The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival can be summarized as follows: Qu Yuan
The Dragon Boat Festival in China was a festival for sacrificing to the river god and begging for harvests before the emergence of Qu Yuan. Because in the Yangtze River, there is still a "Dragon Boat Festival", that is, before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, there will be heavy rainfall caused by flooding. Ancient people believed that the flood was the result of the anger of the river god, in order to prevent the Dragon Boat Festival water to wash away seedlings and other things, held a series of rituals, hoping that the river god happy, a good harvest. Coupled with this time is generally farming plowing, rice-planting season, often to soak in the water, drink yellow wine can effectively remove rheumatism, rumor has it that yellow wine is the gods give wine, slowly formed the habit of drinking yellow wine during this time. These are not to commemorate the formation of Qu Yuan, that is, before Qu Yuan cast the river in China has been the Dragon Boat Festival this statement, Qu Yuan cast the river more so that people remember this day, but also increased to eat zongzi, dragon boat racing, hanging Ai Ye and other ways to celebrate.
In honor of Qu Yuan, this is said to be the earliest from the Southern Liang Dynasty Wu Jun "continued Qi Harmonious Records" and the Northern Zhou Zong hours of service "Jing Chu chronicle" records. It is said that Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month, and after his death, he was trapped by a dragon, and the world mourned him and threw five-color silk dumplings into the water every day to drive away the dragon. It is also rumored that Qu Yuan cast Miluo River, the local people heard immediately rowing boats to rescue, has been traveling to the Dongting Lake, and finally did not see the body of Qu Yuan. At that time, it was a rainy day, and the boats on the lake gathered together by the pavilion on the shore. When people learned that is to salvage the wise minister Qu Daifu, once again braved the rain, scrambling to row into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to send condolences, people swinging boat on the river, and then gradually developed into a dragon boat race. It seems that the Dragon Boat Festival to eat zongzi, dragon boat racing and commemorate the Qu Yuan related to the Tang Dynasty Wenxiu "Dragon Boat Festival" poem as evidence: "Festival points Dragon Boat Festival since who said that the rumors of the ancient for Qu Yuan. I can laugh at the empty Chu River, can not be washed straight minister injustice."
In the Spring and Autumn Annals, Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of Wu, died of injustice, turned into a Tao God, the world mourned and sacrificed, so there is the Dragon Boat Festival. This legend is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Wu Zixu, a native of Chu, his father and brother were killed by the king of Chu, and then Zixu defected to Wu, helped Wu to conquer Chu, and entered Ying City, the capital of Chu, in five battles. At that time, King Ping of Chu was already dead, so Zixu dug up his grave and whipped his body 300 times to avenge the killing of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his son Fu Chai succeeded to the throne. The Wu army was highly motivated and won a hundred battles, and the Yue kingdom was defeated, so King Goujian of Yue asked for peace, and Fu Chai agreed to it. Zixu suggested that the state of Yue should be completely destroyed, but Fu-chai refused to listen to him. Wu's dazai, who was bribed by the state of Yue, framed Zixu with slanderous rumors, and Fu-chai believed him and gave Zixu a sword, which he used to kill him. Zixu was a loyal man, and he looked upon death as a homecoming, and before he died, he said to his neighbors, "When I die, I will dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of the capital of Wu to see the Vietnamese army enter the city and destroy Wu", and then he killed himself, and Fu Chai was furious, and he ordered to take the body of Zixu and put it into a leather bag to throw it into the river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and so the Dragon Boat Festival is said to be the commemoration of the day of Wu Zixu.
Dragon Festival, this argument comes from Wen Yiduo's "Dragon Boat Festival", and "Dragon Boat Festival History Education". He believes that the fifth day of the fifth month is the ancient Wu-Yue region "dragon" of the tribes held totem sacrifices. The main reasons are; (a) the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival eat zongzi and race, are related to the dragon. Zongzi into the water is often stolen by the dragon, while the race is used in the dragon boat. (B) the race and the ancient wu yue local relationship is particularly deep, and wu yue people also have broken hair tattoo "to like the dragon child" custom. (C) in ancient times on the fifth day of May, there are "colorful silk tie arm" folk custom, which should be "like the Dragon" tattoo custom remains.
