The Origin of Eating Zongzi and Rowing Dragon Boat Festival Brief Introduction of Eating Zongzi and Dragon Boat Race in Dragon Boat Festival

As a traditional festival with a history of more than 2,000 years in China, the Dragon Boat Festival not only has various customs, but also has various origins. Among them, eating zongzi and rowing dragon boats are the most popular. So, what is the origin of eating zongzi and rowing dragon boats on the Dragon Boat Festival? Let's take a look at the introduction of eating zongzi and racing dragon boats on the Dragon Boat Festival.

The origin of eating zongzi and rowing dragon boats on Dragon Boat Festival.

The traditional Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Qu Yuan who threw himself into the river on the fifth day of May. After his death, he was trapped by a dragon and the world mourned for it. Every day, he throws five-color silk zongzi into the water to drive away the dragon. It is said that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, the local people immediately rowed for rescue after hearing the news. When people learned that it was a good minister, Dr. Qu, who was salvaging, they went out in the rain again and rushed into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to express condolences, people rowed boats on the river, and later it gradually developed into a dragon boat race.

The significance of eating zongzi and dragon boat racing on the Dragon Boat Festival;

Zongzi is eaten in memory of Qu Yuan. After Qu Yuan threw himself into the river, people made dumplings and fed them to the fish in the river to prevent them from eating Qu Yuan's body. Later, it evolved into eating zongzi, and dragon boat racing originated from salvaging Qu Yuan. There are also eating zongzi and making sachets, which come from throwing zongzi into the river so that fish can eat zongzi instead of Qu Yuan's body. Throw the sachet into the river to prevent Qu Yuan's body from stinking. These were handed down by the old people when I was a child. Now that I am old, I have the responsibility to pass them on and let future generations know.

Dragon boat race is the main custom of Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, people who originated in the ancient Chu state were reluctant to part with the death of the sage Qu Yuan, and many people rowed boats to save people. They scrambled to catch up with each other and disappeared when they reached Dongting Lake. After that, I will row a dragon boat on May 5th every year to commemorate it. Dispel the fish in the river by rowing a dragon boat to avoid eating Qu Yuan's body. The habit of competition prevailed in wuyue and Chu. In fact, "Dragon Boat Race" existed as early as the Warring States Period. Carving dragon-shaped canoes in drums and playing race games are semi-religious and semi-entertaining programs in the ceremony to entertain the gods and people. Later, in addition to commemorating Qu Yuan, people from all over the world gave different meanings to the dragon boat race.

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

Legend 1: Commemorating Qu Yuan Legend After Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu were very sad and flocked to the Miluo River to pay homage to Qu Yuan. The fisherman paddled the boat and fished for his real body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other foods prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that the ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs were full and would not bite the doctor's body. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that he would stun the dragon water beast with drugs to avoid hurting Dr. Qu. Later, fearing that rice balls would be eaten by dragons, people came up with the idea of wrapping rice with neem leaves and then wrapping colored silk outside to develop zongzi.

After that, on the fifth day of May every year, there are customs of dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine. In memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

Legend 2: In memory of Wu Zixu.

The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, is to commemorate Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period. Legend has it that after Wu Zixu helped Wu attack Chu, He Lv died and Fu Cha succeeded to the throne, and this attack was a great victory. Yu Jian, the King of Yue, invited him to make peace, and Wu Zixu fought the main battle. Fu Cha did not listen, but listened to the treacherous court official's words, making Wu Zixu commit suicide and throwing his body into the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

Legend 3: In memory of Cao E looking for his father's body.

This statement comes from the Cao E Monument in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao E was the father of Shangyu people in the Eastern Han Dynasty. He drowned in the river for several days, but he didn't see his body. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old and cried day and night by the river. 17 days later, he took out his father's body five days after he threw himself into the river on May 5.

Other customs of Dragon Boat Festival

Equipped with sachets and colorful ropes.

Many places in China have the custom of hanging sachets on the Dragon Boat Festival, which is also a way to prevent infectious diseases. It can be worn on the chest, waist or navel, and can also be hung at the door, indoors or in the car. The sachet is filled with Chinese herbal medicines, such as Folium Artemisiae Argyi, Rhizoma Atractylodis and Herba Agastaches. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it has the functions of expelling wind and cold, invigorating spleen and regulating stomach, regulating qi and relieving pain, and dredging channels and nine orifices, thus playing a role in preventing diseases.

Hanging calamus and wormwood

There is a folk proverb that says, "Willows are inserted in Qingming Festival, and wormwood is inserted in Dragon Boat Festival." During the Dragon Boat Festival, every household will put calamus and moxa sticks on the lintel and hang them in the hall. Folium Artemisiae Argyi (also known as Artemisia argyi) is a traditional Chinese medicine that blindly removes fragrance and turbidity, and has a strong detoxification and epidemic elimination effect.

Hanging bell statue

It is the custom of Dragon Boat Festival for Zhong Kui to catch ghosts. In the Jianghuai area, every household hangs bells and statues to ward off evil spirits. Emperor Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty returned to the palace after giving a lecture on martial arts in Lishan Mountain, and malaria was rampant. He dreamed that two ghosts, one big and one small, wore red crotch pants, stole Yang Guifei's sachet and Yu Di of the Ming Dynasty, and ran around the temple. GREAT GHOST, wearing a blue robe and a blue hat, grabbed the child, gouged out his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. When the Ming emperor asked GREAT GHOST, he said, "My surname is Zhong Kui, that is, I am a martial artist." . I am willing to exorcise your majesty. When the Ming emperor wakes up, malaria will be cured. So I asked Wu Daozi, a painter, to draw a portrait of Zhong Kui catching ghosts according to what I saw in my dream, and ordered people to post it on the Dragon Boat Festival to exorcise evil spirits.

Paint the child realgar.

Painting children with realgar is for profit and evil spirits. This custom is rare in cities. There is realgar wine on the market, but we have never drunk it.