According to the information of the gangneung danoje festival Committee, the concept of "Dragon Boat Festival" was first mentioned in the historical book "The Legacy of the Three Kingdoms" in Silla Period on the Korean Peninsula, which recorded that people prayed for peace by offering sacrifices to gods at that time. However, the descriptions in the history books are all scenes and contents of sacrifice, but there is no more detailed record of how the Dragon Boat Festival was formed and developed. It is also mentioned in the data that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from religious activities offering sacrifices to gods, and later gradually developed into a large-scale celebration with practical content. Cui Zhong Chan, chairman of the gangneung danoje festival Committee, told reporters: "gangneung danoje festival has a history of thousands of years, which has been passed down from generation to generation. How it was formed cannot be verified now. " The History of Asia written by American historian Rhodes Murphy records that "ironmaking technology was introduced to Korea from China in the 3rd century BC", but there is no mention of how the Dragon Boat Festival was introduced to the Korean peninsula.
In order to find the official record of Gangneung Festival of Dragon Boat Festival in South Korea, the reporter also looked through the Chinese version of Introduction to South Korea (revised edition in 2003) sent by the Cultural Information Office of the Korean Embassy in China. In this handbook published by the Overseas Humboldt Institute of the Republic of Korea, there is a passage about introducing Korean festivals: "The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival, and farmers have a day off, which means that after sowing, women cook iris (original translation-editor's note) to wash their hair and pray for disaster relief. In ancient times, Dragon Boat Festival was an important festival. Nowadays, except for some Taoism, people's interest in the Dragon Boat Festival has already decreased. " South Korea began to apply for gangneung danoje festival World Heritage in 2004, and the application was successful in 2005. But the reporter didn't even see Jiangling's introduction in this Korean profile revised in 2003. Koreans seem to have a history of ignoring the Dragon Boat Festival culture. According to the reporter of Seoul Daily, South Korea's cultural protection has also gone through the detour of "destroying first, then protecting". In the 1960s and 1970s, when South Korea's economy began to take off, traditional festivals were also neglected and rejected by western festivals.
Dragon Boat Festival is not a national holiday in Korea.
Gangneung danoje festival, which successfully applied for World Heritage, is not a simple festival, but refers to the worship to gods, witches and various performances and entertainment activities during the Dragon Boat Festival. The form of gangneung danoje festival has been well preserved, and it was designated as a national intangible cultural heritage by South Korea as early as 1967. However, the Dragon Boat Festival on May 5 did not become a national holiday in South Korea, and the Korean government did not stipulate the Dragon Boat Festival as a legal holiday. A person who works in a Korean government department told reporters that the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Spring Festival have a very high status in the minds of Koreans. In these two festivals, the whole country has a three-day holiday, and everyone has to go home to worship their ancestors. In the life of modern Koreans, the traditional festival "Dragon Boat Festival" is quite indifferent outside Gangneung, and young people in many big cities hardly celebrate it.
According to Cui Zhong Chan, chairman of the gangneung danoje festival Committee of the Republic of Korea, besides Gangneung, there are also Dragon Boat Festival in some places such as Gyeongsangbuk-do, but the scale is very small and has no influence. In addition, there is no Dragon Boat Festival in other places. But the enthusiasm of the people in Jiangling has always been high. Every year, people in Jiangling area will widely participate in the Dragon Boat Festival. Moreover, people in Jiangling area can have a holiday on the Dragon Boat Festival in the lunar calendar, and schools also have a holiday on this day, which undoubtedly adds a festive atmosphere to the local area. With the successful application for World Heritage in 2005, gangneung danoje festival's influence gradually expanded.
Gangneung danoje festival mainly worships the gods.
A Korean girl surnamed Jin told reporters that she hasn't seen "gangneung danoje festival" yet, but she has heard many beautiful legends about gangneung danoje festival: According to legend, the beautiful female mountain god and the male mountain god have been separated for a long time, and only then can they meet, just like the cowherd and the Weaver Girl in China can only meet once a year, so it is very grand and grand, and witches and immortals from all over the country will gather there during this time.
