Customs of Dragon Boat Festival in Ningyang County, Taian City, Shandong Province

"Dragon Boat Festival decorations"

Ren Jian, an ornament for women in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the old days. Generally made of gold and silver thread or copper wire and gold foil, it looks like a villain riding a tiger, and there are bells, bells, tassels, garlic, zongzi and so on. Inserted in a woman's bun, it is also used for breastfeeding. "Jia Qinglu" says: "(May 5) people in the city use gold and silver silk as numerous tassels, chime bells and ride tigers, which are extremely thin, decorated with small hairpin, strung into strings, or use copper wire and gold foil for women to insert their temples. They also sacrificed to each other, called Ren Jian. " When healthy people say they agree with Ai people, they just exchange diaosi for Ai people. Wu Manyun's Preface to Jiangxiang Festival said: "Hang the custom, the healthy person loves the people, and the silk is easy to use to make it like a tiger, and women wear it." It seems that this will have the effect of exorcising evil spirits and controlling epidemics; When it comes to walking in ancient times, it was purely the ornament of women (note Cai Yun's Five Immortals).

Douniang, the headdress of women with five knots in the old days. More common in Jiangnan. Some areas are also called healthy people. This thing originated from ancient walking and is a different form of Ai people. Jia Qinglu quoted the legacy of Tang and Song Dynasties as saying: "It is ingenious to win the first prize in five days in the north and south of the river. All the mugwort leaves are pressed and sold, or embroidered with fairy, Buddha, harmony, martial arts, insects, fish, beasts, sweet flowers and other shapes. Crepe spider, Mei Fong forest, cocoon tiger velvet tuo, lawn lizard, mantis cicada scorpion, gourd melon, vivid colors. Covered with a treasure, there are countless hydrangeas and hundreds of shapes of bells, or strung together. The name is Douniang, invincible. "

Ai Hu, the exorcist of the old Dragon Boat Festival, was also used as an ornament. In ancient China, the tiger was regarded as a god beast, and it was thought that it could suppress evil spirits and keep peace. "Custom Pass" says: "A tiger is a penis, and a beast is also long. Can eat ghosts, ... is also evil. " Therefore, people often use tigers to ward off evil spirits, especially during the Dragon Boat Festival in Ai Hu. Ai Hu either cut it with mugwort leaves or cut it into a tiger's ribbon, glued it with mugwort leaves and put it on her hair. For more than 1000 years, the Dragon Boat Festival has been decorated with Ai Hu customs. Song Chen Yuan-gui quoted the title of Song Ben Guang Ji as a miscellaneous note: "In the Dragon Boat Festival, Ai is regarded as a tiger, even as big as a black bean, or cut the ribbon to be a tiger, and the leaves of Ai are attached to wear it. Wang's "Dragon Boat Festival Post" poem: "Hairpin Phoenix, know how to drive away evil spirits and drive the seven treasures of Xiangyun. "Notes on Yanjing Years by Fu Cha Dunchong in Qing Dynasty": "Every evening, those who are clever in boudoir make tigers out of silk, wear zongzi ... with colorful threads, hang them on the hair clips, or tie them on the children's backs. That's what the ancient poem says,' Jade swallows hairpin, but loves tiger lightly'. "

Draw a forehead, draw a forehead. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the custom of daubing children's foreheads with realgar can drive away poisonous insects. The typical method is to draw the word "Wang" on the child's forehead with realgar. One is to use realgar to drive away the poison, and the other is to use the tiger's forehead (the "king" is like a tiger, and the tiger is the king of all animals, because it is replaced by a tiger) to suppress evil. Fu Cha Dunchong's Chronicle of Yanjing in Qing Dynasty: "From the first day of the first lunar month, take realgar and sprinkle wine on the collar and nose and ears of children to avoid poison." In addition to the forehead, nose and ears, other places can also be painted, with the same intention. Shanxi Hequ county records: "Drinking realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival and applying children's forehead, hands and feet ... can prolong the illness."

