What are the origins or allusions of Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Lantern Festival?

The Origin and Legend of Tomb-Sweeping Day

The traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day in China began in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Tomb-Sweeping Day is first of all a very important solar term. As soon as Tomb-Sweeping Day arrives, the temperature rises, which is a good season for spring ploughing and planting. Therefore, there is a saying that "melons and beans are planted before and after Qingming". Agricultural proverb "Planting trees is not as clear as Qingming". Later, as the days of Qingming and cold food approached, cold food was the day when people banned fire to sweep graves. Gradually, cold food and Qingming became one, and cold food became another name of Qingming and became a custom of Qingming. On Qingming Day, there are no fireworks, only cold food.

There is a legend about cold food:

According to legend, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Jin Xiangong's concubine killed the prince in order to let her son inherit the throne, and Shen Sheng was forced to commit suicide. Shen Sheng's younger brother, Zhong Er, went into exile to escape the scourge. During his exile, Zhong Er suffered humiliation. Most of the courtiers who went out with him went out one after another. Only a few loyal people have been following him. One of them is called meson push. On one occasion, Zhong Er fainted from hunger. In order to save Zhong Er, Jiezitui cut a piece of meat from his leg, cooked it with fire and gave it to Zhong Er. Nineteen years later, Zhong Er returned to China and became the monarch, that is, Jin Wengong, one of the famous five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period.

After Jin Wengong came to power, in addition to meson push, he offered many rewards to courtiers who shared his joys and sorrows. Someone defended meson in front of Jin Wengong. Jin Wengong suddenly remembered the past and felt guilty. He immediately sent someone to ask meson to take the imperial court to be rewarded as an official. However, after several trips, the meson could not be pushed. Jin Wengong had to please. However, when Jin Wengong came to the meson pusher's house, he saw that the door was closed. Jiezitui didn't want to see him, and had already been hiding in Mianshan (now southeast of Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province) behind his mother's back. Jin Wengong asked his body guard to search Mianshan, but he couldn't find it. So, someone had an idea, saying, it is better to let Yamakaji go, set fire on three sides, leave one side, burn it and the meson will come out. Jin Wengong ordered the promotion of Yamakaji. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and nights. After the fire was put out, the meson was not pushed out after all. Looking up the mountain, the mother and son were holding a charred willow tree and were dead. Jin Wengong looked at meson push's body and cried for a while. Then I buried the body and found that the back of meson push was blocked by a willow hole, as if there was something. Take out a look, turned out to be a skirt, with a blood poem:

I hope your master is always clear.

It is better to be a ghost than to accompany you as an exhorter.

If your master has me in his heart, remember that I often reflect.

I have a clear conscience in Jiuquan, diligent and honest.

Jin Wengong hid the bloody book in his sleeve. Then meson tui and his mother were buried under the charred willow tree. To commemorate Jiexiu, Jin Wengong ordered Mianshan to be changed to Jiexiu Mountain, and an ancestral temple was built on the mountain, and the day when Yamakaji was released was designated as the Cold Food Festival, telling the whole country that it is forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers on this day every year and only eat cold food.

When he left, he cut a charred willow and made a pair of clogs in the palace. He looked at it every day and sighed, "What a pity." The "first step" is the name of ancient people's subordinates respecting each other between superiors or peers, which is said to come from it.

The following year, Jin Wengong led his ministers to go hiking in plain clothes to show their respect and condolences. Walking to the grave, I saw the dead old willow tree resurrected, with thousands of green branches dancing in the wind. Jin Wengong looked at the resurrected old willow tree and seemed to see the meson push. He walked up to him respectfully, lovingly squeezed a branch, braided it into a circle and put it on his head. After the sacrifice, Jin Wengong named the revived old willow "Qingming Willow" and named it Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Later, Jin Wengong often took a bloody book with him as a souvenir, urging himself to take power. He is diligent and honest, and strives to govern the country well.

Since then, the people of Jin have been able to live and work in peace and contentment, and they are very nostalgic for Jietui, who has made outstanding contributions and is not looking for wealth. On the day of his death, it is forbidden to set off fireworks in memory of him. It is also made of flour and jujube paste into the shape of a swallow, strung with willows and inserted in the door to summon his soul. This thing is called "pushing swallows" (also called intermediary pushing). Since then, cold food and Qingming have become grand festivals for the people of the whole country. Whenever there is cold food, people don't make a fire to cook, but only eat cold food. In the north, people only eat cold food prepared in advance, such as jujube cakes and wheat cakes. In the south, there are mostly green balls and glutinous rice and sugar lotus roots. Every time I go to Tomb-Sweeping Day, people put wicker in a circle and put wicker branches in front of the house to show their memory.

The Origin and Legend of Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival, which started in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Dragon Boat Festival has many origins and legends. Here are only the following four:

Commemorating 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.

Commemorating Wu Zixu.

The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which spread 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.

In memory of the dutiful daughter Cao E.

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 didn't see her body for several days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old, crying 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.

