What does the dragon boat race mean?

Question 1: What does dragon boat race mean? Dragon boat race is the main custom of Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, people who originated in the ancient State of Chu were reluctant to part with the death of the sage Qu Yuan, and many people rowed boats to save people. They rushed to catch up with each other and disappeared at Dongting Lake. After that, I will row a dragon boat on May 5th every year to commemorate it. Rowing a dragon boat to disperse the fish in the river so as not to eat Qu Yuan's body. The habit of competition prevailed in wuyue and Chu.

In fact, the "Dragon Boat Race" existed as early as the Warring States Period. Carving dragon-shaped canoes in drums and playing race games are semi-religious and semi-entertaining programs to entertain gods and people in the ceremony.

Later, people everywhere not only commemorated Qu Yuan, but also gave different meanings to dragon boat racing.

Dragon boat rowing in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is of great significance to commemorate Qiu Jin, a native-born modern female democratic revolutionary. The night dragon boat is decorated with lights and shuttles, and the scene is moving and interesting. The Miao people in Guizhou hold the Dragon Boat Festival from May 25th to 28th of the lunar calendar to celebrate the success of transplanting rice and wish a bumper harvest. Yunnan Dai compatriots competed in dragon boat races at the Water-splashing Festival to commemorate the ancient hero Yan Hongwo. Different nationalities and regions have different legends about dragon boat rowing. To this day, dragon boat races with different characteristics are held every year in many areas near rivers and lakes in the south.

In the 29th year of Qing Qianlong (1736), Taiwan Province Province began to hold dragon boat races. At that time, Jiang, the chief executive of Taiwan Province Province, held a friendly match in Fukeji Half Moon Pool in Tainan City. Now, Taiwan Province Province holds a dragon boat race on May 5th every year. In Hong Kong, races are also held.

In addition, dragon boat racing was first introduced to neighboring countries such as Japan, Vietnam and Britain. From 65438 to 0980, the dragon boat race was included in the national sports competition in China, and the "Qu Yuan Cup" dragon boat race was held every year. 1991June 16 (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), the first international dragon boat festival was held in Yueyang, China, Qu Yuan's second hometown. Holding the "Dragon Head Festival" before the competition not only retains the traditional ceremony, but also injects new modern factors. The "dragon head" was carried into Quzi Temple. After the athletes painted the dragon head red (tied with a red ribbon), the priest read out the sacrificial ceremony and "lit up" the dragon head. Then, all the people who took part in the Dragon Boat Festival bowed three times, carried the dragon head to the Guluo River and hurried to the dragon boat race. More than 600,000 people participated in competitions, expositions and evening activities, which is unprecedented. Since then, Hunan has regularly held the International Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat races will be widely spread all over the world.

Question 2: Why the dragon boat race?

Dragon Boat Race is also called Dragon Boat Race, Dragon Boat Race and Dragon Boat Race. Most people only know that commemorating Dr. Qu Yuan of Chu Ci is a mass entertainment activity with a long history. In fact, the reasons have always been different, mainly as follows:

One theory is to commemorate Gou Jian, the king of Yue, who trained the navy and defeated Wu. "The story of crossing the sea spreads to the clouds, and the competition begins with Gou Jian, the king of Yue, and now the dragon boat is also." ("Things are primitive? Duanyang) wuyue went to war, and Gou Jian was defeated and captured. He lived in the State of Wu for three years, gained the trust of Fu Cha, the king of Wu, and was put back to Yue. After returning home, he was determined to avenge himself. On the fifth day of May of that year, the Navy was established and began to practice. Finally, a few years later, Wu was wiped out in one fell swoop. In order to show Gou Jian's indomitable spirit, later generations followed the practice of the Yue navy and rowed a boat race on May 5 as a souvenir.

Second, to commemorate the legend of Wu Zixu and Cao E, Wu Zixu was slandered by Fu Cha, the prince of Wu, and ordered to throw him into the waves of Qiantang River and sail to save him. "Meet Wu Jun on May 5th, swim against the waves and be submerged by water" (Cao Ebei). Later generations rowed dragon boats to rescue soldiers.

Third, in memory of Chu doctor Qu Yuan. This statement is generally accepted, and its written record began in the book "Continued Harmony" written by Liang people in the Southern Dynasties: "Chu doctor Qu Yuan died in the Miluo River, and the Chu people mourned it and saved it with a boat. Running in Duanyang is a legacy. "

All these statements have their own reasons, but they fail to clarify the most basic question: whether it is to commemorate someone, or to "welcome the summer solstice day" or "avoid evil days", why should the "dragon boat" competition be held? In other words, why race "Dragon Boat" instead of other "boats"?

To answer this question, we have to start with the basic divinity of dragons. As we have said, the dragon has the divinity of loving water, being good at flying, being fickle and seeking happiness, and has the department of spreading sex and managing water. Since there is such divinity and priesthood, it is natural to be worshipped by people of all ethnic groups living in rivers and lakes. Worship consciousness must be externalized into concrete behavior. These behaviors include: offering sacrifices to the gods, offering human delicacies to the gods, accompanied by incense for them to enjoy leisurely; Entertain God, sing and dance, and find ways to make God happy; Imitating God, imitating God's behavior and form shows that he has a close relationship with God, and he is endowed with "divinity" so that he can "adapt", which is probably the deep motivation of "dragon boat race". It is believed that through the huge dragon boat race, the dragon's mind in the sky and water can be induced, and great entertainment can be obtained, so that the divinity can be revived, and the clergy can do their best to bless one side with good weather and abundant crops. At the same time, it also makes people endow themselves with dragons, strong and vigorous like dragons, and then fear refuge. As for the commemoration of so-and-so, it is just a side event. The reason is probably that the "humanity" of these outstanding people is common with the "divinity" of the dragon, and they share part of the "priesthood" of the dragon. For example, Wu Zixu was once known as the "Narcissus", "Shen Tao", "Tide God" and "River God" in the waters of the Yangtze River. Qu Yuan was also named "King Shunzhi of Guangyuan", and it was said that "Jiang Shen was the doctor of Chu Qu Yuan".