On that day, in the pre-Qin era, it is generally believed that May is a poisonous month, the fifth is a bad day, rumor has it that this day the evil sycophants when the road, the five poisons and out. According to the Book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the storage of orchids bathing in the Zhou Dynasty. The chapter "Zhong Xia Ji" in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in the month of May. In the Xia Xiaozheng, it is written, "This day is for storing medicines in order to remove poisonous qi." Dadailei" in the record, "the fifth day of the fifth month of the animal orchids for the bath" to bathe to drive away evil spirits that the fifth day of the death of the legend is also a lot of. The Historical Records of the Grand Historian (史记-孟尝君列传) recorded that the famous Grand Historian Meng Chang Jun (孟尝君) was born on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, believing that "the son of the month of May, longer than the household Qi, will be unfavorable to his parents." According to an anonymous article in the book "Customs", "it is said that if a child is born on the fifth day of the fifth month, the male will harm his father and the female will harm her mother". Wang Chong, author of "Lun Heng", also recorded: "taboo to lift the first month, May son; to the first month, May son to kill the father and mother, shall not be lifted also." In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the great general Wang Zhenxiao was born on the fifth day of the fifth month, so his grandfather named him "Zhenxiao". Song Huizong Zhao Ji was born on the fifth day of the fifth month, from childhood foster outside the palace. It can be seen that the ancient May 5 as a bad day, is a common phenomenon. Can be seen from the pre-Qin later, this day are unlucky day. In this way, in this day plug calamus, moxa to drive away ghosts, lavender atractylodes, Angelica dahurica and drink andrographis wine to avoid the epidemic, is a logical thing. And people also avoid the "five" taboo, called "Dragon Boat Festival".
Summer solstice, this view of Liu Deqian in the "" Dragon Boat Festival "" and "" Traditional Chinese Festivals "", put forward three main reasons: (a) the authoritative work of years and times "" Jingchu years and times "" did not mention the fifth of May to eat zongzi holiday customs, but to eat zongzi written in the summer solstice. As for the race, the sui dynasty du taiqing made the "jade candle treasure canon" it into the summer solstice recreational activities, visible is not necessarily to salvage the great poet qu yuan cast river. (b) Some of the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as "treading on a hundred grasses", "fighting with a hundred grasses", and "picking miscellaneous medicines", actually have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. (C) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in the Times and Fashions of Huajili is: "The day leaf is the sun, that is, the Dragon Boat Festival is the middle of the summer, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the Festival of the Day. The earliest origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is the summer solstice. Tui Dang out, and to commemorate the Qu Yuan said the most extensive impact. Due to the Qu Yuan's personality art superb, people are also willing to put this anniversary attributed to him.
Commemorate the poetess Qiu Jin: Qiu Jin word Ruiqing Jingxiong, No. Jianhu female warrior, the small word Yugu, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, good at poetry, lyrics, songs, fugue, and like to ride a horse, fencing, there are flowers, Mulan, Qin Liangyu in the world's title. 28 years old to participate in the revolution, the impact is very great, in the planning of the uprising for the Qing soldiers arrested, to the end of the day, in Guangxu thirty-three years in the Shaoxing Xuan Hengkou June 5, valiantly. Posterity for the admiration of her poetry, mourning her loyal and courageous deeds, so, and the Poet's Day to commemorate her, and the Poet's Day is to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan and designated as the Dragon Boat Festival.
