Children’s Chinese: Official history and folklore of the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

(1) The Dragon Boat Festival "Proof of Righteousness"

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the ancient traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival and Duanyang. In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival has many other names, such as: Noon Day Festival, Chongwu Festival, May Festival, Bath Orchid Festival, Girl's Day, Tianzhong Festival, Dila, Poet's Day, Dragon Day and so on. Although the names are different, generally speaking, the festival customs of people in various places are more similar than different.

Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival has been a traditional habit of the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years. Due to the vast territory, numerous ethnic groups, and many stories and legends, not only have many different festival names been produced, but there are also festivals in various places. Have different customs. The main contents include: when the daughter returns to her parents' home, hangs the statue of Zhong Kui, greets the ghost ship, hides from the afternoon, puts up the leaf talisman of the afternoon, hangs calamus and mugwort, travels from all diseases, wears sachet, prepares sweet wine for sacrifice, dragon boat race, martial arts competition, and bats. , playing on swings, coating children with realgar, drinking realgar wine, calamus wine, eating Wudu cakes, salted eggs, rice dumplings and seasonal fresh fruits, etc. Except for the superstitious activities that have gradually disappeared, the rest are still spread throughout China and neighboring countries. Some activities, such as dragon boat races, have achieved new development, breaking through time and geographical boundaries and becoming international sports events.

There are many theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan; the theory of commemorating Wu Zixu; the theory of commemorating Cao E; the theory of starting from the Summer Solstice Festival of the Three Dynasties; the theory of avoiding evil months and evil days, and the theory of Wuyue Nationality Totem sacrifice said wait. Each of the above statements has its own origin. According to more than 100 ancient book records and expert archaeological research listed in the "Dragon Boat Test" and "Dragon Boat History Education" by scholar Wen Yiduo, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is a totem festival held by the Wuyue people in southern China in ancient China, earlier than Qu Yuan . However, for thousands of years, Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit and touching poems have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Therefore, people "cherish and mourn him, comment on his words from generation to generation, and pass them on from generation to generation." Therefore, commemorating Qu Yuan has the widest and deepest influence. occupy a mainstream position. In the field of folk culture, Chinese people associate dragon boat racing and eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival with the commemoration of Qu Yuan. The Dragon Boat Festival is widely spread, and the ones most affected are our country's neighboring countries - Japan and South Korea

Japan has had the tradition of celebrating Chinese festivals since ancient times, such as January 1 (New Year's Day), March 3rd (last day), May 5th (Dragon Boat Festival), July 7th (Chinese Valentine's Day), etc. Starting from the Meiji era, these holidays were changed to Gregorian calendar days. In other words, the Dragon Boat Festival in Japan is May 5th in the Gregorian calendar. After the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival were introduced to Japan, they were absorbed and transformed into Japanese traditional culture. In Japanese, "iris" and "shangwu" have the same pronunciation, so it is regarded as a boy's festival, and carp streamers will be hung in homes with boys. The Japanese do not row dragon boats on this day, but like the Chinese, they eat rice dumplings and hang calamus grass in front of their doors. In 1948, the Dragon Boat Festival was officially designated as a statutory Children's Day by the Japanese government and became one of the five major festivals in Japan.

The Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival is held during traditional Korean festivals. On this day, they will worship the mountain gods, wash their hair with calamus water, eat wheel cakes, play on swings, and wear traditional Korean clothes, but they will not row dragon boats or eat rice dumplings.

The Gangneung Dano Festival in South Korea originated from the Mountain God Festival in the Silla Dynasty. It was originally a celebration for village farmers to pray for a good harvest and has a history of more than 1,000 years. Although the Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival in South Korea is influenced by the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, it has become very different from the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival after years of development and changes. The atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival is strong in rural areas. On the fifth day of May, the whole family will wear traditional Korean clothes and gather together to eat and chat; traditional foods include wheel pancakes, similar to our pancakes, made of millet, corn, etc. Zongzi are fried with starch and coriander, green onions, etc., but they do not eat them; game activities include swinging, etc. In addition, there are some folk performances such as official slave mask dance dramas and folk singing. Swinging is more common, but dragon boat racing is not .

In order to protect its traditional culture, the South Korean government has successfully declared the Gangneung Dragon Boat Festival as a world intangible cultural heritage. China has not done enough in this regard! In order to let readers have a thorough understanding of the Dragon Boat Festival, I will now talk about the "official history", legends and folk stories related to the Dragon Boat Festival to put things in perspective!

