What is the evolution process of dragon boat race culture and customs?

Dragon boat race is an important activity of Dragon Boat Festival, which is very popular in southern China. With the development of history, the cultural differences between different ethnic groups and the cultural customs of dragon boat race have been evolving.

A long time ago, there was a dragon boat race in Ankang, Shaanxi. Dragon boat race is a folk activity in Ankang, which has a long history in Hanshui River Basin.

According to legend, the clan in Hanshui area takes dragons as totems and worships dragon-shaped things. The head of Qin and the tail of Chu, sometimes subordinate to Chu and sometimes transferred to the well-being of Shu and Qin, became more and more frequent. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, I returned to Jingzhou and sometimes to Hanzhong.

According to legend, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the first county magistrate of Ankang was Liu Long, a native of Jingzhou, Hubei. Because Jingzhou has the custom of rowing dragon boats, this custom also spread to Ankang area because of the arrival and advocacy of Liu Long. There are records about dragon boats in Ankang during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Since the Tang Dynasty, dragon boat racing has developed into a custom. Yuan Zhen, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem Jing:

I watch the boat race because I measure the source of greatness.

Heaven and earth once competed for supremacy and flourished day and night.

When dragons and snakes are angry, Haide collapses. All the movements were stirred and scratched and became muddy. Qianglong, a lone race. It's all ants fighting, not enough dragon boats.

At the same time, Liu Yuxi, Bai Juyi and Zhang Jianfeng in the Tang Dynasty all left poems about dragon boat races. This custom has gradually become a folk water sports and entertainment activity since the Northern Song Dynasty.

The dragon boat race in Ankang is very popular with local people because of its geographical and cultural ties, especially its border with Chu. 1869, Liu Yingqiu, a native of Gongsheng, Ankang, was arrested and imprisoned for participating in the "Fu She" organization against the Qing Dynasty and regaining sight. After investigation, there was no evidence, so he was pardoned and returned to Li, and the Dragon Boat Festival was ushered in in poverty. All the men, women and children there went to see the dragon boat race. Liu Yingqiu didn't want to go out and drank alone at home, so he wrote a poem "Five Days":

If you are bored, you will be lazy, and your kindness will turn to you. Open the book when you have nothing to do, and it smells like a door. If you have no money, you forget the holidays, and if you have wine, you don't want to be hungry. The children called to each other with joy, and the dragon boat had passed through Los Angeles.

From this story, it can be truly reflected that the dragon boat race has long been widely participated and loved by Ankang people. With the evolution of the times, the dragon boat race began to set a fixed number of people, and other amusement bidding projects triggered by the dragon boat race also appeared.

In ancient times, Ankang held a dragon boat race every year from the third day to the sixth day of the fifth lunar month for four days. Men, women and children within dozens of kilometers watched the dragon boat, sometimes forming a grand occasion of raising torches at night.

At that time, dragon boats in Ankang were divided into real dragons and fake dragons. The real dragon is a boat specially built for dragon boat racing. It looks like a cucumber and is carved with the head, tail and scales of the dragon. They are only used in the annual dragon boat race, and there are six real dragons.

The fake dragon is decorated with temporary colored cloth on the raft of a wooden boat. There are 8 fixed ones and 3 non-fixed ones/kloc-0, a total of 27 true and false dragon boats. Little fake dragons, that is, many river dragons, are not counted.

In addition to holding dragon boat races in Ankang and Xunyang, Ziyang, Gao Lan, Baihe and Shiquan counties every year, there are also dragon boat races in Dadaohe, Liushui Town, Lanhekou, Yuehekou, Shitipu, Qingtaowan, Luhekou, Shuhe and Wafangdian along the Han River. Dragon boat race, as a folk custom, integrates sacrifice, blessing, competition, fighting spirit and honor, and has a set of programs and competition methods. Legend has it that there were two ways to offer sacrifices to dragon boats in ancient Ankang. One way is to put the old dragon head in the dragon head temple for sacrifice. All rowers must wash themselves three days before the sacrifice.

The general ritual procedure is to open the gongs and drums Dojo first, then the dragon head worships incense three times, and the rowers worship incense in turn, knocking three times and worshiping nine times. The leader or the squire recited the eulogy. After the memorial service, we should sing some flower drum words, then paddle around the street and go down the river to protect the dragon head.

The other is to install a dragon head for the Dragon Boat Festival, but the procedure is the same as the first one, except that the dragon boat won in the first year must be worshipped by the losing rower. After the worship, the rower of this dragon boat will circle the boat 369 times, then bring the head circle of Aipu, and then carry it down the river. The launching ceremony of the dragon boat is quite grand, with incense sticks, pig heads, sheep heads, cattails, zongzi and seasonal fruits and vegetables. From the procedural point of view, it is to knock the drums and bells first, and then salute.