Duanwu Festival Customs
Hanging Zhong Kui statue: Zhong Kui to catch ghosts, is the Dragon Boat Festival custom. In the Jianghuai area, every family hanging Zhong Kui statue, used to suppress the house to drive away evil spirits. Tang Minghuang Kaiyuan, from the Lixan lecture martial arts back to the palace, malaria, dreaming of two ghosts, a small, small, small ghosts wearing red crotchless pants, stealing Yang Guifei's scent bag and Minghuang's jade flute, around the temple and run. The big ghost is wearing a blue robe and hat, caught the little ghost, gouge out its eyes, swallowed. Ming Huang asked, the big ghost said: my surname Zhong Kui, that is, the martial arts not first, would like to remove the demons for His Majesty, Ming Huang woke up, malaria cured, and then made the painter Wu Daozi, according to what I saw in the dream painted Zhong Kui to catch the ghosts of the portrait, through the world in the end of the Dragon Boat Festival, all posted to drive away the evil spirits.
Hanging Ai leaves calamus: in the Dragon Boat Festival, families are to calamus, Ai leaves, pomegranate, garlic, artemisia, dragon boat flowers, made of human figures known as Ai people. Will be hanging in the hall, cut for the tiger shape or cut color for the tiger, paste the leaves, women compete to wear, in order to seclude the evil drive miasma. Calamus as a sword, inserted in the lintel, there is to drive away demons and ghosts of the divine effect.
Dragon Boat Race: At that time, the Chu people could not bear the death of the wise minister Qu Yuan, so there were many people rowing boats to catch up with the rescue. They scrambled, chased to Dongting Lake when the trail, is the origin of the Dragon Boat Race, after the fifth of May every year to commemorate the Dragon Boat. Rowing dragon boats to disperse the fish in the river, so that the fish do not eat the body of Qu Yuan. Racing habits, prevalent in Wu, Yue, Chu. In the 29th year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan began to have dragon boat races, and at that time, Taiwan's governor, Mr. Chiang Yuan-jun, hosted a friendly race at the Half Moon Pond of the Fahua Temple in Tainan City. Now Taiwan holds dragon boat races on May 5 every year. Hong Kong has a race, and recently the British have followed the example of our people, organizing their own team, the competition.
Eat zongzi: Jing Chu people, on May 5, cook glutinous rice or steam zongzi cake into the river, to worship Qu Yuan, for fear that the fish ate, so the bamboo tube filled with glutinous rice thrown down, and then gradually use zongzi leaves instead of bamboo tube.
Drink Xionghuang wine: Xionghuang is a mineral, containing arsenic trisulfide components, mixed with wine. That is, into the andrographis wine, used to expel insects to solve the five poisons, children coated in the forehead. Ear, nose, hands and feet heart. And sprinkled between the walls, in order to law of all poisons. The story of "The Legend of the White Snake", which has been passed down in folklore, is to use Xionghuang wine to relieve the venom of snakes and vipers, and to show the original form of the white snake. This kind of Xi Bai, in the Yangtze River basin area of the family is very popular.
Tour of the disease: the Dragon Boat Festival custom prevalent in Guizhou. Men, women and children to the field to play, wearing new clothes, at noon or so, the road on the mountain or under the tree crowded crowd, holding flowers and plants, very happy. Home at night will be boiled flowers and plants and water to take a bath, the elderly known as the "tour of the hundred diseases" and "wash the hundred diseases", do not go out to tour the hundred diseases and wash the hundred diseases of the people, the year to the end of the year will not get good luck.
Pei scented sacs: Dragon Boat Festival children Pei scented sacs, not only to ward off evil spirits to drive away the plague, but also have a lapel head embellishment of the wind. Incense capsule inside the cinnabar, andrographis, incense medicine, wrapped in silk cloth, fragrant, and then five-color silk string buckle into a rope, for a variety of different shapes, knotted into a string, colorful, delicate and eye-catching.
[Edit paragraph] Dragon Boat Festival customs
Dragon Boat Festival is a very popular traditional festival in China, there are many different customs and habits around the holiday, we pray for peace and safety through a variety of ways to avoid evil spirits to protect the peace.
