May 15th Dragon Boat Festival - Midsummer Carnival in the Old Home Town of Iwobodu

Origin and Abstract This article is written as a systematic response to my classmates who asked me for my opinion on the Dragon Boat Festival on May 15 in my hometown of Yampodu, which is called the "second Dragon Boat Festival". To this end, I firstly stated my childhood happy memories of the Dragon Boat Festival in my hometown, and my continued concern and basic understanding of the Dragon Boat culture after I changed my major from engineering to literature to religious studies. These are the emotional and theoretical basis of my opposition to the "second Dragon Boat Festival". Then, I synthesized what I saw with my own eyes and media reports, showing the amazing development of the Dragon Boat Festival on the 15th of May in my hometown, especially the Dragon Boat Race in the same period, which was guarded by the townspeople enthusiastically, as well as the name confusion caused by the sudden change from a small-circle game in the townships to the popular revelry that was famous in Sanxiang and even more widely. In this regard, while disproving the "second Dragon Boat Festival" claim, I have used the fact that I sent out a congratulatory message on the morning of May 15 this year in my WeChat circle of friends, "I wish my friends and relatives a happy Dragon Boat Festival! "The fact that I sent out a congratulatory message to my friends and relatives on the morning of May 15 of this year on WeChat has demonstrated my firm stance in public support of the use of the term "Big Dragon Boat Festival" to refer to the Dragon Boat Festival on May 15 in Iwapodu. Finally, after the synthesis of the information learned on the evening of the 15th of May this year (June 28, 2018 by the Western calendar), "Hunan News Broadcast" reported " The 15th of May of the Lunar Calendar " big Dragon Boat Festival " ? All over the dragon boat race over the festival" the picture and commentary, determine: the provincial radio is named "big Dragon Boat Festival", the name of the right words to confuse the whole thing!

"Dragon Boat Festival" word, according to my sloppy memory, in my hometown of Hunan Cili rock Po Du was born, grew up, studying, chopping wood, planting vegetables, raising pigs, cooking, farming ...... this experience rich in fourteen and a half years, is not much heard of.

Nonetheless, in my hometown, and many parts of the country on the fifth day of the fifth month of the summer calendar Dragon Boat Festival customs are basically the same festival is still there. The only thing is that this and the May 5th Dragon Boat Festival customs nearly the same holiday, in my hometown is in the summer calendar May 15th. The old family usually say "over fifteen", not say over the Dragon Boat Festival. In my memory, I heard the word "Dragon Boat Festival", and it corresponds to the old family's "over fifteen", or in elementary school before listening to the teacher said.

Speaking of the Dragon Boat Festival in Iwakudu, whether I was in the past in the then Iwakudu Commune, or later Iwakudu Township and Iwakudu Township, in the administrative division of Iwakudu within the scope of the existence of three days and different Dragon Boat Festivals. The Xingxing range of these three Duanwu, centered on the Iwapodu ferry port and divided by the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the river, is as follows: the first five days of May are celebrated in Pingshan and below, the 25th day of May is celebrated in the bamboo hat city and above, and the 15th day of May is celebrated in the narrower Iwapodu in between these two. (The author's knowledge of the boundaries of this area may not be accurate, so please feel free to correct me.)

Among the three different Dragon Boat Festivals in time and space, the Dragon Boat Festivals on the 15th day of the 5th month of the month in Sayayi Yambodu are the most lively, and the Dragon Boat Races, which were held during the Cultural Revolution, were not interrupted, and they were like carnivals. As for the 15th of May over the Dragon Boat Festival to eat dumplings, thanks to the grandmother's hard work and wisdom, every year is there, and even sometimes in the winter can eat fresh dumplings (see my article "Grandma's dumplings, my dumplings"). In order not to misunderstand, this article said the rock berth ferry, if not specified, all refer to the May 15 Dragon Boat Festival in the narrow sense of the rock berth ferry. This narrowly defined Yampodu is where I was born and went to school for nine years, where my memories of Dragon Boat Festival and Dragon Boat Race began, where my basic living customs were formed, and where I am accustomed to living in the sense of my hometown.

Probably in high school, because the class has come from the May 5th Dragon Boat Festival brigade (now called the village) students, I began to pay a little attention to this festival with the same name and customs at the same time the differences. Honestly, I didn't notice anything other than the time difference, and I didn't care about the obvious difference.

The Dragon Boat Race of the rocky ferry, earlier mainly in the rocky ferry above and below the river section of the river, with the riverbed and the construction of the change, the dragon boat race site moved down to the bridge and the old ferry between.

