The Origin and Customs of Dragon Boat Festival

Time: the fifth day of the fifth lunar month

Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four traditional festivals in China. According to the State Council Decree No.644, the Dragon Boat Festival holiday is 1 day, starting from 20 14 and 1. The Dragon Boat Festival was also a legal festival in the Tang and Song Dynasties, but it was not as important as it is today. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were more than a dozen festivals, lasting three to seven days, and the Dragon Boat Festival was only a day off. There are few holidays in the Ming Dynasty, and the Dragon Boat Festival has a three-day holiday, which is obviously taken seriously.

The origin of festivals

1, the origin of Dragon Boat Festival

There is a saying that the Dragon Boat Festival evolved from an ancient evil day. The Dragon Boat Festival is now an important festival after the Spring Festival, but in the eyes of the ancients, May 5th was an extremely bad day. The ancients thought that the first month was a good month, May was an evil month, and the fifth day was an evil day. The evil month in May was a very unlucky day, and people had to avoid it. The folk formed the custom of avoiding May 5.

It is recorded in the Miscellanies of Xijing in the Han Dynasty that all children born on May 5th want to abandon their children. People think that children born on this day will hurt their parents and themselves. According to "Etiquette Records of the Han Dynasty", on May 5th, the gate should be decorated with colored ropes and colored peach seals to prevent evil spirits from entering the door.

It is a custom in the Eastern Han Dynasty that on May 5th, those who tied their arms with colorful silks became soldiers and ghosts, making people not ill [1]. These customs are related to the fact that May 5th is an evil month and an evil day.

It is said that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the solstice festival in summer. The summer solstice is the longest day in a year. From the astronomical point of view, it was once considered as the beginning of a year. This is also the sowing season of some food crops and the beginning of a new agricultural cycle. Therefore, the summer solstice was once regarded as the New Year by some ethnic groups, and it became the New Year earlier than the winter solstice.

According to the Records of the Later Han Dynasty, in May of summer, everything is in full bloom. On the solstice of summer, Yin Qi began to sprout, so I'm afraid the crops won't grow well. I use ribbons to connect meat and vegetables, and I use fine cloth to play the clock. On May 5, colorful ribbons were hung on the door to prevent evil spirits from entering the house.

The Chronicle of Jingchu in the Southern and Northern Dynasties recorded the custom of summer solstice: eating zongzi and tying it to your arm with ribbons, which is called "longevity". Eating zongzi is a custom of longevity, and this competition later became a typical custom of Dragon Boat Festival.

According to the records of local customs in the Jin Dynasty, "the fifth day of midsummer is the same as the summer solstice". According to the records of local customs, in the Jin Dynasty, the summer solstice festival and the Dragon Boat Festival were two parallel festivals. Until now, there are still some places that celebrate the summer solstice instead of the Dragon Boat Festival, so the view that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the summer solstice has not been well recognized.

Some people say that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the ancient "Mulan Festival". This was said in ancient books such as Sui Ji Hua Li in the Tang Dynasty. There is a record of bathing with bluegrass on May 5 in the Great Dai Li of the Western Han Dynasty. Whether it is the day of exorcism or the summer solstice, it originated very early, not later than Mulan Festival at the latest. The custom of bathing with bluegrass has not become the mainstream custom of Dragon Boat Festival.

2. The evolution of the name of Dragon Boat Festival.

"Local custom" is called "the fifth day of midsummer", midsummer is the second month of summer, that is, May, and "end" means the beginning, which is equivalent to the word "beginning" in the calendar, such as the first, second and fifth days, which can mean the first, second and fifth days. The fifth day is the fifth day, and the fifth day of midsummer is May 5.

Before the Tang Dynasty, many festivals had no specific names, but only dates. The official department of Jingchu Chronicle in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and Shangshu in the Tang Dynasty recorded the Dragon Boat Festival as "May 5th".

The official name of this festival in the Tang Dynasty is still May 5th, while the folk "Li Nian" is called Dragon Boat Festival. Li Jiweng's Zi Ji Shu in the Tang Dynasty records that the Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of May. Obviously, the word "midsummer five" was omitted and became midsummer five. In the Tang Dynasty, people called the Dragon Boat Festival Dragon Boat Festival. Zi Ji Shu said that the imperial edict at that time was still called Dragon Boat Festival, not Dragon Boat Festival. Zi Ji Shu puts forward the transition from "Dragon Boat Festival" to "Dragon Boat Festival". The Dragon Boat Festival is the abbreviation of the fifth day of May, which is transformed from the Dragon Boat Festival. Why did Dragon Boat Festival become Dragon Boat Festival? "Zi Ji Shu" is not clear.