Anhui
Anhui Hefei: Dragon Boat Festival inserted wormwood to attract blessings and drive away evil
Dragon Boat Festival is here, Hefei, Anhui people in accordance with traditional customs, have to buy wormwood inserted in the door to attract blessings and drive away evil. Hefei City, Huaihe Road, a vegetable market, a woman bought a few sticks of mugwort, is ready to go home to cook. She said, according to tradition, the Dragon Boat Festival to hang the wormwood on the door to drive away evil spirits. In Hefei City, the market side of the city god temple, live in the suburbs of the grandfather Wang pushed a tricycle to sell mugwort. His mugwort is taken from the nearby mountains, with other grass leaves will be a few branches tied into a neat bundle to sell, a dollar four bundles, mugwort exudes a special aroma, from time to time, some people go up to choose to buy.
Mugwort is a perennial herb, leaves alternate, pinnately lobed, the surface is green, the leaves are densely white hairs, stems and leaves have a special aroma. In ancient China, moxa was used as medicine, and the moxibustion method of acupuncture is to place moxa on acupuncture points and cauterize them to cure diseases. Ancient people also believe that mugwort can attract blessings and drive away evil spirits, as recorded in the ancient Chinese book: "When the chicken is not crowing, picking mugwort looks like a human figure, and take it, collect it to moxibustion, it is very effective. It is the day to pick the wormwood for the human figure, hanging on the household, can avoid poisonous gas." Ancient thought that after the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather began to heat, mosquitoes and insects, prone to infectious diseases, and therefore in this day to the so-called "five in the sky" - calamus, mugwort, pomegranate flowers, garlic and santan and other five kinds of plants, to drive away all kinds of poisonous.
Anhui Shexian: Dragon Boat Festival jump Zhong Kui catch ghosts
Located in the south of Anhui Province, Shexian annual Dragon Boat Festival in addition to eating rice dumplings, hanging mugwort, dance dragon boat and other customs, there are unique jump Zhong Kui Shui Wai catching ghosts activities. Zhong Kui ghosts carrying "Zhong Jinshi out of the patrol", "silence", "avoidance" sign, Zhong Kui holding a sword, wearing a broken umbrella, there are small ghosts holding a wine bowl and other folklore performances.
It is understood that jumping Zhong Kui is one of the folk way to avoid evil spirits. In the past, many villages in Shexian Dragon Boat Festival have jumped Zhong Kui performance, Zhong Kui out of the patrol range is limited to the village, the village intersection, the streets and alleys to patrol to show that the thoroughness of the ghosts. Prior to prepare to receive the Zhong Kui's family, in order to achieve the purpose of seeking God to drive away the ghosts, will be burning firecrackers to help, in the sound of firecrackers, dust, the atmosphere is majestic. Some data show that in the works of Chinese poets in the Qing Dynasty, there is the Dragon Boat Festival chanting Zhong Kui's poem, perhaps this time the weather is hot and humid people sick, plague easy to epidemic, so please Zhong Kui to drive away evil spirits.
Hebei
Taboo Dragon Boat Festival well water, often pre-drawing before the festival, it is said to avoid well poisoning. Marketplace vendors also in the Dragon Boat Festival selling cherries and mulberries, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival ate cherries and mulberries, can be the whole year not to eat flies.
Shandong and Northeast
Dragon Boat Festival, each person needs to get up early to drink a cup of wine, legend has it that you can avoid evil spirits. Rizhao Dragon Boat Festival to children wrapped in five-color line, has to wear to the festival after the first rain before unraveling thrown in the rain.
Shanxi
Dragon Boat Festival men and women wearing mugwort leaves, known as the "go to the disease", the youngest child is tied to the neck of a hundred rope, it is said that this is "for the Qu Yuan bound dragon.