Immortal fire, I hate wearing ornaments on the Dragon Boat Festival. It is also called life-sustaining line, lifeline, life-prolonging line and longevity line. It is also called "Bai Suo", "Little Ice" and "Colored Line" with different names and basically the same shape and function. During the Dragon Boat Festival, it is made of five-color silk, or hung at the door, or worn around the child's neck, or tied on the child's arm, or hung on the bed curtain, cradle and other places. It is said that it can avoid disasters and get rid of diseases, bless well-being and prolong life. This festival has five shapes: simple five-color silk threads are combined into a rope and tied to the arm; Decorate Suk Kim ornaments on colorful ropes and hang them around your neck; Colorful ropes are folded into squares and decorated on the chest; Colorful knots are worn by portraits; Embroider the sun, moon, stars, black beasts and other things with colored silk thread to pay tribute to the elders. This custom began in the Han Dynasty. Ying Shao wrote "Lost Customs" in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "In the afternoon, tie your arms with colorful silks to avoid ghosts and soldiers, so that people will not get sick. One is a long-lived ghost fire, and the other is a soldier. " Later, they gradually got used to it, until it was near modern times. Qing Fu Chaton's "Yanjing Years" recorded the custom at that time: "Every time the sun goes down, those who are clever in the boudoir will make tigers, zongzi, gourds, cherries and mulberries with colored threads and hang them on their hair pins or tie them on the backs of children." Among them, in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the imperial court gave ministers things like saving things. In the first year of Xingyuan in Tang Daizong, the court gave one hundred rope axes. "Book of Rites XV": "The day before, the golden thread was given an official life extension, and the colored thread was given an official life extension. Wear it on holidays. " parcel

Wear sachets, also known as sachets, sachets, wallets, etc. , is made of five-color silk thread or rags. It is filled with spices (made from Chinese herbal medicines, such as Radix Angelicae Dahuricae, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Cao Qin, Rhizoma Sparganii, Rhizoma Kaempferiae, Gan Song and Rhizoma Kaempferiae), which is worn on the chest and smells fragrant. Chen Shiliang quoted Miscellaneous Notes on the Year of the Year as saying that "the Dragon Boat Festival is red and white, like a bag, with colored lines running through it and shaped like a flower." Another kind of "mussel powder bell": "On the fifth day, mussel powder is placed in silk and decorated with cotton, if there are several beads. Let the children take it to absorb sweat. " The things in these carry-on bags have changed several times, from sweat-absorbing mussel powder, amulets to ward off evil spirits, copper coins and realgar powder to sachets filled with spices, and their production has become increasingly exquisite, becoming a unique folk art of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Wearing sachets is very particular. In order to prevent diseases and keep fit, the elderly generally like to wear plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, peaches, apples, lotus flowers, dolls riding fish, dolls holding cocks, double lotus flowers and other shapes, symbolizing birds and flowers, all the best, loving each other and family harmony. Children like birds and animals, such as tigers and leopards; Monkeys, cockfights, etc. Young people are most particular about wearing sachets. If they are lovers in love, affectionate girls will carefully make one or two sachets with their own characteristics a long time ago in order to meet their lovers before the festival. The young man wore a sachet from his sweetheart, which naturally aroused the discussion of men and women around him and praised the ingenuity of the young man's object.

"Eliminating, Eliminating and Avoiding Five Poisons in Dragon Boat Festival"

As mentioned above, the Dragon Boat Festival is a poisonous day and an evil day in the eyes of the ancients. This idea has been handed down in folk beliefs, so there are various customs of seeking peace and solving disasters. In fact, this is because the summer weather is hot and dry, people are easy to get sick, and the plague is easy to spread; In addition, snakes and insects bite easily, so be very careful, which forms this habit. All kinds of customs, such as picking herbs, sprinkling realgar wine on the wall and drinking Pu wine, seem superstitious, but in fact they are also healthy health-keeping activities. Dragon Boat Festival can be regarded as a traditional medical care festival, and it is a festival for people to fight against diseases and poisonous insects. Today, these health customs should still be carried forward.

