Is the Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate Qu Yuan? Why?

The Dragon Boat Festival in China was first a festival to worship the river god and beg for harvest before Qu Yuan appeared. Because there is still a saying of "Dragon Boat Festival" in the Yangtze River area, that is, there will be floods caused by heavy rains before and after the Dragon Boat Festival. The ancients believed that floods were the result of the anger of the river god. In order to prevent the Dragon Boat Festival floods from washing away the seedlings and other things, a series of sacrificial activities were held to hope that the river god would be happy and the grain would be abundant. In addition, this time is usually the plowing and rice transplanting season for farming (in ancient times, the Yangtze River Basin was a single-crop rice, and rice rice was usually transplanted around the Dragon Boat Festival). You often need to soak in water. Drinking rice wine can effectively remove rheumatism. According to legend, rice wine is a wine given by the gods. Slowly, I formed the habit of drinking rice wine during this period. These are not formed to commemorate Qu Yuan. That is to say, China already had the term Dragon Boat Festival before Qu Yuan threw himself into the river. It is just that Qu Yuan's throwing into the river made people remember this day more, and it also added eating rice dumplings, racing dragon boats, and hanging. Ways of celebration such as moxa leaves.

To commemorate Qu Yuan, this idea first came from the records of Wu Jun of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, "Xu Qi Xie Ji" and "Jing Chu Sui Shi Ji" of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It is said that Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and was trapped by dragons after his death. People mourned his death and threw colorful silk rice dumplings into the water on this day to drive away the dragons. It is also said that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, local people immediately rowed boats to rescue him after hearing the news. They rowed all the way to Dongting Lake, but Qu Yuan's body was not found. At that time, it happened to be a rainy day, and the boats on the lake gathered together at the pavilion on the shore. When people learned that they were salvaging the virtuous minister Qu, they went out in the rain again and rushed into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to express their grief, people went boating on the rivers, and then it gradually developed into dragon boat racing. 'It seems that eating rice dumplings and racing dragon boats on the Dragon Boat Festival are related to the commemoration of Qu Yuan. There is a poem "Dragon Boat Festival" by Wenxiu of the Tang Dynasty as evidence: "Who said that the festival is divided into Dragon Boat Festival? It has been rumored to be Qu Yuan through the ages. It is ridiculous that the Chu River is empty and cannot be washed away. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of the state of Wu, died of injustice and became the god of waves. People mourned and worshiped him, so there is a Dragon Boat Festival. This legend is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Wu Zixu was a member of the Chu State, and his father and brother were both killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side, and rushed to the State of Wu 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 three hundred corpses 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 eliminated, 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.

The term "Dragon Festival" comes from Wen Yiduo's "Dragon Boat Festival" and "Dragon Boat Festival Historical Education". He believed that the fifth day of May was the day when the "dragon" tribe in the ancient Wuyue region held totem sacrifices. The main reasons are: (1) The two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, eating rice dumplings and racing boats, are both related to dragons. Zongzi thrown into the water are often stolen by dragons, while dragon boats are used for boat races. (2) The ferry race is particularly closely related to the ancient Wuyue region, and the people of Wuyue also have the custom of cutting off their hair and getting tattoos "to look like dragons". (3) In ancient times, there was a folk custom of "tying arms with colorful silk" on the fifth day of May. This should be a relic of the "dragon son-like" tattoo custom.

Evil Days. In the pre-Qin era, it was generally believed that the fifth month was a poisonous month, and the fifth day was an evil day. According to legend, evil and evil were in power on this day, and the five poisons appeared simultaneously. According to the "Book of Rites", the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the orchid bathing in the Zhou Dynasty. The chapter "Midsummer" in "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in May. "Xia Xiaozheng" records: "On this day, medicine is stored to remove poisonous gases." "Dadaili" records, "On May 5th, animals are used for bathing." There are many legends about bathing to ward off evil spirits and thinking that Chongwu is the day of death. "Historical Records: Biography of Mengchangjun" records that the famous Mengchangjun in history was born on May 5th. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, believing that "if a child is born in the fifth month of the fifth month, he will be harmed by his parents if he is born in the fifth month of the month." An unknown article in "Customs" states, "It is said that if a child is born on May 5th, the male will harm the father, and the female will harm the mother." Wang Chong, the author of "Lunheng", also recorded: "It is taboo to raise the son of the first month and the fifth month; it is not allowed to kill the father and mother with the son of the first month and the fifth month." Wang Zhen'e, the general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and his grandfather named him " Suppress evil." Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and was fostered outside the palace since childhood. It can be seen that in ancient times, it was a common phenomenon to regard the fifth day of May as an evil day. It can be seen that since the pre-Qin Dynasty, this day has been an unlucky day. In this way, it is logical to plant calamus and mugwort leaves on this day to drive away ghosts, smoke atractylodes and angelica and drink realgar wine to ward off epidemics. And people also avoid the taboo of "Dragon Boat Festival" and call it "Dragon Boat Festival".

