Dragon boat festival

--- the most beautiful mistakes

When it comes to the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, Qu Yuan, "so Kaiseki died from Miluo", and this eternal soul is remembered.

However, this is only the most well-known theory, and if you take it seriously, there are at least two more influential local legends.

First, Wu Zixu said that back then, he was dying bitterly, but he only further angered the stubborn and self-serving king, and even did not have the opportunity to "enter the earth for peace" with him, and abandoned the body in the river, that day was May 5, and after that, the people of Wu felt their legacy, and often sacrificed on this day, and there was a festival.

One is Cao E said, this lived in the Eastern Han Dynasty in Shaoxing place, listed in the "after twenty-four filial piety" woman, her father fell into the river and drowned, no body was seen, Cao E was only 14 years old at the time, crying along the river for more than ten days, and finally on May 5 also threw herself into the river, five days later with her father's corpse, it was passed on as a myth, and also alarmed the great literati Handan Chun (that is, the one who wrote "Xiaolin"), who had not yet become famous at that time, made a poem to praise, and then the deeds were passed down from generation to generation, and also became a local celebrity, The local people also began to worship on May 5 every year, and gradually became a ritual.

In addition, there are also sayings that originated from Jie Zi Tui or Yue Goujian, but it has really declined to the point that even the legend can't be picked up, so I won't repeat it here.

The three theories are still circulating, and sometimes there will be some boring literati who jump out to fight, and most of them just want to fight for the glory of the "Dragon Boat Festival Origin" and related economic interests for their hometown.

But... To be honest, these three statements are really not very tenable, especially the third statement, which is simply tampering with the original historical materials unscrupulously... Of course, that's a later story.

The only thing in common among the three legends, and the most interesting place, is time, according to legend, all three of them went to the river on May 5 and died, and after that, the local people set up rituals and sacrifices on this day... But, isn't it too coincidental?

After carefully flipping through the earliest records, what did Taishi Gong tell us?

Doctor Sanlu, there is no date, and there is only one sentence for reference: "Tao Tao Meng Xiaxi, the grass and trees are reckless." But at best, it proves that his death date was in April or later, and it says nothing more.

As for Wu Zixu, it is even simpler, "It is to take Zixu's corpse and put it in the river of Yige." From the various historical records of the Han and Han dynasties, we can only see the research of the location and the way of sacrifice, and there is no record of the date at all.

As for Cao E, it is relatively clear: according to the biography of the Later Han Dynasty, "those who are filial to Cao E will be able to judge the Yu people." Father, can sing strings, for the witch blessing. On May 5 of the second year of Han'an, Yu County River traced the Tao to welcome the gods, drowned, and no corpses were allowed. In the fourteenth year of the year, it was crying along the river, day and night, and there were seven days in ten days, and then he threw himself into the river and died. In the first year of Yuanjia, the length of the county was still changed to be buried in Jiangnan Road, which was a monument. ”

That is to say, May 5 is the death day of Cao E's father, and Cao E should have jumped into the river on May 22, so at least at that time, it was impossible to commemorate her on May 5. (By the way, I passed by Shaoxing in 04 years, and I also specifically checked the local commemorative text about Cao E, and sure enough, it was "Cao E, a famous filial daughter in Chinese history, threw herself into the river on May 5, and the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival arose because of this...", to be honest, the feeling at that time was really powerless.) ）

So, who decided on this date? Continue to rummage through the ancient books that can still be found now, the Western Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Wei and Jin Dynasties... No, no, it wasn't until the Southern Dynasty that we found a book called "Jing Chu Years Chronicles", which has such an account under the May Article.

"On the fifth day of May, Qu Yuan threw himself into Miluo Day, and he was injured and died, so he ordered Zhou Jige to save him. The boat takes its light profit and calls it a fly, one thinks it is a water army, and one thinks it is a water horse. The state generals and scholars are all near the water. Handan Chun's "Cao E Monument" cloud: 'On May 5, Shi Yingwu Jun went up against the tide and was flooded. 'Si and the customs of Eastern Wu, the matter is in Zixu, not about Qu Ping. "The Legend of Yuedi" originated from Goujian, the king of Yue, and cannot be detailed. ”

(By the way, the so-called Cao E stele is the stele that Cai Yong wrote "Huang Juan's young woman, grandson Yan Jiu", and finally indirectly killed Yang Xiu, however, this stele can not be found as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, although there are many versions that say what books are written by the Holy Relatives and Cai Bian in large characters, but behind it, there is still a grandiose "Three hundred years later, the stele tomb should fall into the river; When you fall or not, Wang Kuangzhi", "Cai Yong's prophecy", this, taking into account the long history of our Chinese literati making ancient books and thinking that they have been used... This article has always been "for reference only, not admissible". ）

It's still very nice to see the record of the year, and the three legends are confirmed in a paragraph, which is really efficient, but if you take a closer look, it's a little wrong.

