Dragon Boat Festival

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Dragon Boat Festival

Applicant: Baoshan District, Shanghai

Project No.: 451

Project No.: Ⅹ - 3

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Shanghai

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Baoshan District, Shanghai

Protection unit: Shanghai Baoshan District Luodian Town Social Affairs Service Center (Shanghai Baoshan District Luodian town community cultural activity center)

Dragon Boat Festival (dragon boat rowing custom in Luodian)

Applicant: Baoshan District, Shanghai

The Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is a traditional Chinese festival, also known as "Chongwu", "Duanwu" and "PuJie". "Duan" has the meaning of "Chu", so "the fifth day of junior high school" is called "Duan five". Jianyin in the first month of the summer (lunar) calendar, according to the order of dizhi, may is just the noon moon. In addition, the ancients often called five days "noon day", so "Duanwu" is also called "Chongwu". The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival spread all over the country, mainly in the majority of the Han nationality areas. Zhuang, Buyi, Dong, Tujia, Gelao and other ethnic minorities also have the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival.

There are many legends about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as commemorating Qu Yuan's throwing into the river, the taboo of poison day on May 5, Goujian, the king of Yue, training the Navy, commemorating Wu Zixu's throwing into the Qiantang River, Cao E's saving his father and so on.

The main activities of the Dragon Boat Festival include commemorating historical figures, rowing dragon boats, eating zongzi, pasting Dragon Boat symbols, paper cutting, hanging wormwood and Acorus calamus, wearing sachets and bathing in orchid soup. In addition, there are grass fighting, batting, shooting willows and other games. In these activities, some related utensils, products and food were produced, among which dragon boat, zongzi, five poison painting, Acorus calamus, Zhong Kui painting, Zhang Tianshi painting and Qu Yuan painting were the most common.

With the progress of society, the Dragon Boat Festival has gradually developed into a traditional festival with rich content and gained great vitality. It has important reference value in the study of folk custom history. For example, the custom of rowing dragon boat and eating zongzi in the Dragon Boat Festival has been well preserved and developed healthily. In view of this, we should scientifically guide the other forms of cultural expression of the Dragon Boat Festival, so as to make the Festival cultural activities of the broad masses of the people more colorful.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of dragon boat rowing has been very popular in Luodian Town, Shanghai, and has been preserved to this day, forming the most distinctive Dragon Boat custom in the Huangpu River Basin.

Luodian is a famous historical town in the south of the Yangtze River. In the Song Dynasty, it was still a fishing village with "white flowers on the river, and the tide was urgent when it came late". Luodian dragon boat race custom began in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty, "Baoshan County continuation records" said: "May 5 dragon boat race, Luodian stadium this wind is the most prosperous." "Luodian town annals" records: "there is dragon boat No. 56 in Li Zhong, the flag battle is bright, the brocade color is eye-catching, good at the victory of a city." Luodian Dragon Boat Festival retains the ancient folk customs in the south of the Yangtze River, especially in sacrificial ceremony, hull decoration and water performance. Dragon boat rowing begins on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival and usually lasts for five to seven days. It includes sacrificial rites such as erecting a pole, leaving a dragon, eyeing, catching a dragon, sending signs, and flourishing pots. It is intended to drive away the "plague" and protect the soil and water.

Luodian dragon boat with distinctive characteristics and long standing reputation is unique in the Dragon Boat Race in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. The hull of this dragon boat is derived from the boat in Luodian beach. It is flat bottomed, head raised and tail raised. It is small and exquisite, and can run flexibly in the local winding and narrow rivers. The dragon head is carved with the whole piece of camphor wood, presenting the image of "crocodile mouth, shrimp eyes, unicorn horn, pearl in the mouth, long whiskers under the jaw, and scales all over the body". The colored flag is also depicted with a pattern, "to avoid the harm of the dragon as the dragon.". The "platform corner" at the bow of the ship was originally performed by real children. Later, for safety reasons, it was replaced by painted figures. These are the development and extension of social customs in the ancient "tattoo" era.

During the period from the end of Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, Luodian suffered from the war, and the custom of rowing dragon boats was interrupted. In the 1990s, with the efforts of local people from all walks of life, this traditional folk activity has been restored, and has become the cultural symbol of Luodian ancient town and the emotional bond to unite the local people.

Chinese PinYin : Duan Wu Jie Luo Dian Hua Long Chuan Xi Su