There are many theories about the origin of dragon boat racing on the Dragon Boat Festival, including worshiping Cao E, worshiping Qu Yuan, worshiping the water god or the dragon god and other sacrificial activities.
The origin of rowing dragon boats and eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival:
The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from dragon sacrifices in ancient times. The main customs of the Dragon Boat Festival include riding dragon boats, worshiping dragons, collecting herbs, hanging mugwort and calamus, worshiping gods and ancestors, washing herbal medicines, drinking water at noon, soaking dragon boats in water, and eating food. Among them, dragon boat racing and eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival are the two most popular customs with the longest history.
Dragon boating is one of the customs of the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival and one of the most important folk activities of the Dragon Boat Festival. It is common in southern China. Dragon boating is also a custom in cities near rivers and lakes in the north. Most of them are in the form of dragon boat rowing and dragon boat dancing. There are many theories about the origin of dragon boat racing. There are sacrificial activities such as worshiping Cao E, worshiping Qu Yuan, worshiping the water god or the dragon god, etc. Its origin can be traced back to the Warring States Period.
The origins of dragon boat racing on the Dragon Boat Festival include worshiping Cao E, worshiping Qu Yuan, and worshiping the water god. But now most people think it is to commemorate Qu Yuan. According to legend, after Qu Yuan's death, people rowed boats to salvage his body and threw rice dumplings and other food into the river to prevent fish and shrimp from eating his body. Since then, the activity of dragon boat rowing during the Dragon Boat Festival has been passed down.
The historical origin of the Dragon Boat Festival
The origin of the ancient traditional festival of the Dragon Boat Festival is related to ancient primitive beliefs, sacrificial culture, celestial phenomena, calendar and other humanistic and natural cultural contents. According to the research results of modern anthropology and archaeology, there are two most primitive beliefs of mankind: one is the belief in heaven and earth, and the other is belief in ancestors. Most of the ancient festivals were formed when the ancients chose auspicious days to offer sacrifices to thank the gods of heaven and earth and the kindness of their ancestors.
The early festival culture reflected the ancient people's humanistic spirit of worshiping nature, consolidating roots and thinking about the source; a series of sacrificial activities contained profound cultural connotations of respect, morality, ritual and music civilization. The origin and development of the festival is a process of gradual formation, subtle improvement and popularization. In ancient times, the customs of the north and the south were different. The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival in the pre-Qin Dynasty are rarely recorded in the Central Plains literature.
It is impossible to directly verify its origin based on existing documents. Regarding written records related to the Dragon Boat Festival, the word "Dragon Boat Festival" first appeared in "Feng Tu Ji" of the Jin Dynasty, but the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival have long existed, such as the custom of dragon boat racing and sacrifice.