining brightly, 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, and the commemoration of Qu Yuan has the most widespread influence. People are also willing to attribute this anniversary to him.
6. In memory of the female poet Qiu Jin: Qiu Jin, nicknamed Ruiqing Jingxiong, nicknamed Jianhu Nvxia, nicknamed Yugu, was from Shaoxing, Zhejiang. She was good at poetry, lyrics, songs, and rhymes when she was young, and liked horse riding and fencing. Hua Mulan and Qin Liangyu are still alive. She participated in the revolution at the age of 28 and had a great impact. She was arrested by the Qing soldiers when she was planning an uprising. She remained unyielding until her death. She died heroically in Xuanhengkou, Shaoxing on June 5, the 33rd year of Guangxu. Later generations admire her. The poem mourned her heroic deeds, so it was merged with the Poet's Day to commemorate her, and the Poet's Day was designated as the Dragon Boat Festival in memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. Answer: Let you rely on | Level 2 | 2011-10- 16 11:35
Qu Yuan, whose name was Ping and whose courtesy name was Yuan, was born in Leping, Sanlu Township, Zigui in 340 BC. He was studious and ambitious at an early age. He was trusted by King Huai of Chu and served as Zuotu and Sanlu. He often discussed state affairs with King Huai, participated in the formulation of laws, advocated clear regulations, promoted talents, reformed politics, and united Qi to resist Qin. At the same time, he advocated Chu's foreign affairs. The state of Chu united with the state of Qi to fight against the Qin state. With Qu Yuan's efforts, the state of Chu's national power increased. Shangguan official Jin Shang and Qu Yuan's favorite concubine Zheng Xiu and others were bribed by Qin's envoy Zhang Yi, which not only prevented King Huai from accepting Qu Yuan's opinions, but also alienated Qu Yuan. In 305, Qu Yuan objected to King Chu Huai's agreement with Qin, but Chu State still fell into Qin's arms. As a result, Qu Yuan was expelled from Yingdu by King Chu Huai and began his life in exile. He was lured away by Qin and died in prison. After King Qingxiang came to the throne, Qu Yuan continued to be persecuted and was exiled to the south of the Yangtze River. In 278 BC, Qin general Bai Qi led his troops south and captured the capital of Chu. His political ideals were shattered and he felt hopeless about his future. Although he wanted to serve the country, he was unable to change his destiny. He had no choice but to commit suicide in the Miluo River in May of the same year. [1] Qu Yuan is a descendant of Qu Xia, the son of King Wu of Chu Xiong Tong. He was born in Danyang, Chu State (now Zigui County, Yichang City, Hubei Province) in 340 BC. He claimed to be a descendant of Zhuanxu. "I am like this..." During his exile, Qu Yuan left many immortal masterpieces for future generations. His works have gorgeous words, strange imagination, novel metaphors, and profound connotations, which have become one of the origins of Chinese literature. "Chaofa Wuzhu" The place (now Deshan, Changde)
“The water in Canglang is clear, and I can wash my tassel; the water in Canglang is turbid, and I can wash my feet. "After Qu Yuan was exiled, in a conversation with his fisherman, the fisherman advised him to "isolate from the world" and not to "think deeply and exalt" and ask for trouble. Qu Yuan said that he would rather die in the river than to be innocent. , suffer from the dust of the world. In Fisherman's view, you don't have to be too noble in life. If the world is clean, you can be an official; The conversation between Qu Yuan and the fisherman showed two philosophies of life. In 278 BC, the State of Qin captured Yingdu, the capital of the State of Chu.
On May 5 of that year, Qu Yuan, out of despair and grief, threw himself into the Miluo River with a large stone in his arms and died. The Dragon Boat Festival also comes from this.