Ask some questions about the Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival in 2007

Dinghai Pig, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 2007

Dragon Boat Festival on Tuesday, June 19, 2007 in the Gregorian calendar

◆Introduction to the Dragon Boat Festival

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional Chinese folk festival. It is one of the ancient traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival and Duanyang. In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival has many other names, such as: Noon Day Festival, Chongwu Festival, May Festival, Bath Orchid Festival, Girl's Day, Tianzhong Festival, Di La, Poet's Day, Dragon Day and so on. Although the names are different, generally speaking, the festival customs of people in various places are more similar than different.

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the traditional Dragon Boat Festival in my country, also known as Duanyang, Chongwu and Dragon Boat Festival. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, there was a custom of "gathering orchids and taking a bath on May 5th". But many of today's Dragon Boat Festival activities are related to commemorating our country's great writer Qu Yuan.

During the Warring States Period, Chu and Qin were competing for hegemony. The poet Qu Yuan was highly regarded by the King of Chu. However, Qu Yuan’s ideas were opposed by the conservative faction headed by Shangguan official Jin Shang, who constantly slandered Qu Yuan in front of King Huai of Chu. King Huai of Chu gradually alienated Qu Yuan, and Qu Yuan, who had great ambitions, felt sad. With uncontrollable melancholy and anger, he wrote immortal poems such as "Li Sao" and "Tian Xiang". In 229 BC, the Qin State captured eight cities of the Chu State, and then sent envoys to invite King Huai of Chu to the Qin State to negotiate peace. Qu Yuan saw through King Qin's conspiracy and risked his life to go to the palace to state his interests. King Huai of Chu not only refused to listen, but expelled Qu Yuan from the capital of Ying.

Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival has been a traditional habit of the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years. Due to the vast territory, numerous ethnic groups, and many stories and legends, not only have many different festival names been produced, but there are also festivals in various places. Have different customs. The main contents include: when the daughter returns to her parents' home, hangs the statue of Zhong Kui, welcomes the ghost ship, hides from the afternoon, puts up the leaf talisman of the afternoon, hangs calamus and mugwort, travels from all diseases, wears sachet, prepares sweet wine for sacrifice, dragon boat race, martial arts competition, and bats. , playing on swings, coating children with realgar, drinking realgar wine, calamus wine, eating Wudu cakes, salted eggs, rice dumplings and seasonal fresh fruits, etc. Except for the superstitious activities that have gradually disappeared, the rest are still spread throughout China and neighboring countries. Some activities, such as dragon boat races, have achieved new development, breaking through time and geographical boundaries and becoming international sports events.

There are many theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan; the theory of commemorating Wu Zixu; the theory of commemorating Cao E; the theory of starting from the Summer Solstice Festival in three generations; the theory of avoiding evil months and evil days, and the theory of Wuyue Nationality Totem sacrifice said wait. Each of the above statements has its own origin. According to more than 100 ancient book records and expert archaeological research listed in the "Dragon Boat Test" and "Dragon Boat History Education" by scholar Wen Yiduo, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is a totem festival held by the Wuyue people in southern China in ancient China, earlier than Qu Yuan . However, for thousands of years, Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit and touching poems have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Therefore, people "cherish and mourn him, comment on his words from generation to generation, and pass them on from generation to generation." Therefore, commemorating Qu Yuan has the widest and deepest influence. occupy a mainstream position. In the field of folk culture, Chinese people associate dragon boat racing and eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival with the commemoration of Qu Yuan.

To this day, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular and grand festival among the Chinese people.