The river, the smallest of the four major rivers in Hunan, Hunan Capital and Yuan River, is the clearest. Qu Yuan "nine songs - Xiang Lady" has "Yuan have dahuric dahuric and Li have orchids" aria, to orchids with the river, when the Department of Taoism and nature, I like. I like it. When Qu Zi was chanting about the river, he might have stayed at the rocky ferry. I was a child of the rocky ferry, the river has not yet been built on the bridge, the car ferry was also built in the 1970s when the Zhiliu Railway was opened. I witnessed the development of the ancient ferry (human ferry) from pole-boat to sailboat. At that time, the water of the river was so clear that you could drink it straight from the bottom. Whenever I read or think of Mao Zedong's "Qinyuanchun - Changsha" "fish fly shallow bottom" sentence, in my mind, I always see the scene of my childhood fish fly river bottom.

Before the bridge was built over the river at Iwapodu, and a viewing platform was built along the river, the spectators of the Dragon Boat Race could only stand on the river side of the street or on the river bank. Riverside (including along the river slate street and the river beach), a natural formation, both the market and the observatory. When I was a child, the old family to go to the street of the rock Po Du not to say on the street, but to say "to the river". This shows the importance of the river and its riverside to the local people.

Nowadays, the river has no shipping, highway and railroad dominated transportation, plus several floods, the impact of the riverside slate commercial street has ceased to exist. "To the river to go" this statement, will be due to the existence of the river and the continuation of the river, but which implies the meaning of shopping shopping, I'm afraid that with the transfer of the commercial center and disappeared.

I was very small when I watched the dragon boat races with the adults crowded on the stone streets along the river, saying that it is to see, in fact, just through the less stable body between the adults, flickering to see, visual memory is not very clear. On the contrary, every Dragon Boat Festival season, as if there is a dragon boat race when the sound of the drums and gongs and vibration of the mountain horn in my ears echo, this is the old home Dragon Boat Festival left me a deep auditory memory.

In the early summer of 1998, when I was still in Dalian, I tried to pack rice dumplings independently for the first time. Although from then on, as long as I was at home during the Dragon Boat Festival, I would do my own dumplings. But I'm afraid the motivation for doing so at that time was mainly to retrieve the texture and taste of my childhood, in addition to that, there are not too many other considerations. The systematic attention to the Dragon Boat Festival came after I moved to Beijing. Nevertheless, it is probably the strong taste memories of my grandmother's dumplings that have awakened my recollection of the Dragon Boat Festival and other traditional events in my hometown.

In 2005, after I changed my profession and enrolled in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to study for my doctorate (and moved to Beijing at the same time), I paid special attention to rituals because I was doing research on Taoist rituals for my dissertation, as well as festivals that are closely related to rituals. In the meantime, the Dragon Boat Festival is said to be the source of the ancient Midsummer Festival.

However, the ancient Midsummer Festival, is in what time over? Is in the solar calendar summer solstice over? Or in the lunar month (including the lunar month of the summer solstice, corresponding to the summer calendar in May) hope day (full moon day, nominalized as the fifteenth day) over? Is it a zone? Or a day? (Strictly speaking, the month of noon refers to a solar month in the solar calendar from the Mangyong Festival to the day before the Xiaozhu Festival in the solar calendar. However, after the sages adapted to the yin and yang composite calendar summer calendar norms, the summer calendar of the lunar calendar of the lunar month of May must include the summer calendar of the solar month of the mid-air solstice -- the solar calendar return to the noon of the year, so the lunar month of May may also be called the month of the noon )

There are advocates of the Dragon Boat Festival from the solstice festival. But now the summer solstice, it is difficult to see the universality of the relevant folk activities, on the contrary, there are some places in the summer calendar May 15 lunar midsummer day Dragon Boat Festival. This is likely due to the solar solstice is not easy for the public to remember, so the solar solstice over the midsummer festival customs, gradually transferred or concentrated to the lunar midsummer day - the afternoon of the moon, the digital record of the month after the emergence of the date of the day and the nominalization of the fifteenth day of the month of May. Mid-Autumn Festival is not in the solar calendar autumn equinox, but in the lunar calendar August 15, probably due to similar reasons. As for the appearance of the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month, probably due to the emergence of the numerical lunar calendar and the worship of "five", the Dragon Boat Festival in many places was shifted to the fifth day of the fifth month (based on the Jianyin summer calendar of the numerical lunar calendar, the month of noon is the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar), and therefore the so-called Dragon Boat Festival was also labeled as the fifteenth day of the fifth month. Therefore, the so-called heavy five said should also be based on the summer calendar. Zhou calendar Jianzi, the month of noon is the seventh month of the lunar calendar; Shang calendar Jian丑, the month of noon is the sixth month of the lunar calendar). This relationship is possible. Therefore, the custom of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival on Midsummer's Day in the lunar calendar on May Wang Day (nominalized as the 15th day) in the summer calendar probably originated earlier than the custom of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival on the 5th day of May, the fifth day of the 5th lunar month. This is also my basic understanding of the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival on the 15th of May in my hometown.

