Dragon boat festival information

[Edit this paragraph] Introduction to Dragon Boat Festival

May 28th in the solar calendar is the Dragon Boat Festival. The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanyang Festival, Noon Festival, May Festival, Ai Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chongwu Festival, Noon Festival and Summer Festival, which means "start" and "start". The fifth day can be called Dragon Boat Festival. In the lunar calendar, the earthly branch marks the moon, the shade is built in the first month, February is the base, and May is noon in turn, so May is called noon month, and "five" is connected with "noon", and "five" is also the yang number, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival, Worship Wu, Duanyang, Noon, Worship Wu and Noon Day. In addition, it is also called May Festival, Ai Festival and summer in some places. According to historical records, the word "Dragon Boat Festival" first appeared in the local custom of Jin people and Zhou Dynasty: "Dragon Boat Festival in midsummer, cooking millet." Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival of Han nationality in China. The necessary activities of this day gradually evolved into: eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, hanging calamus and mugwort leaves, smoking Atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica, and drinking realgar wine. It is said that eating zongzi and dragon boat racing is to commemorate Qu Yuan, so after liberation, the Dragon Boat Festival was named "Poet's Day" to commemorate Qu Yuan. As for hanging calamus, wormwood leaves, smoked atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica, drinking realgar wine is said to suppress evil spirits. On this day, Tianjin people will go to the Qiaoxiang Pavilion in Guwen Street to choose Chinese knots and pray for good luck.

[Edit this paragraph] The origin of Dragon Boat Festival

About the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, to sum up, there are roughly the following:

Welcome to Tao Shen, this is the tablet of Cao E from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and didn't see her body for several days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old, crying day and night by the river. 17 days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5, and fished out his father's body five days later.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, after the death of Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of the State of Wu, he became Shen Tao, and the world mourned and sacrificed, so there was the Dragon Boat Festival.

Dragon Boat Festival, this statement comes from Wen Yiduo's Dragon Boat Festival Examination and Dragon Boat Festival History Education. He believed that the fifth day of May was the day when the "Dragon" tribe in ancient wuyue held totem sacrifices. The main reason is: (1) Eating zongzi and dragon boat racing are the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, both of which are related to dragons. Zongzi thrown into the water is often stolen by dragons, and dragon boat races. (2) The relationship between race crossing and ancient wuyue is particularly deep. Besides, Wuyue people have the custom of tattooing constantly to look like a dragon. (3) The ancient folk custom of "tying the arm with colored silk" on the fifth day of May should be a relic of the tattoo custom of "Like a dragon".

Evil day, in the pre-Qin era, it was generally believed that May was a poisonous month and the fifth was an evil day. According to legend, on this day, evil spirits were in power, and the five poisons were out of the body at the same time. According to the Book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the orchid bath in the Zhou Dynasty. Midsummer in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in May. "Xia Zheng Xiao" records: "Store medicine this day to get rid of poisonous gas." It is recorded in "Da Dai Li" that "the livestock orchid takes a bath on May 5", and there are many legends that the fifth day is the taboo day for bathing to exorcise evil spirits. The famous Meng Changjun in Historical Records and Biography of Meng Changjun was born on May 5th. His father asked his mother not to have him, thinking that "a child born in May is longer than a family, which is not good for parents." "Custom Pass" was lost. "It is said that on May 5th, a child was born, and the male harmed his father and the female harmed his mother". Wang Chong, the author of Lun Heng, also described: "The first month and May are taboos; Kill your father and your mother in May of the first month. " Wang Zhene, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of May. His grandfather named him "Zhen Xie". Evonne and Song Huizong were born on the fifth day of May, and were fostered outside the palace since childhood. It can be seen that it is a common phenomenon to regard the fifth day of May as an evil day in ancient times. It can be seen that this day has been an unlucky day since the pre-Qin period. In this way, it is logical to insert calamus and mugwort leaves to exorcise ghosts, smoke atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica and drink realgar wine to avoid the epidemic on this day. Moreover, people also avoid the taboo of "Dragon Boat Festival" and call it "Dragon Boat Festival".