◆The Origin and Legend of the Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival that began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China and has a history of more than 2,000 years. There are many origins and legends of the Dragon Boat Festival. Here we only introduce the following four:

※Originally commemorates Qu Yuan

According to the "Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng" in "Historical Records", Qu Yuan was a symbol of the Spring and Autumn Period. During the period, he was a minister of King Huai of Chu. He advocated the promotion of talents and empowerment, enriched the country and strengthened the military, and advocated uniting Qi to resist Qin. However, he was strongly opposed by the nobleman Zilan and others. Qu Yuan was dismissed from his post, expelled from the capital, and exiled to the Yuan and Xiang rivers. In exile, he wrote immortal poems such as "Li Sao", "Heavenly Questions" and "Nine Songs", which were concerned about the country and the people. They were unique in style and had far-reaching influence (therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Poet's Day). In 278 BC, the Qin army captured Kyoto, the state of Chu. Seeing his motherland being invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he still could not bear to abandon his motherland. On May 5, after writing his last work "Huaisha", he bouldered into the Miluo River and died, risking his own life. Composed a magnificent patriotic movement.

It is said that after Qu Yuan died, the people of Chu State were extremely sad and flocked to the Miluo River to pay their respects to Qu Yuan. The fishermen rowed their boats and fished for his true body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other food prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that when the fish, lobsters and crabs were full, they would not bite Dr. Qu's body. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took a jar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying it was to stun dragons and water animals so as not to harm Doctor Qu. Later, for fear that the rice balls would be eaten by dragons, people came up with the idea of ??wrapping the rice with neem leaves and wrapping it with colored silk, which developed into zongzi.

Since then, on the fifth day of May every year, there has been the custom of dragon boat racing, eating rice dumplings, and drinking realgar wine to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

※Commemorating Wu Zixu

The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It commemorates Wu Zixu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC). . Wu Zixu was a member of the Chu State, and his father and brother were killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side, and rushed to the Wu State 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.

※Commemorating the filial daughter Cao E

The third legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who saved her father and threw herself into the river in the Eastern Han Dynasty (23-220 AD). Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and his 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. This was passed down as a myth, and then passed down to the county governor, who ordered Du Shang to erect a monument for it and his disciple Handan Chun to write a memorial in praise of it.

The tomb of the filial daughter Cao E is located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today. It is later said that the stele of Cao E was written by King Yi of the Jin Dynasty. In order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, later generations built the Cao E temple at the place where Cao E threw herself into the river. The village and town where she lived was renamed Cao E town, and the place where Cao E died for her father was named Cao E river.

※ Originated from the ancient Yue national totem sacrifice

A large number of unearthed cultural relics and archaeological research in modern times have confirmed that in the vast areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in the Neolithic Age, there was a kind of geometrically printed pottery characterized by cultural relics. Experts infer that the tribe that remains is a tribe that worships the dragon totem - known as the Baiyue tribe in history. The patterns on the unearthed pottery and historical legends indicate that they had the custom of breaking their hair and getting tattoos, lived in water towns, and compared themselves to being descendants of dragons. The tools they produce include a large number of stone tools, as well as small bronze tools such as shovels and chisels. Among the pots and jars used as daily necessities, the printed pottery tripods for cooking food are unique to them and are one of the symbols of their ethnic group. Until the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were still Baiyue people, and the Dragon Boat Festival was a festival created by them to worship their ancestors. In the course of thousands of years of historical development, most of the Baiyue people have integrated into the Han nationality, and the rest have evolved into many ethnic minorities in the south. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival has become a festival for the entire Chinese nation.

◆Customs of the Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is a grand celebration in our country, and there are various celebration activities. The more common activities include the following forms:

※Dragon boat racing:

Dragon boat racing is the main custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, it originated from the ancient Chu people who were reluctant to leave their virtuous minister Qu Yuan and threw himself into the river. Many people rowed boats to chase and save him. They scrambled to catch up and disappeared when they reached Dongting Lake. After that, dragon boat racing was held every May 5th to commemorate the event. He rowed dragon boats to disperse the fish in the river to prevent them from eating Qu Yuan's body. The custom of racing was popular in Wu, Yue and Chu.