Jiangsu
Dragon Boat Festival, rich or poor, must buy Shishou fish (commonly known as koji) cooking. There is also "when the pants, buy yellowtail" proverb. Nanjing Dragon Boat Festival, each family is to a box of water, add a little andrographis, googly-eyed money two, a piece of topaz, the size of the family are using this water to wash their eyes, known as the "broken fire eye", it is said to be able to keep a year without eye disease.
Sichuan
The custom of "out of the Dragon Boat Lo". A large square table covered with a red carpet is carried by four people on two bamboo poles. On the carpet, a Taoist priest riding a tiger is woven with bamboo gabions. Banging gongs and drums, street parade. In the old days, there was also the custom of "typing" at the Dragon Boat Festival in western Sichuan. On this day, Chengdu people buy plums, in the southeast corner of the city under the city tower, up and down to throw, gathered tens of thousands of observers. In Meizhou, there is also the custom of drinking xionghuang wine, said to ward off evil spirits / anti-mosquito effect. In this day every house door are inserted on the wormwood, said to be able to ward off evil spirits.
Guangdong
Every year before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, many parents have to take their children to the river to dip "dragon boat water" habit, in order to pray for the children's health, grow up quickly. The Hakka people have the habit of eating dyed bitter gourd (with glutinous rice and squid mixed and stuffed into the seeds of the bitter gourd)
Taiwan
On the Dragon Boat Festival, families also have the custom of playing "Wushihui". This is the well water that is pumped up at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that the water is used to make tea and wine, especially fragrant, and even has the miraculous effect of curing the disease. There is a proverb that says: "Wash the eyes at noon (eyes), Ming to if the Wu drongo", and said "noon water drink a mouth, better tonic to eat three years".
Yunnan
Over there, people eat peanuts, peaches and plums during the Dragon Boat Festival. But the significance of these foods is different from the South. Eating peanuts is to take the meaning of its longevity, eat plums symbolize the reproduction of children and grandchildren, some people also believe that it can prevent heatstroke.
Zhejiang
It is customary to eat zongzi and bump boiled duck eggs.
Universal
With gourd: Dragon Boat Festival with gourd is the custom of the past, children, adults wear gourd, there is to ward off evil spirits and drive away the plague. Wearing a gourd, which is a traditional cultural symbol of "good fortune and luck", can turn hostility into peace and enhance the blessing of the aura.
Of course, there are more common is to eat zongzi, drink xionghuang wine, wear scented sachets, dragon boat race, these are very popular Dragon Boat Festival customs.
Dragon Boat Festival jewelry
Jianren, a kind of jewelry for women at the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the old days. Generally made of gold and silver wire or copper wire and gold foil, in the shape of a small man riding a tiger, there are also added bells, bells, tassels and garlic, dumplings and so on. Inserted in the women's hair buns, also used for gifts. Qingjiazhu" cloud: "(May 5) city people made of gold and silver wire for the complex tassels, bells, bells and so on, riding on a tiger, very fine, decorated with small hairpin, through for the string, or with copper wire gold foil, for women to insert the sideburns. And they offer each other gifts, called Jianren." Jianren a said and Ai people agree, just to silk easy to Ai, Wu Man Yun "Jiangxiang festival word - a small preface" cloud: "Hangzhou custom, Jianren that Ai people, and easy to silk, for the camel tiger, women are wearing," like this when there is a role in warding off evil spirits and epidemics; said that the ancient time of the rock, purely for women's decorations (Cai Yun "Wu Dedication" note).
Dou Niang, the old Dragon Boat Festival women's headdress. Mostly found in Jiangnan. Some areas are also known as Jianren. This object is said to have originated from the ancient step rock, that is, a different form of Ai people. Qingjiazhu" cited "Tang and Song dynasty records" cloud: "Jiang who north and south, five days hairpin color wins the system, ready to very clever. Where the fabric pin Jian system Ai leaves, or save embroidery Xian, Buddha, Hop, Wu, insects, fish, the shape of the beasts, eight treasures such as flowers. Crepe spiders, Cherry Fenglin, cocoon tiger fluffy dor, rows of grass lizards, and praying mantis spider cicada scorpion, and gourd fruits and gourds, color and realism. To add streamers, embroidered balls and tassels, bells and whistles, or coherent to string, the name is Dou Niang, can not be counted."