At the beginning of the launching ceremony, a big rooster is slaughtered first, and after dripping chicken blood in front of the incense table, it is thrown into the river, which is called "Chicken Sacrifice River" for good luck. If you are particular, please ask a monk or Taoist to recite the scriptures. Before the dragon boat is launched, the dragon head should shout and the rower should follow:

Dragon boats paddle and paddle in the water, which makes ghosts and gods afraid; The dragon boat paddled hard into the water, making the opponent shout dry. Row, row, row until the river blooms with silver flowers; Row, row, row until the ground is covered with golden melons ... After the rowers call the number of launching, they push the dragon boat into the water. The dragon boat race officially started. The competition is divided into water race, water race, cross-bank race, circle race, championship race, duck race and so on.

There are two kinds of championship games. One is to plant a bamboo flag in the river, grab it first and win. One is to throw a buoy into the river, which is very slippery. Whoever gets on the boat first wins. Others rob ducks and pigs of urine bubbles.

To catch a duck is to pluck the hair off its head, sprinkle it with salt powder and throw it into the river. Ducks dive into the water when salt hurts. All players go into the water to catch ducks. Whoever grabs more is a warrior, and whoever grabs more is a winner.

Catch pig urine bubbles, that is, soak some fresh pig urine and add silver coins. All the players went into the water to grab it. Winning is the same as catching ducks.

Ankang Dragon Boat Race is the longest dragon boat race in Chinese history. Ankang has something to do with Jingchu Dragon Boat Race, especially Qu Yuan's exile in Hanshui River Valley, which makes Ankang Hanjiang Dragon Boat Race more cultural in memory of Qu Yuan.

Suzhou is also one of the birthplaces of the Dragon Boat Festival. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, under the wall of the ancient Xumen City, colorful flags are flying and dragon boats are waiting to be launched on the Xujiang River named after Wu Zixu in Suzhou, attracting many Suzhou people to wave flags and cheer for the athletes.

Most of the annual dragon boats here are left every other year, but they are not put in the water, because the hull is perishable, but there are special rooms for storage.

In the first two weeks of the Dragon Boat Festival, the dragon boat went out of the house, hung upside down in the open air and painted in rainy days. We should also prepare a traditional drum with pigskin as the drum surface to use in the competition.

On the Dragon Boat Festival, there were crowds on both sides of the Xujiang River, and every family helped the old and brought the young to watch the dragon boat race. Suzhou people call the dragon boat under the water dragon, and welcoming God in advance is called "launching".

They set up a 5-meter-high color platform by the river and held a dragon boat festival ceremony to dance dragons. After the worship of Wu Zixu, the game officially began.

Suzhou has been an important producing area of silk and cotton cloth since ancient times, with dense machine users, forming an industrial chain and a special dyeing house. These craftsmen at the bottom of society usually keep a low profile, but on this day's dragon boat race, they unite as one and compete for the championship.

Wenzhou has a long history and bred a unique dragon boat culture. Dragon Boat Festival rowing is very popular among Wenzhou people and has been passed down from generation to generation. The book "Wenzhou Ancient Folk Customs" records:

There are dragon boats all over Wenzhou and incense officials in temples. Legend has it that Xiang Guan is a god who specializes in rowing dragon boats.

It is said that during the Dragon Boat Festival, new dragon boats will be built in some places. On the first day of April, drums will be played to open the doors of temples, offering sacrifices to officials and gods, and shipbuilding will begin.

In rural areas, it is customary to open the temple gate on the first day of May and row a boat immediately after offering sacrifices to the gods, commonly known as "going to the water". When the dragon boat returns, it is called "receiving incense", and when it ends, it is called "dispersing the river" or "washing the lane". The dragon boat is turned over and transported to the temple for preservation the next day, and it is also necessary to offer sacrifices to the official gods.

In the dragon boat race area, every household has to pay the dragon boat fee, invite the dragon boat riders to drink, set off firecrackers and set up a ceremony to welcome them, which is called "putting incense cases". Dragon bows are almost everywhere. Some painted dragon forest on the hull, and the movable dragon tail was placed at the head and tail, which was small in shape. Some drew several dragon forests on the hull, and they were headless and tailless, but they were large in shape.

Dragon boats in every township have their own flags with fixed colors. If there are several dragon boats in a township, flags should also be used to distinguish the signs.

In the past, the ancient custom of Nantang River in the southern suburbs of Wenzhou was that the blue flag, dragon head, dragon tail and hull were all blue, and they were called "Qinglong". According to legend, there are only seven oriental black dragons called dragons, so green is a positive color. The yellow one is called Huanglong. The flag is white, and the color of the ship is also white, commonly known as "White Dragon".

If it is a red flag, the hull is also dyed red, which is called "Red Dragon". There is no black dragon in the dragon boat. Some people say that the goal is fierce, and some people say that Xuanwu in the north is a turtle, and you can't win if you climb slowly. So there is no black dragon boat in Wenzhou.

At the beginning of the dragon boat race, two boats competed, the water chased the waves and the two dragons competed for the championship. The rivers in each township are segmented, and the dragons do not interfere with each other, which is known as Dalongdi and Xiaolongdi. Each dragon boat generally includes a helmsman and 20 rowers, equipped with drums, suona and gongs. Drummers, gongs and suona players each shout for the dragon boat.

