Wear sachets, also called sachets and sachets; Wallets, etc It is made of colored silk thread and rags, and is filled with spices (made from Chinese herbal medicines such as Radix Angelicae Dahuricae, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Herba Hedyotidis Diffusae, Rhizoma Sparganii, Rhizoma Kaempferiae, Gan Song and Rhizoma Kaempferiae). Wear it on your chest. It smells good. Chen Shiliang quoted Miscellaneous Notes on the Year of the Year as saying that "the Dragon Boat Festival is red and white, like a bag, with colored lines running through it and shaped 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.
Wearing sachets is very particular. In order to prevent diseases and keep fit, the elderly generally like to wear plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, peaches, apples, lotus flowers, dolls riding fish, dolls holding cocks, double lotus flowers and other shapes, symbolizing birds and flowers, all the best, loving each other and family harmony. Children like birds and animals, such as tigers and leopards; Monkeys, cockfights, etc. Young people are most particular about wearing sachets. If they are lovers in love, affectionate girls will carefully make one or two sachets with their own characteristics a long time ago in order to meet their lovers before the festival. The young man is wearing a sachet from his sweetheart, which naturally causes discussion among men and women around him and praises the young man's unique object.
Dissolution, Elimination and Avoidance of Five Poisons in Dragon Boat Festival
As mentioned above, the Dragon Boat Festival is a poisonous day and an evil day in the eyes of the ancients. This idea has been handed down in folk beliefs, so there are various customs of seeking peace and solving disasters. In fact, this is because the summer weather is hot and dry, people are easy to get sick, and the plague is easy to spread; In addition, snakes and insects bite easily, so be very careful, which forms this habit. All kinds of customs, such as picking herbs, sprinkling realgar wine on the wall and drinking Pu wine, seem superstitious, but in fact they are also healthy health-keeping activities. Dragon Boat Festival can be regarded as a traditional medical care festival, and it is a festival for people to fight against diseases and poisonous insects. Today, these health customs should still be carried forward.
Hygienic custom of Dragon Boat Festival
(1) 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." In the miscellaneous notes of Qi Yaomin's Book at the end of Wei Dynasty, there is a record of catching toads in May, which is also used in pharmacy. 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.
② Mulan decoction. Taking a bath with orchid soup at noon 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 in the Cloud" also has the sentence "Bathing orchid soup will make you fragrant". "The Chronicle of Jingchu": "May 5th is called the Blue Bath Festival." "Five Miscellanies" records that people in the Ming Dynasty took a bath with five-colored grass at noon because "there was no orchid soup". 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.
③ Drink Pu wine, realgar, cinnabar wine and spray wine. Jingchu Chronicle: "Acorus calamus (a perennial herb, born by the water, has reddish roots underground and leaves shaped like swords and spikes." . The rhizome can be used as medicine or medicine) or carved or shredded to cool the wine. "Pu wine is fragrant and refreshing. Later, realgar and vermilion were added to the wine. Xie Ming Zhao Zhe's "Five Miscellaneous Drunks": "Drinking calamus wine is also ... drinking with realgar. "Feng Ming Yingjing's Generalized Moon Order": "On the fifth day, cinnabar wine was used to ward off evil spirits and detoxify, and the forehead, chest, hands and feet were dyed with wine, so there was no danger of poisonous snakes (poisonous snakes mentioned in ancient books). Sprinkle water on walls, doors and windows to avoid poisonous insects. "This custom is very widespread. Up to now, in Binyang, Guangxi, there are packages of medicinal materials for sale during the Dragon Boat Festival, including realgar, Zhu Lei, Platycladus orientalis, peach kernel, Folium Typhae and Folium Artemisiae Argyi. People soak in wine, and then dip it in corners, doors and windows, under beds and so on. Then put wine on the child's ears, nose and navel to drive away poisonous insects and ensure the safety of the child. In addition, in some areas, realgar wine powder is used to draw the word "Wang" on children's foreheads, so that children have the mark of tigers to ward off evil spirits. From a health point of view, these activities are still scientific and reasonable. Realgar mixed with water and wine can be disinfected indoors, and drinking general sprinkling is also quite beneficial.
4 pick tea and make 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.