Totem sacrifice originated from 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' inference, the remaining clan is Baiyue clan, a clan that worships dragon totem 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. During thousands of years of historical development, most Baiyue people have integrated into the Han nationality, and the rest have evolved into many ethnic minorities in the south. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival has become a festival for the whole Chinese nation.

The Origin and Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it develops slowly. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as in Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded. Later, aristocratic scholars followed suit. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they watch and worship the bright and round moon in the sky to express their feelings. This custom spread to the people and formed a traditional activity. Until the Tang Dynasty, people paid more attention to this custom of offering sacrifices to the moon, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Emperor Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, which was very popular in the Song Dynasty.

The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit smashing medicine are widely circulated.

One of the legends of Mid-Autumn Festival-the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon

According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, the crops died in the sun and the people were poor. A hero named Hou Yi has infinite power. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, made full use of his divine power, drew his bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and ordered the last one to rise and fall on time for the benefit of the people.

Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. He married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. Besides hunting, Hou Yi spends all his time with his wife, and people envy this beautiful and loving couple.

Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as teachers, and Meng Peng with ulterior motives joined in.

One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek truth. He happened to meet the Queen Mother passing by and asked her for a bag of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang 'e. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the dresser's treasure chest, but the villain Meng Peng saw it. He wants to steal the elixir to make himself immortal.

Three days later, Hou Yi led his entourage out hunting, while Meng Peng with ulterior motives pretended to be ill. Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd to leave, Meng Peng broke into the backyard of the back room with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Meng Peng. In times of crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure chest, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew into the sky. Because Chang 'e was worried about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy.

In the evening, when Hou Yi came home, the maids cried and told what happened during the day. Hou Yi was surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villain. Meng Peng escaped early. Angry and heartbroken, Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and shouted the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon is exceptionally bright and bright. There is a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e. He chased the moon desperately, but he chased it three times, the moon retreated three times, he retreated three times, and the moon advanced three times. He couldn't catch up anyway.

Hou Yi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruit, and offer a sacrifice to Chang 'e who was attached to him at the Moon Palace. After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people made an incense table under the moon and prayed for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e.

Since then, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has spread among the people.

WU GANG, the second legend of Mid-Autumn Festival, won the laurel.

There is also a legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that osmanthus trees in front of Guanghan Palace on the moon are flourishing, reaching more than 500 feet. There is a man who often cuts down, but every time he finishes cutting, the cut place closes immediately. For thousands of years, this laurel tree can never be cut down. It is said that this tree-chopping man named WU GANG, a native of Xihe in Han Dynasty, once went to heaven with the immortal, but when he made a mistake, the immortal banished him to the Moon Palace and did this kind of hard work in vain every day as a punishment. In Li Bai's poems, there is a record that "if you want to be in the middle of the month, you will pay for the cold."

Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival III —— Zhu Yuanzhang and Moon Cake Uprising

It is said that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of the people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the imperial court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Liu Bowen, a military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his men to hide a note with the words "Uprising on the 15th of August" in the cake, and then sent people to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the 15th of August. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as a single spark can start a prairie fire.

Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly passed on the message that all the soldiers would have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and they would give the "moon cakes" that were secretly sent to the ministers when the war started that year as seasonal cakes. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, and there are more and more varieties, such as dishes, which have also become good gifts. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.

The Origin and Legend of Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China, which began in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Lantern Festival viewing began in the period of Emperor Han Ming in the East. Ming Di advocates Buddhism. He heard that on the fifteenth day of the first month, monks watched the Buddhist relics and lit lanterns to worship the Buddha, so that all the gentry and ordinary people hung lanterns. Later, this Buddhist ceremonial festival gradually formed a grand folk festival. This festival has experienced the development process from the court to the people, and from the Central Plains to the whole country.

Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty ordered the 15th day of the first month to be designated as the Lantern Festival. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the sacrificial activities of "Taiyi God" were scheduled for the 15th day of the first month. Taiyi: the God who rules the universe. When Sima Qian created the taichu calendar Law, he had already identified the Lantern Festival as a major festival.

Another way of saying it is that the custom of burning lanterns in Lantern Festival originated from the "ternary theory" of Taoism; The fifteenth day of the first month is Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July is Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October is Xiayuan Festival. The officials in charge of the upper, middle and lower elements are heaven, earth and man respectively. The celestial officials are happy and the Lantern Festival should be lit.

The festivals and customs of Lantern Festival have been extended and expanded with the development of history. As far as the length of festivals is concerned, there is only one day in Han Dynasty, three days in Tang Dynasty and five days in Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, lights were lit from the eighth day of August until the seventeenth night of the first month, a total of ten days. Connected with the Spring Festival, it is a city during the day, full of excitement, and brightly lit at night, which is spectacular. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, there were more "hundred operas" such as dragon dancing, lion dancing, dry boating, walking on stilts and yangko dancing, but the festival period was shortened to four to five days.

