The origin of eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival:

Legend has it that in 340 BC, Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet and official of the Chu State, faced the pain of subjugation. On May 5, he embraced the country with grief and indignation. Big rocks were thrown into the Miluo River. In order to prevent fish and shrimp from damaging his body, people packed rice in bamboo tubes and threw them into the river. From then on, in order to express their respect and memory for Qu Yuan, on this day, people would pack rice in bamboo tubes and throw them into the river to pay homage. This is the origin of the earliest rice dumplings in my country - "Tong Zong".

Why were mugwort leaves, reed leaves, and lotus leaves later used to make rice dumplings? There is a record in "The Beginner's Notes": During the Jianwu period of the Han Dynasty, a Changsha man dreamed of a man at night, claiming to be Dr. Sanlu ( Qu Yuan's official name), said to him: "The things you sacrificed have been stolen by the dragon in the river. From now on, you can wrap them with mugwort leaves and tie them with five-color silk threads. The dragons are most afraid of these two things." So people "Wrap millet with wild rice leaves" to make "corn millet", which has been passed down from generation to generation and gradually developed into our country's Dragon Boat Festival food.

The meaning of eating rice dumplings on the Dragon Boat Festival:

In the Jin Dynasty, rice dumplings were officially designated as the Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, in addition to glutinous rice, the raw materials for making rice dumplings were also added with the traditional Chinese medicine Yizhiren, and the cooked rice dumplings were called "Yizhizong". "Yueyang Fengtu Ji" by Zhou Chu at the time recorded: "It is common to wrap millet with wild rice leaves,... … Boil it until thoroughly cooked and eat it from May 5th to the summer solstice. It is called rice dumplings and millet. "During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, hybrid rice dumplings appeared. Rice is adulterated with animal meat, chestnuts, red dates, adzuki beans, etc., and the varieties are increasing. Zongzi is also used as a gift for social interactions.

By the Tang Dynasty, the rice used for rice dumplings had become "as white as jade", and its shape appeared conical and diamond-shaped. There are records of "Datang Zongzi" in Japanese literature. In the Song Dynasty, there were "candied rice dumplings", that is, rice dumplings with fruits. The poet Su Dongpo once wrote a poem: "Sometimes I see bayberry in rice dumplings." At this time, there were also advertisements using rice dumplings to build pavilions and pavilions, wooden carts and horses, indicating that eating rice dumplings had become very fashionable in the Song Dynasty. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the wrapping material of Zongzi changed from wild rice leaves to Ruo leaves. Later, Zongzi wrapped in reed leaves appeared. The additional ingredients include bean paste, pork, pine nuts, dates, walnuts, etc., and the varieties became more colorful.

Extended information

The Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year, is one of the four major traditional festivals in China. According to the "Records of the Years of Jingchu", because when climbing in midsummer, Shunyang is above, and May is midsummer, and its first noon is a day of good weather when climbing in Shunyang, so the fifth day of May is also called "Duanyang". "Festival"; in addition, the Dragon Boat Festival is also known as "Zhengyang Festival, Dragon Day Festival, Noon Day Festival, May Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Bath Orchid Festival, Tianzhong Festival, etc." The main customs of the Dragon Boat Festival include eating rice dumplings and racing dragon boats. The custom has been popular in China for thousands of years; dragon boat racing is very popular along the southern coast of China. After spreading abroad, it was deeply loved by people from all over the world and formed an international competition?

The Dragon Boat Festival originated from. In China, it was originally a festival held by the tribes who worshiped the dragon totem in the ancient Baiyue area. Before the Spring and Autumn Period, the Baiyue area had the custom of worshiping the dragon ancestor in the form of dragon boat racing because Qu Yuan, a poet of the Chu State during the Warring States Period, held stones on the Dragon Boat Festival. He committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo River to be loyal and patriotic. Later, the Dragon Boat Festival was also regarded as a festival to commemorate Qu Yuan. In some places, it is also said to commemorate Wu Zixu, Cao E and Jie Zitui. In general, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from Baiyue in the south and is regarded as the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The "evil moon and evil day" originated in the north, and the custom of "curing diseases and preventing epidemics" was injected into the summer season. It was also commemorated to commemorate historical figures such as Qu Yuan's suicide by jumping into the river, and finally formed the Dragon Boat Festival culture that has been followed to this day.

Dragon Boat Festival. It is popular in China and other countries in the Chinese character cultural circle. Together with the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, it is known as the four major traditional folk festivals in China. In May 2006, the State Council included it in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists; since 2008. Since 2009, the Dragon Boat Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday. [8] In September 2009, UNESCO officially reviewed and approved the inclusion of China’s Dragon Boat Festival in the Representative List of Human Intangible Cultural Heritage. China's first festival selected as a world intangible cultural heritage

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia: Dragon Boat Festival