The origin of the custom of Dragon Boat Festival, activities plus painting.

Qu Yuan

According to the historian Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, Qu Yuan was a minister of Chu Huaiwang in the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated the use of talents, empowerment, and prosperity, and advocated joint resistance to Qin, which was strongly opposed by others. Qu Yuan was forced to leave his post, was driven out of the capital and exiled to the Yuan and Xiang river basins. 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.

After that, on the fifth day of May every year, there is the custom of dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine. In memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

2. In memory of Wu Zixu.

Legend of the origin of Dragon Boat Festival: Qu Yuan and Wu Zixu.

The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is 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. On May 5th, he wrapped Zixu's body in leather and threw it into the river. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

3, in memory of filial daughter Cao E said

The third legend of Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who saved her drowning father in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 23-220). Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river, and her body was not seen for several days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old and cried 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. This was passed down as a myth, and then to the governor of the county government, who made it a monument for disciple Han Danchun to make a eulogy.

The tomb of the filial daughter is in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today, and there is a monument made by Jin. Later, in order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, Cao E Temple was built where Cao E threw himself into the river. The village where she lived was renamed Cao E Town, and the place where Cao E died was named Cao E River. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E.

4. It originated from the totem sacrifice theory of the ancient Yue nationality.

A large number of cultural relics unearthed in modern times and archaeological studies have confirmed that in the Neolithic age, there was a cultural relic with geometric prints and pottery ruins in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. According to experts, the remaining tribe is a tribe that worships dragon totem-known as Baiyue in history. The decorative patterns and historical legends on unearthed pottery show that they have the custom of tattooing constantly, live in a water town and compare themselves to the descendants of dragons. Among its production tools, there are a large number of stone tools, as well as small bronzes such as shovels and chisels. As daily necessities, the printed pottery ding used for cooking food is unique to them and is one of the symbols of their ethnic group. Until the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were still more than 100 Vietnamese people, and the Dragon Boat Festival was a festival for their ancestors. In thousands of years of historical development, most

5. Dragon Boat Festival theory

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 reasons are:

(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".

6. Bad one-day taboo theory

People in the Han Dynasty believed that May 5th was an evil month and day, and there was a custom of "not mentioning May", that is, babies born on May 5th could not be raised by men or women. Once raised, men will harm their fathers and women will harm their mothers. There are even some sayings, such as "When May comes, you will never move again" and "When you build a house in May, your head will be bald". This custom has been popular since the Warring States and the Han Dynasty at the latest. This custom is recorded in Lun Heng by Chong, Custom Tong by Ying Shao and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty.

May 5th is an evil month and an evil day. In order to eliminate the plague, drive away evil spirits and seek good luck, related cultural activities came into being, and the Dragon Boat Festival became quite distinctive.

7. summer solstice theory

The founder of the summer solstice theory is Mr. Huang Shi. 1963, in his book History of the Customs and Habits of the Dragon Boat Festival (published by Hong Kong Qinxing Bookstore 1963), he proposed that the Dragon Boat Festival originated in ancient times, with three generations flowing in parallel, and expanded into rivers in Qin and Han Dynasties and lakes and seas in Tang and Song Dynasties.

The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the summer solstice theory, and scholars have studied it from a broader perspective. 1983, Mr. Liu Deqian thought that the Dragon Boat Festival came from the summer solstice in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties in another article, On the Origin of Dragon Boat Festival (Knowledge of Literature and History, No.5, 1983), and proposed that Qu Yuan had nothing to do with "fighting a hundred herbs" or "collecting miscellaneous medicines" during the Dragon Boat Festival. Liu Deqian put forward three main reasons in Dragon Boat Festival and China Traditional Festival: (1) The authoritative book "The Story of the Years of Jingchu" did not mention the festival custom of eating zongzi on the fifth day of May, but was written on the solstice in summer. 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.

At the international academic conference held in Seoul, South Korea from June 5 to April 38, 2006, Mr. He, a researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of China Academy of Social Sciences, once again perfected the summer theory and put forward the view that the Dragon Boat Festival is summer.

8, from the orchid bath theory.

