The first appearance of the word "Dragon Boat Festival" is in the Western Jin Dynasty Zhou Chu's "Terroir Book" appeared, the book describes the local customs at that time, is China's earlier description of the local customs and terroir writings, in the book is this description of the Dragon Boat Festival: Mid-summer Dragon Boat Festival is called the fifth day of the fifth month, the common weight of the day is also the same as the summer solstice. End of this word in ancient Chinese, there is the initial meaning, so the end of five, that is, the meaning of the first five. In the Eastern Han Dynasty Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" book once mentioned: "end, the first born of the question is also" so that the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanwu Festival. Because the ancients used to the first few days of May, respectively, to end to call, there is this statement.
But there are some other sayings, such as the Dragon Boat Festival, another saying is called the festival in the sky, in the "West Lake Tour Zhiyu - Volume 20 - Xichao music" recorded: "Dragon Boat Festival in the sky, because the afternoon sun line to the middle of the sky, reaching the highest point, especially at noon." Translation is, because the Dragon Boat Festival around the summer solstice, the sun's direct sunlight is at the Tropic of Cancer, the sun in the sky in the middle of the most position, so this day happens to be the middle of the sky festival, do not believe it you can go out to see, guaranteed in the middle of the sky. Chongwu Festival is also a name for the Dragon Boat Festival, according to the stem and branch chronicle method, using the heavenly stems and earthly branches as a carrier, the chronicle universal heavenly stems and earthly branches, this older generation will be very familiar with, but of course, we are no longer very understanding. In the beginning, it was said that the Dragon Boat Festival as the noon day of the noon month of the stem and branch calendar was called the Heavy Noon. This is where the term "Dragon Boat Festival" came from. The Dragon Boat Festival, on the other hand, evolved from the ancient rituals of the people of the Wu-Yue region to honor their dragon ancestors. In those days, the people in the south would often put dragon totems on the bow and tail of the boat to pray for good luck. At the time of the festival, they would carve their canoes into the shape of dragons and race them, called the Dragon Boat Race. This tradition slowly evolved into the Dragon Boat Festival, which is where the Dragon Boat Race of the Dragon Boat Festival now comes from.
And the corresponding Dragon Day Festival, but also the people of the Wu-Yue region of the transformation of the primitive beliefs, is the worship of heaven. The dragon mentioned in the lines of Yi - Qian is actually a description of the seven constellations of the Canglong, and the mid-summer Dragon Boat Festival is a festival in which the dragon flies to the sky. Dragon Boat Festival, the Dragon's main star "fire" hanging high in the south center of the sky, the Dragon's energy is strong. Therefore, the ancient people of Wu-Yue took this day as a festival of sacrifice, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Dragon Day Festival. Other names such as Bathing Orchid Festival, Calamus Festival, Ducking Wu Festival, Ground Waxing Festival, etc., all appeared because of different folklore or religious beliefs in different parts of the world, which is the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. However, another significance of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate historical figures, but of course the people commemorated are not the same, and how did this saying come about? II. Historical figures commemorated by the Dragon Boat Festival Historical figures commemorated by the Dragon Boat Festival, the first thing that comes to mind is Qu Yuan, according to the Records of the Grand Historian - Qu Yuan Jia Sheng Liezhuan, Qu Yuan was a man of Chu during the Warring States period, he did not have the surname Qu, but the actual family name is Mi, the name is Ping, the word Yuan. As to why he was called Qu Yuan, it was because his ancestor's fiefdom was in a place called "Qu", so people called him Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan's family was related to the King of Chu, which was called the Gong Clan or Office at that time, and was a big aristocrat in Chu. Qu Yuan himself was also the head of the Sanlu, the three royal families, and was in charge of the affairs of the royal family. Qu Yuan was a talented man who advocated the appointment of wise and capable people, the enrichment of the country and the strengthening of the army, and the unification of Qi against Qin. We know that historically, at the end of a state, such people are suppressed by treacherous officials, and Qu Yuan was no exception, he was suppressed by a group of nobles, and as a result, he was exiled to the Yuan-Xiang basin.
