The custom and significance of boating on Dragon Boat Festival

In China, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in a grand way, and there are various activities to celebrate it. Dragon boat race is a common activity.

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.

Meaning:

The word dragon boat was first seen in the pre-Qin ancient book "Mu Chuan Volume 5": "The son of heaven rides a bird boat, and the dragon boat floats in the marsh." 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 the suburbs of 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. In Miluo County, Hunan Province, Dragon Boat 16-22 meters long, with 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 Dianshizhai Pictorial. The dragon boat in Wuhu painted by Qu Zi is also high with a dragon head and a floor on it. In some areas, the dragon boat still has an ancient style and is very beautiful.

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.