Zong Zi in the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival)

Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival)

The Dragon Boat Festival , also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice（糯米）wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats.

5th day of the 5th lunar month

The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. This regatta（赛舟会）commemorates the death of Qu Yuan , an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.

Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period (475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that brought peace and prosperity to the state. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually conquered by the State of Qin.

Qu Yuan

The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth month. But one year, the spirit of Qu appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile（爬行动物）in the river had stolen the rice. The spirit then advised them to wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five different-colored threads before tossing it into the river.

During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu. Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds（莲子）, chestnuts（栗子）, pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice. The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a kind of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours.

The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu's body. A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam of about 5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side by side.

A wooden dragon head is attached at the bow, and a dragon tail at the stern（船尾）. A banner hoisted on a pole is also fastened at the stern and the hull is decorated with red, green and blue scales edged in gold. In the center of the boat is a canopied shrine behind which the drummers, gong（铜锣）beaters and cymbal（铙钹）players are seated to set the pace for the paddlers. There are also men positioned at the bow to set off firecrackers, toss rice into the water and pretend to be looking for Qu. All of the noise and pageantry creates an atmosphere of gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators alike. The races are held among different clans, villages and organizations, and the winners are awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.

What is the Myth about Pengzu.

传说，彭祖活到七百六十七岁，仍无衰老迹象，耳不聋，眼不花，背不弯，腰腿不疼。商朝君王派彩女询问彭祖长寿秘诀，彭祖回答：“欲举行登天，上补仙宫，当用金丹。其次，养精神，服草药，可以长生。”彩女又问他的身世，彭祖唉声叹气地说：“吾遗腹而生，三岁丧母，又逢战乱，流落西域，几百余年。”又说“他一生丧四十九妻，亡五十四子，屡遭忧患。”谁知又过了七十来年，有人发现他还在流沙国游玩，直至八百多岁才死。彭祖为啥能活八百多岁，而且能葬在彭村?还有一段有趣的神话传说。

当时，有一个叫采女的女子，也是个得道之人，懂得养生的方法，虽然有二百六七十岁，仍然象四五十岁的样子。


商王把她请到宫里，特意建了一所紫阁华屋，装饰上金玉，让采女居住。商王见彭祖不肯传道，就让采女前往，希望由此得知一二。采女便来请教彭祖延年益寿的方法。


彭祖告诉她:"若想登天升仙，需要吃金丹，这是太乙白日升所用的办法，但这个方法君王不能用。其次应该爱养精神，服用草药，可以长生，但却不能役使宠神·乘虚飞行。而如果不知交按二道，即使服药，也不能长生。我3岁盯，就失去母亲，又遭遇犬戎之乱，流浪西域，长达100多年，到现在已死去49个妻子，54个儿子。数遭忧患，和气已被拆伤，恐不久于少世。所闻浅薄，不足宣传。听说大宛山中有一位青精先生，已活了1000多岁，仍面如童子，日行500里"



采女忙问，"青精先生是什么仙人呢？”彭祖说。"他不是仙人，仅是一位得道者。所谓仙人，或能竦身入云，无翅而飞;或者驾龙乘云，上达天阶;或者化作鸟兽，游浮青云;或者潜行江海，翱翔名山。他们食元气，吃芝草，出入人间，而人却不知道，从不与俗流交接。他们虽能长生不死，但却远离人情荣乐，与麻雀化成蛤蟆没什么两样，都失去了自己的本真.我倒觉着,服吃甘脂，通阴阳，骨节坚硬，颜色和泽，老而不衰，延年久视，长存世间，不被寒温风湿所伤，不被鬼神众精冒犯，五岳百虫不来伤害身体，也不为喜怒所连累，这是最好不过的了。”



之后，又教给她房中之术。采女一一领受，回来又教授商王，商王一试，非常灵验。商王就想使此术为自己独家所有。便下令。传彭祖之术的人全部杀死，又想加害彭祖。彭祖便逃走了，不知去向，商王行彭谊之术，活到300多岁，面相气力如50岁的人。后来商王得到一个美丽的郑女这女子非常淫乱，商王淫荡过度，失道而死。　　



原来彭祖和陈抟老祖两人，都在天宫玉皇大帝身边主事。一个管着诸神的生死簿，一个管着功德簿。有一天，陈抟对彭祖说：“我劳累过度，想好好睡一觉。如有要紧事，你把我叫醒。”彭祖答：“好，你尽管放心睡觉去吧!”彭祖一见陈抟去睡觉，想乘此机会到凡间游玩一番。有一天，他代陈抟更换生死簿名单，发现他的名字也在上面。彭祖一想：不好，如果我到凡间被玉帝发现了，就会很快派人把我召回。他灵机一动，把生死簿上写有“彭祖”名字的那一页纸撕了下来，捻成纸绳订在本子上，从此，这个生死簿上，再也找不到彭祖的名字，他才放心地下凡去了。



彭祖流落人间，作了商朝士大夫。他先后娶了四十九个妻子，生了五十四个儿子，都一一衰老死亡，而彭祖依然年轻力壮，行动洒脱。当他娶了第五十个妻子后，就辞官不作，到处游山玩景，直到这第五十位妻子由当年的黄花闺女变成老太婆时，才定居到宜君县一个小山村。这时彭祖已八百岁了。有天晚上，夫妻俩睡在床上拉话，妻子问他：“我是快死的人了，我死后你再娶妻不娶?”彭祖毫不介意地说：“当然还要娶，不然谁陪伴我！”妻子又问：“你为哈一直不会衰老呢?难道生死簿上没有你的名字吗?”彭祖哈哈大笑：“我永远不会死的!生死簿上有我的名字，他们就是找不着。”妻子接着问：“那你的名字在什么地方?”彭祖一时得意说出了实情。妻子这才明白彭祖一直不死的奥秘。



这位妻子死后，脱下凡胎肉体回到天宫，向玉皇大帝诉说了此事。玉帝听后恍然大悟，命差神赶快去叫陈抟老祖。谁知陈抟这时还没有睡醒，玉帝只好另派二位差神下凡去找彭祖。



由于年代久远，派下来的差神根本不认得彭祖，找寻许久毫无音讯。这两位差神不敢轻易地回到天宫交差，只好遍跑人间，四处打问。一天，二位差神来到宜君县彭村，乘木匠吃饭之机，偷走解板大锯，到打麦场上使劲地锯一个碌碡，一下招来很多乡亲围着看稀奇。这时，彭祖也前来观看。人们七嘴八舌，议论纷纷，彭祖也因自己年事高，经历广，趁机讥笑说：“我彭祖活了八百岁，没见过有人锯碌碡。”话音刚落，二位差使把锯一扔，当场就锁住了彭祖。这天夜里，彭祖就去世了，享年八百余岁。