Dragon Boat Racing
Before the dragon boat race, please invite dragons to offer sacrifices to the gods. For example, before the Dragon Boat Festival in Guangdong, you should go out of the water, worship the Nanhai God in the Nanhai Temple, install the dragon head and tail, and then prepare for the race. And buy a pair of paper cocks and put them on the dragon boat, thinking that they can keep the boat safe (vaguely corresponding to the ancient bird boat). Fujian and Taiwan went to Mazu Tempel to worship. Some directly kill chickens in dragon festival by the river, and the dragon first drops blood, such as Sichuan, Guizhou and other individual areas.
In Miluo County, Hunan Province, before the dragon boat race, you must go to Quzi Temple to worship the dragon head, put red cloth on the dragon head, and then race the dragon boat, not only to worship the dragon god, but also to commemorate Qu Yuan.
All kinds of sacrificial ceremonies and commemorative ceremonies are nothing more than burning incense and burning money for roast chicken, cooking rice, burning meat, offering fruit, zongzi and so on. Nowadays, these superstitious ceremonies are rare, but in the past, when people went to the Dragon Palace to offer sacrifices, the atmosphere was very serious, praying for a bumper harvest in agriculture, good weather, evil spirits and all the best, and wishing boating safety. In people's words, "to be auspicious" expresses people's inner good wishes.
Toyosu
Dragon boat race is the same as the dragon dance and phoenix dance in the Spring Festival. There are dragon boats and phoenix boats in the Dragon Boat Festival. As mentioned earlier, the origin of phoenix boat comes from ancient black boat and stork boat. In ancient times, there were phoenixes in the court (such as "Tianfu Guangji" in the Ming Dynasty), and there were phoenixes racing among the people. "Guangdong Capsule" contains: "The dragon boat hangs the doctor and the phoenix boat hangs the sky, all of which win in five days. In the summer of Gengwu, Shi Qiaocun in Panyu gathered in Wanjin to make a phoenix boat, ten feet long and three feet wide, with the ends held high. On both sides, the wings are relaxed and gathered together, and the temple is squatting, so that you can visit the water town after worshipping. " After 1964, there will be a boat race in Hong Kong. The boat is a little shorter, so you can take 16 players. Decorated with a crown and a crown, female players participate in the competition. It is indeed a good form of competition.
There are dragon and phoenix boats in some places. "Shunde County Records" contains: "Daliang Dragon and Phoenix Boat, strange and gorgeous." But it's gone now. The dragon boat in Miluo County, Hunan Province, has a dragon head in front and a phoenix tail in the back. Phoenix tail is fan-shaped, wrapped in red paper and inserted in the stern, like a rectangular tail. It can also be called dragon and phoenix boat. Dragon and phoenix boats seem to be traces left by the fusion of dragon boats and bird boats.
Tie five-color silk thread
Ying Shao's "Custom Pass" records: "On May 5, Sun tied his arm with colorful silks, named" Long life, one to continue life, one to fight for soldiers, one to fight for five colors, and one to fight for soldiers and ghosts, so that people would not get sick. " Multicolored silk is not a colorful silk thread, but a combination of certain red, yellow, blue, white and black silk threads.
In ancient China, five colors were worshipped, which were auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first important thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color lines on their wrists, ankles and necks. Children are not allowed to talk when tying the thread. The five-color line cannot be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river when it rains heavily in summer or takes a shower for the first time. It is said that children wearing five-color thread can avoid the harm of snakes and scorpions; Throwing it into the river is to let the river wash away plagues and diseases and make children safe and healthy.