In fact, "dragon boat racing" has been around since the Warring States Period. Carving a canoe into the shape of a dragon amidst the sound of drums and playing a boat racing game to entertain gods and people is a semi-religious and semi-entertaining program in the ritual.

Later, in addition to commemorating Qu Yuan, people in various places also attached different meanings to the dragon boat race.

Dragon boat racing in Jiangsu and Zhejiang also has the significance of commemorating Qiu Jin, a modern female democratic revolutionary born there. On the night dragon boat, lights are decorated, and people shuttle back and forth. The scenes on the water and under the water are moving and unique. The Miao people of Guizhou hold the "Dragon Boat Festival" from the 25th to the 28th of the fifth lunar month to celebrate the success of rice transplanting and wish for a good harvest. Compatriots of the Dai ethnic group in Yunnan compete in dragon boats during the Water Splashing Festival to commemorate the ancient hero Yan Hongwo. Different ethnic groups and different regions have different legends about dragon boat racing. To this day, in many areas in the south near rivers, lakes and seas, dragon boat races with their own characteristics are held every year during the Dragon Boat Festival.

In the 29th year of Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1736), dragon boat racing began in Taiwan. At that time, the prefect of Taiwan, Chiang Yuan-jun, hosted a friendly match at the Half Moon Pond of Fahua Temple in Tainan City. Taiwan now holds a dragon boat race every May 5th. In Hong Kong, ferry races are also held.

In addition, dragon boat racing has also been introduced to neighboring countries such as Japan, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. In 1980, dragon boat racing was included in China's national sports competitions, and the "Qu Yuan Cup" dragon boat race is held every year. On June 16, 1991 (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), the first International Dragon Boat Festival was held in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, China, Qu Yuan's second hometown. Before the race, the "Dragon Head Sacrifice" was held, which not only preserved the traditional ceremony but also injected new modern elements. The "dragon head" is carried into the Quzi Temple. After the athletes "glamorize" (put on a red belt) the dragon head, the officiant reads the sacrificial text and "consecrates" (i.e. lights up) the dragon head. Then, everyone participating in the dragon ceremony bowed three times, and the dragon's head was carried to the Miluo River and rushed to the dragon boat racing venue. More than 600,000 people participated in the competitions, trade fairs and gala events this time, which was an unprecedented event. Since then, Hunan has held the International Dragon Boat Festival regularly. Dragon boat racing will be popular all over the world.

※Eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival

Eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival is another traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi, also called "corner millet" and "tube rice dumpling". It has a long history and has many variations.

According to records, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, rice was wrapped in wild rice leaves (wild rice leaves) into the shape of horns, which was called "horn millet"; rice was packed in bamboo tubes, sealed and roasted, called "tube rice dumplings".

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, millet was soaked in plant ash water. Because the water contained alkali, the millet was wrapped in wild rice leaves into a square shape and cooked to become Guangdong alkaline rice dumplings.

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. The cooked rice dumplings were called "Yizhizong". "Yueyang Fengtu Ji" recorded by Zhou Chu at the time: "It is customary to wrap millet with wild rice leaves,...boil it, combine it thoroughly, and eat it from May 5th to the summer solstice. It is called rice dumplings and millet." During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Zongzi appears. 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. "Datang Zongzi" is recorded in Japanese literature. In the Song Dynasty, there was already "preserved 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.

To this day, every year in early May, Chinese people soak glutinous rice, wash rice dumpling leaves, and make rice dumplings, with more varieties of colors. In terms of fillings, in the north there are many Beijing date rice dumplings stuffed with jujubes; in the south there are various fillings such as bean paste, fresh meat, ham, egg yolks, etc., among which Jiaxing rice dumplings in Zhejiang are the representative ones. The custom of eating rice dumplings has been popular in China for thousands of years and has spread to North Korea, Japan and other Southeast Asian countries.

