Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, we will be immersed in the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival. This festival, along with the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Spring Festival, is listed as one of the three major traditional festivals in China, and contains rich folk traditions. There are various theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, each with a unique historical and cultural imprint. There is a common belief that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the commemoration of Qu Yuan. During the Warring States Period, King Huai of Chu was deceived and invaded by the Qin State because he did not adopt Qu Yuan's proposal to join forces against Qin. Qu Yuan wrote to the king, hoping that he would stay away from the traitorous ministers, get close to the loyal and good, and select elite soldiers to avenge King Huai, but it was not adopted. The state of Qin took the opportunity to attack, and the state of Chu was quickly defeated. Qu Yuan was in great pain when he saw the disaster that his country had suffered, so he committed suicide by throwing himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 278 BC. People deeply regretted and rowed boats to the rescue. They also spontaneously threw rice balls, eggs and other foods into the river, hoping to feed the fish, insects, shrimps and crabs in the river, so that they would no longer bite Qu Yuan's body. What's more, pour in realgar wine, hoping to stun the dragon water beast and make it no longer hurt Qu Yuan. These behaviors gradually evolved into the origin of customs such as eating zongzi and dragon boat racing during the Dragon Boat Festival. This legend is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, making the commemoration of Qu Yuan an important tradition of the Dragon Boat Festival.
However, there are other opinions about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. Some scholars believe that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the dragon totem sacrifice activities of the ancient Wuyue people. They believed that ancient people were threatened by natural forces, believed that certain living beings or inanimate beings had supernatural powers, and regarded them as the ancestors and protectors of the whole people. The Wuyue people take the dragon as their totem, and hold a grand sacrifice on May 5 every year, pouring food and wine into the water to offer to the dragon god, and at the same time rowing for fun and showing it to the dragon god. This custom is confirmed in excavated artifacts and archaeological studies. Another view is that the Dragon Boat Festival originated on an evil day. According to historical records, people born on the 5th of May are considered bad omen, so there are many taboos on this day. It is believed that hanging wormwood and calamus can ward off evil spirits and plagues, so people will hang these plants in front of their homes during the Dragon Boat Festival. There is also a relevant record in the "Jing Chu Years Chronicle": "Jing Chu people step on a hundred grasses on the fifth day of May, pick wormwood as a person, and hang the door with poisonous gas." In recent years, the academic community has also put forward a new view that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the summer solstice. According to the Book of Etiquette of the Later Han Dynasty, it was customary to use Zhu Suo and five-color seals as door decorations on the fifth day of May in the Han Dynasty. This echoes the customs of the Xia, Shang and Third Dynasties regarding the summer solstice, and until the Tang Dynasty, the Dragon Boat Festival was still interpreted as "the sun and leaves are the sun, and the time is in the summer". Therefore, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival may be related to the summer solstice.
The most widely circulated among the people is the commemoration of Qu Yuan, but there are still many different theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. Whether it originates from the commemoration of Qu Yuan, the dragon totem sacrifice, the evil day or the summer solstice, each theory has its own unique historical and cultural background, which together constitute a rich and colorful Dragon Boat Festival customs and legends. No matter what the reason, the Dragon Boat Festival has become one of the important traditional festivals in China, carrying people's thoughts, admiration and beautiful visions. Search Topic Full Time Challenge December