1, in memory of Qu Yuan:
According to the historian Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, Qu Yuan was a minister of Chu Huaiwang in the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated prospering talents and empowering the people, becoming rich and uniting with Qi to resist Qin, which was strongly opposed by the nobles. Qu Yuan was expelled from the capital and exiled to the Yuanxiang Valley. During his exile, he wrote immortal poems such as Li Sao, Tian Wen and Jiu Ge, which worried about the country and the people. In 278 BC, Qin Jun invaded Kyoto, Chu, and Qu Yuan could not bear to abandon his motherland. On the fifth day of May, after writing his masterpiece Huai Sha, he threw himself into the river.
Legend has it that after Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu were so sad that they flocked to the Miluo River to pay homage to Qu Yuan. The fisherman paddled the boat and fished for his real body back and forth on the river. They rushed to catch up with each other and disappeared at Dongting Lake. After that, I will row a dragon boat on May 5th every year to commemorate it. Rowing a dragon boat to disperse the fish in the river so as not to eat Qu Yuan's body.
In Miluo City, Hunan Province, before the dragon boat race, you must go to Quzi Temple to worship the dragon head, put red cloth on the dragon head, and then race the boat, which is not only to worship the dragon god, but also to commemorate Qu Yuan. In Zigui, Hubei, Qu Yuan's hometown, there is also a ceremony to worship Qu Yuan. The custom of offering sacrifices to Qu Yuan is recorded in "Geography of Sui Shu": "The song is loud and clear, shaking the land and water, and the audience is like a cloud." Interpretation of Du Jingqu in Yuxi, Liu Tang: "Du Jing began in Wuling, and now it is in harmony with it, with a salty voice:' Where is it', which means four valleys."
2, Yuanling Tiger Pan evocation:
Long before Qu Yuan, there were dragon boats in Yuanling. Yuanling Dragon Boat originated in ancient times, and the object of sacrifice was Pan Hu, the ancestor of the five rivers. Pan Hu once settled in Banxi Cave in Yuanling, and gave birth to six children and six daughters. The children married and multiplied into six ethnic groups: Miao, Yao, Dong, Tu, She and Li. After Pan Hu's death, six tribes feasted on the wizard and invited God to bring him back to life. Because of the dense mountains and rivers in Yuanling, the wizard didn't know where his soul had fallen, so he asked all ethnic groups to build dragon boats and look for shouts by stream and river, which eventually evolved into a witch worship activity of rowing and evoking souls.
3. In memory of Cao E:
Zhejiang Province commemorates Cao E with dragon boat race. According to "Biography of Women in the Later Han Dynasty", Cao E threw herself into the river. According to folklore, she went into the river to find her father's body. There are many sacrifices in Zhejiang. Dianshizhai Pictorial Sacrifice to Cao E depicts the scene of people sacrificing Cao E in Huiji area. There is also the significance of commemorating Qiu Jin, a native modern female democratic revolutionary.
4. In memory of Wu Zixu:
The competition in Shandong and Wudi (Jiangsu) is to commemorate Wu Zixu's record, so Suzhou has an old habit of offering sacrifices to Wu Zixu on the Dragon Boat Festival and holding competitions on the water to commemorate it. There is also a memorial ceremony in Guangxi, and there is also a memorial ceremony in Fuzhou.
In the 29th year of Qing Qianlong (1736), Taiwan Province Province began to hold dragon boat races. At that time, Jiang, the chief executive of Taiwan Province Province, held a friendly match in Fukeji Half Moon Pool in Tainan City. Taiwan Province Province holds a dragon boat race on May 5th every year. In Hong Kong, races are also held.