※Wearing sachets:

Children wear sachets during the Dragon Boat Festival. Legend has it that they are meant to ward off evil spirits and repel plague. They are actually used to decorate their lapels. The sachet contains cinnabar, realgar and fragrant medicine, and is wrapped with silk cloth, which overflows with fragrance. Five-color silk strings are then tied into ropes and made into various shapes to form a string. They are colorful, exquisite and cute.

※Hang mugwort leaves and calamus:

Folk proverb says: "Put willows during the Qingming Festival and moxa at the Dragon Boat Festival." During the Dragon Boat Festival, people regard planting mugwort and calamus as one of the important contents. Every family sweeps the courtyard, inserts calamus and moxa sticks in the eyebrows of the door, and hangs them in the hall. They also use calamus, mugwort leaves, pomegranate flowers, garlic and dragon boat flowers to make human or tiger shapes, which are called mugwort people and mugwort tigers. They are also made into garlands and ornaments, which are beautiful and fragrant. Women rush to wear them to drive away miasma.

Ai, also known as mugwort and mugwort. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oils. The peculiar aroma it produces can repel mosquitoes, flies, insects and ants, and purify the air. In traditional Chinese medicine, moxa moxa is used as medicine to regulate qi and blood, warm the uterus, and remove cold and dampness. The moxa leaves are processed into "moxa velvet", which is an important medicinal material for moxibustion treatment.

Calamus is a perennial aquatic herb. Its long and narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oils, which are medicines that can refresh the mind, strengthen bones, eliminate stagnation, and kill insects and bacteria.

It can be seen that the ancients planted moxa and calamus to prevent diseases to a certain extent. The Dragon Boat Festival is also a "health festival" passed down from ancient times. On this day, people sweep the courtyard, hang mugwort branches, hanging calamus, sprinkle realgar water, and drink realgar wine to stimulate turbidity, remove decay, and kill bacteria and prevent diseases. These activities also reflect the fine traditions of the Chinese nation. Going to the mountains to collect herbs during the Dragon Boat Festival is a common custom among all ethnic groups in my country.

Dragon Boat Festival customs across the country

[Hebei Province]

Beiping avoids digging wells during the Dragon Boat Festival and often draws water from wells before the festival. It is said that it is to avoid Well poison. Market vendors also sell cherry mulberries during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that if you eat cherries and mulberries during the Dragon Boat Festival, you will not eat flies all year round. Each restaurant sells "Five Poison Cake", which is a cake decorated with five kinds of poisonous insect patterns. The married men and women in Luan County give gifts to each other during the Dragon Boat Festival. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhao County, local officials will hold a gathering in the south of the city and invite the city's sergeants and officials to have a banquet and compose poems, which is called "Stepping on the Willows".

[Shandong Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Zouping County, everyone needs to drink a glass of wine when they get up early. Legend has it that it can ward off evil spirits. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Rizhao, children are tied with seven-colored threads and have to wear them until it rains for the first time after the festival before taking them off and throwing them into the rain. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Linqing County, boys under the age of seven wear talismans (necklaces made of wheat straw), and girls wear pomegranate flowers. They also wear yellow shoes made by their mother, with five kinds of poisonous insects painted on the shoes with a brush. It means using Qu Yuan's ink to kill five kinds of poisonous insects. Jimo washes his face with dew on the morning of Dragon Boat Festival.

[Shanxi Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiezhou, men and women wear mugwort leaves, which is called "removing disease", while young children tie a hundred ropes around their necks. It is said that this is "to bind Qu Yuan." Dragon". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Xizhou, every village worships the Dragon King and hangs paper in the fields. The Dragon Boat Festival in Huairen County is also known as "Zhumen". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Dingxiang County, students need to give gifts to their teachers. In Lu'an Prefecture, steamed wheat flour dumplings are called "white dumplings" and are given together with rice dumplings as gifts.