(2) The Legend of the Evil Day of the Dragon Boat Festival

Folklore experts recently said in an interview with reporters that the Dragon Boat Festival was first celebrated as an "evil day". Starting from the Tang Dynasty, People gradually regard the Dragon Boat Festival as a festive occasion. According to Zhang Bo, deputy secretary-general of the Shandong Folklore Society, it is generally believed that the formation of the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the ancient avoidance of "evil days". The Dragon Boat Festival and the Summer Solstice are approaching. During this period, the yang energy is at its strongest and various mosquitoes appear. It is also the time of "Double Five". Five is the number of Yang, and Double Five also means "extremely Yang". Traditional Chinese culture pays attention to the harmony of yin and yang. Such days when yang energy is extremely strong are generally considered unlucky, and evil diseases are common, so the custom of "hiding in the afternoon (five days)" was formed. Later, it was passed down through false rumors, and it became the Dragon Boat Festival.

Many of the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are centered around dispelling evil spirits, such as drinking realgar wine, planting mugwort, hanging calamus (calamus leaves are like swords, which means to dispel evil), and tying children with five colors Wearing silk ropes, wearing bellybands to remove the five toxins, sewing purses filled with spices, etc., in order to achieve the purpose of dispelling evil spirits and insects.

According to research, dragon boat racing was originally related to dispelling evil spirits. People put evil spirits on the dragon boats through certain rituals and held a race to see who could send them away faster and farther. (Reprinted from http://, please keep this tag.

) Zhang Bo said that the Dragon Boat Festival first became a festival because of the season, and was more closely related to climate change. From the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Dragon Boat Festival began to be associated with the commemoration of Qu Yuan, which injected cultural connotation into the festival. Due to people's recognition of Qu Yuan's noble integrity and great personality, there was a certain interactive relationship between Qu Yuan and the Dragon Boat Festival: the Dragon Boat Festival has richer holiday connotations because of Qu Yuan, and Qu Yuan is constantly remembered by people because of the Dragon Boat Festival. , I miss you constantly.

(3) Dragon Boat Festival customs of the Hui people

In my hometown, Xihaigu, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, there are many customs on May 5th, which is the Dragon Boat Festival. The main ones are: 1. Planting willows. From five to six o'clock in the morning, willow branches should be placed on the door of every house to show good luck. 2. Tie floral wire. After getting up in the morning, everyone in the family, big or small, should tie colorful threads made of five-color threads on their limbs to indicate that they will not be bitten by snakes for a year. 3. Wear a purse. Everyone in the family wears purses made of vanilla cores to show that they will not get sick for a year. 4. Brandy steamed buns. Women also knead various animals with white flour and then cook them in a pot in various forms. They say that eating them will prevent you from getting sick. 5. Eat sweet fermented grains. It is a kind of food made by fermenting oats and distiller's yeast. It can be intoxicating if you eat it too much, which means you can make a fortune after eating it for a year. 6. Point high mountains. Our ancestors lived in the mountains. The Xihaigu area is full of mountains and is famous for its deep ravines. Therefore, on May 5th, firewood was piled on the mountains in the village and burned. The smoke billowed, and the whole village gathered here. , so spectacular. It is said that the customs of planting willows and lighting mountains were spread during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Once, the Jade Emperor sent the Supervisory God to inspect the world. The Supervisory God saw that in the Sui Dynasty, the officials of the Sui Dynasty were protecting each other, and the people were living in poverty. The God of Supervision returned to the Heavenly Palace and reported the truth to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor was very angry and wanted to burn the world with fire. It was difficult for the Supervisory God to be harmed by these words, but in order to protect the people of the world, he had to come up with a plan. He asked the people to plant willows on their doors and light fires on the mountains, so that the Jade Emperor could see that he had carried out the imperial edict. Of course, with the improvement of people's living conditions, the content of the Dragon Boat Festival has become richer. Many southern customs, such as eating rice dumplings and dragon boat racing, are also reflected in the northern region.

(4) Dragon Boat Festival: The Legend of Mugwort

Folklore: On the Dragon Boat Festival, ghosts and monsters make trouble, and the most vulnerable victims are children under 13 years old, so the elders must give the dolls before the festival Make sachets, shaped like the heads of AI dolls and various small animals, and fill them with cinnabar, grain grass and other evil-repelling items, as well as five-color threads.