"Vulgar is Qu Yuan's Pitch to Luo Ri", a word "vulgar", which is used in a very good way, which also proves that the author himself has no confidence to implement this, just to record this "everyone said so" thing.

As for "Yingwu Jun against the tide"... Well, let's compare Fan Ye's text "On May 5 of the second year of Han'an, Yuxian Jiang Sutao greeted the gods", it is obvious that it is just a religious activity, to insist that this god is Wu Zixu, first, I can't find hard evidence, and second, Wu Zixu doesn't seem to have any "love" for Yuedi at all, and emotionally he himself is probably not willing to run to bless Goujian's descendants. Therefore, Wu Junyunyun can only be regarded as a romantic emotional attack of a writer, and its value in research can only be regarded as a circumstantial evidence of this kind of legend in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Why, then, from the perspective of historical books, Qu Yuan's death in "April", which is more likely to occur in "April", and Wu Zixu's death, which seems to have no date at all, will be locked on May 5 by public opinion with a high degree of unanimous opinion hundreds of years later?

… Here, allow me to digress and tell two more stories. One is about Yue Fei, and the other is about Shi Kefa.

In today's Chizhou City, Anhui Province, there is a "Qishan Scenic Area", above, there is a Cuiwei Pavilion, which was built in accordance with Li Bai's poetic sense of "opening the curtain when Cuiwei" when Du Mu was the official in the late Tang Dynasty, but today, everyone knows here, but it is more because of Yue Fei.

In the first year of Shaoxing, Yue Fei went north to resist Jin, passing through Qishan, invited by local celebrities, visiting Cuiwei together, Yue Wumu was climbing the mountain and overlooking it from afar, seeing the Yangtze River such as practice, the countryside is like a painting, remembering the meaning of Wang Dao Linjiang to solve the public, deeply feel that Hu Lu is based on the north, time does not wait, hand aid a song of seven uniques, that is: "The year is full of dust and clothes, and the special search for Fang is on Cuiwei." The good mountains and good waters are insufficient, and the horse's hooves urge the moon to return. ”

According to the history, after Yue Fei wrote the poem, he looked up to three cups, immediately hit the horse down the mountain, and went north overnight, and this >, at that time, someone carved a monument to circulate, although for the later "unwarranted" things, fearing the crime and destroying it, but in ancient times, justice was in the hearts of the people, Yue Fei was loyal to the country, but he was tragically poisoned like this, and the heroes of the world all cut their teeth. And the people in Chizhou, will be around Yue Fei's death day every year, organize the so-called "Qishan Temple Fair", on the face of the gods of heaven and earth, but in fact it is to remember Yue Fei, from the notes of the Song people, at that time there were quite a few local officials who understood it, but none of them dared to risk the world's disapproval, to offend the anger of the public. Even, even among the incumbent officials, there are often people who will be subservient to the meeting and make some sacrificial articles.

Another.

Shi Kefa worked hard to defend Yangzhou, and finally died of exhaustion, hating his Manchu people very much, of course, he would not set up a temple to worship him, although he still left the "Shi Gebu Tomb", but he would not allow the people to sacrifice him, and... Since then, the folk of Yangzhou have risen up to worship the "nine-pattern dragon Shi Jin" wind, even the prostitution and begging households have also set up, when every fifteenth day of the new year, the whole city is seriously talking about the "Shi Gong", I believe that no Han people will really be able to set up these incense for the bandit leader in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The story is over, but I still don't want to get back to business right away, and talk about what May 5th is.

… In fact, sacrificing to the river god on the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth month, making a boat play, warding off evil spirits and seeking blessings is simply the inherent custom of the people in ancient China, and its qualifications are far older than the year when Qu Zi threw himself into the river, not to mention Wu Zixu or Cao E.

A long, long time ago, when the Han Ming Dynasty had not yet dreamed of Buddhas, when the Wuhu had not yet been chaotic, and when Akuta, Temujin, and Nurhachi were still only in the distant future, there were five most important festivals in China.

The first day of the first month, the third day of March, the fifth day of May, the seventh day of July, and the ninth day of September.

The first day of the first lunar month is the day of the three yuan, that is, the first day of the year, the first day of the four seasons, and the first day of the twelfth month.