There are all kinds of flowers and plants that can exorcise evil spirits in the Dragon Boat Festival, and the source is also long. The earliest example is hanging wormwood on the door. The Chronicle of Jingchu: "Ai Ai is a human being, hanging it on the door with poison gas." This is because mugwort is an important medicinal plant, and it can also be used for treating diseases, moxibustion at acupoints and expelling insects. The temperature in May contains the most oil of mugwort leaves (which is at the peak of temperature growth), so the effect is the best, and people are scrambling to pick mugwort leaves. Besides turning Aiza into a human being, he was also made into the shape of a tiger, which is the so-called Ai Hu. The note in the Chronicle of Jingchu says: "Take Ai as a tiger shape, or cut the ribbon as a tiger shape, and mail it to my wife to try it on." At the same time, there are also Pu bundles, cut Pu Jian and Pu Long tied with Pu on the door. "Jing Di Ji Sheng at the age of four": "(Dragon Boat Festival) insert Pulong Ai Hu." Jia Qinglu Volume 5: "Depp is a sword, cutting the canopy as a whip, and garlic with peach handles are hung in the bed to exorcise ghosts." Peach stalks are auspicious things to ward off evil spirits, and garlic is considered as a bronze hammer symbolizing weapons, which is matched with Pu Jian and Peng Bian to drive away furtiveness. In addition, mugwort was burned to drive away mosquitoes and flies. In Hunan, Zhejiang and other places, kudzu vine is used to hang on doors. It is said that kudzu vine is a chain that locks ghosts and can exorcise evil spirits.
There are games such as playing herbs, playing herbs, etc., which are related to picking herbs and picking Aipu, and are the heritage of ancient people's wild entertainment. Later, it developed into decorative arts such as flower arrangement. Five poison maps
People think that May is the time when the five poisons (green snake, centipede, scorpion, 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.
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. "History of Continuing Han Rites": "Zhu Suo and Five-color Peach Seal are the door ornaments to block 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 also hang silk tassels and ribbons on paper gourds to make them look better, or cut out the shape of the five poisons on the gourds and stick them on the doors, which also means expelling the gas of the five poisons, meaning "gourd eliminates disasters".
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.
Hanging a clock to catch ghosts is the custom of Dragon Boat Festival. In the Jianghuai area, bells and statues are hung in every household to ward off evil spirits. Emperor Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty returned to the palace after lecturing in Lishan, and malaria was rampant. He dreamed that two ghosts, one big and one small, were running around the temple wearing red crotch pants and stealing Yang Guifei's sachet and the jade emperor of the Ming Dynasty. GREAT GHOST, wearing a blue robe and a blue hat, caught the child, gouged out his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. When asked by the Ming emperor, GREAT GHOST said: My surname is Zhong Kui, that is to say, I am the best martial artist. I am willing to exorcise evil spirits for your majesty. When the Ming emperor woke up, malaria was cured. So I asked Wu Daozi, the painter, to draw a portrait of Zhong Kui catching ghosts according to what I saw in my dream, and ordered all the people to post it on the Dragon Boat Festival to exorcise evil spirits.
Hanging branches of mugwort leaves, calamus and banyan trees
There are reasons for hanging wormwood, calamus (Pujian), pomegranate and garlic at the entrance of Dragon Boat Festival. Usually mugwort leaves, banyan trees and calamus are tied into a bundle with red paper and then inserted or hung on the door. Because Acorus calamus is the first of the five auspicious symbols in the sky, it symbolizes the ominous sword, because the growing season and shape are regarded as "the breath of a hundred yin", and the leaves are sword-shaped and can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, the alchemist called it "water sword", and later the custom extended to "general sword", which can cut off all evil. In the Qing Dynasty, Gu Tieqing recorded in Jia Qinglu that "chopping Pu as a sword, chopping Peng as a whip, and hanging peach stalks and garlic on the bed are all used to exorcise ghosts". However, in the local chronicles of the Jin Dynasty, there is "mourning for the tiger, or cutting the ribbon for the tiger, with mourning attached to the leaves, and the wife fighting to cut it." In the future, it will be calamus, or human form, or Xiao Jian shape, called Pujian, to drive away evil spirits and ghosts. "