After the Song Dynasty, the Dragon Boat Festival became an official name, which has been fixed and spread to this day. How did the Dragon Boat Festival become the Dragon Boat Festival? There is a saying that in ancient times, May was called noon, May was noon, and the 5th was the end. According to this statement, it seems more reasonable to call the fifth day of May "noon". The Calendar calls the Dragon Boat Festival "noon day", and other ancient books also say that the fifth day is noon day, because both months and days are noon, and the Dragon Boat Festival was once called "double noon festival". Because the fifth day is noon according to the official calendar, the fifth day is changed to Dragon Boat Festival.

Dragon Boat Festival has other names, such as Chronicle of Yanjing in Qing Dynasty and Chronicle of China in Republic of China. In ancient books, the Dragon Boat Festival has many names such as worshipping martial arts, so I won't say them one by one.

3. The origin of eating zongzi and dragon boat racing during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Dragon Boat Festival is about dragon boat racing and eating zongzi. In modern times, it is usually said to commemorate Qu Yuan. This statement was not invented by modern people and originated very early. The Chronicle of Jingchu said that May 5th was the day when Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River. People were very sad, so they rowed a boat to save him.

The Chronicle of Jingchu also mentioned two other statements. In "Cao E Bei" written by Han Danchun, it is said that Wu Zixu was drowned by water on May 5th, and this day's competition is to commemorate Wu Zixu. According to the legend of crossing the sea, the competition on May 5th originated from Gou Jian, the King of Yue. According to the Chronicle of Jingchu, there are three explanations for why the Dragon Boat Festival is a race: 1, in memory of Qu Yuan, 2 in memory of Wu Zixu, and 3 from Gou Jian. Cai Yong's "Cao Qin" in the Eastern Han Dynasty also mentioned that the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Jieli Tui, and the story of Jieli Tui is more related to the Cold Food Festival.

Folklorists believe that this competition originated from the tradition of offering sacrifices to water gods in southern water towns. People hold races on the solstice in summer and throw rice and food into the water. "Chronicle of Jingchu's Age" records: "Zhou Cheng, that is, flying. One thinks he is a water army, and the other thinks he is a water horse. " Judging from the meaning of "race", "race" is a competition, which means a little ferry, that is, the distance from one end to the other should not be too far. I feel that the dragon boat race may be related to the military training of ancient sailors, and later evolved into a folk activity. Just as sports in ancient Greece originated from military training.

Festival custom

According to Local Customs, the Dragon Boat Festival in the Jin Dynasty was very simple. "The fifth day of midsummer, boiled duck (W u), corn millet for zongzi. I spent a simple and happy time at the Dragon Boat Festival in the Jin Dynasty. One word is "eat", cook ducks and eat zongzi. At present, the typical customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are eating zongzi, rowing dragon boats, hanging wormwood and calamus, and eating realgar wine. These customs have a long history.

1. Eat zongzi

According to the Ming Dynasty's Wild Collection of Wanli, in the Ming Dynasty, beginning of spring ate spring cakes, Zi Yuan on Lantern Festival, Zongzi on April 8th, and Zongzi on May Dragon Boat Festival.

Zongzi originated very early, as early as the Jin Dynasty. According to the records of local customs, it is a festival (dàn) to celebrate a day first, then wrap glutinous rice with leaves (gū) [2] and cook it with chestnut and jujube ash juice. There are detailed records about making zongzi in local customs. Cover glutinous rice with water bamboo leaves and cook it with chestnut jujube ash juice, which is similar to modern zongzi and contains alkali. This practice is very similar to modern zongzi. In the north of Jiangxi, our hometown, many people also like to eat zongzi with alkaline water. Horn millet is basically the same as modern zongzi.

Song Dynasty's "Three Mountains in Xi Chun": Chu people used bamboo tubes to store rice as a sacrifice to Qu Yuan and named it Zongzi. According to legend, everyone thinks it is economical. In this state, people take bamboo leaves and rice as the angle (sh incarnation), and some square dumplings feed each other (wèi). "Three Mountains in Xichun" records that people in Jianghan area sacrificed rice in bamboo tubes to Qu Yuan during the Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi cooked in a bamboo tube is called Zongzi. This custom has spread all over the country, and they all regard zongzi as the festival food of the Dragon Boat Festival. Now, people in our state make zongzi with bamboo leaves and rice. This zongzi is called Fang Zongzi.

Nowadays, zongzi in many places are wrapped in bamboo leaves. Phyllostachys pubescens, also known as Indocalamus, is a kind of bamboo with big and short leaves. Remember this poem? "Green bamboo hat Green bamboo hat doesn't need rain", a bamboo hat is a hat made of bamboo leaves to keep out the rain.