As soon as the drums rang, everyone paddled and the dragon boat sang. Accompanied by drums and suona, the rhythm was clear and powerful, showing a rough and rhythmic ethnic customs in front of people.

The number of dragon boats in Wenzhou is rated as 36 people per slot, commonly known as "36 fragrant officials". If it is a little dragon, the hull is 13, with 26 rowers, a flag bearer on the hull, two behind, a sacred song, two drums, two gongs and two incense burners, which is exactly 36 people. Dalong has a stall of 18. There are 36 people rowing on both sides, and the deacons of drums, tips, gongs, flags, singing gods and holding incense barrels 12 people need 48 people.

The clothes worn by boatmen are generally the same color as the national flag. In Cangnan and other places, a white hat in white is a memorial to Qu Yuan. On the surface of the boat, the drum is in the middle, and people rowing on both sides should listen to the drum. There are sharp oars at both ends, which is the rudder, to correct the direction of the rudder. As the saying goes:

Drums are commands, while tips are life.

Gong is used to listen to drums, and it also has an encouraging effect. The color of the flag is obvious so that the audience on the shore can recognize it. Those who sing gods with sticks and fight with incense are trying to incense the official gods, which has no effect in the competition.

Among the dragon boats in Wenzhou, the ones around Shangtang and Xiatang in Yongjia are the most famous. Dragon-fighting is generally carried out in nanxi river, where the water is fast, with a distance of 5km and a round trip of10km.

If you drift with the tide and the tide rises in the middle, or if you drift with the tide and ebb in the middle, you must fight to the end and never stop. In addition, there is no change in direction, and it has to be ranked last. It is equipped with sharp oars at the tail end, two people at the tip and two people at the bow to keep the balance between the fore and aft of the ship.

Two people standing at the end of the dragon's tail move together with 36 paddles, which plays a great role in strengthening the speed. On the way, the water was long against the current, the wind was tight and the waves were urgent, the gongs and drums were loud, the shouts were loud and the scene was spectacular.

Historically, Wenzhou Dragon Boat Race built a water pavilion, which is a unique ornamental dragon boat in Wenzhou. It is called "rowing pavilion" and "pavilion" is also called "colorful boat", which is a kind of dragon boat. The ship is dozens of feet long and more than ten feet wide. The head and tail of the dragon are carved with wood, beard, eyes, scales and so on. , painted or gilded, hung red outside. Under the sunshine, it really has the beauty of "Rizhao Longlin Wandianjin".

There are 33 rowers in the whole boat, all wearing brocade clothes, and they also hire people to pull with ropes on the shore. The music on the boat is melodious and colorful flags are flying. The most famous "Paitaige" are wudan, Hualiutang and Cicada Street.

Pavilions and pavilions are set up on the dragon boat, as well as costumes and swing bands. Children play dramatic roles such as Zen Yue Bai and Eight Immortals crossing the sea. Every Dragon Boat Festival, a newly decorated pavilion swims slowly on the river, which is very spectacular.

The custom of painting pavilions was popular in Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty and early 20th century. Because of the huge cost and limited local financial resources, it is not done every year. Generally, it is planned every other year, depending on the quality of the harvest.

The dragon boat race has the spirit of inspiring people, overcoming difficulties and going forward bravely, and has always been loved by the people, widely circulated and enduring.

The dragon boat in Yangjiang has strong local characteristics. Each dragon boat belongs to a local temple or surname ancestral hall, and has its own standards and titles. Every dragon boat has its own dragon boat association, and the person in charge is called "dragon species", which means inheritance. Dragon seed is responsible for organizing and arranging annual events.

On the first day of the fifth lunar month, dragon boat associations held a solemn "Dragon Boat Festival" ceremony, putting the finishing touch on the dragon head, combing the bun and beard, then rowing to the bamboo forest in the nearby river port to pick green, and then going out to participate in the competition.

Yangjiang traditional dragon boat is 30.6m long and1.2m wide in the middle. It is made of teak or poplar. The dragon head is tall and powerful, the boat body is shiny and black, the head and tail scales are colorful, and the beard is elegant and extremely powerful. There are 54 people in the boat.

They are different from the customs of dragon boat racing all over the world. The dragon boat race here has always followed the way of "sailing against the current", aiming to embody a dragon boat spirit that is not afraid of difficulties and strives for the first place. The world calls it "dragon boat rowing, racing spirit"

In the dragon boat race, the Ssangyong goes upstream side by side, the gongs and drums are loud and the water is splashing, just like the dragon boat river, which is spectacular!

Every year around the Dragon Boat Festival, there is a custom of dragon boat race in Dongguan water towns, among which Wanjiang District, Daojiao Town and Mayong are the biggest. Cylon won the gold medal, which was very lively.

Dragon boat making in Dongguan is very particular, and the tough and light Kundian wood is selected as the keel. After the annual dragon boat race, it was buried at the bottom of the river near the village. Until the eighth day of the fourth lunar month next year, presided over by the elders in the village, young and strong farmers dug up the dragon boat, carried it ashore and polished it. This ceremony is called "Lifting the Dragon Boat".

The dates and places of dragon boat races in various towns are historical heritages and have long been a habit.