Hygienic custom of Dragon Boat Festival

(1) Collect herbs. This is one of the oldest customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. "Xia Zhengxiao" contains: "Store medicine this day to remove toxic gas." Volume 22 of Miscellaneous Medicine Collection quotes the lost article of Miscellaneous Medicine Collection at the Age of Jingchu: "On May 5, competing for miscellaneous medicine can cure all diseases." In the miscellaneous notes of Qi Yaomin's Book at the end of Wei Dynasty, there is a record of catching toads in May, which is also used in pharmacy. Later, many areas have the custom of catching toads on the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, in Jiangsu, toads are harvested at noon and their foam is punctured to make traditional Chinese medicine toad venom. People in Hangzhou also give their children toads, saying that summer can reduce fire and prevent sores. On the 5th, Mo Ding was put into the toad's mouth, hung and dried, and became a toad ingot, which could be dissipated by applying it to the abscess. This custom of catching toad medicine originated from the legend of "toad fighting for soldiers" in Han Dynasty. Another example is the custom of "collecting herbs" on the Dragon Boat Festival in Jianli, Hubei Province, which is also collecting herbs. Herb picking is because the stems and leaves of herbs are mature and have good medicinal properties around the Dragon Boat Festival, and this custom was formed on this day.

② Mulan soup and taking a bath at noon is an ancient custom recorded in Da Dai Li. At that time, orchids were not orchids today, but flying grasses of Compositae, which were fragrant and could be decocted and bathed. "Nine Songs in the Cloud" also has the sentence "Bathing orchid soup will make you fragrant". "The Chronicle of Jingchu": "May 5th is called the Blue Bath Festival." "Five Miscellanies" records that people in the Ming Dynasty took a bath with five-colored grass at noon because "there was no orchid soup". Later, herbs such as cattail and wormwood were usually fried for bathing. In Guangdong, use wormwood, cattail, impatiens, magnolia and other flowers and plants; In Hunan, Guangxi and other places, cypress leaves, anemone roots, wormwood, cattail and peach leaves are used for bathing. Regardless of men, women and children, the whole family washes. This custom still exists today. It is said that it can cure skin diseases and ward off evil spirits.

③ Drink Pu wine, realgar, cinnabar wine and spray wine. Jingchu Chronicle: "Acorus calamus (a perennial herb, born by the water, has reddish roots underground and leaves shaped like swords and spikes." . The rhizome can be used as medicine or medicine) or carved or shredded to cool the wine. "Pu wine is fragrant and refreshing. Later, realgar and vermilion were added to the wine. Xie Ming Zhao Zhe's "Five Miscellaneous Drunks": "Drinking calamus wine is also ... drinking with realgar. "Feng Ming Yingjing's Generalized Moon Order": "On the fifth day, cinnabar wine was used to ward off evil spirits and detoxify, and the forehead, chest, hands and feet were dyed with wine, so there was no danger of poisonous snakes (poisonous snakes mentioned in ancient books). Sprinkle water on walls, doors and windows to avoid poisonous insects. "This custom is very widespread. Up to now, in Binyang, Guangxi, there are packages of medicinal materials for sale during the Dragon Boat Festival, including realgar, Zhu Lei, Platycladus orientalis, peach kernel, Folium Typhae and Folium Artemisiae Argyi. People soak in wine, and then dip it in corners, doors and windows, under beds and so on. Then put wine on the child's ears, nose and navel to drive away poisonous insects and ensure the safety of the child. In addition, in some areas, realgar wine powder is used to draw the word "Wang" on children's foreheads, so that children have the mark of tigers to ward off evil spirits. From a health point of view, these activities are still scientific and reasonable. Realgar mixed with water and wine can be disinfected indoors, and drinking general sprinkling is also quite beneficial.

4 pick tea and make herbal tea. In some areas in the north, people like to pick tender leaves and steam wild vegetable leaves to make tea during the Dragon Boat Festival. In Chaozhou, Guangdong, people go to the suburbs of Shan Ye to collect herbs and cook herbal tea. This is also good for health.