Hang a wallet
When I was young, Guangji quoted the miscellaneous notes when I was young and said, "The Dragon Boat Festival is made up of red and white, and the colored lines run through it, making it look like a flower." Another kind of "mussel powder bell": "On the fifth day, mussel powder is placed in silk and decorated with cotton, if there are several beads. Let the children take it to absorb sweat. " The things in these carry-on bags have changed several times, from sweat-absorbing mussel powder, amulets to ward off evil spirits, copper coins and realgar powder to sachets filled with spices, and their production has become increasingly exquisite, becoming a unique folk art of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Folium Artemisiae Argyi, Rhizoma Acori Graminei and Garlic
Ai, Acorus calamus and garlic are called "Three Friends of Dragon Boat Festival". In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Dragon Boat Festival was also called "Mulan Festival", and Jingchu had the custom of picking Ai. To pick wormwood, you should start before the cock crows. Choose the most humanoid wormwood and take it back and hang it on the door. Some even tie wormwood into the shape of a tiger, and then stick wormwood leaves on it. Folium Artemisiae Argyi and Rhizoma Acori Graminei contain aromatic oil, which has the same bactericidal effect as garlic. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the summer solstice is approaching, which is the time when cold and heat alternate. Attention should be paid to everything from diet to dressing and action. There is a proverb in Baoshan County: "If you don't eat Zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival, you can't send cold clothes;" After eating the Dragon Boat Festival Zongzi, freeze it three times. "In ancient times, people lacked scientific concepts and mistakenly thought that all diseases were evil spirits. Therefore, on the Dragon Boat Festival, people use calamus as the sword, wormwood as the whip and garlic as the hammer, which are also called "three weapons", thinking that they can repel snakes, insects and germs and eliminate evil spirits.
In Jiangnan, drinking calamus wine on Dragon Boat Festival is a custom, so its medicinal effect is more direct. Usually, Acorus calamus is chopped before the festival, mixed with realgar, soaked in wine, and can be drunk on holidays.
Write a spell, recite a spell.
In addition to exorcising ghosts with "three friends of Dragon Boat Festival" such as Ai, Acorus calamus and garlic, there is also an important method of exorcising ghosts, that is, hanging spells indoors to ward off evil spirits. Hang exorcism symbols and some strict rituals. If required, it must be written at sunrise or noon on the Dragon Boat Festival. Writing materials must be made of raw Zhu, and saltpeter must be placed in inkstones and among writing people. The more popular spells are: "On the fifth day of May, the red mouth and white tongue disappear" and so on. Shanghainese are used to hanging the statue of Zhong Kui at the entrance of Dragon Boat Festival, which is the continuation and evolution of this custom to ward off evil spirits. In addition, similar to this custom, there is realgar wine on the child's forehead. On the morning of the festival, women put mugwort on children's ears and calamus on their heads, and then write a "king" on their foreheads with realgar wine. It is said that this can make all ghosts afraid and save their lives.
Liu She
Different from the dragon boat races in the south, the northernmost features are archery and polo.
All ethnic groups in northern China have never had the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival competition, let alone Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet of the Han nationality in southern China. However, in the history of Liao, Jin and Qing dynasties, there were competitive customs of Qidan, Jurchen and Eight Banners soldiers shooting willows and playing polo during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Northerners' Dragon Boat Festival Celebration Game-Shooting Willow. It is said that this kind of competitive activity appeared in Liao Dynasty and lasted until the end of Qing Dynasty.
On the morning of Dragon Boat Festival, people will shoot willows and release horses. First, cut a section of green skin from the middle and upper part of the willow trunk to make it white as a bull's eye. Then the contestants galloped in turn and shot at the white place with bows. After shooting down Necole Liu, whoever can catch the broken willow will be the winner. "Jin Li Shizhi": "Because of the customs of Liao country, the willow was planted in the ground for several inches on the fifth day of Jin Dynasty, and its skin was peeled and white. First, one person gallops, and then gallops with featherless arrows. It is best to break the willow tree by hand to relax. What can't be picked up is second. Every shot must be drummed to help. " In the Ming Dynasty, birds were stored in gourds and shot. This festival competition didn't become a habit until the late Qing Dynasty.
play polo
Ming Taizu's bow map. Bowing, that is, playing polo, is also one of the main economic and recreational activities in the northern Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, was a fan of this sport.