According to the Book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the orchid bath in the Zhou Dynasty. The ancients picked bluegrass in May, and bathed and detoxified bluegrass soup was popular. Dai Zhuan: "In May, ... boiled plums for beans and saved orchids for bathing." Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs and Clouds": "Bathing orchid soup is like a square wood, and Chinese clothes are like English." The Chronicle of Jingchu, written by Liang people in the Southern Dynasties, said, "May 5th is called the Yulan Festival." This custom spread to the Tang and Song Dynasties, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival bathing orchid month.

9. Commemorative meson deduction

According to Cai Yong's Cao Qin in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Dragon Boat Festival is a festival to commemorate the sages.

10, which originated from Gou Jian's theory of training water army.

In the Song Dynasty, Gao Cheng published the article "The Origin of Things". The Dragon Boat Festival originated from Gou Jian, the King of Yue in the Spring and Autumn Period. He practiced the water army every day.

Pei Douniang

In the past, there were five kinds of women's headdresses. 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. "

Gua Ai Hu

In the past, the Dragon Boat Festival was used as an ornament to exorcise evil spirits. In ancient China, the tiger was regarded as a god beast, and it was thought that it could ward off 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 colored threads, hang them on the hair clips, or tie them on the children's backs. That's what the ancient poem said,' Jade swallows hairpin, but loves tiger lightly'. "

Draw the forehead

The custom of daubing children's foreheads with realgar during the Dragon Boat Festival. Clouds 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."

Accompanying roll-call brigade

I hate wearing ornaments during the Dragon Boat Festival. Also known as life-sustaining line, life-sustaining line, life-prolonging line, longevity line, Baisuo line, Shao Bing line and multicolored line. , different names, 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 a sachet

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's Chronicle of Years Old quoted Miscellaneous Notes of Years Old as saying, "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 on telephone poles, cockfighting to catch rabbits, 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 and give them to 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.

Avoid five poisons

Five kinds of venom

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.

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.

Dragon Boat Festival Orchid Bathing Ceremony

Mulan decoction

Taking a bath with orchid soup at noon is an ancient custom recorded in Da Dai Li. But the orchid in this paper is not an orchid, but a compositae plant, Eupatorium odoratum, which has a fragrant smell and can be cooked 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.

Drink Pu wine, realgar wine and cinnabar wine.

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.

Picking tea and making 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.

Hanging herbs

Hanging branches of mugwort leaves, calamus and banyan trees

Ai, Acorus calamus and garlic are called "Three Friends of Dragon Boat Festival". In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Dragon Boat Festival was also called "Mulan Festival", and Jingchu had the custom of picking Ai. To pick wormwood, you should start before the cock crows. Choose the most humanoid wormwood and take it back and hang it on the door. Some even tie wormwood into the shape of a tiger, and then stick wormwood leaves on it. Folium Artemisiae Argyi and Rhizoma Acori Graminei contain aromatic oil, which has the same bactericidal effect as garlic. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the summer solstice is approaching, which is the time when cold and heat alternate. Attention should be paid to everything from diet to dressing and action. There is a proverb in Baoshan County: "If you don't eat Zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival, you can't send cold clothes;" After eating the Dragon Boat Festival Zongzi, freeze it three times. "In ancient times, people lacked scientific concepts and mistakenly thought that all diseases were evil spirits. Therefore, on the Dragon Boat Festival, people take calamus as the sword, wormwood as the whip and garlic as the hammer, which are also called "three weapons", and think that they can repel snakes, insects and germs and cut off evil spirits.

There are also places where wormwood, calamus (Pujian) or pomegranate and garlic are hung at the door during 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 head of five pistils in the sky, symbolizing evil sword, because the growing season and shape are regarded as "the spirit 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. "

Hide from the Dragon Boat Festival

It is the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, which refers to taking a newly married or married daughter home for the holidays. 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 Dragon Boat Festival.

The custom of checking when people are old. It is unlucky to think that it rains during the Dragon Boat Festival. On the contrary, it is good. This general view existed a long time ago. 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".

Yuan Wu Hearing: Dragon Boat Winning the Bid

row dragon boats

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 zongzi 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. " .

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, Guangdong Province. After the dragon boat was launched in April, it was sung until the Dragon Boat Festival, and the performance was very extensive.

Zhong Kui.