On the third day of the third month of the third month, it is the day of Shangsi, and on this day, the people will go to the banks of the rivers and rivers to hold a ceremony to eliminate disasters and diseases and wash away dirt. And later, especially after the Jin Dynasty crossed to the south, combined with the children of those families, it gradually evolved into the day of going green, at this time of year, people with conditions will go out of the city, chant in the wind, drink and feast near the water, called "Shimin and out of the river Zhu pond and marsh, for the drink of flowing cup qu water." Today, however, the holiday has largely disappeared.

The seventh day of the seventh month of July is the day of begging, the day of the legendary Cowherd and Weaver Girl, which is one of the few festivals specially designed for women, and was originally on the verge of extinction, but in recent years, it has been packaged as "Chinese Valentine's Day" by merchants and vigorously advocated, and it seems to have a sign of resurrection.

The ninth day of the ninth month of September, today it is called Chongyang, it is a day of respecting the elderly, but at that time, it has nothing to do with filial piety, and it is also a day similar to the third day of March.

It should be pointed out that in ancient times, productivity was extremely low, and the people at that time were never in good enough interest to set festivals and amusements, at that time, every festival was a more important thing than production, and it was for this reason that the ancestors of slash-and-burn farming put down their work and lived these festivals seriously with fear and expectation.

The five ancient festivals are actually the five "evil days" that our ancestors believed in, and it is believed that this day needs to be worshiped to unknowable beings such as ghosts and gods, and it is believed that this can be exchanged for peace in the next few months... Strictly speaking, each of these so-called "festivals" at the time was a torment that would have caused our ancestors to worry and work hard from sunrise to sunset.

Seriously speaking, May 5 is the most ferocious day of these five days.

In traditional customs, May is directly called the evil month, and it is often forbidden. You can't dry the quilt, you can't build a house, especially the last one, and there is even a special ban, which was made after the Qin Dynasty unified the world, and it has not changed through the Han and Wei dynasties, which can be said to have tenacious vitality.

May is the fierce month, May 5 is the fierce day in the fierce month, on this day, the people should generally leave home to go to the suburbs, to drink realgar wine, and on the children's face with wine to draw a specific symbol, to use wormwood to hang on the door, to block the poisonous gas, to use five-colored silk to tie the hand, to ward off the sword. And on this day, it is necessary to sacrifice to the dragon god of the river and seek the unknowable protection. Legend has it that when a child is born on this day, the woman will harm the mother, and the man will turn against the father.

(By the way, Zhao Gou of Song Gaozong was born on May 5, so he was taken outside the palace to raise him from the time he came out, and he was not allowed to return to the palace... Well, judging from the last history, it's really a shame, and it shouldn't be taken back. ）

In short, on this day, any large-scale commemoration, sacrifice, prayer, and so on are justified and no one has anything to say. It is precisely this that led to Qu Yuan's death day being finally locked on this day. At the same time, it greatly enhances the existence and significance of this day, and finally makes it stand out from the crowd, withstanding thousands of years of time and countless cultural catastrophes.

Looking back at the past, let's calm down, think about it, think about the past...

Qu Yuan, he is a lonely Lan Hui who is clean and independent in that turbid future: loyal and capable, there is no way to serve the country, and finally died with hatred, and he left a prophecy that is equivalent to a curse in the eyes of those who have a heart. ("Huaisha" says: "The road to the north is the second time, and the day is ambiguous; With sorrow and sorrow, it is limited to a great reason. "It's really inauspicious. In this case, it is really impossible to expect people like King Qingxiang or Zilan to organize a commemoration of him. Even "tolerate", they will never do it.

However, the court was ruthless, but the people could not be unrighteous, and with compassion, they began to do what they could, with that stubborn and superstitious mood, hoping to offer a little sacrifice to this giant, whom they had already believed to be destined to become a god.

But this is very dangerous, facing the wrath of the court can cause people to lose everything in that era, so after a long struggle between emotion and reason, at last some wise people began to think of a better way.

… That is, in later generations, it was used by the people who also had the same heart of remembrance on the method of King Yue E and Shi Gebu.

Borrowing the days when everyone had nothing to say, the sacrificial ceremony began to be held publicly, just like the "Qishan Temple Fair" and "Nine Pattern Dragon Shi Jin", under the grand and righteous action, there was a helpless but sincere nostalgia.

Later, time passed, and there was no longer a need for such a disguise, but the accumulation of time has deeply imprinted this day into the hearts of the people, and it is basically "uneducated" people, and it is even more difficult to really figure out when the real "death day" is at the beginning, and word of mouth has passed on, and they believe that it is the "positive day", so that year after year, in the end, the trickle that quietly circulated in the countryside has become a powerful river, which is rolled back to the temple and begins to wash the memories of the scribes.