Playing polo is also one of the ways to play the Dragon Boat Festival. Polo is riding a horse and hitting with a stick. In ancient times, it was called bowing. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a saying in Cao Zhiming's name that "there is a sentence in a row". In Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty, there was a wide stadium, and emperors such as Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Jing Zong all liked polo. Ma Qiutu, in the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai, depicts the prosperity of polo in the Tang Dynasty: more than 20 horses galloped at high speed and their ponytails were tied up. Players are wearing shawls, boots and sticks, hitting each other one by one. Analysis of Golden Branches records the traditional custom of polo as a festival in Liao country, and polo is played on Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival. Li Shizhi also recorded that Jin people hit the ball during the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Song Dynasty, there was a "Ball Play Music" dance team. In the Ming Dynasty, polo was still popular. According to the general examination of continued literature, Ming Chengzu hit the ball and shot the willow many times in Dongyuan. In the Ming Dynasty's "Music Map of Xuanzong", there are scenes of Xuanzong enjoying polo. At that time, Wang Zhi, an official, wrote a poem about watching the game in the afternoon: "Jade is like a golden horse, carved with seven treasures." When you fly, you will be shocked and feel the stars. The incitement page has become three wins, and joy is the first. Qingyun follows the footsteps and winds in the eastern end of the temple. "In front of the Baiyun Temple in Beijing, there are also rules for the masses to ride horses and hit the ball. There were polo in the Temple of Heaven in Qing Dynasty, and polo didn't disappear until the middle of Qing Dynasty. Antique polo recently appeared in Xi, which made this ancient sport reappear in China after years of disappearance.
Collect herbs
This is one of the oldest customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. "Xia Zhengxiao" contains: "Store medicine this day to remove toxic gas." Volume 22 of Miscellaneous Medicine Collection quotes the lost article of Miscellaneous Medicine Collection at the Age of Jingchu: "On May 5, competing for miscellaneous medicine can cure all diseases." After Wei, Qi Yao Minshu? There is a record of catching toads in May in Miscellaneous Notes, which is also used in medicine. Later, many areas have the custom of catching toads on the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, in Jiangsu, toads are harvested at noon and their foam is punctured to make traditional Chinese medicine toad venom. People in Hangzhou also give their children toads, saying that summer can reduce fire and prevent sores. On the 5th, Mo Ding was put into the toad's mouth, hung and dried, and became a toad ingot, which could be dissipated by applying it to the abscess. This custom of catching toad medicine originated from the legend of "toad fighting for soldiers" in Han Dynasty. Another example is the custom of "collecting herbs" on the Dragon Boat Festival in Jianli, Hubei Province, which is also collecting herbs. Herb picking is because the stems and leaves of herbs are mature and have good medicinal properties around the Dragon Boat Festival, and this custom was formed on this day.
Mulan decoction
Mulan soup is an ancient custom recorded in Da Dai Li. At that time, orchids were not orchids today, but flying grasses of Compositae, which were fragrant and could be decocted and bathed. "Nine songs?" "Jun in the Cloud" also has the sentence "Bathing orchid soup will make you fragrant". "Jingchu years old": "Five
May 5th is called Bathing Orchid Festival. "Five Miscellanies" records that people in Ming Dynasty bathed in five-colored grass at noon because "blue soup is not available". Later, herbs such as cattail and wormwood were usually fried for bathing. In Guangdong, use wormwood, cattail, impatiens, magnolia and other flowers and plants; In Hunan, Guangxi and other places, cypress leaves, anemone roots, wormwood, cattail and peach leaves are used for bathing. Regardless of men, women and children, the whole family washes. This custom still exists today. It is said that it can cure skin diseases and ward off evil spirits.
Picking tea and making herbal tea
In some areas in the north, people like to pick tender leaves and steam wild vegetable leaves to make tea during the Dragon Boat Festival. In Chaozhou, Guangdong, people go to the suburbs of Shan Ye to collect herbs and cook herbal tea. This is also good for health.
"Exorcise" Five Poisons
People think that May is the time when the five poisons (scorpion, snake, centipede, gecko and toad) appear, and people should use various methods to prevent the harm of the five poisons. Generally, a map of five poisons is posted in the house, five poisons are printed on red paper, and then five needles are stuck on the five poisons, that is, the poisons are stabbed to death, and they can no longer be rampant. This is a witchcraft legacy to ward off evil spirits. Folk people also embroider five poisons on clothes and decorate five poisons on cakes, all of which mean expulsion.