On the summer solstice, Liu Deqian, who holds this view, put forward three main reasons in "Another Story of the Origin of the Dragon Boat Festival" and "Interesting Talks about Traditional Chinese Festivals": (1) The authoritative annual The book "Records of the Years of Jingchu" does not mention the festival custom of eating rice dumplings on the fifth day of May, but it writes that eating rice dumplings is included in the Summer Solstice Festival. As for the boat race, the "Jade Candle Book" written by Du Taiqing of the Sui Dynasty listed it as an entertainment activity on the summer solstice, which shows that it was not necessarily to salvage the great poet Qu Yuan who threw himself into the river. (2) Some contents in the Dragon Boat Festival customs, such as "stepping on hundreds of herbs", "fighting on hundreds of herbs", "collecting miscellaneous herbs", etc., actually have nothing to do with Qu Yuan.

(3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in "The Scenery of the Year" is: "The sun leaves are shining brightly, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in the middle of summer. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival can also be called the Tianzhong Festival. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival The earliest origin of the festival is the summer solstice, and the commemoration of Qu Yuan has the most widespread influence. Because of Qu Yuan's outstanding personality, people are also willing to attribute this anniversary to him.

Poet Qiu Jin: Qiu Jin, nicknamed Ruiqing Jingxiong, also known as Jianhu Nvxia, also nicknamed Yugu, was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. He was good at poetry, lyrics, songs, and rhymes when he was young. He also liked horse riding and fencing. He is known as Hua Mulan and Qin Liangyu in the world. . She participated in the revolution at the age of 28 and had a great influence. She was arrested by the Qing soldiers when she was planning an uprising. She remained unyielding until her death. She died heroically in Xuanhengkou, Shaoxing on June 5, the 33rd year of Guangxu. Later generations admire her poems. , mourned her heroic deeds, so it was merged with the Poet's Day to commemorate her, and the Poet's Day was designated as the Dragon Boat Festival in memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan

[Edit this paragraph] Dragon Boat Festival Customs

Hang a statue of Zhong Kui: Zhong Kui catches ghosts, which is a Dragon Boat Festival custom. In the Jianghuai area, every family hangs a statue of Zhong Kui to ward off evil spirits. When Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty returned to the palace from his martial arts lecture in Lishan, malaria broke out. I dreamed of two ghosts, one big and one small. The little ghost was wearing red crotchless trousers, stealing Yang Guifei's sachet and the Ming Emperor's jade flute, and running around the palace. The big ghost was wearing a blue robe and hat. He caught the little ghost and dug it up. His eyes swallowed it in one gulp. Emperor Ming shouted and asked, and the ghost said: "My surname is Zhong Kui, and I failed in the military examination. I would like to eliminate demons for your majesty. When Emperor Ming woke up, he recovered from the malaria, so he ordered the painter Wu Daozi to paint the picture in his dream." Seeing the picture of Zhong Kui catching ghosts, he ordered all the people to put them up during the Dragon Boat Festival to ward off evil spirits.

Hang mugwort and calamus: During the Dragon Boat Festival, every family hangs calamus, mugwort leaves, pomegranate flowers, garlic, etc. The dragon boat flower is made into a human form and is called a mugwort. The mugwort leaves are hung in the hall, cut into the shape of a tiger or cut into a small tiger, and attached to the mugwort leaves. Women rush to wear them to ward off evil spirits and use calamus as a sword. The lintel has the magical effect of exorcising evil spirits.

Dragon boat race: At that time, the Chu people were reluctant to bear the death of their virtuous minister Qu Yuan, so many people rowed boats to chase and rescue him. When they chased him, they disappeared. This is the origin of dragon boat racing, and the practice of rowing dragon boats to disperse fish in the river to prevent them from eating Qu Yuan's body was popular in Wu, Yue and Chu during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Dragon boat racing began in Taiwan in the 19th year. At that time, Taiwan Governor Chiang Yuan-jun hosted a friendly competition at the Half-Moon Pool of Fahua Temple in Tainan City. Dragon boat racing is now held in Taiwan every May 5th. Recently, the British have also followed our example. Organize a ghost team to compete.

Zongzi eating: People in Jingchu cook glutinous rice or steam rice dumplings and throw them into the river on May 5th to sacrifice to Qu Yuan to prevent fish from eating them. Therefore, glutinous rice was packed in bamboo tubes and later gradually replaced by rice dumpling leaves.

Drinking realgar wine: This custom is very popular among people in the Yangtze River Basin. All diseases: This custom is popular in the Dragon Boat Festival customs in Guizhou.

Wearing sachets: Children wear sachets during the Dragon Boat Festival, which not only means to ward off evil spirits and ward off plague, but also embellishes 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, which is colorful and exquisite.