With regard to the summer solstice, Liu Deqian, who holds this view, put forward three main reasons and an interesting talk about the traditional festivals in China in Dragon Boat Festival: (1) The authoritative book "Sui Ji of Jingchu" did not mention the festival custom of eating zongzi on the fifth day of May, but wrote it in "Summer solstice". As for the race, Du Taiqing's Jade Candle Collection in Sui Dynasty listed it as an entertainment activity from summer to the sun, which shows that it is not necessarily to salvage Qu Yuan, a great poet who threw himself into the river. (2) Some contents in the custom of Dragon Boat Festival, such as "stepping on a hundred herbs", "fighting a hundred herbs" and "picking herbs", have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. (3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in Ji Huali is: "The sun shines, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in midsummer, so it can also be called midsummer festival. Therefore, the earliest origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is the summer solstice. There are many controversies, and the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan has the most extensive influence. Because of Qu Yuan's outstanding personality and art, people are willing to attribute this anniversary to him.

Commemorative poetess Qiu Jin: Qiu Ruixiong, No.1 Jianhuxia, Xiao Gu, a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, was good at writing poems, lyrics, songs and poems since childhood, and was fond of riding and fencing. She is called Mulan and Qin Liangyu. Joining the revolution at the age of 28 had a great influence. He was arrested by Qing soldiers when planning an uprising, and died heroically in Xuanhengkou, Shaoxing on June 5, Guangxu thirty-three years ago. In order to praise her poems and mourn her heroic deeds, later generations merged with the Poets' Day to commemorate her, and designated the Poets' Day as the Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

Qu Yuan is one of the greatest romantic poets in China and the earliest famous poet and great politician in China. He created the style of "Chu Ci" (that is, the style of "Ci Fu") and the tradition of "vanilla beauty".

According to Records of the Historian Biographies of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, Qu Yuan advocated the promotion of talents and empowerment, and made the country rich and persuaded the Qin Dynasty, which was strongly opposed by the nobles. Qu Yuan was expelled from the capital and exiled to the Yuanxiang Valley. During his exile, he wrote immortal poems such as Li Sao, Tian Wen and Tian Wen, which have a unique style and far-reaching influence (therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Poet's Day). In 278 BC, Qin Jun conquered Kyoto of Chu. Seeing that his motherland was invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he was always reluctant to give up his motherland. On May 5th, after writing his masterpiece Huai Sha, he died in Miluo River and wrote a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life.

Legend has it that after Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu were so sad that they flocked to the Miluo River to pay homage to Qu Yuan. The fisherman paddled the boat and fished for his real body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other foods prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river, saying that ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs were full and would not bite the doctor. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that he would stun the dragon water beast with medicine so as not to hurt Dr. Qu. Later, people were afraid that rice balls would be eaten by dragons, so they came up with the idea of wrapping rice with neem leaves and then wrapping it with colored silk to make it develop into brown seeds.

Later, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, there was the custom of rowing dragon boats, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine. In memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

In memory of Wu Zixu: The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, commemorates Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Wu Zixu, a famous Chu national, and his father and brother were all killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark and went to Wu to help Wu to attack Chu, and entered the capital city of Chu in the Five Wars. At that time, King Chu Ping was already dead. Zixu dug a grave and whipped 300 bodies to avenge his father's murder. After the death of He Lu, the king of Wu, his son Fu Cha succeeded to the throne. Wu Jun's morale was high and he was defeated by Yue. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, made peace, and Fu Cha agreed. Zi Xu suggested the complete elimination of Yue, but Fu Cha didn't listen. Wu was massacred and bought by the state of Yue. He was framed by slanderers. Fu Cha believed him and gave him a sword. Zi Xu died. Zixu, a loyal minister, feels like death. Before he died, he said to his neighbors, "After I die, I will gouge out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Jason Wu, watching the Vietnamese army enter the city and destroy Wu." Then he killed himself. Fu Cha was furious after hearing this, and took Zixu's body to the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that wormwood, calamus and banyan branches will be hung on the Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate this day in Wu Zixu.

There are reasons for hanging wormwood, calamus (Pujian), pomegranate and garlic at the entrance of 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, 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 "the goat cavity wine bears the burden of welcoming women, and the drum dragon boat is sent 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 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.

Dragon boats are different from ordinary boats, with different sizes and different numbers of radial hands. 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 Wuhu Dragon Boat 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, one of the axes of the Yongzheng Festival in December, 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 dragon 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.

The competition in Shandong and Wudi (Jiangsu) is to commemorate Wu Zixu, so Suzhou has an old habit of offering sacrifices to Wu Zixu on the Dragon Boat Festival and holding competitions on the water to commemorate it. There is also a memorial ceremony in Guangxi, and there is also a memorial ceremony in Fuzhou.