There are several interesting legends about the origin of the Lantern Festival:

Legend of lamp

Legend has it that a long time ago, there were many fierce birds and beasts everywhere that hurt people and livestock, so people organized to defeat them. A god bird was trapped and landed on the earth, but was accidentally shot by an unsuspecting hunter. The Emperor of Heaven was very angry when he learned that. He immediately issued a decree, ordering the heavenly soldiers to set fire to the land on the fifteenth day of the first month, burning all the people, livestock and property. The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven is kind-hearted. She couldn't bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so she risked her life and secretly rushed Xiangyun to the world to tell people the news. When people heard the news, it was like a blow to the head. I'm so scared that I don't know what to do. After a long time, an old man came up with an idea. He said: "On the 14th, 15th and 16th of the first month, every family decorated their houses, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks. In this way, the emperor will think that people have been burned to death. "

Everyone nodded and said yes, and they were ready to go separately. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, the emperor looked down and found that for three consecutive nights, the world was red and the noise was deafening. He thought it was the flame of a big fire, and soon. In this way, people saved their lives and property. In order to commemorate this success, every household hangs lanterns and sets off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first month to commemorate this day.

Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty set it up to commemorate Pinglu.

Another legend is that the Lantern Festival was established by Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty to commemorate Pinglu. After the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Lv Hou's son Liu Ying became Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty. Hui Di was born weak and indecisive, and power gradually fell into the hands of Lv Hou. After Hui Di's death, he monopolized state affairs and turned Liu's world into Lu's. The old courtiers and Liu's imperial clan were deeply indignant, but they were afraid of cruelty and dared not speak out.

After Lv Hou's death, Zhu Lu has been in a state of anxiety, afraid of being hurt and excluded. So, in the general's home, they secretly assembled and plotted to make trouble in order to completely seize Liu's country.

This incident reached the ears of Liu Nang, the king of Qi in the Liu clan. In order to protect Liu's country, Liu Nang decided to fight Zhu Lu. Then, he contacted the founding fathers Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, and planned to get rid of Lv Lu. Finally, the "Zhu Lu Rebellion" was completely put down.

After the rebellion, the ministers made Liu Heng, the second son of Liu Bang, emperor and called him Emperor Wen. Impressed by the hard-won peace and prosperity, Emperor Wen designated the 15th day of the first month of the first month to quell the "Zhu-Lu Rebellion" as a day to have fun with the people, and every household in Beijing celebrated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Since then, the fifteenth day of the first month has become a popular folk festival-"Lantern Festival".

Dong Fangshuo and Yuanxiao Girl

This legend is related to the custom of eating Yuanxiao: According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a favorite named Dong Fangshuo, who was kind and funny. One winter, it snowed heavily for several days, and Dong Fangshuo went to the Imperial Garden to fold plum blossoms for Emperor Wu. As soon as I entered the garden gate, I found a maid-in-waiting in tears ready to throw herself into the well. Dong Fangshuo rushed forward to help and asked her why she committed suicide. It turns out that this maid-in-waiting is named Yuanxiao, and there are parents and a sister at home. She has never seen her family since she entered the palace. Every spring comes, I miss my family more than usual. I think in front of my parents, I would rather die than be filial. Dong Fangshuo expressed deep sympathy for her suffering and assured her that she would try her best to reunite with her family.

One day, Dong Fangshuo left the palace and set up a divination pavilion on Chang 'an Avenue. Many people are scrambling to find him for divination. Unexpectedly, what everyone wants is the signature of "burning us on the 16th day of the first month". Suddenly, there was a panic in Chang 'an. People are looking for a solution to the disaster. Dong Fangshuo said, "On the 13th night of the first month, Vulcan will send a goddess in red to visit the earth. She is the messenger who ordered the burning of Chang 'an. I'll give you the copied poem and let the emperor do something. " Say that finish, then dropped a red pillar and roared off. The people picked up the red post and quickly sent it to the palace to report to the emperor.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took it and read: "Chang 'an is robbing, and the imperial palace is being burned. It has been burning for fifteen days, and the midnight snack is red." He was so scared that he hurriedly invited resourceful Dong Fangshuo. Dong Fangshuo thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Vulcan likes to eat dumplings. Don't Yuanxiao in the palace often make dumplings for you? Let Yuanxiao package jiaozi on 15th night. Long live the incense and offerings, and order every family in Kyoto to pack jiaozi and worship Vulcan together. Then tell the subjects to hang lights together on the fifteenth night and set off firecrackers and fireworks all over the city, as if the whole city were on fire, so that the jade emperor could be fooled. In addition, the people outside the city were informed that they would go to the city to watch the lights on the fifteenth night, and they would eliminate disasters and solve problems in the crowd. Liang Wudi was very happy after hearing this, so he ordered him to do it according to Dong Fangshuo's method.

On the fifteenth day of the first month, Chang 'an City was decorated with colorful lights, crowded with tourists and very lively. The parents of the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao also took their sister to the city to see the lights. When they saw the big palace lantern with the words "Yuanxiao" written on it, they shouted in surprise: "Yuanxiao! Lantern Festival! " When Yuanxiao heard the shouts, she was finally reunited with her relatives at home.

After such a busy night, Chang 'an was safe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and ordered that glutinous rice balls should be made for Vulcan every year on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the whole city was decorated with lanterns and set off fireworks. Because jiaozi cooked by Yuanxiao is the best, people call it Yuanxiao, and this day is called Lantern Festival.