There are all kinds of flowers and plants that can exorcise evil spirits in the Dragon Boat Festival, and the source is also long. The earliest example is hanging wormwood on the door. The Chronicle of Jingchu: "Ai Ai is a human being, hanging it on the door with poison gas." This is because mugwort is an important medicinal plant, and it can also be used for treating diseases, moxibustion at acupoints and expelling insects. The temperature in May contains the most oil of mugwort leaves (which is at the peak of temperature growth), so the effect is the best, and people are scrambling to pick mugwort leaves. Besides turning Aiza into a human being, he was also made into the shape of a tiger, which is the so-called Ai Hu. The note in the Chronicle of Jingchu says: "Take Ai as a tiger shape, or cut the ribbon as a tiger shape, and mail it to my wife to try it on." At the same time, there are also Pu bundles, cut Pu Jian and Pu Long tied with Pu on the door. "Jing Di Ji Sheng at the age of four": "(Dragon Boat Festival) insert Pulong Ai Hu." Jia Qinglu Volume 5: "Depp is a sword, cutting the canopy as a whip, and garlic with peach handles are hung in the bed to exorcise ghosts." Peach stalks are auspicious things to ward off evil spirits, and garlic is considered as a bronze hammer symbolizing weapons, which is matched with Pu Jian and Peng Bian to drive away furtiveness. In addition, mugwort was burned to drive away mosquitoes and flies. In Hunan, Zhejiang and other places, kudzu vine is used to hang on doors. It is said that kudzu vine is a chain that locks ghosts and can exorcise evil spirits.

There are games such as playing herbs, playing herbs, etc., which are related to picking herbs and picking Aipu, and are the heritage of ancient people's wild entertainment. Later, it developed into decorative arts such as flower arrangement. Five poison maps

People think that May is the time when the five poisons (scorpion, snake, centipede, spider and toad) appear, and people should use various methods to prevent the harm of the five poisons. Generally, a map of five poisons is posted in the house, five poisons are printed on red paper, and then five needles are stuck on the five poisons, that is, the poisons are stabbed to death, and they can no longer be rampant. This is a witchcraft legacy to ward off evil spirits. Folk people also embroider five poisons on clothes and decorate five poisons on cakes, all of which mean expulsion.

The Dragon Boat Festival is also decorated with peach blossom seals. Peach is an exorcism in folk customs, which originated from the myth of Shen Tu and Lei Yu. It is engraved with peach characters, which also means to disperse noise. "History of Continuing Han Rites": "Zhu Suo and Five-color Peach Seal are the door ornaments to block evil spirits." This is the origin of ambiguous symbols and auspicious gourds in later generations. "Dream of Liang Lu" Volume III: "It is the custom of the Song Dynasty for the sergeant and other scholars to write the sentence" Mid-Autumn Festival on May 5, red mouth and white tongue all disappear. " "Yanjing Year" also records: "Duanyang cut all kinds of gourds with colored paper for daily use, stuck it upside down on the threshold and released poisonous gas. "This is the custom of the Qing dynasty. Some also hang silk tassels and ribbons on paper gourds to make them look better, or cut out the shape of the five poisons on the gourds and stick them on the doors, which also means expelling the gas of the five poisons, meaning "gourd eliminates disasters".

At noon on May 5th in the Tang Dynasty, a bronze mirror was cast in the center of the Yangtze River in Yangzhou to pay tribute to the emperor, also to ward off evil spirits (see Tang Shi Bu). Therefore, later generations often hang mirrors in front of the door to exorcise evil spirits.

Hang branches of wormwood, calamus and fig.

There are other reasons for hanging wormwood, calamus (Pujian) or pomegranate and garlic at the door of the Dragon Boat Festival. Usually mugwort leaves, banyan trees and calamus are tied into a bundle with red paper and then inserted or hung on the door. Because Acorus calamus is the first of the five auspicious symbols in the sky, it symbolizes the ominous sword, because the growing season and shape are regarded as "the breath of a hundred yin", and the leaves are sword-shaped and can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, the alchemist called it "water sword", and later the custom extended to "general sword", which can cut off all evil. In the Qing Dynasty, Gu Tieqing recorded in Jia Qinglu that "chopping Pu as a sword, chopping Peng as a whip, and hanging peach stalks and garlic on the bed are all used to exorcise ghosts". However, in the local chronicles of the Jin Dynasty, there is "mourning for the tiger, or cutting the ribbon for the tiger, with mourning attached to the leaves, and the wife fighting to cut it." In the future, it will be calamus, or human form, or Xiao Jian shape, called Pujian, to drive away evil spirits and ghosts. "