"May 5th Race, commonly known as Qu Yuan's Miluo Day", in my heart, this place is as convenient as the national style, like those words that must have been rude and straightforward at the earliest, after being silently circulated for an unknown amount of time, finally came to the history museum, forcing the scribes to write it down, recognize, and pass it on, although out of academic persistence, they still use a "vulgar" word to mark the suspicion of this, but this is useless. The fact is that May 5, the day of the three Lu deaths, has become the common memory of all Chinese for thousands of years, and has become the cultural bloodline that we have inherited and inherited together, and it has been deeply imprinted in the hearts of all the descendants of Yan and Huang.

The same reason can also be used to explain the legend about Wu Zixu, similar background, similar exploits, similar encounters... Therefore, he was given similar treatment: although he was deeply missed, it was only on the fifth day of the year that this unfortunate giant, who had witnessed the peak of the Wu Kingdom, could enjoy a little public sacrifice and remembrance under the cover of traditional customs.

As for Cao E... It was just an accident, but in her father's profession, it was an inevitability: on May 5th, the tracing of the waves greeted the gods, which was originally the duty of a person who was a god and witch, and when there were countless gods and witches completing various rituals on the river on this day every year, one of them fell into the water, which is simply an inevitable event that happens every year.

Therefore, May 5 is not Qu Zi's death day, and it would only be a mistake to strictly follow the oldest rules and choose to worship him on this day.

Mistake... But what does it matter? That's a beautiful mistake, a mistake worth remembering. That is even more a blessing, the luck of the festival on May 5th, and it is also an honor, and it is the glory that our Chinese culture continues to inherit.

Hangzhou Yue Temple has a couplet: "Qingshan is fortunate to bury the bones of loyalty, and the white iron innocently casts the ministers." "Qingshan is fortunate to have to trust Wumu, and no one dares to hurt from then on. White iron is innocent, casting Qin Wan, and he has suffered a lot of spittle since he has been in the world.

We can also see a lot of similar things, Huai Zhou and protect Tang, love the house and Wu... Strictly speaking, this is also a kind of "chicken dog ascending to heaven", but it can be extremely moving.

Looking back at those oldest festivals: Sansan Shangsi, almost no one remembers it now, Qiqi Qiqiao, even the impact of one-tenth of the fourteenth and fifteenth days of February in the solar calendar is not comparable, and the Double Ninth Festival of the Ninth Lunar Calendar... It is only because it has reformed itself and because it has successfully linked to filial piety that it can still be inherited as an ancient festival recognized by the state.

… In the end, it was the fifth day of May, one of the most vicious days of the year, which became the most familiar and intimate day of the year, a beautiful day accompanied by all kinds of festivals, and many customs that were not originally related to it.

(In fact, a little research can find that in ancient times, there were two times to eat zongzi, one was cold food, and the other was the summer solstice, which had nothing to do with May 5.) Moreover, from a food point of view, it is not in tune, using realgar wine to send zongzi to the stomach... I can assure you that you won't want to taste it again. ）

The fifth day of the fifth month of May, the Dragon Boat Festival.

Sometimes, because of the existence of a person and a name, it can add great value to an entire place or a whole space, and the Dragon Boat Festival is really like this. It was originally a primitive superstition to avoid disasters, but because of the luck of combining with Qu Yuan, it has been passed down for thousands of years, and its influence has expanded overseas.

In the first days, it was the Dragon Boat Festival that provided protection for Qu Yuan, so that he could enjoy people's nostalgia and sacrifices relatively quietly, but in the vast majority of days, it was Qu Yuan who protected the Dragon Boat Festival, and it was his noble personality and great influence that transcended time and space, so that this day could be immortalized with him, and passed down from generation to generation. And if this is not the case, perhaps, today, no one remembers that there was such a festival in ancient times.

On the fifth day of the fifth month of May, the rice dumplings are racing... At the same time, we must not forget history, what happened more than 2,000 years ago, loyalty and dedication to the country, and perseverance... Time has passed, and people have passed away for a long time, but we should always remember everything, remember how a person should and can be loyal, remember how a person should and can dedicate, and remember how a person should and can be persistent.

Remember: Qu Yuan's death is the worry of going to the country, he is not mourning for his power and wealth, otherwise he can turn back at any time, he fought for the principle, lost because of the principle, and finally died for the principle, until the last moment, what he cared about was still the fate of the Chu State.

Please remember that even Taishi Gong once wondered: "Qu Yuan uses his own materials to travel to the princes, what country does not allow it, but if it is?" Remember, he finally found the answer for himself: a person who truly loves his country, he can only "live and die together, and go lightly." There is no other choice.

Remember... Only then can we face it correctly and continue to walk towards the future.

… Remember, when another Dragon Boat Festival is coming, keep in mind.

Kong Zhang's character was written on June 16, 2007