Wormwood represents a hundred blessings and is a kind of herbal medicine that can cure diseases. Inserting it at the door can make you healthy. In ancient China, it has always been a medicinal plant. Moxibustion in acupuncture uses wormwood as the main component and burns it at acupoints to treat diseases. The legend that wormwood can exorcise evil spirits has been circulating for a long time, mainly because it has the function of medicine. For example, Zonggu's Chronicle of Jingchu records that "when chickens are not crowing, those who pick wormwood look like people, take it and collect it with moxibustion, which is very effective." On this day, Ai Cai became a human figure, hung on the door, and could cast poison gas. "Most people also have the custom of planting wormwood before and after the house for good luck. People in Taiwan Province Province also put up "afternoon couplets" on the Dragon Boat Festival, which have the same function as amulets. There is a saying in some afternoon couplets: "Holding a strange love will attract a hundred blessings, and hanging a sword to close the door will kill a thousand evils". The folk significance of banyan branches can make the body strong. " It is braver to insert banyan trees and braver to insert mugwort leaves. " There is also the local custom of hanging pomegranate, garlic or Shandan, and garlic is used to eliminate disasters and treat pests and poisons; Shandan can cure madness, pomegranate can avoid Huang Chao. Pomegranate flower is the flower of this season, and it also has the function of treating diseases. Pomegranate peel is a common Chinese medicine. There is also a story about the relationship between pomegranate flower and Huang Chao. During the rebellion in Huang Chao, Huang Chao once approached a village and happened to see a woman with a big child on her back and a child in her hand. Huang Chao was curious and asked why. Women don't know Huang Chao, just say that because Huang Chao came and killed her uncle's family, this is the only remaining lifeline, so if she can't attend to both, she will sacrifice her own flesh and blood to save her uncle's flesh and blood. Huang Chao was deeply moved and told the woman that as long as pomegranate flowers were hung on the door, the disaster in Huang Chao could be avoided.
Hiding from the Dragon Boat Festival is the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, which refers to taking the newly married or married daughter home for the holiday. 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 "goat cavity wine takes care of women, drum dragon boat sends them 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 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 kind of 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".
Dragon Boat Race and Sacrifice to Qu Yuan and Cao E
The word dragon boat was first seen in the pre-Qin ancient book Mu Zhuan, Volume 5: "Take a bird boat and the dragon boat floats in the swamp." In "Nine Songs to the King", scholars also think that "flying dragon" refers to the dragon boat. Xiang Jun is a poem about Xiang Jun rowing a dragon boat and sinking it into the river (similar to throwing a trace into the river) to mourn a historical figure. This coincides with the images of "Soul Boat" and "Dragon and Silk Painting with Figures" in Chu State, which can confirm each other. "The Chronicle of Jingchu" records: "May 5th is called Lan Festival. ..... it's a day, a race, and a fight for miscellaneous drugs. " Since then, countless people have been recorded in poems, notes and local chronicles. One of the Axis of Yongle in Yongzheng December
Dragon boats are different from ordinary boats, with different sizes and different numbers of radial hands. For example, the dragon boat in Huangpu and its suburbs in Guangzhou is 33 meters long, with about 80 people on the road 100. Nanning Dragon Boat is more than 20 meters long, and each boat has about 50 or 60 people. Long boat in Miluo City, Hunan Province 16-22 meters, 24-48 people holding hands. Fujian Fuzhou Dragon Boat 18m long, 32 people holding hands. Dragon boats are generally long and narrow, with headdresses and dragon tails at the stern. The colors of the faucet are red, black and gray, which are similar to the head of the dragon lantern and have different postures. Generally, it is wood carving and painting (also made of paper or yarn). The dragon tail is mostly carved from whole wood and scales. In addition to the dragon head and tail, the dragon boat is decorated with gongs and drums, flags or hull paintings. For example, the dragon boat in Shunde, Guangdong Province is decorated with dragon cards, dragon tail flags and handsome flags, embroidered with couplets, flowers and plants, embroidered with patterns such as dragon wind and eight immortals. Generally, dragon boats don't have that much decoration, they are all decorated with pennants and hanging colors. Ancient dragon boats were also gorgeous, such as Dragon Pool Race (painted by Wang Zhenpeng in Yuan Dynasty). In the picture, the dragon's dragon head is tall and huge, beautifully carved, its tail is high and curly, and it has several layers of double eaves pavilions. If it is realistic, it can prove the beauty of ancient dragon boats. Another example is the Wuhu Dragon Boat painted in Dianshizhai Pictorial Tracking Qu Zi, with a high faucet and a floor on it. In some areas, the dragon boat still has an ancient style and is very beautiful.