On the Dragon Boat Festival, before the sun rises, mothers will wash their children with realgar wine, string sachets, birds, etc. and tie them to the ends of their braids; Ai dolls will be sewn on them. On the shoulders, a hundred-year-old card is hung on the chest, and a hundred-year-old rope is tied on the wrist to prevent the five poisons.

(5) Historical Celebrities of the Dragon Boat Festival

Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival has been a traditional habit of the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years. Due to the vast territory, numerous ethnic groups, and many stories and legends, As a result, not only have there been many different festival names, but there are also different customs in different places. The main contents include: when the daughter returns to her parents' home, hangs the statue of Zhong Kui, greets the ghost ship, hides from the afternoon, puts up the leaf talisman of the afternoon, hangs calamus and mugwort, travels from all diseases, wears sachet, prepares sweet wine for sacrifice, dragon boat race, martial arts competition, and bats. , playing on swings, coating children with realgar, drinking realgar wine, calamus wine, eating Wudu cakes, salted eggs, rice dumplings and seasonal fresh fruits, etc. Except for the superstitious activities that have gradually disappeared, the rest are still spread throughout China and neighboring countries. Some activities, such as dragon boat races, have achieved new development, breaking through time and geographical boundaries and becoming international sports events.

There are many theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan; the theory of commemorating Wu Zixu; the theory of commemorating Cao E; the theory of starting from the Summer Solstice Festival of the Three Dynasties; the theory of avoiding evil months and evil days, and the theory of Wuyue Nationality Totem sacrifice said wait. Each of the above statements has its own origin. According to more than 100 ancient book records and expert archaeological research listed in the "Dragon Boat Test" and "Dragon Boat History Education" by scholar Wen Yiduo, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is a totem festival held by the Wuyue people in southern China in ancient China, earlier than Qu Yuan . However, for thousands of years, Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit and touching poems have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Therefore, people "cherish and mourn him, comment on his words from generation to generation, and pass them on from generation to generation." Therefore, commemorating Qu Yuan has the widest and deepest influence. occupy a mainstream position. In the field of folk culture, Chinese people associate dragon boat racing and eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival with the commemoration of Qu Yuan.

To this day, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular and grand festival among the Chinese people.

The Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival that began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China and has a history of more than 2,000 years. There are many origins and legends about the Dragon Boat Festival. The following three historical celebrities are related to it:

In memory of Qu Yuan

According to the "Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng" in "Historical Records", Qu Yuan was A minister of King Huai of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated the promotion of talents and empowerment, enriched the country and strengthened the military, and advocated uniting Qi to resist Qin. However, he was strongly opposed by the nobleman Zilan and others. Qu Yuan was dismissed from his post, expelled from the capital, and exiled to the Yuan and Xiang rivers. In exile, he wrote immortal poems such as "Li Sao", "Heavenly Questions" and "Nine Songs", which were concerned about the country and the people. They were unique in style and had far-reaching influence (therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Poet's Day). In 278 BC, the Qin army captured Kyoto, the state of Chu. Seeing his motherland being invaded, Qu Yuan was heartbroken, but he still could not bear to abandon his motherland. On May 5, after writing his final work "Huaisha", he bouldered into the Miluo River and died, risking his own life. Composed a magnificent patriotic movement.

It is said that after Qu Yuan died, the people of Chu State were extremely sad and flocked to the Miluo River to pay their respects to Qu Yuan. The fishermen rowed their boats and fished for his true body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out the rice balls, eggs and other food prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that when the fish, lobsters and crabs were full, they would not bite Dr. Qu's body. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took a jar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying it was to stun dragons and water animals so as not to harm Doctor Qu. Later, for fear that the rice balls would be eaten by dragons, people came up with the idea of ??wrapping the rice with neem leaves and wrapping it with colored silk, which developed into zongzi.