Wormwood represents a hundred blessings and is a kind of herbal medicine that can cure diseases. Inserting it at the door can make you healthy. In ancient China, it has always been a medicinal plant. Moxibustion in acupuncture uses wormwood as the main component and burns it at acupoints to treat diseases. The legend that wormwood can exorcise evil spirits has been circulating for a long time, mainly because it has the function of medicine. For example, Zonggu's Chronicle of Jingchu records that "when chickens are not crowing, those who pick wormwood look like people, take it and collect it with moxibustion, which is very effective." On this day, Ai Cai became a human figure, hung on the door, and could cast poison gas. "Most people also have the custom of planting wormwood before and after the house for good luck. People in Taiwan Province Province also put up "afternoon couplets" on the Dragon Boat Festival, which have the same function as amulets. There is a saying in some afternoon couplets: "Holding a strange love will attract a hundred blessings, and hanging a sword to close the door will kill a thousand evils". The folk significance of banyan branches can make the body strong. " It is braver to insert banyan trees and braver to insert mugwort leaves. " There is also the local custom of hanging pomegranate, garlic or Shandan, and garlic is used to eliminate disasters and treat pests and poisons; Shandan can cure madness, pomegranate can avoid Huang Chao. Pomegranate flower is the flower of this season, and it also has the function of treating diseases. Pomegranate peel is a common Chinese medicine. There is also a story about the relationship between pomegranate flower and Huang Chao. During the rebellion in Huang Chao, Huang Chao once approached a village and happened to see a woman with a big child on her back and a child in her hand. Huang Chao was curious and asked why. Women don't know Huang Chao, just say that because Huang Chao came and killed her uncle's family, this is the only remaining lifeline, so if she can't attend to both of them, she will sacrifice her own flesh and blood to save her uncle's flesh and blood. Huang Chao was deeply moved and told the woman that as long as pomegranate flowers were hung on the door, the disaster in Huang Chao could be avoided.

Hiding from the Dragon Boat Festival is the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, which refers to taking the newly married or married daughter home for the holiday. Short for "hiding in the afternoon", it is also called "hiding out". It is customary to take May and May 5th as evil months and days, and it is necessary to ward off evil spirits in everything, because there is a custom of taking women home to ward off evil spirits during the Dragon Boat Festival. This custom seems to have been formed in the Song Dynasty. There is a line in Lu You's poem "Feng Sui" that "goat cavity wine takes care of women, drum dragon boat sends them to compete with God". "Jiajing Longqing Zhi" also records a cloud: "Marry a woman and call her home for the holidays". Luan Zhou Zhi: "A woman bride welcomes the moon back, which is called" hiding from the Dragon Boat Festival ".

It rains on the Dragon Boat Festival, and it is a custom for people to check when they are old. It is unlucky to think that it rains during the Dragon Boat Festival. On the contrary, it is good. This kind of folk belief existed in the Song Dynasty. Chen's Chronicle of Years Old quoted the Summary as saying: "On May 5th, people were poisoned, and at the age of eighteen, there was no disaster. When it rains, ghosts expose drugs and many people get sick. This proverb in Fujian. " Xu Yueqing's "Li Shizhou Dragon Boat Festival" also notes: "Linchuan people say that when it rains, ghosts will cause man-made disasters. The self-annotation of Zhao Huaiyu's poems in Qing Dynasty also quoted the proverb "No rain in Duanyang is a good year".