[Shaanxi Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Xing'an Prefecture, local officials led their staff to watch the boat race, which was called "stepping on the stones". Xingping County Dragon Boat Festival uses silk to sew small horns of millet, and then sews a small doll on the bottom, which is called "playing doll". In Tongguan County, pu moxa and paper cows are posted on the door during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is called "disease control".

[Gansu Province]

Jingning Prefecture picks roses during the Dragon Boat Festival and pickles them with honey. Zhenyuan County presents newlyweds with incense fans, Luoqi, kerchiefs and moxa tigers during the Dragon Boat Festival. The children also invite their father and brothers to a banquet with their teachers, which is called "Festival of Enjoyment". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhang County, shepherd boys worship the mountain gods. The firewood mounds are burned before the rooster crows, which is commonly known as "burning the mountains".

[Jiangsu Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiading County, everyone, rich or poor, must buy totoaba (commonly known as catfish) and cook it. There is also a proverb in Yizheng County: "Put your pants on, buy yellow croaker". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Nanjing, every family takes a box of clean water, adds a little realgar, and two goose-eye coins. The whole family uses this water to wash their eyes, which is called "breaking fire eyes". It is said that it can protect the eyes from eye diseases for a year. There is a night dragon boat show in Wujin. At night, small lanterns are hung around the dragon boat to race, and there are flutes and drums singing in harmony.

[Sichuan Province]

Stone pillars have the custom of "coming out of the Dragon Boat Festival". Four people use two bamboo poles to lift a large square table covered with a red carpet. On the blanket, a Taoist priest riding a tiger is woven from bamboo strips. Beating gongs and drums, marching in the streets. In the old days, there was also the custom of "typing" on the Dragon Boat Festival in western Sichuan. On that day, everyone in Chengdu bought plums and threw them up and down under the tower in the southeast corner of the city. Tens of thousands of people gathered to watch. In the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), there was a conflict with foreign missionaries due to throwing Li, and this custom was discontinued. During the Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat races in Leshan, Xinjin and other places, grand commodity fairs are also held.

[Xijiang Province]

Students in rural schools in Tonglu County treat their teachers with rituals during the Dragon Boat Festival and call them "clothing silk". Doctors collect medicine at noon. According to legend, the Heavenly Medicine Star appears in the sky on this day.

[Jiangxi Province]

Jianchang Prefecture uses Baicao water to bathe during the Wu Festival to prevent scabies. Xinchang County drinks it with realgar and cinnabar wine, which is called "opening the eyes".

[Hubei Province]

Bahe Town in Huanggang County welcomes Nuo people during the Dragon Boat Festival, with flower crown tattoos and gold medals to ward off epidemics. The Dragon Boat Festival in Yichang County is particularly popular on May 13th, 14th and 15th. The fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month is also called the "Duanyang Festival". Zongzi is eaten and Pujiu is drunk, just like the Dragon Boat Festival.

[Hunan Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in You County, pregnant women are served with flower coins and wine by the rich, while the poor prepare chicken wine and put money in bamboo clips in front of the dragon head in the dragon boat. Pray for a safe delivery. Yuezhou Prefecture races to avoid disasters and diseases. It is also used as a straw boat to flood, which is called "sending plague".

[Fujian Province]

It is an old custom in Fuzhou during the Dragon Boat Festival that the daughter-in-law presents her parents-in-law with shrouds, shoes and socks, rice dumplings, and fans. In Jianyang County, the fifth day is the day when the king of medicines dry their medicine bags, and everyone makes sauce on this day. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Shanghang County, people use small boats tied with reeds to make dragon shapes and play on the waterside, which is called racing. After the Dragon Boat Festival race in Xianyou County, paper was presented at Huxiao Pond to commemorate the death of Qi Jiguang in the Gui Year of Jiajing. Before the Dragon Boat Festival in Shaowu Prefecture, women use crimson yarn as bags to hold talismans. It is also made of five-color velvet, connected with colorful threads, and tied to the hairpin. The young girl is hung on the back and is called "Dou Niang".