Since then, on the fifth day of May every year, there has been the custom of dragon boat racing, eating rice dumplings, and drinking realgar wine to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

Commemorating Wu Zixu

The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is widely circulated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It commemorates Wu Zixu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC). Wu Zixu was a member of the Chu State, and his father and brother were killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side, and rushed to the Wu State to help Wu attack Chu. After five battles, he entered Yingcheng, the capital of Chu. At that time, King Ping of Chu was dead, so Zixu dug up the grave and whipped the corpse three hundred times to avenge the death of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his son Fucha succeeded to the throne. The Wu army had high morale and won every battle. The country of Yue was defeated. King Goujian of Yue asked for peace, and Fucha agreed. Zixu suggested that the Yue Kingdom should be completely wiped out, but Fu Chai refused to listen, and the Wu State slaughtered him. He was bribed by the Yue Kingdom and framed Zixu with slanderous words. Fu Chai believed it and gave Zixu a sword, and Zixu died with it. Zixu was a loyal man and regarded death as home. Before he died, he said to his neighbors: "After I die, dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Wu Jing to watch the Yue army enter the city and destroy Wu." Then he committed suicide and died. After hearing this, he was furious and ordered Zixu's body to be packed in leather and thrown into the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also the day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

To commemorate the filial daughter Cao E

The third legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E who saved her father and threw herself into the river in the Eastern Han Dynasty (23-220 AD). Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and his body was not seen for several days. At that time, her filial daughter Cao E was only fourteen years old and cried along the river day and night. Seventeen days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5th. Five days later, he took out his father's body. This was passed down as a myth, and then passed down to the county governor, who ordered Du Shang to erect a monument for it and his disciple Handan Chun to write a memorial in praise of it.

The tomb of the filial daughter Cao E is located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province today. It is later said that the stele of Cao E was written by King Yi of the Jin Dynasty. In order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, later generations built the Cao E temple where Cao E threw herself into the river. The village and town where she lived was renamed Cao E town, and the place where Cao E died for her father was named Cao E river.

(6) The National Totem of the Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Festival, this saying comes from Wen Yiduo’s "Dragon Boat Test" and "Dragon Boat Festival Historical Education". He believes that the fifth day of May is the day when the "dragon" tribe in the ancient Wuyue region held totem sacrifices. The reason is: the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, eating rice dumplings and racing boats, are both related to dragons. Zongzi thrown into the water are often stolen by mosquito dragons, while dragon boats are used for the ferry races. Secondly, the ferry racing has a close relationship with the ancient Wuyue region. Moreover, Wuyue people also have the custom of cutting off their hair and getting tattoos "to resemble the dragon son". (3) In ancient times, there was a folk custom of "tying arms with colorful silk" on the fifth day of May. This should be a relic of the "dragon son-like" tattoo custom.

Evil days. In the pre-Qin era, it was generally believed that May was a poisonous month and the fifth day was an evil day. The chapter "Midsummer's Notes" in "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in May. "Xia Xiaozheng" records: "On this day, medicine is stored to remove poisonous gases." "Dadaili" records, "On May 5th, animals are used to bathe in orchids." There are many legends about using baths to drive away evil spirits and thinking that Chongwu is the day of death. "Historical Records: Biography of Mengchangjun" records that the famous Mengchangjun was born on May 5th. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, believing that "if a child is born in the fifth month of the fifth month, he will be harmed by his parents if he grows older than his family." "Customs" is unknown, "It is said that if a child is born on May 5th, a male will harm the father, and a female will harm the mother."

A large number of unearthed cultural relics and archaeological research in modern times have confirmed that in the vast areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, during the Neolithic Age, there was a cultural relic characterized by geometrically printed pottery. Experts infer that the tribe that remains is a tribe that worships the dragon totem - known as the Baiyue tribe in history. The patterns on the unearthed pottery and historical legends indicate that they had the custom of breaking their hair and getting tattoos, lived in water towns, and compared themselves to being descendants of dragons. The tools they produce include a large number of stone tools, as well as small bronze tools such as shovels and chisels. Among the pots and jars used as daily necessities, the printed pottery tripods for cooking food are unique to them and are one of the symbols of their ethnic group. Until the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were still Baiyue people, and the Dragon Boat Festival was a festival created by them to worship their ancestors. In the course of thousands of years of historical development, most of the Baiyue people have integrated into the Han nationality, and the rest have evolved into many ethnic minorities in the south. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival has become a festival for the entire Chinese nation.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a festival held in Miao villages. Each village has specially built one or two dragon boats, which are parked in a tiled promenade-shaped boat shed until they can be launched into the water during the festival.