As for the commemoration of Qu Yuan, Wu Zixu and other statements, should be added later. On the rock Po Du May 15 Dragon Boat Festival source, and later learned from the Internet, in the hometown there is a source of commemoration from the local Qing dynasty anti-French national hero Sun Kaihua Governor (General) said. Although this is only a local legend that is not quite certain, it also reflects the kind tradition of the clan to constantly include in their festivals the remembrance of the newly born wise men and women. In this way, the festival also became almost a pantheon. In doing so, it may also directly lead to the forgetting of the true origin of the festival, and its negative effects are obvious.

Places where the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 5th month of the summer calendar are mainly centered in Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan, Chongqing and Guizhou. According to the People's Daily, on June 29, 2018, Hunan Daily reported, "The 15th day of the 5th month of the Dragon Boat Festival? The waves of the Yuan River are fast and the paddles are flying":

On June 27, the waters of the town of Dajiangkou in Xupu County, Yuanjiang River, the county held the "Dajiangkou - Duanwu" Dragon Boat Cultural Festival, with 48 colorful dragons and more than 2,800 warriors competing in the river.

......

Jin Zhongping, director of the Xupu County Culture and Tourism Bureau, introduced that there are two Dragon Boat Festival in Xupu, the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar is the "Little Dragon Boat Festival" and the fifteenth day of the fifth month is the "Big Dragon Boat Festival". ", its customs have been inherited for more than 2000 years. According to legend, Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and the bad news came to Xupu on the fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month, so Xupu people commemorate Qu Yuan with two Dragon Boat Festivals of different sizes. During the Dragon Boat Festival, Xupu people will carry out rowing dragon boats, dumplings and other colorful commemorative activities.

Xupu lagged 10 days with the death of Qu Yuan to explain the cause of the Dragon Boat Festival on the 15th of May, the desire is good. At first glance, it seems reasonable, but it does not stand up to scrutiny. How are the days of the Dragon Boat Festival set in the numerous places relatively close to Miluo and further afield? Why does the Dragon Boat Festival only occur on the fifth, fifteenth and twenty-fifth days of May? In fact, Miluo's Dragon Boat Festival is not limited to the fifth day of the fifth month, but from the first day of the fifth month to the fifteenth day of the fifth month, and called the fifth day of the fifth month for the small Dragon Boat Festival, the fifteenth day of the fifth month for the big Dragon Boat Festival, how to explain?

In fact, now popular Qu Zi's hometown of zigui said, seems to be the six dynasty period only appeared, seems to be no conclusive evidence. As far as I know, Qu Zi's hometown said, as if there are Hanshou said, Linxiang said, Henan Nanyang said, and so on, and even Zhangjiajie said.

However, when I went to zigui a few years ago, I made a surprising discovery: zigui accent, closer to the Cili language than Cili surrounding Shimen, Taoyuan, Dayong (now Zhangjiajie Yongding District), Sangzhi, Hefeng and other counties.

Could it be that Cili people and Zigui people have *** the same distant ancestors and once lived together somewhere?

Zigui people in the summer calendar every year in the month of May over the three Dragon Boat Festival, the first five days of May first Dragon Boat Festival, May 15 over the big Dragon Boat Festival, May 25 over the end of the Dragon Boat Festival.

The Dragon Boat Festival is held on the 15th day of the 5th month of the summer calendar at Yanbo Du, on the 5th day of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 5th month of the 3rd month of the 5th month of the 3rd month. Since the three dodos are not far from each other, it is not a problem for them to go back and forth on foot for a day trip, so it is not a bad idea for them to organize the three Dragon Boat Races on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar month in cooperation with each other. The similarity of their accents means that the three Dragon Boats of the neighboring Ping Shan and bamboo hat city may be the same as the three Dragon Boats of Zigui.

In the Dragon Boat Festival, apart from its origin, much attention has been paid to the dragon boat races. The earliest article written directly related to the Dragon Boat Festival is also about the dragon boat race, "Farewell, Beiqing rowing show! Come on , Hundred Schools Dragon Boat Race!

The first article directly related to the Dragon Boat Festival was also about the Dragon Boat Race.