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, disasters and all the best, and also ensuring the safety of boating. In people's words, "to be auspicious" expresses people's inner good wishes.

At the beginning of the official competition, the atmosphere was very warm. Song of Race Crossing written by Zhang Jianfeng, a poet in the Tang Dynasty: ... The clothes on both sides of the strait smell fragrant, and the silver hairpin shines on the frost blade. The drums rang three times and the red flag opened; Two dragons jumped out of the water. Shadow waves fly to Wan Jian, and drum waves sound like thunder. The drums are getting closer and closer, and the two dragons look at the mark, just like a moment. People on the slope thundered and the poles were dizzy. The front boat won the bid to launch, and the rear boat lost momentum and waved. "These poems vividly depict the magnificent scenery of the dragon boat race. Women usually don't go out, but now they are competing to see the dragon boat, and the silver hairpin is shining; The dragon boat under the command of the red flag of the war drum flies and falls like a flying sword, and the war drum thunders; The finish line is marked with colored poles. The dragon boat is approaching the target quickly ... The modern dragon boat race is similar, but the rules are a little stricter. In recent years, international dragon boat races have appeared at home and abroad, attracting athletes from all over the world.

Dragon boat rowing and other activities. For example, the dragon boat goes to the countryside, that is, rowing the dragon boat to a familiar village nearby to play and gather. Sometimes the dragon boat also has various tricks, which means performing. For example, the dragon boat in Guangzhou, hand in hand with blades inserted into the water, and then picked up, let the water splash; People at the bow and stern stamped the boat rhythmically, making the dragon boat rise and fall like Youlong. In Yuhang County, Zhejiang Province, some dragon boats had their tails trodden very low, causing the dragons to look up, and the sharp waves at the bow of the dragon jetted out from Longkou, like a dragon swallowing clouds and spitting rain.

And boat races. For example, in "Jing Xun in Huainanzi", "Dragon boat flies at the head and blows for entertainment" means rowing dragon boats, rocking boats, playing music and paddling in the water. "Dream of Liang Lu" records that there were "six dragon boats swimming in the lake" in Hangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty. There are dragon boats on the lake, which is only part of the boat tour.

Emperors in Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all liked to watch dragon boats by the water, which also belonged to games and the like. It is recorded in the Book of Old Tang Dynasty that both of them have the deeds of "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. In addition to dragon boats, other boats are lined up to bid for entertainment. Zhang Song Zeduan's "Jin Chiming Won the Bid" depicts this scene. Ming Chengzu also watched the dragon boat in Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai, 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.

There will be a dragon boat in the evening. In Wujin, Zhejiang, there used to be a night dragon boat race with small lights hanging on all sides. Night Dragon Boat appeared at Wu Tong Bridge in Sichuan from 1982. The boat is decorated with electric lights, fireworks and floating river lanterns, which are dazzling. In a few places in Zhejiang, piles of floating flames are set up on the water surface, so that dragon boats covered with lanterns can pass through the flames.

There is also a dry dragon boat, which is a simulated dragon boat race on land. For example, "Nanchang County Records" says: "Dragon boat was dried on May 5th, so that several people (y6, * * *) gathered things together, passed flowers on behalf of drums, and filled the thoroughfare. Scholars and women gave money to pray and fought for firecrackers to eliminate disasters." Wuyi county, Zhejiang province used to have the custom of pushing dragon boats in dry land, which was also thought to ward off evil spirits. In addition, Foshan, Dongguan and Xinyi in Guangdong all have the custom of rowing dragon boats in dry land, which is actually a dance, but the date is not necessarily on the Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat in dry land is the most spectacular in Foshan in autumn. Another example is recorded in Huizhou Fuzhi: "On May 5th, I sailed a boat to meet the gods and drive away the epidemic, taking bamboo as the object. Painting is like mud, and twelve people worship the gods and walk around the city. " There are also little dragon boats for children to make toys.

When rowing a dragon boat, there are many dragon-like songs that are sung for fun. 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, Guangdong Province. After the dragon boat was launched in April, it was sung until the Dragon Boat Festival, and the performance was very extensive. Dragon boat songs, which spread in Guilin, Lingui and other places in northern Guangxi, were sung by many speakers during the competition, and some people called them. Most of their performances are related to the customs of Dragon Boat Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, and their songs have a far-reaching and touching influence. Guangxi Folk Music Anthology includes Lingui County (four dragon boat songs) suite, which is lively and enthusiastic, and it must be very touching to sing.