The Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the most important festival in summer. Traditionally, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from activities to commemorate Qu Yuan. However, many popular Dragon Boat Festival customs have a longer history than Qu Yuan's legend. Some scholars speculate that the Dragon Boat Festival may have another origin. One of the sayings is that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the taboo of bad days.
Dragon Boat Festival is in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, which is a popular season in midsummer, commonly known as "evil month". Therefore, "Summer" said: "(Can) save the orchid, but save it" (save: accumulate, gather. Braised in brown sauce: collection. Mi: store Mi). "Dai Li" said: "Leave orchids to bathe". The purpose of bathing is to clean and eliminate toxic gases, which is an active preventive measure against the evil month in May. During this period, all actions are also based on the principle of rest and rest. "Book of Rites. Monthly Order: "In midsummer, Yin and Yang struggle, life and death are separated, and gentlemen fast;" Silence, abstinence. " At the same time, there are many taboos in May. According to Ying Shao (AD 178), "Pass? 6? According to the interpretation of 1 Taboo, there are some common sayings in the Han Dynasty, such as "Arrive in May, never move" and "Build a house in May, get bald". May 5th is a particularly bad day. In addition to avoiding "showing your bed and recommending your seat", there is even a proverb "Don't mention May". Historical records? 6? 1 The Biography of Meng Changjun records that Meng Changjun was born on May 5th, and his father Tian Ying planned to abandon him. Because Tian Ying thinks: "If you grow up in harmony with your family, it will be bad for your parents. "The taboo of this evil day is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Today, we can also find out the ingredients to avoid the epidemic from many customs of the Dragon Boat Festival.
The second explanation of the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival was put forward by Mr. Wen Yiduo. Wen Yiduo pointed out in the article "Dragon Boat Festival Examination" that the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival-running and eating zongzi-are related to dragons. He first quoted Wu Jun (AD 467-520) in the "Continuation" of a passage:
On may 2 1 day, qu yuan died of illness in Miluo, and the Chu people mourned. Every day, rice is stored in bamboo tubes and sacrificed in water. During the military construction of Han Dynasty, Changsha returned to Europe. During the day, I suddenly saw a man who called himself Dr. San Lv. He said, "You should see this sacrifice. Very kind. But it is often stolen by the bitter dragon. If there is any benefit today, you can put neem leaves on it and tie it with colored silk. These two things are also what Xiaolong is afraid of. " Go back to his words. The world uses five-color silk and neem leaves to make zongzi, which is a gurgling legacy.
Meanwhile, Wen Yiduo cited several literary examples to support his theory. These records also show that the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is closely related to dragons. Wen Yiduo speculated that the Dragon Boat Festival may have been just a festival of Wuyue people in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. According to ancient legends, wuyue is a country with tattooed hair. As for the purpose of tattooing, it is "like a dragon" to avoid injury. Hanshu? 6? 1 yingshao geography notes: "(yue people) are often in the water, so you can't see any harm by cutting off your hair and tattooing a dragon on your body." Wen Yiduo's conclusion is that the Dragon Boat Festival should be a day when people who take dragons as totems hold totem sacrifices. In other words, it is a Dragon Boat Festival.
Although these statements explain some specific phenomena, it would be a pity if any of them were regarded as the single origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. Rather than saying so, it is better to say that evil days and dragon totems are the possible sources of the Dragon Boat Festival. In the process of historical development, they merged with each other until the legend of Qu Yuan added new impetus to them, and the Dragon Boat Festival flourished and became an important festival.
▲ Legend of Dragon Boat Festival
According to Records of the Historian and Biographies of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, Qu Yuan is a minister who is "knowledgeable, ambitious, knowledgeable in troubled times and good at rhetoric". When he entered the DPRK, he negotiated with the king about state affairs and gave orders; When you go out, you will meet the guests and deal with the weather. Wang is willing to do it. "Because he was highly valued by Chu Huaiwang, he caused the jealousy of Doctor Shangguan and your Yin, and slandered Qu Yuan in front of the reigning king. The king of Chu gradually alienated Qu Yuan, even refused to take his advice, and finally even exiled Qu Yuan. Qu yuan, who was both sad and angry, fell into the rivers and lakes. After writing his masterpiece Huai Sha, he threw himself into the river.
Decades after Qu Yuan's death, the State of Chu was finally destroyed by the State of Qin because of the treacherous court official. But Qu Yuan, a loyal and suspicious tragic hero, still lives in the hearts of Chu people. The following story can be used to illustrate Chu people's love for Qu Yuan.
It is said that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the river, the people of Chu were so sad that they flocked to the Miluo River to pay their respects to Qu Yuan. The fisherman got off the boat and fished his body back and forth on the river. A fisherman also took out zongzi, eggs and other foods prepared in advance and threw them into the river, saying that if fish and shrimp were eaten, they would not bite the doctor. An old doctor took an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that he would stun the dragon with this medicine so that it could not hurt Dr. Qu.
Not long after, a dizzy dragon floated on the water, and a skirt of Dr. Qu was still on the dragon's beard. People pull dragons ashore, pull them off their necks, then wrap them around children's hands and necks, and wipe their brains with realgar wine, so that those poisonous snakes and pests will not dare to hurt these children.
It is said that the day when Qu Yuan jumped into the river was May 5th. Since then, on May 5th every year, people will row dragon boats, eat zongzi and drink realgar wine to commemorate Qu Yuan.
In some areas, Acorus calamus or wormwood will be inserted in the door at the end of the festival, which is of course because wormwood has the function of detoxification. However, there is a folk saying about the origin of this custom.
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao led the troops to revolt, and wherever he went, he killed countless people, causing rivers of blood. As soon as people heard that Huang Chao was coming, they hurried away.
In May this year, Huang Chao's army invaded Henan and arrived in Dengzhou. Huang Chao rode out of the city to see the terrain, only to see the old, weak, women and children pouring out of the city in waves. He saw a woman carrying luggage, holding a little boy in one hand and an older boy in the other. Surprised, Huang Chao dismounted and asked, "Sister-in-law, where are you in a hurry?" The woman replied, "I heard that Huang Chao is a murderous villain and will attack Dengzhou in a few days. All the men in the city were called in to guard the city. We, young and old, might as well run for our lives early. "
Huang Chao pointed to the child and asked her, "Why are you holding the small one in your hand, but holding the big one?" The woman said, "The only one in my arms is my uncle's family who is alive. I have my own son in my hand. In case of emergency, I would rather lose my son than leave a seedling for my uncle. "
Deeply moved, Huang Chao said to the woman, "Sister-in-law, go back quickly and stick calamus and wormwood at the door, so that Huang Chao's army won't hurt you."
The woman was skeptical, but she returned to the city and spread the news. The next day was Duanyang in May. Huang Chao's army stormed into the city, only to find calamus and wormwood hanging on the doors of every household. In order to keep his promise to women, Huang Chao had no choice but to lead the troops, and the whole city was spared.
To commemorate this event, every time after the Dragon Boat Festival, everyone will put calamus and wormwood on the door. This custom has been passed down to this day.