Ai Hu, the old Dragon Boat Festival to drive away evil spirits, but also as decorations. China's ancient view of the tiger as a sacred beast, commonly thought to be able to suppress the evil spirits, blessing peace. "Customs" cloud: "Tiger Yang things, the longest of the beasts. Can devour food ghosts, ...... also open up the evil. Therefore, more folk take tiger for the use of evil, especially the Dragon Boat Festival for the most characteristic of the tiger. Ai tiger or to Ai braided and cut, or cut color for the tiger, stick to Ai leaves, worn in the hair body. The Dragon Boat Festival custom of wearing Ai Hu has a history of more than a thousand years. Song Chen Yuan-gui, "the time of the year wide record" cited "the time of the year miscellany": "the Dragon Boat Festival in the shape of a tiger, up to as big as a black bean, or cut color as a small tiger, sticky mugwort leaves to wear. Wang Yigong 'Dragon Boat Festival Post' poem: 'hairpin head of the tiger to ward off the evil spirits, dawn driving auspicious clouds seven treasures car'." And Qing Fu-cha Dun Chong, "Yanjing times": "Every Duanyang, the boudoir of the clever, with damask made of small tiger and dumplings ...... to colorful thread, hanging in the head of the hairpin, or tied to the back of the children, the old poem: 'Jade Swallow hairpin Ai Tiger light! ', that is, this meaning."
Duanwu health practices
① Picking herbs. This is one of the oldest Dragon Boat Festival customs. Xia Xiaozheng (夏小正): "This day is to store medicines, in order to alleviate the poisonous gas." The times of the year and the broad record" volume 22 "picking miscellaneous medicine" cited "Jing Chu times of the year record" anonymous text: "May 5, competing to pick miscellaneous medicines, can cure a hundred diseases." Wei "Qimin Yaojutsu - miscellaneous records", there are May catch toad records, is also a pharmaceutical. Later, there are many regions have the custom of catching toads at the Dragon Boat Festival, such as Jiangsu in the Dragon Boat Festival collection of toads, pricked its foam, the production of traditional Chinese medicine toadstools; Hangzhou people also give small children to eat toads, said that the fire can be eliminated to cool, no sores in summer. There are also five days in the mouth of the toad plug ink ingots, hanging up to dry, that is, into the toad ingots, coated in pus sores can be dissipated. The custom of catching toads to make medicine originated from the Han Dynasty "toads to avoid soldiers" legend. Another example is Hubei Jianli in the Dragon Boat Festival "picking grass", also picking herbs custom. Picking medicine is because before and after the Dragon Boat Festival herb stems and leaves ripe, medicinal properties, only on this day to form this custom.
② bath orchid soup. Dragon Boat Festival bathing orchid soup is the "Dai Dai Li" recorded ancient custom. At that time, the orchid is not the current orchid, but the chrysanthemum Peilan, fragrant, can be decocted and bathed. There is also a line in "Nine Songs - The King of the Clouds" that says, "Bathing in orchid soup is a great way to bathe in fragrance". The Jing Chu Chronicle: "The fifth day of the fifth month is called the Orchid Bathing Festival." The Five Miscellaneous Chopsticks recorded that people in the Ming Dynasty bathed in orchid soup because it was unavailable, so they took five-colored grasses at noon and bathed in them. Later, they usually fried bushes, mugwort and other herbs to take a bath. In Guangdong, the use of Ai, Pu, Fenxian, Magnolia and other flowers and grasses; in Hunan, Guangxi and other places, the use of cypress leaves, wind root, Ai, Pu, peach leaves and other boiled into a medicinal water bath. Regardless of men and women, young and old, the whole family washed, this custom still exists, it is said to cure skin diseases, go to the evil.