The Dragon Boat Festival of the Miao people has a long history. The "Records of Hearings and Seeings in Miao Border" written by Xu Jiagan during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty records: "The Miao people are fond of dragon boat racing. On May 20th as the Dragon Boat Festival, they race across the wide and deep waters of the Qingshui River. The boats are cut into five pieces from large whole logs. Six feet long, with a dragon head in front and a phoenix tail in the back, it can accommodate more than 20 people. It can move like flying."

The Miao people have a moving story about the Dragon Boat Festival. , in the distant past. There lived a Miao fisherman named Bao by the river. He had an only son named Jiubao.

One day, he took his only son down to the river to fish. Suddenly the sky was overcast, the wind was strong, and the huge waves of the river were hitting the sky. An evil dragon jumped out of the deep pool and dragged Jiu Bao into the dragon cave. Bao was extremely sad and dived into the man cave to look for him. . Seeing that the dragon had killed his son, he used the body as a pillow and fell asleep soundly. Bao was extremely angry and determined to avenge his son. He went ashore and took the fire sickle. The fire grass sneaked into the dragon's cave again, and set fire to the dragon while it was sleeping. The smoke from Dragon Cave filled the entire area. At this time, it rained heavily and it was dark for nine consecutive days and nights. Everyone was very worried. At that time, a woman and her child went to the riverside in the dark to wash their clothes. The innocent child was playing with her mother's hammering stick up and down in the water, chanting: "'Dong-dong, more! Dong-dong, more!" Unexpectedly, as soon as he shouted, the clouds in the sky disappeared. A bright red sun rose high in the east, and everyone cheered and jumped with joy. Later, people saw the burned dragon floating in the water.

(7) Dragon Boat Festival Live Luban

Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, there are loud drums and dragon boat races on the Xinjiang River, and there are thousands of people on the bank, making it very lively; Sprint together and fight to win the dragon boat race. Among the many dragon boats, one dragon boat is unique. The boatmen are wearing white clothes and white trousers, holding white flags, as if they are wearing filial piety. Indeed, there is a very tragic story in it.

It is said that a long time ago, Dingjiazhou had a prosperous population and everyone loved dragon boat racing. Because of good training and effective command, they always won the first place in the Dragon Boat Festival competition every year. They are proud of this and are complacent, thinking that he must be the first one every year. Unexpectedly, one year, they fell behind, so they thought there was a problem with the quality of the dragon boat, so they invited a famous carpenter from Beixiang to rebuild the dragon boat.

This carpentry skill has been passed down from generation to generation. He is proficient in all kinds of carpentry skills, especially good at making dragon boats and carving dragon heads. He is known as "Living Luban". He personally took people up the mountain to cut wood and select materials. After selecting the wood, I just made gestures every day and haven't started yet for about half a month. At this time, someone in the village became impatient, and rumors slowly came into the carpenter's ears: "It seems that this carpenter is just a half-bucket of water who deceives the world and steals his reputation. Is he here to cheat people out of food?" The carpenter just smiled after hearing this. It was not until a month later that the ax was moved and the chisel was moved. In just a few days, the boat body was completed. At this time, several young people started talking again: "Look, what does this boat look like? It looks like a winter melon but not as round, like a loofah but not so sharp. It's so ugly..."

On this day, the carpenter began to carve the dragon head. He was wearing ancestral crystal glasses and holding a carving knife, and he was carving with concentration. He finished the carving only three days before the Dragon Boat Festival. When everyone saw it, they saw that the dragon's horns were very impressive, with its raised horns piercing the sky, its mouth wide open, and a round bead in its mouth. Everyone cheered in unison. An old man in the village stroked his long beard and praised: "Since I was born, I have seen a lot of fine carvings. It is really rare to see such a master carving by a famous artist. Hearing about it a hundred times is better than seeing it once. This 'Living Luban' is well deserved."

At this time, a young man suddenly shouted: "Look, this sloppy carpenter, why is the faucet half-closed? Maybe he is dozing off like the carpenter?" Everyone laughed. stand up.

The carpenter also smiled faintly: "You don't know, my carving skills have been passed down from my ancestors for seven generations. I am not boasting. This dragon is like a pair of eyes. In less than three days, he will ride on the wind and break the waves. Back to the Dragon Palace. As the saying goes, "If a craftsman does not rely on the east, his work will be fruitless. If the craftsman does not rely on the east, the things he makes will not be decent, and it will be even more unlucky." The young man just now said teasingly: "Dear carpenter, if you If you can make this dragon boat race first, I promise to give you an old hen. If you tell a lie, I won't pay you a penny and you will have to pay for the wood used to make the dragon boat. What do you think?"