Dragon Boat Race and Sacrifice to Qu Yuan and Cao E

The word dragon boat was first seen in the pre-Qin ancient book Mu Zhuan, Volume 5: "Take a bird boat and the dragon boat floats in the swamp." In "Nine Songs to the King", scholars also think that "flying dragon" refers to the dragon boat. Xiang Jun is a poem about Xiang Jun rowing a dragon boat and sinking it into the river (similar to throwing a trace into the river) to mourn a historical figure. This coincides with the images of "Soul Boat" and "Dragon and Silk Painting with Figures" in Chu State, which can confirm each other. "The Chronicle of Jingchu" records: "May 5th is called Lan Festival. ..... it's a day, a race, and a fight for miscellaneous drugs. " Since then, countless people have been recorded in poems, notes and local chronicles.

The 3rd International Maritime Dragon Boat Race in Zhanjiang, Guangdong. Dragon boats are different from ordinary boats in size and number of sailors. For example, the dragon boat in Huangpu and its suburbs in Guangzhou is 33 meters long, with about 80 people on the road 100. Nanning Dragon Boat is more than 20 meters long, and each boat has about 50 or 60 people. Long boat in Miluo City, Hunan Province 16-22 meters, 24-48 people holding hands. Fujian Fuzhou Dragon Boat 18m long, 32 people holding hands. Dragon boats are generally long and narrow, with headdresses and dragon tails at the stern. The colors of the faucet are red, black and gray, which are similar to the head of the dragon lantern and have different postures. Generally, it is wood carving and painting (also made of paper or yarn). The dragon tail is mostly carved from whole wood and scales. In addition to the dragon head and tail, the dragon boat is decorated with gongs and drums, flags or hull paintings. For example, the dragon boat in Shunde, Guangdong Province is decorated with dragon cards, dragon tail flags and handsome flags, embroidered with couplets, flowers and plants, embroidered with patterns such as dragon wind and eight immortals. Generally, dragon boats don't have that much decoration, they are all decorated with pennants and hanging colors. Ancient dragon boats were also gorgeous, such as Dragon Pool Race (painted by Wang Zhenpeng in Yuan Dynasty). In the picture, the dragon's dragon head is tall and huge, beautifully carved, its tail is high and curly, and it has several layers of double eaves pavilions. If it is realistic, it can prove the beauty of ancient dragon boats. Another example is the dragon boat in Wuhu painted in Dianshizhai Pictorial Tracking Qu Zi, with a high faucet and a floor on it. In some areas, the dragon boat still has an ancient style and is very beautiful.

Before the dragon boat race, please invite dragons to offer sacrifices to the gods. For example, before the Dragon Boat Festival in Guangdong, you should go out of the water, worship the Nanhai God in the Nanhai Temple, install the dragon head and tail, and then prepare for the race. And buy a pair of paper cocks and put them on the dragon boat, thinking that they can keep the boat safe (vaguely corresponding to the ancient bird boat). Fujian and Taiwan went to Mazu Tempel to worship. Some directly kill chickens in dragon festival by the river, and the dragon first drops blood, such as Sichuan, Guizhou and other individual areas.

In Miluo City, Hunan Province, before the dragon boat race, you must go to Quzi Temple to worship the dragon head, put red cloth on the dragon head, and then race the boat, not only to worship the dragon god, but also to commemorate Qu Yuan. In Zigui, Hubei, Qu Yuan's hometown, there is also a ceremony to worship Qu Yuan. The custom of offering sacrifices to Qu Yuan is recorded in Geography of Sui Shu: "Swift and swift, its songs are noisy, and the audience is like a cloud." Interpretation of Du Jingqu in Yuxi, Liu Tang: "Du Jing began in Wuling, and now it is in harmony with it, with a salty voice:' Where is it', which means four valleys." It can be seen that in the two lakes region, Qu Yuan's sacrifice is closely related to the dragon boat race. Maybe after Qu Yuan's death (and Cao E, Wu Zixu, etc. ), local people also send their souls to be buried in ships, so this custom exists.

Another example is Zhejiang, where they commemorate Cao E with dragon boat races. According to "Biography of Women in the Later Han Dynasty", Cao E threw herself into the river. According to folklore, she went into the river to find her father's body. There are many sacrifices in Zhejiang. Dianshizhai Pictorial Sacrifice to Cao E depicts the scene of people sacrificing Cao E in Huiji area.