"disaster gourd"
The Dragon Boat Festival is also decorated with peach blossom seals. Peach is an exorcism in folk customs, which originated from the myth of Shen Tu and Lei Yu. It is engraved with peach characters, which also means to disperse noise. "Han Shu continued? Etiquette notes: "Zhu suo and five-color peach blossom seal are used as portal decorations to keep out evil spirits." This is the origin of ambiguous symbols and auspicious gourds in later generations.
"Dream of Liang Lu" Volume III: "It is the custom of the Song Dynasty for the sergeant and other scholars to write the sentence" Mid-Autumn Festival on May 5, red mouth and white tongue all disappear. " "Yanjing Year" also records: "Duanyang cut all kinds of gourds with colored paper for daily use, stuck it upside down on the threshold and released poisonous gas. "This is the custom of the Qing dynasty. Some still hang silk tassels and ribbons on paper gourds to look better, or cut the shape of the five poisons in the gourd and stick it on the door, which also means that the five poisons will be exhausted. You are a "troubled gourd".
There is still the custom of hanging a mirror on the door to ward off evil spirits. At noon on May 5th in the Tang Dynasty, a bronze mirror was cast in the center of the Yangtze River in Yangzhou to pay tribute to the emperor, also to ward off evil spirits (see Tang Shi Bu). Therefore, later generations often hang mirrors in front of the door to exorcise evil spirits.
The drama of mowing grass
Han has never seen fighting grass before. (Textual research on popular things in the past dynasties? The origin of Shang is not verifiable, and it is generally believed to be related to the emergence of Chinese medicine. Ancient ancestors struggled to survive and lived a monotonous life. In their spare time, they amuse themselves by fighting insects, grass and wild animals. After the legendary "Shennong tasting a hundred herbs" became a traditional Chinese medicine, it became a custom to gather in the suburbs to collect herbs and insert Ai Men to relieve the summer heat and epidemic. After harvest, competitions are often held to report the names of flowers and grasses to each other in a confrontational way. Most of them win, both interesting in plant knowledge and literary knowledge; Children hook, pinch and pull each other with petioles. If you break it, you lose, and then change a leaf to fight. Bai Juyi's poem "Watching Children's Play" says: "Making dust or mowing grass is fun all day long. "
"Yuan" said: "It started in Hanwu". According to a story written by Zong Yi, a person from the Liang Dynasty, "On May 5, four people stepped on a hundred herbs and had a scene of fighting grass." Memories of the Years: "On the Dragon Boat Festival, build houses to store medicines, shoot herbs and wrap five silks."
It was called "stepping on a hundred herbs" in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and "fighting grass" or "fighting a hundred herbs" in the Tang Dynasty. "Biography of Liu Bin" said: "In Tang Zhongzong, Princess Anle fought with Baicao for five days." The song dynasty expanded to fight at any time on weekdays. There are many descriptions of this in the works of scholars in past dynasties.
The Sketch of Fighting between Babies is collected in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The play is as follows: 1. Both sides of the competition choose grass with certain toughness (Loulan case: mostly plantain, a perennial herb of plantain, mostly on roadsides, ditches, ridges and other places. Stemless, with many slender fibrous roots; Leaves clustered from rhizosphere, thin papery, with 5 main veins, whole or undulate, or sparse and blunt teeth, as long as 15-30 cm; There are green and white sparse flowers, the corolla is divided and there are four stamens; When the fruit is ripe, it will open like a lid and release four to six brown-black seeds. Its long floral axis is a good material for weeding. Then cross each other into a cross and pull each other hard, so that the person who persists will win.