2. Dragon Boat Race

Dragon boat race, called dragon boat race in ancient times. Chronicle of Jingchu's Age records the scene of racial crossing in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The boat is light, called bird, one is called water army and the other is called water horse. Officials and people in the state are watching the game by the river.

The Song Dynasty's Records of Three Mountains in Xichun recorded the grand occasion of Fujian Dragon Boat Festival. On the Dragon Boat Festival, everyone will have a dragon boat race. There is a dragon boat race in Neijiang, Nantaijiang, the state. The drums are deafening, and the boatmen are wearing bright colors and rowing dragon boats according to the drums. You fight each other. ...

At least in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Dragon Boat Festival rowing competition has formed a custom. Rowing changed from a canoe in the Southern and Northern Dynasties to a dragon boat in the Song Dynasty, just like the modern name.

The bad habit of fighting and killing dragon boats in rural areas dates back to the Song Dynasty. Until now, dragon boat races in modern places always involve group fights, which often lead to casualties. Therefore, since ancient times, the government has often banned dragon boat races on the Dragon Boat Festival, but it has never been banned. Until now, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a traditional program.

3. Other customs

Fighting eggs.

Spelling eggs is the core memory of Dragon Boat Festival when I was a child. In my hometown of Jiangxi, although egg soup can only be made when guests come to entertain, eggs can be eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, and every household will pickle a lot of salted eggs one or two months in advance. On the morning of Dragon Boat Festival, my mother cooked a large pot of salted eggs and fresh eggs.

The family also dyed the egg red, wrapped it in a specially woven net bag and hung it around the child's neck. A child has a red egg around his neck, one in his hand and one in his pocket. He is always ready to beat eggs with his friends, and the tip of the eggs will point to each other. Whoever breaks the egg loses.

In ancient times, eggs were called chickens, and fighting eggs was called cockfighting in ancient times. The game of breaking eggs has a long history, even Zuozhuan in the Spring and Autumn Period said that this game has a long history. Beating eggs was originally the custom of the Cold Food Festival, but later it was moved to the Dragon Boat Festival.

Hang mugwort leaves.

Every family in my hometown wants to buy mugwort and calamus during the Dragon Boat Festival. They are tied together to make small rafts, which are placed on both sides of the gate and hung on both sides of the window. This custom has been handed down from ancient times. According to Jingchu Times, on May 5th, wormwood was tied into the shape of an adult and hung on the gate to eliminate the poisonous gas. From "Dream of Tokyo" in the Song Dynasty to "Victory at the Age of Emperor Jingdi" in the Qing Dynasty, there are records that wormwood should be hung on the door during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Drink realgar wine.

Drink realgar wine on Dragon Boat Festival. According to the records of Emperor Jing of Qing Dynasty, before the Dragon Boat Festival, the roots of Acorus calamus were finely cut, mixed with realgar, dried in the sun and soaked in wine. Wipe the leftover wine on the child's face, ears and nose, and sprinkle it on the bed and mosquito net to drive away all kinds of poisonous insects.

When I was a child, my uncle wrote "Wang" on my forehead with realgar. This custom is recorded in Memories of the Republic of China: "The wine is realgar, and drinking it can detoxify. In the forehead of children, the word "Wang" in the public yellow book is like a tiger, and the cloud is easy to grow. " Write the word "Wang" on the child's forehead with realgar, just like the word "Wang" on the tiger's forehead, saying that the child will stay away from diseases and disasters and grow up easily.

summary

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is somewhat complicated, and there are several sayings. The usual saying is "bad day". The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival mainly use wormwood leaves, calamus, realgar wine, colorful silk, etc. to avoid insect poison and stop evil ... These customs mainly continue the related saying that May 5th is a bad month and a bad day.

The custom of eating zongzi and rowing dragon boats on the Dragon Boat Festival was migrated from the solstice festival in summer, and the Dragon Boat Festival also absorbed the customs related to the Cold Food Festival. The custom of dragon boat racing and eating zongzi dates back to the Jin Dynasty. The idea of commemorating Qu Yuan, like the introduction of the Cold Food Festival Memorial Hall, was invented in the Han and Wei Dynasties for ideological needs.

The name of the Dragon Boat Festival was formally formed in the Tang Dynasty. Dragon Boat Festival was a legal festival in the Tang and Song Dynasties, but it was not taken seriously in the Tang and Song Dynasties.

[1 There is a plague.

[2] Zizania latifolia leaves