In 278 B.C., the Qin army attacked the capital of Chu, Qu Yuan watched his country being invaded, and was so grief-stricken that on the day of Dragon Boat Festival, after writing his last words "Huai Sha", he threw himself into the Miluo River with a stone in his arms. The people heard about it and intended to salvage his body, but they didn't find it, so they said they would go to their homes and take rice balls and throw them into the river so that the fish and shrimp wouldn't spoil Qu Yuan's body. These two later formed a dragon boat race and eat zongzi custom, the Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate the Qu Yuan said thus. The second legend commemorates Wu Zixu of the Spring and Autumn Period, who was a famous militarist and strategist during the Spring and Autumn Period. His father and brother were both killed by the king of Chu. Unable to bear the humiliation, Wu Zixu, a native of Chu, fled to the state of Song, then Zheng, and finally to the state of Wu, where he helped the king of Wu to strengthen the state of Wu, and then defeated the state of Chu by digging up the king's corpse and flogging it to vent his anger. The later Wu Zixu also helped the new King of Wu, Fu Cha, to achieve supremacy, but unfortunately, Fu Cha became so inflated after becoming the overlord that he failed to completely destroy the state of Yue, leaving behind the root of the trouble. Later, Wu Zixu was told to commit suicide. Wu Zixu, who saw death as a way out and also saw the future of Wu, told his left and right that after his death, his eyes should be gouged out and hung over the east gate of the capital, and that I would watch Yue defeating Wu. After saying this, Wu Zixu committed suicide generously. Fu Chai was so angry when he heard this that he put Wu Zixu's body in leather and threw it into the Great River.
Of course, we all know the story later. King Goujian of Yue, who was lying on his back, was so motivated that he eventually wiped out the state of Wu. Wu Zixu hit the nail on the head, and I don't know if Fu Chai was particularly sorry in his heart. However, the people sympathized with Wu Zixu and made the Dragon Boat Festival a day to commemorate him. The dumplings were made by the people and thrown into the river to prevent the fish and shrimp from eating him. The other two people who are commemorated are Cao E, a filial daughter of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Jie Zi Tui, a sage of the Spring and Autumn Period. First, the filial daughter Cao E. Her story is relatively simple: her father fell into the water while welcoming the king of Wu, and his body was missing for several days. His daughter Cao E, a filial daughter, went along the river day and night, crying and searching. After ten days she could not find it, so she threw herself into the river. Five days later, she surfaced with her father's body in her arms. This incident was passed down as a myth, so it is said that the Eastern Han Dynasty began to build the Cao'e Temple in her honor, and now there are still the Cao'e River and the Cao'e Miao in existence. Because she threw herself into the river on the fifth day of the fifth month, this day is in her honor. As for Jie Zi Tui, this is a bit more far-fetched. He helped Chong Er escape during the Spring and Autumn Period. After Chong Er became the Duke of Jin, he rewarded him lavishly but forgot about Jie Zi Pui. After being mocked in a poem, Chong Er remembered Jie Zi Pui, and hurriedly sent people to look for him, only to find that Jie Zi Pui was hiding in the mountains. In order to force Jie Zi Pui to come out, Chong Er could only set fire to the mountain, however, Jie Zi Pui did not come out in the end, and was burned alive. But jie zi push has occupied a Qingming, this argument, really can not stand. So in the end, this day to commemorate who is it? Three. Dragon Boat Festival in the end in honor of who? Dragon Boat Festival in the end is to commemorate who, first of all, we first confirm that these people, and this Dragon Boat Festival has no direct relationship, basically is the ancient literati far-fetched. But although it is far-fetched, but there has to be a statement is not it? Existence is reasonable, there must be commemorated, that in the end who is really being commemorated? First of all, the mediator, throughout history, basically recognized Qingming Festival and he is related to the Dragon Boat Festival, it does not matter. Why is there a Dragon Boat Festival in honor of Jie Zi Tui? This question has to ask the talented Cai Wenji's dad Cai Yong. This old man had a brainstorm one day, that jiezi push died on the fifth day of the fifth month, and then wrote a "qin manipulation".
