The rope on the hand of Dragon Boat Festival custom

Wearing colored thread on Dragon Boat Festival is very particular. Multicolored lines are made up of lines of five colors.

Five colors are not just any five colors, they must be blue, white, red, black and yellow. These five colors respectively represent wood, gold, fire, water and earth in the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements.

At the same time, it symbolizes east, west, south, north and China respectively, and contains five kinds of divine powers, which can drive away evil spirits, eliminate diseases and strengthen the body, and make people healthy and live longer. Multicolored threads are worn by men with their left hands and women with their right hands. They can be tied around their necks or ankles.

In ancient China, five colors were worshipped, which were auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first important thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color lines on their wrists, ankles and necks. Children are not allowed to talk when tying the thread. The five-color line cannot be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river when it rains heavily in summer or takes a shower for the first time. It is said that children wearing five-color thread can avoid the harm of snakes and scorpions; Throwing it into the river is to let the river wash away plagues and diseases and make children safe and healthy.

It used to be a popular custom to tie arms with five-color silk. In the book "Customs and Righteousness" in the Han Dynasty, it was recorded: "On May 5, five colors were given to prolong life, and folklore was beneficial to people's lives." The Chronicle of Jingchu said: "It is not a disease to tie your arms with colorful silks, which is called' Bing Bing'.

In addition, there are long life wisps, even life wisps, soldiers and soldiers, five-color wisps, various ropes and so on. It is said that it was also caused by Qu Yuan, which can drive away disasters.

Why are multicolored silk threads so powerful? In "Bao Pu Zi" by Ge Hong in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there is also a kind of witchcraft that hangs five-color paper in the mountains to summon five ghosts and gods. It is probably a symbol of the protection of the five ghosts and gods, which originated from the concept of five elements in ancient China.

In addition, it may originate from the custom of tattooing in ancient southerners. "History of Han Geography" records that the Yue people "tattooed their hair to avoid harm". Liu Yiqing, a native of A Jin, is the author of Shi Shuo and other books. In the book, rice dumplings are wrapped in five-color silk and thrown into the river, fearing mosquitoes and dragons. Although it is a legend, it reveals some interesting information. Five-color silk tied to the arm, or tattoos, and other accessories.

For example, Taiping Yulan quoted "Custom Pass") and wrote: "There are other weaves to give each other a legacy." Stripes, that is, colored woven ribbons, also go hand in hand with five-color silk. There is also the custom of paying soldiers on credit (this custom has been lost for a long time and is only recorded in Taiping YuLan).

These customs spread to later generations, that is, developed into a variety of beautiful and fun sachets and other accessories. I remember Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty and wanted to buy it after the Dragon Boat Festival. "White rope and wormwood (perennial sweet clover, with fragrant leaves, can be used as medicine, taken orally as a hemostatic agent and used for moxibustion. It is also called "osmanthus fragrans and silver-like drum flower". Is wearing accessories.

"The Old Story of Wulin" was given to the concubines in Hangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty: "Cuiye, five-color sunflower pomegranate, golden silk cuifan, real pearl, hundred ropes, hairpin, management, sachet, soft fragrant dragon clothes." Ji Sheng, Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, said, "Young girls cut the ribbon and fold the blessings, sewing the equations of old healthy people, corn millet, garlic, five poisons and tigers with soft silk." During the Dragon Boat Festival, it was made into a small sachet in the shape of a human figure (developed from the ancient Ai people), zongzi, garlic, five poisons and a lane tiger.

Jia Qinglu records another kind of healthy person: "People in the city are called healthy people because they use gold and silver silk as numerous tassels (ancient hats are tied to the collar), chime bells and ride tigers, which are extremely exquisite, and use small hairpin as a string, or copper wire and gold foil for women to insert manes and worship each other." Women will also wear mugwort on steamed buns and insert pomegranate flowers, which can ward off evil spirits and play a decorative role.

Ying Shao's "Custom Pass" records: On May 5th, people tied their arms with colorful silks, which were called longevity, one was to continue their lives, the other was to fight soldiers, the other was to fight ghosts, so that people would not get sick.

In ancient China, five colors were worshipped, which were auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first important thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color lines on their wrists, ankles and necks. Children are not allowed to talk when tying the thread. The five-color line should not be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river during a heavy rain in summer or the first bath. It is said that children wearing five-color lines can avoid the harm of snakes and scorpions and throw them into the river, which means that the river will wash away plagues and diseases and make children safe and healthy.

Colorful lines are called "five-color lines", "Zhu Suo" and "Bai Suo", which are essential items for the Dragon Boat Festival. Shaanxi custom, on the day of Dragon Boat Festival, tie colored silk thread on children's wrists, ankles and necks, which is said to ward off evil spirits and prevent the five poisons from approaching each other. This colorful silk thread will not be cut until "June 6" and thrown into the river and washed away by the water. The five-color line cannot be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river when it rains heavily in summer or takes a shower for the first time.

The custom of wearing sachets evolved from wearing colored thread. Sachet, commonly known as sachet, is also an object that people must wear during the Dragon Boat Festival. The sachet is made of cloth of various colors, and is filled with powder made of clove, vanilla, angelica dahurica, Gan Song, atractylodes macrocephala and realgar. Wearing colored thread as a rope on a child's body also serves to ward off evil spirits. There are many kinds of sachet cloth now, which embodies the characteristics of the times. Of course, applying realgar wine to children is also to ward off evil spirits and strengthen the body. It is precisely because of so many functions and significance that the Dragon Boat Festival has been wearing colored threads, fragrant bags and realgar wine.