Dancing Zhong Kui and disturbing Zhong Kui: Since the Jin Dynasty, dancing Zhong Kui and disturbing Zhong Kui and Fuzhen House have been the important contents of Dragon Boat Festival and Spring Festival. 2. Hang a picture of Zhong Kui. Zhong Kui's earliest paintings are said to come from the painter Wu Daozi. According to Shen Kuo's Meng Qian Bu Bi Tan in the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Tang Ming was ill for nearly a month and suddenly dreamed of two ghosts. The imp stole the purple sachets of the Jade Emperor and Yang Guifei and ran away. GREAT GHOST caught the little devil, gouged out his eyes, then smashed it and spit it out. "I'm Zhong Kui," GREAT GHOST said. "I can't even do martial arts well. I swear to your majesty that I will eliminate the evil in this world. " When the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty woke up and recovered from his illness, he called the painter Wu Daozi and asked him to draw a picture of catching ghosts at the gate according to the scene in his dream. Taoist wrote a pen and became a hero. After seeing it, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was exactly the same as his dream and was amazed. Later, Zhong Kui's paintings gradually entered the folk, mostly painting in the Dragon Boat Festival in May or a few days before and after the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, most residents in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces south of the Yangtze River hung photos of Zhong Kui at the gate or hall in May of the lunar calendar to drive away evil and attract good luck.

Bean grass

Sketch Axis of Babies Listening to Watch Groups in Qing Dynasty

Han has never seen fighting grass before. (Textual research on popular things in the past dynasties: Shang) Its origin has not been verified, and it is generally believed to be related to the emergence of traditional Chinese medicine. Ancient ancestors struggled to survive and lived a monotonous life. In their spare time, they amuse themselves by fighting insects, grass and wild animals. After the legendary "Shennong tasting a hundred herbs" formed Chinese medicine, it became a custom to gather in the suburbs to collect herbs and insert Ai Men to relieve the summer heat and epidemic. After harvest, competitions are often held to report the names of flowers and grasses to each other in a confrontational way. Most of them win, both interesting in plant knowledge and literary knowledge; Children hook, pinch and pull each other with petioles. If you break it, you lose, and then change a leaf to fight. Bai Juyi's poem "Watching Children's Play" says: "Making dust or mowing grass is fun all day long."

"Yuan" said: "It started in Hanwu". According to a story written by Zong Yi, a person from the Liang Dynasty, "On May 5, four people stepped on a hundred herbs and had a scene of fighting grass." Memories of the Years: "On the Dragon Boat Festival, build houses to store medicines, shoot herbs and wrap five silks."

It was called "stepping on a hundred herbs" in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and "fighting grass" or "fighting a hundred herbs" in the Tang Dynasty. "Liu Bin Jiahua" says: "In Tang Zhongzong, Princess Anle fought a hundred herbs for five days." In the Song Dynasty, it was extended to fighting at any time on weekdays. There are many descriptions of this in the works of scholars in past dynasties.

The Sketch of Fighting between Babies is collected in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The play is as follows: 1. Both sides of the competition choose grass with certain toughness (Loulan case: mostly plantain, a perennial herb of plantain, mostly on roadsides, ravines and ridges. Stemless, with many slender fibrous roots; Leaves clustered from rhizosphere, thin papery, with 5 main veins, entire or undulate, or with sparse blunt teeth, up to 15-30 cm; There are green and white sparse flowers, the corolla is divided and there are four stamens; When the fruit is ripe, it will open like a lid and release four to six brown-black seeds. Its long floral axis is a good material for weeding. Then cross each other into a cross and pull each other hard, so that the person who persists will win.

Other customs

play polo

There is an archery scene on the Dragon Boat Festival. "Shi Li" said: "Because of Liao customs, Jin was about several inches from the ground on the fifth day, and his skin was stripped and white. First, one person gallops, and then gallops with featherless arrows. It is best to break the willow tree by hand to relax. What can't be picked up is second. Every shot must be drummed to help. " In the Ming Dynasty, birds were stored in gourds and shot. Playing polo is also one of the ways to play the Dragon Boat Festival. Polo is riding a horse and hitting with a stick. In ancient times, it was called bowing. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a saying in Cao Zhiming's name that "there is a sentence in a row". In Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty, there was a wide stadium, and emperors such as Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Jing Zong all liked polo. Ma Qiutu, in the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai, depicts the prosperity of polo in the Tang Dynasty: more than 20 horses galloped at high speed and their ponytails were tied up. Players are wearing shawls, boots and sticks, hitting each other one by one.