The interpretation of Korean scholars is different from the romantic story told by this ordinary Korean girl. Cui Renhe, honorary president of the Korean Comparative Folklore Society, told the Global Times reporter that the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is also called "Dragon Boat Festival" in South Korea, and this concept originated from China, and some customs of the Dragon Boat Festival in South Korea are similar to those in China and Shandong. People perform sacrifices on the Dragon Boat Festival mainly because this period is a period of frequent diseases. In ancient times, when medical conditions were backward, people hoped to exorcise the plague by offering sacrifices to the gods to ensure peace. However, he also stressed that Gangneung Ono Festival is a god offering sacrifices to Lingdong, South Korea, and the ritual and content of the sacrifice have become a unique culture of the Korean nation.
Different from the Dragon Boat Festival in China, the main content of gangneung danoje festival is to offer sacrifices to gods, with the aim of praying for people's happiness and well-being in the new year. Some customs are also very different from those in China. For example, there is no custom of dragon boat racing or eating zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival in Korea. People in China insert mugwort leaves and hang calamus on the Dragon Boat Festival, while Koreans make cakes with mugwort leaves and wash their hair with calamus. Global Times reporters rushed to Jiangling on the afternoon of 26th to watch the complicated process of gangneung danoje festival at close range. In the sacrificial ceremony held on the third day of the fifth lunar month, people worship the "Daguanling Buddhist God" and "Daguanling Buddhist Goddess God". The legend of the city god is the embodiment of Brahma Buddha in Silla period. The female city god is said to be the wife of the city god and the daughter of the Zheng family in Daguanling. People who invite God include local officials, respected elders and wizards. In the process of welcoming God, the local people will also hold lanterns and follow the procession of asking God to March around the whole city of Jiangling. During the four days from the fourth day to the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, people will hold ceremonies to worship gods and witches on the altar of the Dragon Boat Festival. The ritual of worshipping wine originated from the Confucian ritual, which is held at the Dragon Boat Festival altar at 9: 00 every morning. Because it is to pray for a safe harvest in Jiangling and Lingdong, and the people are happy and healthy, Jiangling City officially serves as a sacrificial officer, and the local venerable and experienced elders serve as deacons to preside over the sacrifice. During the four days, the mayor of Jiangling, the police chief, the education minister of the Education Department and the speaker of the city council took turns as officials. The Dragon Boat Festival witch festival is held after the daily ritual ceremony, with the participation of local wizards and people. Wizards worship various gods through dancing, singing and performing, while people can burn paper and make wishes in front of the altar of the Dragon Boat Festival during the Witch Festival. On the evening of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, after the last witch sacrifice, people will also hold a grand activity of offering sacrifices to the gods. Wizards will burn the sacrificial props used in this year's Dragon Boat Festival, and the gods will be sent back to the ancestral temple dedicated to the two gods. After the sacrifice, the Dragon Boat Festival officially ended. During the Dragon Boat Festival, people will also perform official and slave masquerade, Jiangling farm music and other entertainment activities, such as swinging, wrestling, and throwing pots. This year's gangneung danoje festival will be held from May 26th to May 30th. According to the organizer's speculation, related activities can attract more than two million tourists.
Korean and Chinese scholars cool down the "dispute over applying for the World Heritage"
Regarding the dispute between China and South Korea about the application for the Dragon Boat Festival four or five years ago, Cui, chairman of the gangneung danoje festival Committee, thinks that South Korea did not apply for the China Festival, and the form and content of gangneung danoje festival are very different from that of China Dragon Boat Festival, mainly because people in China have misunderstood it. Now with the deepening of communication, misunderstandings have gradually been eliminated.
In order to prevent the "cultural dispute" between China and South Korea around the Dragon Boat Festival from being mentioned again, relevant parties in South Korea have done a good job of "dispelling doubts" in advance. Yonhap News Agency reported on May 12 that in order to resolve the dispute over the Dragon Boat Festival, South Korea will hold various activities such as the "Korea-China International Academic Conference on Dragon Boat Festival Culture", experience activities and sightseeing exchanges. This is the first time that the gangneung danoje festival Committee of the Republic of Korea invited China scholars to Seoul for academic discussion, with the purpose of explaining the differences between the Dragon Boat Festival in gangneung danoje festival and China. It is particularly worth mentioning that the "China Dragon Boat Festival Publicity Hall" was specially set up at the gangneung danoje festival Experience Site. At the academic conference held on May 25th, Cui Zhong said, "Since 2004, we have invited China scholars to visit Jiangling every year. The main purpose of this seminar in Seoul is to further deepen mutual understanding. At present, many people in China still have misunderstandings about gangneung danoje festival, which even affects the folk feelings of the two countries. We also hope to eliminate the misunderstanding of China friends through exchanges. "
Zhang Zhenglong, president of gangwon Folklore Society in Korea and a professor at gangwon University, believes that the Dragon Boat Festival culture originated in China, but has developed into a culture with Korean national characteristics in Korea. He also stressed that apart from South Korea and China, some Asian countries such as Japan and North Korea also have unique Dragon Boat Festival cultures. From the perspective of protecting human culture, it is necessary for all countries to strengthen the research on the inheritance and development of Asian Dragon Boat Festival culture, and the Dragon Boat Festival cultures of Korea and China can completely set off each other and develop independently.
