What is the story behind Dragon Boat Festival?

In ancient times, the customs of the north and the south were different. In the pre-Qin period, the festival customs of the Dragon Boat Festival were rarely recorded in the Central Plains literature, so the existing literature can not directly research its origin. [18-20] The word "Dragon Boat Festival" was first seen in the Jin Dynasty Zhou's "Fengdong Ji" : "Midsummer Dragon Boat Festival, cook black millet." [98] The word "end" has the meaning of "initial", so "end five" is "fifth day". According to the calendar, May is the "noon" month, so the "Dragon Boat Five" has gradually evolved into the "Dragon Boat Festival". "Yanjing year's record" records: "The fifth day is the single five of May, cover the end of the word to change the sound also." [98]

The "end" of "Dragon Boat Festival" means "right", "noon" is "middle", and this noon is the middle of the right. The ancients used the sky dry earth branch as the carrier, the sky dry bearing the road of the day, the ground branch bearing the road of the earth, the sky dry ground branch to contract the movement of the earth and the earth personnel, the era of universal sky dry ground branch. The dragon is in the sky, and the dragon star is in the south of the sky at this time, which is the most "right" position for the weekday operation throughout the year, which is both "right" and "right". The ancients have always advocated the way of middle and right, and the way of "middle and right" is manifested incisively and vividly here. In addition, the end also has the meaning of "early", so the first afternoon of the afternoon (May) month is also called Dragon Boat Festival

Festival origin

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Central Plains had the custom of Dragon Boat Festival. [103] As a festival, the Dragon Boat Festival was formed in the Han Dynasty. In the Eastern Han Dynasty Ying Shao's "Customs" there is a lunar May 5th people to avoid military ghosts, disease prevention and epidemic prevention records. [98]

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, from ancient times to the present, the main argument is: to commemorate Qu Yuan said, Ying Tao God said (Wu Zixu died into Tao God), the evil day said, the dragon festival said (that is, sacrifice dragon totem said), the summer solstice said. 

Ancient theory

Bath orchid festival said

The ancients picked bluegrass in May, and the popularity of bathing in bluegrass soup and removing poison was common. Xia Xiaozheng: "In May,... The plum is boiled for the bean fruit, and the orchid is stored for the bath." Qu Yuan "Nine songs · Cloud king" cloud: "Bath LAN Tang Xi Mu Fang, Huacai Xi if Ying." Southern Liang Zonglin "Jingchu year of memory" cloud: "May 5 called the bath orchid Festival." This custom spread to the Tang and Song dynasties, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival for the moon of bath orchid. [98]

Bad sun theory

In the pre-Qin period, it was generally believed that May was a toxic month, and the fifth day was a bad day. According to the book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the bathing of the Zhou Dynasty. The chapter "Midsummer" in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in the month of May. "Xia Xiaozheng" in the record: "This day to store medicine, in order to remove toxic gas." "Big Dai Li" in the record, "May the fifth orchid as a bath", to bath exorcism. There are also many legends about double five being the day of death. The Biography of Meng Changjun, a famous man in history, was born on May 5. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, believing that "the son of May, who is older than the family, will be disadvantageous to his parents." "Custom" lost article, "the common say May 5th child, male harm father, female harm mother." Wang Chong, the author of On Heng, also described: "Taboo lifting the first month, the fifth son; A son may not kill his father or mother in the first or fifth month." The Eastern Jin General Wang Zhenxi was born on the fifth day of the fifth month, and his grandfather named him "Zhenxi". In ancient times, it is a common phenomenon that the fifth day of May is a bad day. Since the pre-Qin period, this day has been an unlucky day. On this day, it is a natural thing to plant calamus and mugwort leaves to ward off ghosts, incense atractylodes, angelica and drink realgar wine to ward off epidemics. And people also avoid "Duanwu" taboo, called "Dragon Boat Festival". [98]

Number worship theory

From the perspective of digital folklore, China has always had a tradition of digital worship. Xu Zhi, a man of The Three Kingdoms Period, said in his "Three and Five Li Records" : "The number begins in one, stands in three, becomes in five, reaches in seven, and lies in nine." These odd numbers, belonging to both heaven and Yang, have mysterious and auspicious properties, and are important time nodes. Yang and Yin, heaven and earth, together, it becomes a special time, so the first month, February 2, March 3, May 5, June 6, July 7, September 9, have become major folk festivals. [98]

Commemorating historical figures said

The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates Qu Yuan, Wu Zixu, Cao E, King Gou Jian, Jie Zitui, Chen Lin, Ma Yuan, Madame Baijie, Liu Jing, Zhong Kui, the ghost hunter, Bai Suzhen in the Legend of the White Snake, etc.