[Guangdong Province]

In Conghua County, people wash their eyes with burning talisman water at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival and then splash it on the road, which is called "bringing disaster". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Xinxing County, people from nearby temples advocated the parade of gods and goddesses. The wizard also uses magic water and amulets to drive away evil spirits. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Shicheng County, children fly kites, which is called "flying disaster".

(Taiwan Province)

Taiwan is located in the subtropics. Many of the early immigrants from the mainland were unable to adapt to the climate here. It is common to hear of people dying of miasma and epidemics. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival, a festival whose basic spirit is to ward off diseases and avoid epidemics, is particularly important.

The Dragon Boat Festival customs in the pre-Qing Dynasty can be represented by the description in the appendix of Volume 3 of Wang Yingzeng's "Rebuilding Fengshan County Chronicles" (1764): In the early morning of May 5th, a bunch of rice stalks were burned. , smoke it in the corner of the room, send it to the roadside with Chu money, and send mosquitoes away on a famous day. The lintel of the door is hung with mugwort and millet, which is said to be able to avoid mosquitoes and gnats; a branch of banyan tree is said to be old and healthy. They gave each other watermelon and corn millet as gifts. Those who are good at it use money or cloth as a mark in the shallow part of the seaport, and they compete like fishermen to grab it. The winner sounds gongs and cheers, and fights with dragon boats on the sun. At noon, five knots are tied for the children, one for the left wrist of a male and one for the right wrist of a female, named Sun God Lian.

There is another folk saying that inserting moxa and ficus can make the body strong. As the saying goes, "Planting a banyan tree makes a brave dragon, and planting a moxa tree makes a brave and healthy person." Students in private schools usually send red envelopes to their husbands as a thank you gift during the Dragon Boat Festival, and their husbands give a fan as a gift in return.

Suzuki Seiichiro's "Taiwan's Old Customary Wedding and Funeral Ceremony Mid-year Practices" (1934) records that families during the mourning period do not make rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, but give them to relatives and friends, which is called "Send Festival". The bereaved family gives candy as a return gift. Farmers put gold paper called "Fujin" on bamboo poles and insert it between them. It is said that it can prevent damage and achieve a good harvest. In some places, there is a custom of making "salty tea" during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is to pickle perilla leaves and pomegranate leaves with salt. It is said that it can be used as medicinal tea to remove all poisonous gases.

In Jiadong Township, Pingtung County during the Japanese colonial period, there was still the custom of stone fighting on the Dragon Boat Festival. Stone fighting has been popular in the Jiadong area for hundreds of years. Every year, a few days before the Dragon Boat Festival, everyone gears up to prepare for a tough battle. Shizhan is based on villages, organized like an army, and has positions such as chief of staff. The organization is like an army, with positions such as chief of staff. Men throw stones at the "front line". Women were responsible for transporting stones at the rear. When the situation is full of tears, it often causes casualties. The victorious party can go to the defeated village to eat and drink. The defeated villagers fled. If unfortunately they are captured by the other party, they will be forced to take off their pants and be humiliated in public. This peculiar custom is said to ensure good luck throughout the year, so Jiadong people enjoy it. However, because stone fighting often caused serious casualties and was repeatedly banned by local governments, it gradually declined at the end of the Japanese occupation.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, every household still has the custom of drinking "noon water". Wushi water refers to the well water that is pumped in at noon during the Dragon Boat Festival.