This kind of fighting grass, which depends on the pulling force of people and grass, is called the "war". Wang Jian's "Gong Ci" intones the game of fighting grass: "Flowers, celery leaves and soil in the water will be collected from many families, until everyone else has counted them, and there are Yujin's buds in his sleeve." There are not only "wars" but also "literary wars" in fighting grass. The so-called "fighting among babies" is the name of flowers and plants. "A Dream of Red Mansions" Sixty-second time "Baoyu's birthday, the sisters were busy drinking and writing poems. The maids in each room also had a good time with their master. Xue Pan's aunt Xiangling and several maids each picked some flowers and plants to have fun. It says, I have Guanyin willow; Said I was Luo again. Suddenly, the bean official said that I had sister flowers, which stumped everyone. Xiangling said I have husband and wife ears. Seeing Xiangling's answer, the bean official said unconvinced, "There have never been any husband and wife! Xiangling argued: "One flower is called' orchid' and several flowers are called' spikes'. The upper and lower two flowers are called' brother's ear', and the first flower is called' husband and wife's ear'. I have the same flower, why not call it' couple's ear'? "After asking for a while, the bean official said with a smile:" According to you, one flower is called' Sui of Laozi', and two flowers bloom behind it, so it can be called' Sui of Enemy'. Xue Pan has just left for half a year, and you miss him in your heart, pulling flowers and plants into the ears of lovers. What a pity! " Xiang Ling blushed and smiled and ran to twist the mouth of the bean officer, so the two men rolled on the ground. The maids are playing and having a good time. At this time, Baoyu also picked some grass to join in the fun.
Hide from the Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival is a custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, which refers to taking a newly married or married daughter home for the New Year. Short for "hiding in the afternoon", it is also called "hiding out". It is customary to take May and May 5th as evil months and days, and it is necessary to ward off evil spirits in everything, because there is a custom of taking women home to ward off evil spirits during the Dragon Boat Festival. This custom seems to have been formed in the Song Dynasty. There is a line in Lu You's poem "Feng Sui" that "the goat cavity wine bears the burden of welcoming women, and the drum dragon boat is sent to compete with God". "Jiajing Longqing Zhi" also records a cloud: "Marry a woman and call her home for the holidays". Luan Zhou Zhi: "A woman bride welcomes the moon back, which is called" hiding from the Dragon Boat Festival ".
It rains on Dragon Boat Festival.
It rains on the Dragon Boat Festival, and it is a custom for people to check when they are old. It is unlucky to think that it rains during the Dragon Boat Festival. On the contrary, it is good. This folk belief existed in the Song Dynasty. Chen's Chronicle of Years Old quoted the Summary as saying: "On May 5th, people were poisoned, and at the age of eighteen, there was no disaster. When it rains, ghosts expose drugs and many people get sick. This proverb in Fujian. " Xu Yueqing's "Li Shizhou Dragon Boat Festival" also notes: "Linchuan people say that when it rains, ghosts will cause man-made disasters. The self-annotation of Zhao Huaiyu's poems in Qing Dynasty also quoted the proverb "No rain in Duanyang is a good year".
Stand an egg
The so-called "standing eggs" and "floating needles" refer to the noon on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. Because of the extreme intersection of masculinity and righteousness, eggs that are not easy to stand on weekdays can stand upright on the ground at this time. Similarly, it can be proved that embroidery needles can also float on the water.
In fact, if confirmed by scientific principles, it can be seen that because the sun shines in the northern hemisphere on the Dragon Boat Festival, the gravity of the sun and the gravity of the earth pull each other at noon, which makes it easy for eggs standing on the ground to stand up in balance. Therefore, laying eggs has become one of the best play items for children on the Dragon Boat Festival.
Zhong Kui.