[Edit this paragraph] Customs of various places during the Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is a very popular traditional festival in our country. There are many different customs and habits in various places to celebrate this festival. Everyone celebrates this festival through various A way to pray for peace, avoid evil and keep safe.

Anhui

Hefei, Anhui: Planting mugwort during the Dragon Boat Festival to attract good fortune and ward off evil spirits

The Dragon Boat Festival is here, and citizens in Hefei, Anhui follow traditional customs and buy mugwort to stick on their doors. To attract good fortune and drive away evil spirits. In a vegetable market on Huaihe Road in Hefei City, a woman bought a few sticks of mugwort and was preparing to go home and cook. She said that according to tradition, mugwort is hung on the door during the Dragon Boat Festival to ward off evil spirits. On the roadside of the Chenghuang Temple Market in Hefei City, Uncle Wang, who lives in the suburbs, sells mugwort from a tricycle. His wormwood is collected from nearby mountains, and several branches are tied into neat bundles with other grass leaves and sold in four bundles for one dollar. The wormwood exudes a special fragrance, and people come forward to select and buy it from time to time.

Mugwort is a perennial herb with alternate leaves, deeply pinnately lobed leaves, green surface, densely covered with white hairs, and a special aroma on the stems and leaves. In ancient China, mugwort was used as medicine. The acupuncture method involves placing mugwort on acupuncture points and cauterizing it to treat diseases. The ancients also believed that mugwort can attract good fortune and exorcise evil spirits. It is recorded in ancient Chinese books: "When the rooster is not crowing, mugwort is picked in the shape of a human being. It is picked up and used for moxibustion. It is very effective. On this day, the mugwort is picked in the shape of a human and hung in the door. In ancient times, it was believed that after the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather became hot, mosquitoes breed, and infectious diseases are prone to occur. Therefore, on this day, the so-called "five auspicious things in the sky" - calamus, mugwort, pomegranate flowers, garlic and mountain. Dan and other 5 kinds of plants to get rid of various poisons.

She County, Anhui: Dance Zhongkui to catch ghosts during the Dragon Boat Festival

She County, located in southern Anhui Province, has customs such as eating rice dumplings, hanging mugwort, and dragon boat dancing every year during the Dragon Boat Festival. A unique activity of jumping bells and Kui to show power and catch ghosts. Zhong Kui's little ghosts carried signs saying "Zhong Jinshi is on patrol", "quiet" and "avoid". Zhong Kui held a sword and wore a broken umbrella. There were also folk performances such as little ghosts holding wine bowls.

It is understood that Zhongkui dancing is one of the folk ways to ward off evil spirits and exorcise ghosts.

In the past, many villages in She County had Zhongkui performances during the Dragon Boat Festival. The Zhongkui's patrol range was limited to the village, and he visited village intersections, streets and alleys to show the thoroughness of exorcising ghosts. The people who were preparing to pick up Zhong Kui in advance would set off firecrackers to cheer him up in order to pray to gods and drive away ghosts. Amid the sound of firecrackers, dust would rise and the atmosphere would be majestic. Some data show that among the works of poets from the Qing Dynasty in China, there are poems about Zhong Kui chanting on the Dragon Boat Festival. Perhaps it was because the weather was hot and humid at that time and people were prone to diseases, and the plague was easy to spread, so Zhong Kui was asked to ward off evil spirits and catch ghosts.

Hebei

Drilling well water during the Dragon Boat Festival is avoided and is often pre-drained before the festival. It is said to avoid well poisoning. 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.

Shandong and Northeast China

Everyone who gets up early during the Dragon Boat Festival needs to drink a glass of wine, which is said to 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.

Shanxi

Men and women wear mugwort leaves during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is called "removing diseases", while young children tie a hundred ropes around their necks. It is said that this is "to bind the dragon for Qu Yuan".

Jiangsu

Dragon Boat Festival, whether rich or poor, must buy kingfish (commonly known as catfish) and cook it. There is also a proverb of "pending trousers and buying yellow croakers". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Nanjing, every family takes a box of clean water, adds a little realgar, two goose-eye coins, and a piece of topaz. The whole family uses this water to wash their eyes, which is called "breaking fire eyes". It is said that it can prevent eye diseases for a year.

Sichuan

There is a 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.

Taiwan

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 best to take tonics for three years."

Yunnan

People there eat peanuts, peaches and plums during the Dragon Boat Festival. But the meaning of these foods is different from that of southerners. Eating peanuts symbolizes longevity, while eating plums symbolizes the reproduction of offspring. Some people also believe that it can prevent heatstroke.

Common

Wearing gourds: It is a traditional custom to wear gourds during the Dragon Boat Festival. Children and adults wear gourds to ward off evil spirits and ward off plague. Wearing a gourd, which means "good luck" in traditional culture, can turn anger into peace and enhance the aura of good fortune.

Of course, the more common ones are eating rice dumplings, drinking realgar wine, wearing sachets, and racing dragon boats. These are all very popular Dragon Boat Festival customs.