Qu Yuan, a native of Chu, was studious, knowledgeable and ambitious when he was young. But he listened to rumors and exiled him to Hanbei and Yuanxiang Valley. Later, when Bai Qin rose to destroy Chu, his ambition was nowhere to be found. He was crying by the Luojiang River. It was May 5th, and the Chu people mourned it, storing rice in bamboo tubes and throwing water at it. Later generations commemorated it with Duanyang Festival on May 5th.
From this perspective, it's just that Qu Yuan threw himself into the river on the Dragon Boat Festival. In fact, the Dragon Boat Festival has nothing to do with Qu Yuan. The Dragon Boat Festival is just to commemorate Qu Yuan.
Both historical researchers and cultural scholars believe that there was the Dragon Boat Festival long before Qu Yuan. Dragon Boat Festival was originally held for the tribes who worshipped dragon totem in Baiyue area (the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the south area) in ancient times. Before the Spring and Autumn Period in Baiyue area, it was customary to hold tribal totem sacrifices in the form of dragon boat races on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. As we all know, Qu Yuan was a native of Chu during the Warring States Period, which was preceded by the Spring and Autumn Period and then the Warring States Period. So the Dragon Boat Festival is not born because of Qu Yuan, but because of Qu Yuan.
According to the historical tradition of China, May 5th is an evil month and an evil day. According to the records of the Book of Changes and other ancient books, yin evil was born in May, and May 5th is exactly the time when the yang spirit runs to the end of the day. On this day, many diseases and plagues raged. Therefore, people insert mugwort leaves, hang calamus, drink realgar wine and match sachets to ward off evil spirits and strengthen the body.
Later, because Qu Yuan, a poet of the State of Chu (now Hubei) in the Warring States period, threw a huge stone into the Miluo River that day, the ruler took the Dragon Boat Festival as a festival to commemorate Qu Yuan in order to establish the label of loyalty to the monarch and patriotism. In some areas, Wu Zixu and Cao E are also commemorated.
From the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival, we can also see the time sequence:
Eat zongzi: Zongzi, also known as "millet" and "Zongzi". It has a long history and various patterns. According to records, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, millet was wrapped into horns by leaves of zinia latifolia, which was called "horny millet". Rice packed in bamboo tubes is sealed and baked, which is called "tube zongzi". Until today, every year on the fifth day of May, every household has to soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and make zongzi, with more varieties of colors.
Dragon Boat Race: The custom of dragon boat race on the Dragon Boat Festival existed long before Qu Yuan. Before the Spring and Autumn Period in Wuyue, there was a custom of holding tribal totem sacrifices in the form of dragon boat races on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
In Qu Yuan's own poems, the custom of dragon boat racing at that time can also be reflected, so it can be concluded that the custom of dragon boat racing did not come into being after Qu Yuan threw himself into the river.
For example, there is such a sentence in "Songs of the Chu River": "Go to Yuan by boat, and lose the battle with Wu Bang. The ship is tolerant of not moving forward, and it is stagnation submerged by backwater. It's embarrassing in the morning and sunny at night. " Qu Yuan's long, narrow, light and small boat was essentially a boat used for the competition at that time.
The origin of Dragon Boat Festival is mainly as follows:
First, in memory of Qu Yuan.
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. Fishermen rowed back and forth on the river to salvage his body. In order to prevent Qu Yuan's body from being eaten by ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs, people threw rice balls into the river and poured realgar wine into the river. Since then, on the fifth day of May every year, there is the custom of dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine.
The theory of commemorating Qu Yuan is the most popular and influential one in all folklore, and scholar Tan Shaobing has made a series of arguments about it. Huang also believes that although there are different opinions, the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan still occupies the mainstream position.
Second, in memory of Wu Zixu.
In Wu's hometown of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, it is generally believed that the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period. Wu Zixu was executed by Fu Cha for slandering, and Fu Cha ordered Wu Zixu's body to be thrown into the river on May 5th, so it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Wu Zixu.
Professor Ge Chunyuan of Suzhou University of Science and Technology once said that among the five people who commemorated the Dragon Boat Festival in China, Qu Yuan was very famous, and people gradually took the Dragon Boat Festival as a festival to commemorate Qu Yuan, but he believed that the dragon boat race originated in commemoration of Wu Zixu. Zong Zhuo, the author of the story Jingchu Chunqiu, bluntly said that race is "the custom of Dongwu, which is related to Zixu and has nothing to do with Qu Ping".
Third, in memory of Cao E said
In eastern Zhejiang, local residents regard the Dragon Boat Festival as a festival to commemorate their filial daughter Cao E. 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.
Fourthly, ancestor worship: the totem worship of heaven and dragon.
The Chinese nation is an admirer of the dragon totem. In the Dragon Boat Festival Examination, Mr. Wen Yiduo believes that the Dragon Boat Festival is the ancestor worship day for people who worship the dragon totem. In ancient times, the Yangtze River in China and most of its southern areas were flooded in May, so people pinned their hopes on the dragon in charge of water and prayed for a year of good weather and safe navigation.
Mr. Wen Yiduo also listed folklore related to the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival, which generally involved four ancient people, namely Jiexiu, Gou Jian, Qu Yuan and Cao E. Later, Qu Yuan surpassed others and became the object of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Five, the summer solstice theory
Scholars such as Huang and congratulatory letter believe that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the ancient "Summer Solstice Festival". In ancient times, "Kunri" and "Ganri" were two major festivals in a year. In ancient times, the solstice festival in summer was the New Year in Yin and Shang Dynasties.
Liu Deqian, who also holds this view, put forward three main reasons:
(1) The authoritative book Jingchu Chunqiu records eating zongzi during the summer solstice.
(2) Some contents in the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as "stepping on a hundred herbs", "fighting a hundred herbs" and "picking herbs", have nothing to do with Qu Yuan.
(3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in Ji Huali is: "The sun is shining, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in midsummer, so it can also be called' the festival in the sky'."
Therefore, the earliest origin of the noon festival is the summer solstice.
Sixth, the theory of evil nature
Some scholars believe that the Dragon Boat Festival is an "evil day" for a long time. "Xia Zheng Xiao" records: "Store medicine this day to get rid of poisonous gas." It is written in "Da Dai Li" that "the livestock orchid bathes on May 5th" to ward off evil spirits by bathing.
Children born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month are also regarded as ominous, and most of them are abandoned by their parents. Meng Changjun was born on May 5th. His father thinks that "children born in May, who are longer than Hu Qi, will be bad for their parents." Wang Zhene, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of May. His grandfather named him "Zhen Xie". It can be seen that from the beginning, people generally think that May is an evil month, and the fifth day is even worse. In this way, it is logical to insert calamus and mugwort leaves to exorcise ghosts, smoke atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica and drink realgar wine to avoid the epidemic on this day.