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 City, 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 boat, not only to worship the dragon god, but also to commemorate Qu Yuan. In Zigui, Hubei, Qu Yuan's hometown, there is also a ceremony to worship Qu Yuan. The custom of offering sacrifices to Qu Yuan is recorded in Geography of Sui Shu: "Swift and swift, its songs are noisy, and the audience is like a cloud." Interpretation of Du Jingqu in Yuxi, Liu Tang: "Du Jing began in Wuling, and now it is in harmony with it, with a salty voice:' Where is it', which means four valleys." It can be seen that in the two lakes region, Qu Yuan's sacrifice is closely related to the dragon boat race. Maybe after Qu Yuan's death (and Cao E, Wu Zixu, etc. ), local people also send their souls to be buried in ships, so this custom exists.
Another example is Zhejiang, where they commemorate Cao E with dragon boat races. According to "History of Women in the Later Han Dynasty", Cao E threw herself into the river. According to folklore, she went into the river to find her father's body. There are many sacrifices in Zhejiang. Dianshizhai Pictorial Sacrifice to Cao E depicts the scene of people sacrificing Cao E in Huiji area.
The competition in Shandong and Wudi (Jiangsu) is to commemorate Wu Zixu, so Suzhou has an old habit of offering sacrifices to Wu Zixu on the Dragon Boat Festival and holding competitions on the water to commemorate it. There is also a memorial ceremony in Guangxi, and there is also a memorial ceremony in Fuzhou.
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, disasters and all the best, and also ensuring the safety of boating. In people's words, "to be auspicious" expresses people's inner good wishes.
At the beginning of the official competition, the atmosphere was very warm. Song of Race Crossing written by Zhang Jianfeng, a poet in the Tang Dynasty: ... The clothes on both sides of the strait smell fragrant, and the silver hairpin shines on the frost blade. The drums rang three times and the red flag opened; Two dragons jumped out of the water. Shadow waves fly to Wan Jian, and drum waves sound like thunder. The drums are getting closer and closer, and the two dragons look at the mark, just like a moment. People on the slope thundered and the poles were dizzy. The front boat won the bid to launch, and the rear boat lost momentum and waved. "These poems vividly depict the magnificent scenery of the dragon boat race. Women usually don't go out, but now they are competing to see the dragon boat, and the silver hairpin is shining; The dragon boat under the command of the red flag of the war drum flies and falls like a flying sword, and the war drum thunders; The finish line is marked with colored poles. The dragon boat is approaching the target quickly ... The modern dragon boat race is similar, but the rules are a little stricter. In recent years, international dragon boat races have appeared at home and abroad, attracting athletes from all over the world.
Dragon boat rowing and other activities. For example, the dragon boat goes to the countryside, that is, rowing the dragon boat to a familiar village nearby to play and gather. Sometimes the dragon boat also has various tricks, which means performing. For example, the dragon boat in Guangzhou, hand in hand with blades inserted into the water, and then picked up, let the water splash; People at the bow and stern stamped the boat rhythmically, making the dragon boat rise and fall like Youlong. In Yuhang County, Zhejiang Province, some dragon boats had their tails trodden very low, causing the dragons to look up, and the sharp waves at the bow of the dragon jetted out from Longkou, like a dragon swallowing clouds and spitting rain.
And boat races. For example, in "Jing Xun in Huainanzi", "Dragon boat flies at the head and blows for entertainment" means rowing dragon boats, rocking boats, playing music and paddling in the water. "Dream of Liang Lu" records that there were "six dragon boats swimming in the lake" in Hangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty. There are dragon boats on the lake, which is only part of the boat tour.
Emperors in Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all liked to watch dragon boats by the water, which also belonged to games and the like. It is recorded in the Book of Old Tang Dynasty that both of them have the deeds of "watching the game". The seventh volume of Dream of China in Tokyo records the custom of the Northern Song Emperor watching the dragon boat race in Jinming Pool of Linshui Temple. Among them are floats, musical boats, boats, painting boats, dragon boats and tiger boats. Watch and play music and a 40-foot-long dragon boat. Besides the dragon boat, other boats are also lined up to bid for entertainment. Zhang Song Zeduan's "Jin Chiming Won the Bid" depicts this scene. Ming Chengzu also watched the dragon boat in Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai, and watched the court archers gallop and shoot arrows. In the Qing Dynasty, races were held in Fuhai and Yuanmingyuan, and both Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors went to watch them.