Wang Xin, a member of the China delegation and China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, told reporters: "I didn't expect the Korean Dragon Boat Festival to be so rich. After watching the grand ceremony, I felt quite shocked. On the one hand, we are here to promote China culture and let the Korean people know about the Dragon Boat Festival in China. On the other hand, we must learn from South Korea to better protect our cultural heritage. " Ethan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Art and a doctor of folklore who came to attend the seminar, also said that from the perspective of the inheritance and development of human culture, China should respect the Korean Dragon Boat Festival culture, and China has started the application procedure for the Dragon Boat Festival, so there is no need to feel uneasy about the success of the application for the Dragon Boat Festival in Gangneung. In addition, Ethan also explained that applying for World Heritage does not mean registering a festival, but refers to specific activities with actual content. If a festival only has holidays, meals and shopping, and there is no cultural activity as a carrier, it is also impossible to apply for world heritage. To protect cultural diversity, UNESCO means to protect the diversity of cultural activities. The same festival is a different culture as long as the activities are different. It is understood that "China Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam Art" was successfully applied for in 2005 after Muqam of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan applied for the World Heritage individually or jointly.
Let more Koreans know about China Quyuan.
China's Dragon Boat Festival and Qu Yuan, South Korea's gangneung danoje festival Committee, and South Korea's scholars and experts all know better, but ordinary people know very little. The reporter made a random survey among Korean friends around, and found that all Koreans who have studied Chinese know about China Dragon Boat Festival and Qu Yuan, while only a few people who have not studied Chinese know that China celebrates Dragon Boat Festival, but they don't know who Qu Yuan is. A Korean tour guide told reporters that she studied in China for five years, when people in China didn't rest during the Dragon Boat Festival. But I just heard that traditional festivals such as Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival have also started to have holidays in China in the past two years. In Gangneung, outside the publicity hall of China Dragon Boat Festival, the reporter also randomly asked several Koreans and found that they basically didn't know about China Dragon Boat Festival and Qu Yuan.
For Koreans who don't know much about Qu Yuan, Dr. Wang Dasan, a researcher at the Confucius Institute at Renmin University of China, explained that the core of Korean Dragon Boat Festival culture is to sacrifice ghosts and gods to pray for peace, and Koreans can't sacrifice patriotic poets in the history of China. Wang Da III believes that the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival in Gangneung, South Korea has become a "historical mystery" for two reasons: First, compared with China, the written history of the Korean Peninsula is relatively short, resulting in the specific origin of the Dragon Boat Festival not being recorded in writing, or when it was recorded, and it is not clear; Second, China's early history books recorded many important events and exchanges, but had little influence on folk customs. Wang Dasan told the Global Times reporter that compared with modern people's strong concept of nation-state, ancient people would not deliberately bring the origin and inheritance of a certain historical and cultural tradition into their own cultural pedigree. He believes that no matter how different the Dragon Boat Festival cultures between China and South Korea are, there is no doubt that Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival originated from China Dragon Boat Festival or was deeply influenced by China Dragon Boat Festival, or the "invention right" of Dragon Boat Festival culture belongs to China. If the Chinese and Korean people can calmly look at and accept this fact, it may help to resolve some unnecessary misunderstandings and disputes between them. It is imperative to shelve and calm the dispute between China and South Korea, especially the dispute between netizens. Qi Xin will work together to create and promote the East Asian Dragon Boat Festival culture, and "infighting" will only bring both sides.
Therefore, although both the Dragon Boat Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival have Dragon Boat Festival, the customs are quite different.