The Dragon Boat Festival, recognized by UNESCO and inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in October 2009, is the only traditional Chinese festival to have been inscribed on the list, and it is the most internationalized traditional Chinese festival. It is the only Chinese traditional festival on the list, and the one with the most internationalized value. It can also be said to be the Chinese traditional festival with the most soft power. It is the need for the clan *** with care, inheritance, development and dissemination.

If Christmas is actually a Christian contribution to the (northern hemisphere) world of the Winter Festival, then it can be said that the Dragon Boat Festival is China's contribution to the (northern hemisphere) summer festival of mankind. The Chinese government has also been working on a number of new initiatives to improve the quality of life in the country.

During the Cultural Revolution, there was no complete interruption of the Dragon Boat Race on the 15th of May, due to the love of tradition and persistence of the townspeople to inheritance, with the passage of time, it is said to have become Cili County and even Zhangjiajie City, within the scope of the best to maintain the traditional dragon boat races, and may be Zhangjiajie nearly the only continuously active traditional dragon boat races.

In recent years, the rock Po Du May 15 Dragon Boat Festival Dragon Boat Race insisted on holding every year, and even rain as usual. Before the Dragon Boat Festival on the 15th day of the 5th month of the 5th lunar month (June 19th, 2016) of the summer calendar, I returned to my hometown to watch the dragon boat races in my hometown after decades of absence, and I also wrapped up my rice dumplings with some innovations in the fillings exclusively for my family and friends in my hometown (see my humble article, "My Rice Dumplings, Everyone's Rice Dumplings"). It rained early on the 15th of May, the Dragon Boat Festival, and I thought the Dragon Boat Race scheduled for that day would be canceled, and I would not be able to see it. However, I did not expect my old classmate En Hai still braved the rain to pick me up at my home. In the face of my hesitation, Enhai said: Unless the knife falls, the Dragon Boat Race will go on as usual, which is the HaBan (an old family saying, probably equivalent to the "barbaric" often used to describe the character of the people in Hunan Province) temperament of the people of the Yampodu. It is probably also by the townspeople of this "HaBan", survive and develop this valuable human cultural heritage.

When Eun Hae and I arrived near the race course, although the race had not yet started, it was already crowded with umbrellas, making it difficult to get close. We barely managed to squeeze in a spot at the north end of the river bridge where we could see the dragon boats from afar. Below the bridge on the west side, is still under construction of the observation deck. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that, but I think I'm going to be able to do it," he said.

Childhood memories, seeing it again after more than 40 years, seeing it with my own eyes, and the enthusiasm of the participants in the report all convinced me:

The Dragon Boat Festival on May 15 is the Midsummer Carnival of my hometown, Iwapodu!

What Dragon Boat Festival can only say "well-being" can not wish "happy" and so on, pure nonsense. (See my article "Emphasis can only wish" well "is the soft power of the Dragon Boat Festival weakened - insist on the strategic significance of the "Happy Dragon Boat Festival" to talk about)

The rock po Du The Dragon Boat Race was originally just a lively game played by the locals themselves, and it was nothing inconvenient to differentiate it from similar activities up and down the nearby river on the fifth, fifteenth and twenty-fifth days of the year. However, when many people are forgetting the tradition, the townspeople "Harbin" insisted on the rich festivals of the countryside small circle games, but became famous in Sanxiang and even wider public carnival, the festival has become the cultural heritage of mankind, and become a contribution to the summer festival of mankind. Thus, how to refer to this May 15 Dragon Boat Festival, which is different from the May 5 Dragon Boat Festival in most parts of the country, at least in terms of days, has become a problem.

In order to solve this problem, I do not know who, put forward a "two Dragon Boat Festival" said, in the local influence is not small. Here are a few links to web pages with the title "two Dragon Boat Festival":

? June 25, 2013 "The Second Dragon Boat Festival in Iwapodu"

? June 29, 2015 "Pictures of Iwapodu people only live "two Dragon Boat Festival" - Chronicle of the 2015 Iwapodu Township Dragon Boat Competition_Iwapodu Bar_Baidu Post Bar (岩泊渡吧_百度贴吧)

? June 20, 2016 "Cili County, Rockbundu Township successfully held two Dragon Boat Race"

? June 7, 2017 " Cili County, Rockbundu Town, the second Dragon Boat Race waiting for you to get high!

? On June 24, 2018, the town of Yanbodu held the "two Dragon Boat Festival" dumpling wrapping fun competition

? June 28, 2018 - Dragon Boat Competition held in Yanbodu, Cili County

? On June 30, 2018, the town of Yanbodu: river boat race, *** "hi" two Dragon Boat Festival

Yanbodu local people only have a Dragon Boat Festival, how to "two"? As mentioned earlier, the local rock Po Du did not use "two Dragon Boat Festival" to refer to their traditional May 15 Dragon Boat Festival inheritance. "Two Dragon Boat Festival", regardless of the originator is which one, it is clear that this is just a source of watching the bystander position of the statement.