There will be a dragon boat in the evening. In Wujin, Zhejiang, there used to be a night dragon boat race with small lights hanging on all sides. Night Dragon Boat appeared at Wu Tong Bridge in Sichuan from 1982. The boat is decorated with electric lights, fireworks and floating river lanterns, which are dazzling. In a few places in Zhejiang, piles of floating flames are set up on the water surface, so that dragon boats covered with lanterns can pass through the flames.
There is also a dry dragon boat, which is a simulated dragon boat race on land. For example, "Nanchang County Records" says: "Dragon boat was dried on May 5th, so that several people (y6, * * *) gathered things together, passed flowers on behalf of drums, and filled the thoroughfare. Scholars and women gave money to pray and fought for firecrackers to eliminate disasters." Wuyi county, Zhejiang province used to have the custom of pushing dragon boats in dry land, which was also thought to ward off evil spirits. In addition, Foshan, Dongguan and Xinyi in Guangdong all have the custom of rowing dragon boats in dry land, which is actually a dance, but the date is not necessarily on the Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat in dry land is the most spectacular in Foshan in autumn. Another example is recorded in Huizhou Fuzhi: "On May 5th, I sailed a boat to meet the gods and drive away the epidemic, taking bamboo as the object. Painting is like mud, and twelve people worship the gods and walk around the city. " There are also little dragon boats for children to make toys.
When rowing a dragon boat, there are many dragon-like songs that are sung for fun. For example, when rowing dragon boats in Zigui, Hubei, there is a complete singing, and songs and songs are based on the integration of local folk songs and ballads. The song is magnificent and passionate, which is the legacy of "praise and harmony". Another example is the Dragon Boat Song in Nanxiong County, Guangdong Province. After the dragon boat was launched in April, it was sung until the Dragon Boat Festival, and the performance was very extensive. Dragon boat songs, which spread in Guilin, Lingui and other places in northern Guangxi, were sung by many speakers during the competition, and some people called them. Most of their performances are related to the customs of Dragon Boat Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, and their songs have a far-reaching and touching influence. Guangxi Folk Music Anthology includes Lingui County (four dragon boat songs) suite, which is lively and enthusiastic, and it must be very touching to sing.
Mowing grass on Dragon Boat Festival
Han has never seen fighting grass before. (Textual research on popular things in the past dynasties: Shang) Its origin has not been verified, and it is generally believed to be related to the emergence of traditional 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" formed 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. "Liu Bin Jiahua" says: "In Tang Zhongzong, Princess Anle fought a hundred herbs for five days." In the Song Dynasty, it was extended to fighting 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, and they will always wait until everyone else has counted them, and there are Yujin's buds in their sleeves." There are not only "wars" but also "literary wars" in fighting grass. The so-called "literary dispute" refers to the names 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.
Other recreational activities during the Dragon Boat Festival
There is an archery scene on the Dragon Boat Festival. "Shi Li" said: "Because of Liao customs, Jin was about several inches from the ground on the fifth day, and his skin was stripped 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.
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. In recent years, antique polo has appeared in Xi 'an, which makes this ancient sport reappear on the land of China after many years of disappearance.
In addition, Beijing also has the custom of visiting the Temple of Heaven. "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" Volume II: "Before noon on May 5, the group day entered the Temple of Heaven to avoid drugs. After the afternoon, walk under the wall of the altar. Jiangcheng is not vulgar, but it is also a corn millet. There is no custom of racing, it is also a game. " There is also a contest in Zhong Kui. A person dressed as Zhong Kui, waving a sword and holding a paper bat in front of him, makes it look like "no time to drink"; Follow the full set of ceremonial dresses and walk through the market to exorcise demons. In addition, there are circus and duck snatching activities on the Dragon Boat Festival.
