Dai Yongxia
Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival with rich ethnic characteristics. It has a history of more than 2,000 years. Its festivals and customs are colorful and rich in poetry, not only widely circulated in the folk, but also favored in the past royal palace. Moreover, due to the special needs of the royal family, some festivals have new developments and some new contents have been added. This change is especially obvious after the Tang Dynasty.
The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival in the courts of the Tang Dynasty have mostly downplayed the original specific meaning and evolved into an entertainment-based activity. For example, dumplings are also eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival in the Tang Palace. Not only are there many varieties of dumplings, but they are also ingenious. During the first year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, a kind of "fan dumpling" dumpling was made in the palace for entertainment. Put the "powder ball" in the plate, and then shoot with a small bow and arrow from a distance, the person who is shot can take it and eat it. Because the "Fan Tuan" is small and slippery, it is difficult to shoot, and it is more fun to play. This game quickly spread from the palace to the people and became a widely spread Dragon Boat Festival custom.
The Dragon Boat Festival has become an important festival in the Tang Dynasty, and the emperor also valued it very often. The most common thing the emperor rewards is the fan. According to the "Tang Huiyao" records, on the day of the 18th year of Zhenguan (644) Dragon Boat Festival, Tang Taizong's imperial titles "Luan", "Phoenix", "Butterfly" and "Dragon" were given on the "Feibai Fan". Situ Chief Sun Wuji and the official Shangshu Yang Shidao said: "The old customs in May must be used to play with each other in congratulations. Today I have two white fans flying in white clothes, and the breeze can be used to present virtue." In addition to fans, clothing and food , Medicines, etc. can also be used as gifts. One year during the Dragon Boat Festival, Du Fu, who was left to pick up in the middle of the DPRK, received a summer dress from Tang Suzong. Du Fu wrote in a poem "The Dragon Boat Festival Gives Clothes": "Gongyi is also famous, and the Dragon Boat Festival is honored. The fine Ge has a soft wind, and the incense is light in the snow. Since the title is wet, it will clear when the summer heat. It is said to be short and long, and it will be holy for life."
The Dragon Boat Festival in the Royal Palace of Song Dynasty was even more grand. According to Wu Zimu's "Dream Records": Before the Dragon Boat Festival, the special construction agency in the palace should carefully make some red yarn and gold boxes. The box contains the statue of the tiger guardian tiger carved with calamus or grass, surrounded by Five-color calamus leaves. There are also snakes, scorpions, lizards, centipedes and other poisonous insects made of Zhuhui, surrounded by diamond leaves and sunflowers, durians and other flowers that specifically surrendered to them, symbolizing the elimination of them. On this day, the emperor rewarded the minister's sutras, runes, and other items as usual, containing various kinds of candy, gold flowers, and jiao zong, etc., intended to eliminate the poison and pray for peace and good luck. The activities of the Dragon Boat Festival in the Southern Song Dynasty were also very luxurious. According to "The Chronicles of Qianchun", every time during the Dragon Boat Festival, food racks are inserted in the palace, dozens of mountains are dedicated to the Heavenly Master and Aihu, and five-color puss and baicao cream are placed on the third floor. In the box, there are various flowers such as Zhu Cui, wormwood and sunflower, durian, and poisonous insects such as centipedes, snakes, lizards, and scorpions made of Zhu Cui. On this day, dozens of large gold bottles with sunflowers, durians, gardenias and other flowers inserted in the palace will be placed around the palace pavilion to expel poison and evil. On this day, the emperor will pay a reward to the concubine, the inner servant, and the bureaucrats. The reward items are pearl jade and satin. It can also be seen from the extravagance of rewards that the festivals and customs at that time were far from the original commemorative significance.
After the Dragon Boat Festival in the palace of the Yuan Dynasty, due to the influence of the Han tradition, celebrations were also held. In addition to retaining the festivals and customs such as Aihu, hanging Zhufu, gift painting fans, dragon boat racing, etc., new contents such as Sheliu and Hammer Pill were added. Shooting the willow is to shoot the willow branch with an arrow while riding. On the day of Dragon Boat Festival, after worshipping the heavens and the earth, the palace will shoot the willow competition: first insert two rows of willow branches in the square, and the participants will be lined up in several groups according to their respect. During the competition, the contestants ran on horseback, shooting arrows with featherless clusters of arrows. Those who shoot off the willow branch and who can take off Liu Feichi's departure are the first class. Those who shoot the willow branch and cannot catch the willow are the middle class. Those who shoot continuously or miss the shot are the second class. The upper middle class wins, the lower class loses. The hot scene was exactly as the Ming Dynasty poet Gao Qi wrote: "No bear bears are drawn, the front bar is short. Once the ten thousand people call, the youth is interrupted." Hammer pill is also called stepping, that is, walking with a stick and playing Modern hockey is similar. These two activities were relatively prosperous in the Yuan Dynasty, and thus became an important part of the entertainment in the Dragon Boat Festival Palace.
The Dragon Boat Festival in the palace of the Ming Dynasty, from the beginning of May together until May 13th. During this period, flower pots with calamus and mugwort were placed on both sides of the gate of the palace; on the hanging screen hanging on the door, the story of the heavenly master, fairy, fairy holding the sword to reduce the five poisons was hung for a full month. withdraw. The palace officials and ministers also put on the tonic python clothes embroidered with the five poisons and tigers, and used this festive costume to declare war on the "poison bugs". By the fifth day of May, the event reached its climax. At lunch, the family bureaucrats in the palace drink medicinal wine made from cinnabar, realgar, and calamus, and eat dumplings and warm noodles with garlic and water. The concubines wore wormwood leaves, with healing symbols painted on them, and happily went to the back garden to watch the blooming pomegranate flowers.
The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival in the palace of the Qing Dynasty are similar to those of the Ming Dynasty, but they are more solemn and lively. At that time, the five-poison hanging screens were hung in the palaces, the calamus sticks were inserted in the doors, the five-poison signs were affixed to the room, and the statues of Heavenly Master and Zhong Kui were hung; the emperor and his relatives wore artemisia, and the five-poison and dragon boat were painted on the waist. The purse of patterns is used to exorcise evil and avoid evil, and pray for peace.
On this day's festivals and customs, the most important thing is to climb a dragon boat and eat dumplings. A Qing court archive documented the scene of Emperor Yongzheng passing the Dragon Boat Festival in Yuanmingyuan: On this morning, the prince-in-law gathered in Qinzheng Hall to pay courtesy to Emperor Yongzheng, and then accompanied the emperor out of the palace to Yuanmingyuan, and boarded dozens of dragon boats in Boping. Take a swim in the mirror-like lake from the East China Sea to the West China Sea. On the newly decorated dragon boat, the sound of the piano and the sound of gongs and drums sounded very lively. The Emperor Yongzheng rewarded Pu Jiu and Zongzi to the group ministers, eating and enjoying with them, and did not return to the palace until evening. Another activity is to reward courtiers. On the Dragon Boat Day, the emperor routinely gave lupines, food, medicine, tea, etc. to the ministers. In addition, the palace also used acting to celebrate the festival. The repertoire of performances mainly includes "Explaining Dao and Eliminating Evil", "Ling Fu Fu Shi", "Fear and Evil", "Pilling and Demon", and "Feng Qiao Demon", etc., which is lively and interesting, and further activates the festival atmosphere.