But this article, obviously not enough arguments, belonging to the old man's brainstorming after making up nonsense. Even if Cai Yong old master fame, it is really difficult to convince the public. What's more, Jie Zi Tui himself has taken up a Qingming Festival, so Jie Zi Tui was first PASSed off. Then we talk about Cao E, she accounted for a filial piety word, in ancient times loyalty and filial piety is an important measure of a person's character. In ancient times, loyalty and filial piety were important measures of a person's character. One of the means by which ancient rulers maintained the legitimacy of their power was loyalty and filial piety. That's why it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival commemorating Cao E is more widely circulated. But her father fell close to the river on his way to welcome the ruler of Wu, which means it was similar to the time when Wu Zixu was being honored. That's the same as saying that in the Han Dynasty, it was all about honoring Wu Zixu. The Dragon Boat Festival existed a long time ago, although it may not be called the Dragon Boat Festival, but the festival already existed, and the day Cao E died was not the fifth day of the fifth month, not the right day. So Cao E, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, obviously can't be the one being honored. Next up is Wu Zixu, who was very early, living during the Spring and Autumn period, and who did two great things. First of all, he whipped a corpse to vent his anger because the King of Chu had killed his father and he wanted to avenge his father's death. But when he took revenge, the king of Chu had died. Then Wu Zixu also had to dig him up and give him a whipping. He did this to avenge his father's death, taking up the word filial piety. Then there was assisting the state of Wu, Wu Zixu could be said to be loyal, even when he finally had to be given death by Fu Chai, Wu Zixu also died generously. After his death, he was wrapped in leather and dumplings, and then thrown into the river.
If you look at it this way, Wu Zixu is the first choice for the Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate the character, loyalty and filial piety, and the time is much earlier than Qu Yuan, two hundred years earlier, there is an advantage in time. However, if you follow the ancient concept, Wu Zixu's loyalty and filial piety have water. First of all you're a Ch'u man, whether or not you killed your whole family, you're a Ch'u man. It's enough to say that you defected from Wu, but now you've brought people back to kill you, and you've dug up the tomb of the late king, and you're going to flog his body to vent your anger, which was not a good behavior at that time. Another point, his last words, to see the destruction of the state of Wu, this is too vicious, a bit of a curse. The monarchs of later generations, after reading this, were more or less uncomfortable in their hearts. Although Qu Yuan was framed by the treacherous ministers and was exiled, his attitude was different. His poems were full of sadness, but not a bit of resentment, and his words were full of sorrow and mourning. And he always tried to correct the king's mistakes, even after he had been deported, he was still worried about the country and the people, and even more worried about the king. Of course, if we put this aside, Qu Yuan's literary achievements are incomparable. Qu Yuan pioneered Chinese Romantic literature and became the founder of Chu Rhetoric. Many later generations of literary heroes and poets were his admirers, Li Bai being a typical example, who mentioned Qu Yuan more than twenty times in his poems. You can imagine how influential Qu Yuan was.
So, in the eyes of the king, Qu Yuan belonged to the image of the perfect subject in the king's heart, deadly loyal, foolishly loyal, and not betraying the king from the beginning to the end. And Wu Zixu was too rebellious, then naturally they had to tout Qu Yuan and use him as a tool to indoctrinate their subjects. Secondly, as the founder of Romantic literature, Qu Yuan's influence was not comparable to Wu Zixu's, so all the dynasties were more willing to praise and honor Qu Yuan. Over time, the Dragon Boat Festival became a festival to honor Qu Yuan. Conclusion The Yangtze River passes through the east, and the waves have eliminated the heroes. No matter who the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates, the Dragon Boat Festival is always part of our traditional culture. What we do, however, is to understand the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, and the story behind it. Living in modern times, we should remember the beauty of this festival, its traditions, and the spirit behind it. Whether it is Wu Zixu's spirit of resistance or Qu Yuan's sense of family and country, they have all been imprinted in the bloodline of the Chinese nation. The Dragon Boat Festival is a festival that will be passed on permanently as the Chinese nation continues to grow.