The carpenter is not panicked. He said calmly: "There is no basis for what I say, and I need to establish evidence as evidence. If I tell lies, I am willing to be punished, but..." He paused and said: "You must comply with my three conditions: First, the dragon boat must be held on the Dragon Boat Festival He went into the water at three o'clock at noon; secondly, the dragon boat only allowed him to open one eye; thirdly, there were only thirty-two people on the dragon boat." He asked again: "What is the reason?" The carpenter said: "The secret of heaven must not be leaked."

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the noon cannon had just fired, and I saw the boatmen selected by the whole village arrogant and high-spirited. He was stubborn and carried the dragon boat into the water before three quarters of noon. Everyone sat down together. The drummer looked at the burning incense and raised his arms suddenly. The boatmen brushed, and the thirty-six new oars "swiftly" cut through the river waves, and the dragon boat Taking advantage of the wind blowing from upstream, it flew downstream like an arrow, and viewers on both sides of the bank cheered in unison.

"Ouch, this is terrible!" I saw the boatmen suddenly shouting. At this time, the dragon boat had reached the deep pool under the Longtan Tower downstream. The water in the pool rolled up a whirlpool, and the dragon boat was spinning on it. If everyone worked together, it was possible to break out of the whirlpool, but the boatmen were stunned. Before the drummer could shout, the dragon boat swayed twice, then plunged into the deep pool, and disappeared without a trace after a while. . None of the thirty-six people survived.

It turns out that the carpenter made three conditions. This carpenter not only did a good job, he also understood astronomy and geography. He had observed the sky three days ago and knew that there was a strong wind blowing from top to bottom during the Dragon Boat Festival, but it was calm at three quarters of noon. But the boatmen didn't listen and were arrogant. They rushed into the water before three quarters of noon. Not only that, the carpenter asked them to only take thirty-two people, but they got thirty-six people. Moreover, the carpenter only let one of the dragon's eyes open. Then one of the boatmen secretly opened the dragon's other eye. This caused the dragon boat to plunge into the deep pool.

Because they did not listen to the carpenter's arrangements and were arrogant, they lost thirty-six innocent lives in vain.

Soon after that, some people said that every time when the crowd was quiet at midnight, the words "Pailili, Dongdongtan, Hualili, Dongdongtan" came from the deep pool under the Longtan Pagoda. What's more, Legend has it that there was a local fisherman who fished in the pond and personally touched the dragon boat and the boatmen on it. It is said that their bodies are covered with scales! In order to let future generations remember the lesson they have learned with their lives, and to commemorate these thirty-six boatmen, the Dingjiazhou people wear dragon boat racing suits every year during the Dragon Boat Festival. Wearing white clothes and white trousers, holding a white flag. It's been like this until now. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, there are loud drums and dragon boat races on the Xinjiang River. Thousands of people are moving on the shore, making it very lively. The boatmen raise their oars and sprint together to win the dragon boat race. Among the many dragon boats, one dragon boat is unique. The boatmen are wearing white clothes and white trousers, holding white flags, as if they are wearing filial piety. Indeed, there is a very tragic story in it.

It is said that a long time ago, Dingjiazhou had a prosperous population and everyone loved dragon boat racing. Because of good training and effective command, they always won the first place in the Dragon Boat Festival competition every year. They are proud of this and are complacent, thinking that he must be the first one every year. Unexpectedly, one year, they fell behind, so they thought there was a problem with the quality of the dragon boat, so they invited a famous carpenter from Beixiang to rebuild the dragon boat.

This carpentry skill has been passed down from generation to generation. He is proficient in all kinds of carpentry skills, especially good at making dragon boats and carving dragon heads. He is known as "Living Luban". He personally took people up the mountain to cut wood and select materials. After selecting the wood, I just made gestures every day and haven't started yet for about half a month. At this time, someone in the village became impatient, and rumors slowly came into the carpenter's ears: "It seems that this carpenter is just a half-bucket of water who deceives the world and steals his reputation. Is he here to cheat people out of food?" The carpenter just smiled after hearing this. It was not until a month later that the ax was moved and the chisel was moved. In just a few days, the boat body was completed. At this time, several young people started talking again: "Look, what does this boat look like? It looks like a winter melon but not as round, like a loofah but not so sharp. It's so ugly..."