③ drink bushels of wine, andrographis, vermilion wine, wine sprinkler spray. Jing Chu chronicle: "to calamus (perennial herbaceous plants, born in the water, underground with reddish rhizome, leaves shaped like a sword, flesh spikes. The rhizome can be used as a spice or medicine) or skeletonized or crumbled to cold wine." Pu wine has an aromatic flavor and a refreshing taste, and later on, andrographis and vermilion sand were added to the wine. Ming Xie Zhaozhuang "five miscellaneous Tsui": "drink calamus wine also ...... and andrographis into the wine to drink." Ming Feng Yingjing "Moon Order Guangyi": "five days with cinnabar wine, to ward off evil spirits and detoxification, with wine dye forehead chest hands and feet heart, no will be venomous (ancient books say a poisonous snake) snake's disease. And to sprinkle the walls, doors and windows to avoid poisonous insects." This custom is widely spread. To date, such as Guangxi Binyang, every Dragon Boat Festival will have packets of medicine for sale, including Xionghuang, Zhu Lei, cypress, peach kernel, bushels, mugwort leaves, etc., people soaked in wine and then dipped in calabash and sprinkle the corners of the walls, doors, windows, under the bed, etc., and then wine coated with children's ears, nose and navel to drive away the venomous insects, and pray for the peace of the children. In addition, some areas also use the end of the staghorn wine in the children's forehead painting "Wang" word, so that children with the mark of the tiger, to use the tiger to ward off evil spirits. These activities, from the health point of view, or scientific reasoning. Andrographis plus water and wine sprinkled indoors can be sterilized, drink bushel sprinkles are also quite beneficial.
④ tea, herbal tea. Some areas in the north, like the Dragon Boat Festival to pick young leaves, wild leaves steamed and dried, made of tea. Guangdong Chaozhou area, people go to the countryside to pick herbs, boiled herbal tea to drink. This is also good for health.
In the Dragon Boat Festival set up a variety of flowers and plants that can drive away evil spirits, the source is also long. The earliest such as hanging mugwort in the door, "Jingchu chronicles": "picking mugwort as a person, hanging on the portal, in order to avoid poisonous gas." This is due to the important medicinal plant, and can make moxa velvet treatment, moxibustion points, and can drive insects. May Man contains the most moxa oil, (at this time is the peak growth period of Man) so the efficacy of the best, people also scramble to pick Ai. In addition to picking Ai Za as a person, but also Ai Za as a tiger, known as the Ai Tiger, "Jing Chu chronicles" note text cloud: "to Ai for the tiger, or cut color for the tiger, post to Ai leaves within the people fighting to wear it." At the same time, also hangs on the door and bushels of bushels and bushels of bushels peeled bushels sword, bushels of bushels tied bushels dragon. The Imperial Capital Years and Years Jisheng: "(Dragon Boat Festival) insert bushels of dragons and mugwort." Qingjialu, Volume 5: "Dai Pu for the sword, cut pong as a whip, vice to peach stalks garlic, hanging in the bed, all to but ghosts." Peach stalks are auspicious to ward off evil spirits, garlic is believed to symbolize the weapon of copper hammer, and bushels of swords, pong whip to match, in order to drive away the ghosts. Also burned wormwood to drive away mosquitoes and flies. In Hunan, Zhejiang and other places are picked kudzu hanging in the door phase, the legend is that the kudzu is a chain lock ghosts, ghosts can be driven away to ward off evil spirits.
With the picking of medicines, picking Ai Pu, etc. associated with the stepping on a hundred grasses, fighting a hundred grasses and other games, is the ancient people to the field tour of the legacy of the art. Later developed into decorative arts such as flower arrangement.