It is said that the water used to make tea and wine at noon is particularly fragrant, and drinking it raw can even have miraculous effects in curing diseases. There is a proverb that says: "If you wash your eyes at noon, you will be as bright as a crow." Another saying is, "Drink a mouthful of water at noon, and it is better to take tonics for three years." The most legendary midday water comes from the Jianjing on Anvil Mountain in Dajia Town. Legend has it that the well was the place where Zheng Chenggong inserted his sword and prayed to the spring. Since then, it is said that Jiuzhen Mountain is rich in various elixirs and fairy grass. Therefore, the efficacy of the noon water in the Jianjing has been said to be extremely miraculous. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, people vying for the noon water next to Jianjing are always so tightly packed that there is no ventilation. It is said that if you look carefully into the well at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, you can still see the shadow of Zheng Chenggong. And those who see the shadow of the sword will definitely have no disasters this year.

Dragon boat rowing is called "dragon boat" in Taiwan. According to "Folk Customs in Taiwan" Volume 1, No. 6, the Dragon Boat Festival customs in Shilin during the Japanese occupation are as follows: starting from the beginning of May, people first go to the waterside to "welcome the water god." At noon on the fifth day of the lunar month, gongs and drums are beaten and the dragon boat is carried to the river bank. Residents burn incense and worship along the way. As the saying goes: "On May 5th, dragon boats and drums fill the streets." To express welcome, it is called a "solitary boat". If you beat the dragon, you have to "send water to the god" on the tenth day of the lunar month and hold a ceremony of "thanking the river".

In Toudian, Nantun, Taichung, since the mid-Qing Dynasty, there has been a custom of wearing wood to wake up pangolins after the beginning of spring. After the liberation, this custom was held every year during the Duanshi Festival. The Litou Store was the most prosperous area in Taichung during the Qing Dynasty. It is said that this was because the area was located at the Chuan Qijia point. Therefore, local residents put on wooden clogs and stomp on the ground every Dragon Boat Festival, hoping to wake up the pangolins with loud noises. Currently, this custom has been transformed into a fun competition. A team of four people form a team and race around wearing two long wooden clogs. The sound of Kaka's clogs indeed awakened the nostalgic mood of the residents of Plowshare Store.

In terms of festival food customs, Taiwanese folklore says that eating peaches, eggplants and kidney beans during the Dragon Boat Festival can keep you healthy and grow longer. As the saying goes: "Eat eggplants until they shake, eat beans until you grow old." There are two methods of making Taiwanese rice dumplings: Northern and Southern. The northern method is to soak the rice in water, drain it and stir-fry it with oil until fragrant, and add five spice powder, pepper, soy sauce and other seasonings. The rice is steamed and then wrapped in bamboo leaves and stuffed to make it delicious again. Some people also recommend frying the rice grains in oil until half-cooked, wrapping the fillings in them and steaming them. The southern method is to soak pure white glutinous rice, add meat fillings, wrap it in green bamboo leaves, and boil it until cooked. Because the preparation methods are different, the zongzi in the north and the south also have different flavors. The rice dumplings from the north have a strong flavor of five-spice pepper, while the meat rice dumplings from the south have a light bamboo leaf flavor, each with its own characteristics. The ingredients include pork, mushrooms, dried shrimps, peanuts, salted egg yolks, shallots, chestnuts, dried oysters, etc. You can add more according to personal preference.

Hakkas in the Miaoli area also eat eggplant, long beans, peaches and plums during the Dragon Boat Festival. But the meaning of these foods is different from that of southerners. Of course, eating plums means taking advantage of them, and eating plums symbolizes the reproduction of offspring. Some people also think that it can prevent heatstroke. Eating long beans is to avoid being bitten by snakes (because long beans are shaped like snakes). Eating eggplant can prevent mosquito bites.

Hakka rice dumplings are also divided into alkaline rice dumplings and salty rice dumplings. Alkaline rice dumplings are especially used for sacrifices. When celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival, the Hakka people must prepare four pieces of wine, one to worship the Earth God, one to worship Wanshan Ye, and one to worship the nearby big temple. The alkali rice dumplings are an indispensable sacrifice. Salty rice dumplings are divided into two types: rice rice dumplings and rice dumplings (粲) rice dumplings, which are purely used to satisfy cravings.