"Two Dragon Boat Festival" this statement, in the bystanders between the private say no harm. In the public **** occasion so said, it seems a bit disrespectful to the local people of Iwapodu. Therefore, the relevant statement, whether from the logic, or from the emotional point of view, is that I can not agree.

However, it is puzzling that some locals have accepted the "second Dragon Boat Festival". In fact, if Cili County, and even Zhangjiajie City, all the rock Po Du, including the Dragon Boat Race on the 15th of May Dragon Boat Festival as the county or the city's valuable cultural resources, then the whole county, and even the city, should not be used in such a way that inevitably dwarfed the suspicion of the designation.

Reassuringly, from the dragon boat race venue podium layout, podium backboard did not see "two Dragon Boat Festival" words, is correct. However, in the Dragon Boat Race podium backboard, but also failed to find the word "Dragon Boat", perhaps still a little confused? Of course, it is more likely that the rock Po Du originally not quite use the word "Dragon Boat Festival" is a true reflection. In any case, is not two!

Exactly how to give the rock Po Du May 15 Dragon Boat Festival name, both can be distinguished from the May 5th Dragon Boat Festival, but also does not make people feel a little two? A few years ago I wrote "grandmother's dumplings, my dumplings" when I considered, but also checked, learned that zigui and other places with "big Dragon Boat Festival" to refer to the May 15 Dragon Boat Festival. However, at that time, considering other factors, did not have the good sense to follow directly, so combined with the summer calendar, May 15 happens to be labeled as the fact that the lunar calendar midsummer day, came up with "midsummer Dragon Boat Festival" such a name. After a few years of trial and error, the feeling is that the "big Dragon Boat Festival" is simple and clear, and then consider the Dragon Boat Festival's Midsummer Day source, May 15 to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival's history may be longer than the first five days of the month, more authentic, worthy of the word "big"!

So, in this year's past May 15 morning with WeChat sent congratulatory words:

Cili rock po big Dragon Boat Festival,

But the first five over fifteen.

Whenever the summer calendar midsummer day,

dragon boat racing urges gongs and drums.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

This is a public demonstration of our firm position in favor of using "Big Dragon Boat Festival" to refer to the Dragon Boat Festival on the 15th day of the 5th lunar month in Iwapodu. (As for the Dragon Boat Festival on the 25th day of the 5th month of the summer calendar, maybe we can refer to it as the "Upper Dragon Boat Festival"?)

Later there was another exciting news - Hunan TV's "Hunan News Broadcast" on the 15th day of the 5th day of the 5th lunar month (June 28th, 2018) reported under the title of "The 15th day of the 5th lunar month "Big Dragon Boat Festival", which includes the Dragon Boat Race in Iwobi. Under the title of "Dragon Boat Race on the 15th day of the 5th lunar month", it reported on the Dragon Boat Race on the 15th day of the 5th lunar month in many places of the province, including Yanbodu, and explicitly used the term "big Dragon Boat Race".

The provincial station is not two!

So far, the origin of the rocky ferry May 15 Dragon Boat Festival "two Dragon Boat Festival" said, can be put to rest!

Today, the Hunan Provincial Television Station to our rock Po Du May 15 Dragon Boat Festival is named: " big Dragon Boat "! From now on, we can rightfully publicize our great Dragon Boat Festival.

Cili rock po big Dragon Boat Festival,

But the first five over fifteen.

The first time I saw this, it was a very good time for me.

The first time I saw this, it was a very good time for me.

I wish you all a happy summer!

(The pictures in the article, except for those labeled as the author Tatsuyaoko photographer, are from the Internet)

The 16th day of the 5th month of the 5th year of the Xia calendar (the day after the big Dragon Boat Festival) / the first draft on June 29, 2018 in the Western calendar

The 19th day of the 5th month of the 5th year of the Xia calendar / the second draft on July 2, 2018 in the Western calendar

The 25th day of the 5th month of the 5th year of the Xia calendar on the upper Duanwu (or the end of the Dragon Boat Festival) / the Western calendar Third draft proofed and synopsis added on July 8, 2018

Image version on the fifteenth day of the fifth month of the year jihai in the summer calendar looking forward to midsummer's end-noon (the big end-noon) / June 17, 2019 in the Western calendar

Text version on the fourteenth day of the fifth month of the year gengzi in the summer calendar on the day before midsummer's end-noon (the big end-noon) / July 4, 2020 in the Western calendar recalibrated