The fragrance of rice dumplings fills the kitchen, the fragrance of mugwort leaves fills the room with fragrance. This is not someone’s poem. These lines come from the nursery rhyme "Zongzi Fragrance".

All of "Zongzi Fragrance": Zongzi is fragrant, and the kitchen is fragrant. The fragrance of moxa leaves fills the hall. A moxa stick is stuck on the door, and when you go out, you can see the yellow wheat. Duanyang here, Duanyang there.

According to "The fragrance of rice dumplings fills the kitchen, the fragrance of mugwort leaves fills the hall", it can be seen that the traditional festival described in this folk song is the Dragon Boat Festival, which is to commemorate the historical figure Qu Yuan. In 278 BC, Ying, the capital of Chu State, was occupied by Qin State. Qu Yuan was so desperate that he threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of May that year and died for his country. Qu Yuan died for the country and the people. The people of Chu State commemorate their poet in various ways. To this day, every year on the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of May, we race dragon boats and eat rice dumplings. It is said that this is all to commemorate Qu Yuan, the great patriotic poet.

Introduction to the Dragon Boat Festival

According to statistics, the name of the Dragon Boat Festival has the most names among all traditional festivals in China, with more than 20 names, such as Dragon Boat Festival, Chongwu Festival, and Duanyang Festival. Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, May Festival, Iris Festival, Bath Orchid Festival, Girl's Day, Zongzi Festival and so on.

Before the Tang Dynasty, the commonly used name was "the fifth day of May". After the Tang Dynasty, "Dragon Boat Festival" replaced other names such as "the fifth day of May" and became the mainstream name.

The Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are also known as the four traditional Chinese folk festivals. In September 2009, UNESCO officially approved its inclusion in the Representative List of Human Intangible Cultural Heritage, making the Dragon Boat Festival the first Chinese festival to be selected as a world intangible cultural heritage.

Although the Dragon Boat Festival is called a "festival", because it is of a sacrificial nature, just like the Qingming Festival, you must not say "Happy Holidays"!

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

There are many theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan, the theory of commemorating Wu Zixu, the theory of commemorating Cao E, the theory of starting from the Summer Solstice Festival of the Three Dynasties, the theory of evil The theory of warding off evil days in the moon, the theory of Wu Yue national totem sacrifice, etc.

But the most popular one is the commemoration of Qu Yuan. Regarding commemorating Qu Yuan, it is said that this is the story:

Since Chu was defeated by Qin, it has been bullied by Qin. King Chu Huai wanted to reunite with Qi. After King Zhaoxiang of Qin came to the throne, he wrote a letter to King Huai of Chu politely, asking him to meet him in Wuguan (southeast of Danfeng County, Shaanxi Province) to make an alliance in person.

King Huai of Chu received a letter from King Zhaoxiang of Qin. If he didn’t go, he was afraid of offending Qin; if he went, he would be afraid of danger. He discussed it with the ministers.

Doctor Qu Yuan said to King Huai of Chu: "Qin is as violent as a jackal. We have been bullied by Qin more than once. As soon as the king goes, we will definitely fall into their trap."

< p>But Prince Zilan, the son of King Huai of Chu, strongly urged King Huai of Chu to go, saying: "In order to treat Qin as an enemy, many people died and the land was lost.

Now that the state of Qin is willing to make peace with us, how can we reject it?"

King Huai of Chu believed the words of the young master Zilan and went to the state of Qin.

As expected by Qu Yuan, as soon as King Huai of Chu stepped into Qin's Wuguan, he was immediately cut off by the men and horses ambushed by Qin. During the meeting, King Qin Zhaoxiang forced King Chu Huai to cede the land in central Guizhou to Qin, but King Chu Huai refused. King Zhaoxiang of Qin took King Huai of Chu to Xianyang and put him under house arrest. He asked the ministers of Chu to redeem him with land before releasing him.

When the ministers of Chu State heard that the king was being taken into custody, they made the prince the new king and refused to cede the land. This king is King Qingxiang of Chu. Prince Zilan became the governor of Chu.

King Huai of Chu was detained in Qin for more than a year and suffered a lot. He took the risk and escaped from Xianyang, but was chased back by Qin troops. He was still sick and died in Qin not long after.

The people of Chu were very unhappy because King Huai of Chu was bullied by Qin and died outside. Doctor Qu Yuan was especially angry. He advised King Qingxiang of Chu to recruit talents, stay away from villains, encourage soldiers, train soldiers and horses, and avenge the country and King Huai.

However, his advice was not only ineffective, but also attracted the hatred of Ling Yin Zilan, Jin Shang and others. They spoke ill of Qu Yuan in front of King Qingxiang every day.

They said to King Qingxiang of Chu: "Have you not heard that Qu Yuan scolded you? He always told others: If the king forgets the hatred of Qin, it is unfilial; if the ministers do not advocate resistance to Qin, they are unfilial. Unfaithful.

If Chu has such unfaithful and unfilial monarchs and ministers, how can the country not be destroyed? Your Majesty, think about what this is called! ”

King Chu Qingxiang was furious after hearing this, and dismissed Qu Yuan from his post and exiled him to southern Hunan.

Qu Yuan held the ambition to save the country and the people, and planned to enrich the country and strengthen the people. He was so angry that he was pushed out by traitorous officials. After he arrived in southern Hunan, he often sang sad poems while walking around the Miluo River (in the northeast of today's Hunan Province, Miyin mì). The farmers knew that he was a patriotic minister and sympathized with him. At this time, there was a fisherman who often fished in the Miluo River. He admired Qu Yuan's character but did not agree with his depressed look.

< p>One day, Qu Yuan met a fisherman by the river. The fisherman said to Qu Yuan, "Aren't you a doctor from the state of Chu?" How did it get to this point? ”

Qu Yuan said: “Many people are dirty, but I am the only clean person; many people are drunk, but I am the only one who is awake.” So I was rushed here. "

The fisherman said disapprovingly: "Since you think others are dirty, you shouldn't claim to be noble; since others are drunk, why should you be sober alone!" "

Qu Yuan objected: "I have heard people say that people who have just washed their hair always flick their hats, and people who have just taken a bath always like to dust off their clothes. I would rather jump into the middle of the river and be buried in the belly of the fish than jump into the mud with my clean body and become dirty. ”

Because Qu Yuan was unwilling to live with the tide, on the fifth day of May in 278 BC, he finally committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo River with a big stone in his arms.

Nearby farmers After receiving this letter, they all rowed boats to rescue Qu Yuan. However, there was no trace of Qu Yuan in the vast water. After fishing for a long time in the Miluo River, they could not find Qu Yuan's body. The fisherman felt very sad, so he threw the rice in the bamboo tube toward the river as a gift to Qu Yuan.

On the fifth day of May the next year, the local people remembered that this was Qu Yuan's sacrifice. On the first anniversary of Jiang's death, they rowed a bamboo tube filled with rice and threw it into the water to worship him. Later, they changed the bamboo tube filled with rice into rice dumplings and rowed a small boat into a dragon boat to commemorate Qu Yuan. The activity gradually became a custom.

People call the fifth day of the fifth lunar month the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that this is how it came about.