Question 3: What festival is the dragon boat race? What is the custom of Dragon Boat Festival? It falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year. According to the Chronicle of Jingchu, it is midsummer when the sun is on the mountain and it is midsummer in May. Its first afternoon is a sunny day to climb mountains in the sun, so the fifth day of May is also called "Duanyang Festival". In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called "Noon Festival, May Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Bathing Orchid Festival". Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional cultural festival popular in China and other countries in the Chinese character cultural circle.

Dragon Boat Festival originated in China. Originally, it was a totem festival for the tribes who worshipped dragon totem in Baiyue area (the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the south area). Before the Spring and Autumn Period in Baiyue area, it was customary to hold totem festivals in the form of dragon boat races on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Later, because Qu Yuan, a poet of the State of Chu (now Hubei) in the Warring States period, threw a huge stone into the Miluo River that day, the ruler took the Dragon Boat Festival as a festival to commemorate Qu Yuan in order to establish the label of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism. In some areas, Wu Zixu and Cao E are also commemorated.

Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Mid-Autumn Festival are also called the four traditional folk festivals in China. Since ancient times, there have been festivals such as rowing dragon boats and eating zongzi. Since 2008, the Dragon Boat Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday. In May 2006, the State Council listed it in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list; In September 2009, UNESCO formally considered and approved the inclusion of China Dragon Boat Festival in the world intangible cultural heritage, making it the first festival in China to be selected as the world intangible cultural heritage.

Dragon Boat Festival custom:

row dragon boats

The word "dragon boat" first appeared in the pre-Qin ancient book "Mu Zhuan", Volume 5: "Take a bird boat and the dragon boat floats in the marsh." The first nine songs? In Xiang Jun, "Driving a flying dragon to the north, my road is spacious", "The stone wrasse is shallow, and the flying dragon is graceful", and scholars also think that "flying dragon" is a dragon boat.

Bailongchuan

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. All kinds of sacrificial ceremonies and commemorative ceremonies are nothing more than burning incense and burning money for roast chicken, cooking rice, burning meat, offering fruit, zongzi and so on. Nowadays, these superstitious ceremonies are rare, but in the past, when people went to the Dragon Palace to offer sacrifices, the atmosphere was very serious, praying for a bumper harvest in agriculture, good weather, evil spirits and all the best, and wishing boating safety. In people's words, "to be auspicious" expresses people's inner good wishes. In Zigui, Hubei, Qu Yuan's hometown, there is also a ceremony to worship Qu Yuan.

Longchi race

Emperors in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all liked to watch dragon boats by the water, which also belonged to games and the like:

According to Old Tang Book, both Mu Zong and Jing Zong have "watching the game".

The seventh volume of Dream of China in Tokyo records the custom of the Northern Song Emperor watching the dragon boat race in Jinming Pool of Linshui Temple. Among them are floats, musical boats, boats, painting boats, dragon boats and tiger boats. Watch and play music and a 40-foot-long dragon boat. Besides the dragon boat, other boats are also lined up to bid for entertainment.

Zhang Song Zeduan's "Jin Chiming Won the Bid" depicts this scene.

The Ming emperor watched the dragon boat in Ziguangge and watched the court archers gallop and shoot arrows.

In the Qing Dynasty, races were held in Fuhai and Yuanmingyuan, and both Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors went to watch them.

When rowing a dragon boat, there are many dragon boat songs that are sung and played. For example, when rowing dragon boats in Zigui, Hubei, there is a complete singing, and songs and songs are based on the integration of local folk songs and ballads. The song is magnificent and passionate, which is the legacy of "praise and harmony". Another example is the Dragon Boat Song in Nanxiong County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province. After the dragon boat was launched in April, it was sung until the Dragon Boat Festival, and the performance was very extensive.

Hanging wormwood and calamus

calamus

Dragon Boat Festival is the first festival after summer, and the temperature is rising, which is a period of frequent diseases. Therefore, many years ago, people often hung several mugwort plants at their doorsteps. Because of its special fragrance, people use it to drive away diseases, prevent mosquitoes and ward off evil spirits.

There is a folk proverb that says, "Willows are inserted in Qingming Festival and Ai is inserted in Dragon Boat Festival". On the Dragon Boat Festival, people regard inserting wormwood and calamus as one of the important contents. "Ai" is also known as mugwort and mugwort. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oils. Its unique fragrance can repel mosquitoes, flies, insects and ants and purify the air. Chinese medicine uses wormwood as medicine, which has the functions of nourishing qi and blood, warming uterus and dispelling cold and dampness. Processing Artemisia argyi leaves into "moxa wool" is an important medicinal material for moxibustion treatment. Acorus calamus is a perennial aquatic herb, and its long and narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oil, which is a good medicine for refreshing, strengthening bones, eliminating stagnation, killing insects and sterilizing. It can be seen that the ancients planted Artemisia argyi and Acorus calamus to a certain extent, and these activities also reflected the fine tradition of the Chinese nation.

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Question 4: What does it mean to compete for the Dragon Boat Festival? Spelled as zhēng xiān kǒng hòu, it means to rush forward for fear of falling behind. Self-cleaning? Zhang Chunfan returned to Guanhai for the 14th time.

Name: Scrambling

Pinyin: zhēng Xiān kǒng Hu

Source: Qing? Zhang Chunfan's 14th edition of Guanhai: "One by one, scrambling for the first place."

Interpretation: rushing forward, afraid of falling behind.