Dragon Boat Festival fighting grass
Before the Han Dynasty did not see the game of fighting grass. ("Social and common things through the ages - Shang Binghe") origin is not examined, generally believed to be related to the emergence of Chinese medicine. Ancient pioneers struggled to survive and lived a monotonous life, entertaining themselves by fighting insects, grasses and animals in their spare time, and after the legendary "Shen Nong tasted a hundred herbs" formed the science of traditional Chinese medicine, groups of people went out to the countryside every year to collect medicines at the Dragon Boat Festival, and plugged in Ai on the door to solve the muggy poisonous disease, which was a customary practice; after harvesting, they would often hold competitions to report the name of the flower and the name of the herb to each other in the form of a battle, and the winner would be the one with more plants. After the harvest, competitions were often held in which the names of flowers and grasses were announced to each other in the form of duets, with the winner being the one who had more names, which was a wonderful combination of botanical knowledge and literary knowledge. Bai Juyi's poem "watching children's games" reads: "Getting dust or fighting grass, all day fun and frolic."
The original "Objects" said: "It started in Hanwu". According to the Liang Dynasty, Mr. Zong Security Department in the "Jingchu chronicles" in the cloud: "May 5, the four people and step on a hundred grass, and there is a fight grass of the game." "Nianhua Ji Li": "Duanwu knot hut storage medicine, fight grass, wrapped in five silk."
The North and South Dynasties called "step on the grass", the Tang Dynasty called "fight grass" or "fight grass". Liu Binjiajiu" cloud: "Tang Zhongzong dynasty, Anle Princess five days fight hundred grass." The Song Dynasty expanded to weekdays at any time. The first time I saw this, it was a very good time for me.
Beijing Palace Museum collection of "group of infants fighting grass", the game is roughly as follows: the competition between the two sides first pick their own grass with a certain toughness, (Loulan case: more than the plantain, plantain perennial herbaceous plants, mostly born on the side of the road, ditch, ridge, etc.). No stem, with most of the slender fibrous roots; leaves from the inter-root tufts, thin papery, with five main veins, entire or undulate, or sparse blunt teeth, up to 15-30 centimeters; with greenish-white sparsely flowers, corolla four-lobed, four stamens; fruit ripe will be lifted like a lid, releasing four to six brownish-black seeds, and its long flower axis, used to fight the grass of a good material.) Then cross each other into a "ten" shape and each use their strength to pull, in order to continue to win.
This kind of human pull and grass to determine the strength of the pull to win or lose the fight grass, known as "martial arts". Wang Jian "Palace Lyrics", aria fighting grass game situation: "celery leaves in the water, flowers in the soil, pick up will also be avoided, always waiting for others like the number of exhaustion, sleeve flicked out of the yukon gold buds" fighting grass in addition to "martial arts", there is a "cultural fighting The so-called "literary fight". The so-called "Wen Dou", is the name of the flowers and plants, "Dream of Red Mansions" 62: "Baoyu birthday day, the sisters were busy sitting and drinking and doing poetry. The maid of each house also with the master for fun, Xue Pan's concubine Xiangling and a few maids each picked some flowers and plants, fight grass for fun. This one said, "I have Guanyin willow; that one said I have Luohan pine. Suddenly douguan said, I have sister flowers, which put everyone in a difficult situation, Xiangling said, I have a husband and wife Hui. Douguan see Xiangling answered unconvinced, said: "never what husband and wife benefit!" Xiangling argued: "a branch of a flower called 'orchid', a branch of several flowers called 'Hui'. The upper and lower flowers are called 'brotherly favor', and the side-by-side flowers are called 'conjugal favor', and this one of mine is a side-by-side flower, so how can it not be called 'conjugal favor'?" Douguan was asked, then smiled and said: "According to you, a big and a small is called: 'old son and son benefit', if the two flowers open back to back can be called 'enemy benefit'. Xue Pan just went out for half a year, you want him in your heart, pulling the flowers and grasses into a husband and wife Hui, shame on you!" Said Xiangling red, laughing, ran over to screw douguan's mouth, so the two twisted rolled on the ground. All the maids play and play, very happy. At this time, Baoyu also picked some grass to join in the fun.