In addition, Beijing also has the custom of visiting the Temple of Heaven. "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" Volume II: "Before noon on May 5, the group day entered the Temple of Heaven to avoid drugs. After the afternoon, walk under the wall of the altar. Jiangcheng is not vulgar, but it is also a corn millet. There is no custom of racing, it is also a game. " There is also a contest in Zhong Kui. A person dressed as Zhong Kui, waving a sword and holding a paper bat in front of him, makes it look like "no time to drink"; Follow the full set of ceremonial dresses and walk through the market to exorcise demons. In addition, there are circus and duck snatching activities on the Dragon Boat Festival.

Special diet

Dragon boat festival food atlas

Atlas 2 1

The earliest food of the Dragon Boat Festival should belong to the "owl soup" of the Western Han Dynasty. Quote Records of the Historian and the Book of Filial Piety: "The Han Dynasty sent owls to Dong Jun to cook soup for the owls on May 5th. Eat it because of bad birds. " Probably because owls are difficult to catch, the custom of eating owl soup didn't last. Filing is the protagonist of the Dragon Boat Festival-Zongzi, which appeared after the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was not until the Jin Dynasty that zongzi became the festival food of the Dragon Boat Festival. Local customs: "May 5, the same summer as the solstice, ... for two days first, then wrapped in sticky rice with leaves, mixed with millet and cooked with pure ash juice." At the same time, there is a kind of Dragon Boat Festival food called "turtle", which was only a flash in the pan in the Jin Dynasty and then disappeared. Only Zongzi, called "Zongzi" in Local Conditions and Customs, has become the most popular Dragon Boat Festival food in Qu Yuan's legend for thousands of years.

zongzi

Zongzi was called "crossing toes" in ancient times. Legend has it that it was invented to sacrifice Qu Yuan who threw himself into the river. Zongzi with real written records can be found in the local records of the Jin and Zhou Dynasties. The most widespread and oldest zongzi is the honey-juice zongzi of Xi 'an, which is included in the cookbook of Juyuan in Tang Wei.

"Zongzi is fragrant, and the kitchen is fragrant. Folium Artemisiae Argyi smells fragrant. Peach branches are inserted in the grating, and you can see the wheat yellow when you go out. It's sunny here, sunny there and sunny everywhere. " This is a popular song describing the ancient Dragon Boat Festival. Generally speaking, people all over the world have the same custom of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. Eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival is the same in China.

Now zongzi is more diverse and colorful. Nowadays, glutinous rice is generally wrapped in glutinous rice shells, but the color contained in it depends on local specialties and customs. The more famous ones are longan, meat, crystal, lotus seeds, candied fruit, chestnut, spicy, sauerkraut, ham and salted eggs.

realgar wine

The custom of drinking realgar wine on Dragon Boat Festival is very popular in the Yangtze River valley. There is an old saying: "Drink realgar wine and all diseases will disappear." Realgar is a mineral, commonly known as "Jiguanshi". Its main component is arsenic sulfide, which contains mercury and is toxic. The common realgar wine is made by adding a small amount of realgar to white wine or homemade yellow wine, and there is no pure drink. Realgar wine has the efficacy of sterilization, insect repellent and detoxification, and traditional Chinese medicine is also used to treat skin diseases. In ancient times, when there was no disinfectant such as iodine, soaking in realgar could detoxify and relieve itching. For children under drinking age, adults apply realgar wine to forehead, ears, ears, hands, feet, heart and other parts to disinfect and prevent diseases.

Huang Wu

There is a custom of eating "Huang Wu" on the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Huang Wu refers to cucumber, Monopterus albus, yellow croaker, duck egg yolk and realgar wine in Gaoyou. In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival in northern Zhejiang also eats tofu.

Dagao

Dragon Boat Festival is a grand festival for Korean people in Yanbian, Jilin Province. The most representative food on this day is sweet cake. Caking is to put mugwort and glutinous rice in a big wooden trough carved with a single wood and beat it with a long-handled wood. This kind of food has national characteristics and can add festive atmosphere.

Fried pile

In Jinjiang, Fujian, every household will eat "fried piles" during the Dragon Boat Festival, which are made into thick paste with flour, rice flour or sweet potato powder. According to legend, in ancient times, it was the rainy season in southern Fujian before the Dragon Boat Festival, with continuous rain. People say that God has pierced a hole to "mend the sky". The rain stopped after eating fried piles on the Dragon Boat Festival. People say that the sky has been mended. This diet custom comes from this.