Three Dragon Boat Festival in Qu Yuan's hometown
There are three Dragon Boat Festival in Zigui, Qu Yuan's hometown. The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the "head-tail yang", the 15th of May is the "big tail yang" and the 25th of May is the "tail yang". Since the end of April of the lunar calendar, people in Zigui have been very busy ―― soaking glutinous rice, killing chickens and ducks, sweeping the courtyard, preparing gongs and drums, and repairing dragon boats ... On the fifth day of May, people began to make zongzi, boil eggs, eat garlic, drink realgar wine, and collect mugwort leaves and calamus to tie up and hang them in front of the door. On the 15th day of the fifth lunar month, every family prepares delicacies to take their daughters and sons-in-law home to share, commonly known as "Dragon Boat Festival". During this period, highlights include rowing dragon boats, throwing zongzi and holding a poetry evening. This lively festive atmosphere lasted until the 25th day of the fifth lunar month, that is, Duanyang Festival, which lasted for 20 days.
Customs of Dragon Boat Festival in various places
[Hebei Province] It is forbidden to drill wells during the Dragon Boat Festival in Beiping, and it is often pre-pumped before the festival. It is said that it is to avoid well poisoning. On Dragon Boat Festival, street vendors also sell cherry mulberries. It is said that they eat cherry mulberries on the Dragon Boat Festival and don't eat flies by mistake all year round. "Five Poison Cakes", which are cakes decorated with five poisonous insect patterns, are sold in various food stores. Luanxian county lets men and women in-laws give gifts to each other on the Dragon Boat Festival. On the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhao County, the local government will hold a banquet in the south of the city, inviting the literati in the city to feast and compose poems, which is called "stepping on the willow".
[Shandong Province] On the Dragon Boat Festival in zouping county, everyone needs to drink a glass of wine early in the morning, which is said to ward off evil spirits. Rizhao Dragon Boat Festival wraps seven colors of thread around children, and it will take them until the first rain after the festival before they are untied and thrown into the rain. On the Dragon Boat Festival in Linqing County, boys under seven wear symbols (necklaces made of wheat barnyard grass), girls wear pomegranate flowers and yellow cloth shoes made by their mothers, and draw five kinds of poisonous insects on the vamps with a brush. It means killing five kinds of poisonous insects with Qu Yuan's ink. On the morning of Dragon Boat Festival, Jimo washes his face with dew.
[Shanxi Province] On the Dragon Boat Festival in Xiezhou, men and women wear mugwort leaves, which is called "getting rid of diseases", and children tie a hundred ropes around their necks. It is said that this is "tying dragons for Qu Yuan". During the Dragon Boat Festival in the Western Zhou Dynasty, villages would offer sacrifices to the Dragon King and hang paper in the fields. The Dragon Boat Festival in Huairen County is also called "Zhumen". The Dragon Boat Festival in Dingxiang County requires students to give gifts to their teachers. Lu 'an Mansion uses steamed dumplings made of wheat flour, called "white dumplings", and presents them to each other together with zongzi.
[Shaanxi Province] On the Dragon Boat Festival in Xing 'an League, local officials led their subordinates to watch the game, which was called "stepping on stones". At the Dragon Boat Festival in Xingping County, a small corn is sewn with silk, and a small doll is sewn below it, which is called "playing with dolls". The Dragon Boat Festival in Tongguan County is called "town disease", and there are Pu Ai and paper cows sticking to the door.
[Gansu Province] Picking roses during the Dragon Boat Festival in Jingning area is mainly based on honey pickling. Zhenyuan county presented a fragrant fan, a Luo Qi, a towel handkerchief and a Ai Hu to the newlyweds during the Dragon Boat Festival. Children also invite their fathers and brothers to entertain their teachers, which is called "enjoying the festival". On the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhang Xi 'an County, the shepherd boy worships the mountain gods. Accumulated salary mountain, chicken calls before burning, commonly known as "burning mountain"
During the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiading County, Jiangsu Province, everyone, rich or poor, has to buy grouper (commonly known as mandarin fish) to cook. There is also a saying in Yizheng County, "When pants, buy yellow croaker". On the Dragon Boat Festival in Nanjing, families use a box of clear water, plus a little realgar and goose eye money. The whole family washes their eyes with this kind of water, which is called "breaking the eyes of fire". It is said that it can protect them from eye diseases for a year. There is a dragon boat show in Wujin at night. In the evening, small lanterns are hung around the dragon boat, and flutes and drums sing harmoniously.