Starting from Qu Yuan's throwing himself into the river, there is actually more than one theory about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Every year, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, every household will smell the aroma of rice dumpling leaves, and dragon boats can be seen racing on the river. This lively festival is the Dragon Boat Festival.
Speaking of its origin, the most widely circulated theory is that it is to commemorate Qu Yuan, the patriotic poet of Chu State during the Warring States Period.
According to records in "Xu Qixie Ji", on the fifth day of May, Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River with a large stone in his arms. After hearing the news, the people were extremely sad and rowed boats to find his body. They were also worried that the fish and shrimp in the river would eat his body, so they filled bamboo tubes with rice and threw it into the river to feed the fish.
Later, the bamboo tube rice gradually evolved into the rice dumplings we eat today, and the custom of rowing and salvaging also transformed into dragon boat racing.
This touching story has made the Dragon Boat Festival carry thousands of years of family and country sentiments, and also prompted Qu Yuan's "Li Sao" and "Nine Songs" to be chanted by generations of people.
Mr. Wen Yiduo’s research revealed that the Dragon Boat Festival may be earlier than Qu Yuan
However, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is far more complicated than we imagine.
Well-known scholar Mr. Wen Yiduo put forward an interesting point of view in "Dragon Boat Examination". He believed that the Dragon Boat Festival was actually an ancient sacrificial festival with dragon totem as the theme in the Wuyue area in ancient times.
At that time, the Baiyue people living in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River regarded the dragon as their ancestor and protector. On the fifth day of May every year, they held grand sacrificial activities. They painted dragon patterns on their bodies, built boats in the shape of dragons, and raced on the water to pray for the dragon's blessing.
This statement is not unfounded. In Zhejiang and other places, archaeologists have discovered a large number of Neolithic cultural relics. Among these cultural relics, there are a large number of dragon-shaped patterns and boat-shaped artifacts, which provide strong evidence for this view.
From a time perspective, this totem worship custom was far earlier than Qu Yuan's life.
Besides Qu Yuan, what other historical figures are related to the Dragon Boat Festival?
In the long history of evolution, people in different regions have associated the Dragon Boat Festival with local historical figures.
For example, in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it is popularly said that the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Wu Zixu statement.
Wu Zixu was a doctor of the Wu Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was full of loyalty, but he was framed by others. In the end, he was given a sword by King Wu Fu Chai and asked him to cut his own neck and die. His body was actually stuffed into leather and thrown into the Qiantang River.
According to legend, that day happened to be the fifth day of May. The local people felt his steadfastness and loyalty, so every year on this day, they held a ceremony on the river to welcome Wu Zixu, the "God of Waves".
In addition, there are memorials in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Dutiful daughter Cao E customs.
On the river, Cao E's father accidentally fell into the water during the Dragon Boat Festival ceremony and disappeared. Cao E, who was only 14 years old, stood by the river, mourning and crying for seven days and nights, and finally threw herself into the river. Five days later, her body emerged from the water with her father's body in her arms.
This story was recorded in Kuaiji Dianlu and moved countless people.
From Summer Solstice to Dragon Boat Festival, cultural fusion of traditional festivals
There is also a saying that the Dragon Boat Festival and ancient summer solstice festival There are inextricably linked.
In the past years, the summer solstice was the time of the year when the sun, temperature, and moisture were at their most vigorous. Ancient people believed that diseases could easily breed and spread during this time of year, so they used various methods to drive away evil spirits to avoid plague infestations.
For example, bathing with orchids, hanging calamus and mugwort, and drinking wine made from realgar, etc. These customs have since been integrated into the Dragon Boat Festival.
In terms of time, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month happens to be close to the summer solstice. In the long process of development, these two festivals gradually merged.
By the time of the Han Dynasty, the Dragon Boat Festival had become an important national festival. On this day, people not only eat rice dumplings and race dragon boats, but also hold various activities to ward off evil spirits and avoid epidemics.
It should be said that the Dragon Boat Festival is a festival with multi-source and multi-element characteristics. It integrates many cultural connotations such as totem worship, commemoration of historical figures, and solar terms and health preservation, and ultimately creates the colorful festival customs we witness today.
Different Dragon Boat Festival legends from different places make this festival more warm
In addition to the above mainstream sayings, there are also many regional Dragon Boat Festival legends circulating among the people.
For example, there is a story about four heroes in Mianyang, Hubei.
Rumor has it that there were four local heroes who were chivalrous and courageous. They specialized in robbing the rich and giving to the poor to help the poor people. Then they were encircled and suppressed by officers and soldiers and were forced to throw themselves into the river on the fifth day of May.
In order to commemorate these four heroes, the local people designated this day as the Dragon Boat Festival.
Although these legends may not necessarily have exact historical records, they still reflect the ordinary people's simple pursuit of justice and kindness.
After more than two thousand years, the Dragon Boat Festival is still passed down. The reason for this is not just a tragic historical story, but more importantly, it carries the Chinese nation’s common recognition of the beautiful qualities of loyalty, filial piety, and justice.
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