How did the Dragon Boat Festival come about? Is there that custom in the Dragon Boat Festival in Pengyang, Ningxia?

Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival, which started in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and has a history of more than 2,000 years. The fifth day of the fifth lunar month, commonly known as "Dragon Boat Festival". Ending means "beginning" and "beginning". The fifth day can be called Dragon Boat Festival. In the lunar calendar, the earthly branch marks the moon, the shade is built in the first month, February is the base, and May is noon in turn, so May is called noon month, and "five" is connected with "noon", and "five" is also the yang number, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival, Worship for Wu, Duanyang and Zhongtian. According to historical records, the word "Dragon Boat Festival" first appeared in the local custom of Jin people and Zhou Dynasty: "Dragon Boat Festival in midsummer, cooking millet." Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival of Han nationality in China. The necessary activities of this day gradually evolved into: eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, hanging calamus and mugwort leaves, smoking Atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica, and drinking realgar wine. It is said that eating zongzi and dragon boat racing is to commemorate Qu Yuan, so after liberation, the Dragon Boat Festival was named "Poet's Day" to commemorate Qu Yuan. As for hanging calamus, wormwood leaves, smoked atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica, drinking realgar wine is said to suppress evil spirits. Although the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated every year, its origin is not very clear. To sum up, there are roughly the following statements.

First, in memory of Qu Yuan. This theory originated from the records of Wu Jun's "The Peace of Continuation of Qi" in the Southern Liang Dynasty and "The Time of Jingchu" in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It is said that Qu Yuan threw himself into the river on the fifth day of May. Trapped by dragons after death, the world mourned. He throws five-color silk zongzi into the water every day to repel mosquitoes. It is also said that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, the local people immediately rowed for rescue, and all the way to Dongting Lake, but Qu Yuan's body was not found. It was raining at that time, and the boats on the lake gathered at the pavilion on the shore. When people learned that it was to salvage the sage Dr. Qu, they went out in the rain and rushed into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to mourn, people rowed on the river, and later it gradually developed into a dragon boat race. Eating zongzi and racing dragon boats on the Dragon Boat Festival seems to be related to commemorating Qu Yuan, as evidenced by Wen Xiu's poem "Dragon Boat Festival" in the Tang Dynasty: "The festival is divided into Dragon Boat Festival, and it is rumored that it is Qu Yuan. It is ridiculous that the Chu River is empty and cannot be washed directly. "

Second, Ying Tao said. This sentence comes from Cao E tablet in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn Period, after the death of Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of the State of Wu, he became Shen Tao, and the world mourned and sacrificed, so there was the Dragon Boat Festival.

Third, the Dragon Boat Festival said. This statement comes from Wen Yiduo's Dragon Boat Festival Examination and Dragon Boat Festival History Education. He believed that the fifth day of May was the day when the "Dragon" tribe in ancient wuyue held totem sacrifices. The main reason is: (1) Eating zongzi and dragon boat racing are the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, both of which are related to dragons. Zongzi thrown into the water is often stolen by mosquitoes and dragons, and dragon boat races. (2) The relationship between race crossing and ancient wuyue is particularly deep. Besides, Wuyue people have the custom of tattooing constantly to look like a dragon. (3) The ancient folk custom of "tying the arm with colored silk" on the fifth day of May should be a relic of the tattoo custom of "Like a dragon".

Fourth, the theory of evil day. In the pre-Qin period, it was generally believed that May was a poisonous month and the fifth was an evil day. Midsummer in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in May. "Xia Zheng Xiao" records: "Store medicine this day to get rid of poisonous gas." It is recorded in "Da Dai Li" that "the livestock orchid takes a bath on May 5", and there are many legends that the fifth day is the taboo day for bathing to exorcise evil spirits. The famous Meng Changjun in Historical Records and Biography of Meng Changjun was born on May 5th. His father asked his mother not to have him, thinking that "a child born in May is longer than a family, which is not good for parents." "Custom Pass" was lost. "It is said that on May 5th, a child was born, and the male harmed his father and the female harmed his mother". Wang Chong, the author of Lun Heng, also described: "The first month and May are taboos; Kill your father and your mother in May of the first month. " Wang Zhene, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of May. His grandfather named him "Zhen Xie". Evonne and Song Huizong were born on the fifth day of May, and were fostered outside the palace since childhood. It can be seen that it is a common phenomenon to regard the fifth day of May as an evil day in ancient times. It can be seen that this day has been an unlucky day since the pre-Qin period. In this way, it is logical to insert calamus and mugwort leaves to exorcise ghosts, smoke atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica and drink realgar wine to avoid the epidemic on this day.

Fifth, the summer mentioned on the solstice. Liu Deqian, who holds this view, put forward three main reasons in The Origin of Dragon Boat Festival and Interesting Talk about Traditional Festivals in China: (1) The authoritative book The Story of the Years of Jingchu did not mention the festival custom of eating zongzi on the fifth day of May, but was written on the solstice festival in summer. As for Du Jing, Du Taiqing's Jade Candle Collection in the Sui Dynasty listed it as an entertainment activity from summer to the sun, which shows that it was not necessarily to salvage Qu Yuan, a great poet who threw himself into the river. (2) Some contents in the custom of Dragon Boat Festival, such as "stepping on a hundred herbs", "fighting a hundred herbs" and "picking herbs", have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. (3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in Beautiful Scenery at the Age of Years is: "The sun shines, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in midsummer, so it can also be called midsummer festival. Therefore, the earliest origin of the noon festival is the summer solstice.

Among the above theories, the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan has the widest influence. Because of Qu Yuan's outstanding personality and art, people are willing to attribute this anniversary to him.