On this day, the carpenter began to carve the dragon head. He was wearing ancestral crystal glasses and holding a carving knife, and he was carving with concentration. He finished the carving only three days before the Dragon Boat Festival. When everyone saw it, they saw that the dragon's horns were very impressive, with its raised horns piercing the sky, its mouth wide open, and a round bead in its mouth. Everyone cheered in unison. An old man in the village stroked his long beard and praised: "Since I was born, I have seen a lot of fine carvings. It is really rare to see such a master carving by a famous artist. Hearing about it a hundred times is better than seeing it once. This 'Living Luban' is well deserved."

At this time, a young man suddenly shouted: "Look, this sloppy carpenter, why is the faucet half-closed? Maybe he is dozing off like the carpenter?" Everyone laughed. rise.

The carpenter also smiled faintly: "You don't know, my carving skills have been passed down from my ancestors for seven generations. I am not boasting. This dragon is like a pair of eyes. In less than three days, he will ride on the wind and break the waves. Back to the Dragon Palace. As the saying goes, "If a craftsman does not rely on the east, his work will be fruitless. If the craftsman does not rely on the east, the things he makes will not be decent, and it will be even more unlucky." The young man just now said teasingly: "Dear carpenter, if you If you can make this dragon boat race first, I promise to give you an old hen. If you tell a lie, I won't pay you a penny and you will have to pay for the wood used to make the dragon boat. What do you think?"

The carpenter is not panicked. He said calmly: "There is no basis for what I say, and I need to establish evidence as evidence. If I tell lies, I am willing to be punished, but..." He paused and said: "You must comply with my three conditions: First, the dragon boat must be held on the Dragon Boat Festival He went into the water at three o'clock at noon; secondly, the dragon boat only allowed him to open one eye; thirdly, there were only thirty-two people on the dragon boat." He asked again: "What is the reason?" The carpenter said: "The secret of heaven must not be leaked."

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the noon cannon had just fired, and I saw the boatmen selected by the whole village arrogant and high-spirited. He was stubborn and carried the dragon boat into the water before three quarters of noon. Everyone sat down together. The drummer looked at the burning incense and raised his arms suddenly. The boatmen brushed, and the thirty-six new oars "swiftly" cut through the river waves, and the dragon boat Taking advantage of the wind blowing from upstream, it flew downstream like an arrow, and viewers on both sides of the bank cheered in unison.

"Ouch, this is terrible!" I saw the boatmen suddenly shouting. At this time, the dragon boat had reached the deep pool under the Longtan Tower downstream. The water in the pool rolled up a whirlpool, and the dragon boat was spinning on it. If everyone worked together, it was possible to break out of the whirlpool, but the boatmen were stunned. Before the drummer could shout, the dragon boat swayed twice, then plunged into the deep pool, and disappeared without a trace after a while. . None of the thirty-six people survived. It turns out that the carpenter made three conditions. This carpenter not only did a good job, he also understood astronomy and geography. He had observed the sky three days ago and knew that there was a strong wind blowing from top to bottom during the Dragon Boat Festival, but it was calm at three quarters of noon. But the boatmen didn't listen and were arrogant. They rushed into the water before three quarters of noon. Not only that, the carpenter asked them to only take thirty-two people, but they got thirty-six people. Moreover, the carpenter only let one of the dragon's eyes open. Then one of the boatmen secretly opened the dragon's other eye. This caused the dragon boat to plunge into the deep pool. Because they did not listen to the carpenter's arrangements and were arrogant, they lost thirty-six innocent lives in vain.

Soon after that, some people said that every time when the crowd was quiet at midnight, the words "Pailili, Dongdongtan, Hualili, Dongdongtan" came from the deep pool under the Longtan Pagoda. What's more, Legend has it that there was a local fisherman who fished in the pond and personally touched the dragon boat and the boatmen on it.

It is said that their bodies are covered with scales! In order to let future generations remember the lesson they have learned with their lives, and to commemorate these thirty-six boatmen, the Dingjiazhou people wear dragon boat racing suits every year during the Dragon Boat Festival. Wearing white clothes and white trousers, holding a white flag. It's been like this until now.