Dancing Zhong Kui and disturbing Zhong Kui: Since the Jin Dynasty, dancing Zhong Kui and disturbing Zhong Kui and Fuzhen House have been the important contents of Dragon Boat Festival and Spring Festival. 2. Hang a picture of Zhong Kui. Zhong Kui's earliest paintings are said to come from the painter Wu Daozi. According to Shen Kuo's Meng Qian Bu Bi Tan in the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Tang Ming was ill for nearly a month and suddenly dreamed of two ghosts. The imp stole the purple sachets of the Jade Emperor and Yang Guifei and ran away. GREAT GHOST caught the little devil, gouged out his eyes, then smashed it and spit it out. "I'm Zhong Kui," GREAT GHOST said. "I can't even do martial arts well. I swear to your majesty that I will eliminate the evil in this world. " When the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty woke up and recovered from his illness, he called the painter Wu Daozi and asked him to draw a picture of catching ghosts at the gate according to the scene in his dream. Taoist wrote a pen and became a hero. After seeing it, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was exactly the same as his dream and was amazed. Later, Zhong Kui's paintings gradually entered the folk, mostly painting in the Dragon Boat Festival in May or a few days before and after the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Qing Dynasty, most residents in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces south of the Yangtze River hung photos of Zhong Kui at the gate or hall in May of the lunar calendar to drive away evil and attract good luck.
eat Zongzi
Zongzi "Zongzi is fragrant, fragrant kitchen." Folium Artemisiae Argyi smells fragrant. Peach branches are inserted in the grating, and you can see the wheat yellow when you go out. It's sunny here, sunny there and sunny everywhere. "
This is a popular song describing the ancient Dragon Boat Festival. Generally speaking, people all over the world have the same custom of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. Eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival is the same in China. Now zongzi is more diverse and colorful. Nowadays, glutinous rice is generally wrapped in glutinous rice shells, but the color contained in it depends on local specialties and customs. The more famous ones are longan, meat, crystal, lotus seeds, candied fruit, chestnut, spicy, sauerkraut, ham and salted eggs.
Drinking realgar wine
The custom of drinking realgar wine on Dragon Boat Festival is very popular in the Yangtze River valley. As the saying goes, "drinking realgar wine will cure all diseases." Realgar is a mineral, commonly known as "Jiguanshi". Its main component is arsenic sulfide, which contains mercury and is toxic. The common realgar wine is made by adding a small amount of realgar to white wine or homemade yellow wine, and there is no pure drink. Realgar wine has the efficacy of sterilization, insect repellent and detoxification, and traditional Chinese medicine is also used to treat skin diseases. In ancient times, when there was no disinfectant such as iodine, soaking in realgar could detoxify and relieve itching. For children under drinking age, adults apply realgar wine to forehead, ears, ears, hands, feet, heart and other parts to disinfect and prevent diseases.
Eat Huang Wu.
There is a custom of eating "Huang Wu" on the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Huang Wu refers to cucumber, Monopterus albus, yellow croaker, salted duck egg yolk and realgar wine. In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival in northern Zhejiang also eats tofu.
Eat twelve red
Gaoyou and other places have the custom of eating "Twelve Red". Twelve red refers to fried shrimp, fried amaranth, salted duck egg yolk, vermilion tofu and so on.
Eat tea eggs
In Nanchang, Jiangxi, tea eggs and salted eggs are boiled during the Dragon Boat Festival. Eggs include eggs, duck eggs and goose eggs. The eggshell is painted red, packed in colorful net bags and hung around the child's neck, which means wishing the child good luck and safety.
Eat garlic and eggs
Garlic Eggs Every Dragon Boat Festival in rural areas of Henan, Zhejiang and other provinces, housewives at home get up early and make garlic and eggs prepared in advance for breakfast. In some places, put some mugwort leaves when cooking garlic and eggs. Eating garlic, eggs and fried buns for breakfast is said to avoid the "five poisons" and is good for health.
Eat cake
Dragon Boat Festival is a grand festival for Korean people in Yanbian, Jilin Province. The most representative food on this day is sweet cake. Caking is to put mugwort and glutinous rice in a big wooden trough carved from a single wood and beat it with a long-handled wooden pestle. This kind of food has national characteristics and can add festive atmosphere.
Eat fried piles
In Jinjiang, Fujian, every household will eat "fried piles" during the Dragon Boat Festival, which are made into thick paste with flour, rice flour or sweet potato powder. According to legend, in ancient times, it was the rainy season in southern Fujian before the Dragon Boat Festival, with continuous rain. People say that God has pierced a hole to "mend the sky". The rain stopped after eating fried piles on the Dragon Boat Festival. People say that the sky has been mended. This diet custom comes from this.