Legend of Qu Yuan

Legend of Qu Yuan

The legend of Quyuan is one of the local folklores in Zigui County, Hubei Province. The people of Zigui created and inherited folk literature with lyric and expressive expression by linking Quyuan with the natural and humanistic landscapes in their territory.

According to the biography of Quyuan Jiasheng in Historical Records, Quyuan was the Minister of King Huai of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period. He advocated promoting virtue and empowerment, enriching the country and strengthening the army, advocating united resistance to Qin Dynasty. He was strongly opposed by aristocrat Zilan and others. Quyuan was banished from his post and was banished from the capital to the Yuanhe and Hunan valleys. In exile, he wrote immortal poems such as Li Sao, Tian Wen and Jiu Ge, which are concerned about the country and the people. They have unique features and far-reaching influence (hence, Dragon Boat Festival is also called Poet's Day). In 278 B.C., the Qin army conquered Kyoto, the state of Chu. Quyuan saw his motherland being invaded and his heart was like a knife, but he could not bear to abandon his motherland. On May 5, after writing his masterpiece "Huaisha", he threw himself into the Miluo River to die, and composed a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life. Legend has it that after Quyuan's death, people in the State of Chu mourned so much that they flocked to the Miluo River to hang on to him. The fishermen rowed their boats and salvaged him up and down the river. One fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other food prepared for Quyuan and threw them into the river "plop and plop", saying that if the fish, lobster and crab were full, they would not bite the doctor's body. People followed suit. An old doctor took a jar of realgar wine and poured it into the river. He said that he wanted to make dragons and water animals sick so as not to hurt Doctor Qu. Later, for fear that the rice ball would be eaten by Jiaolong, people wanted to wrap rice with neem leaves, wrap colorful silk outside, and develop into brown.

On June 7, 2008, Quyuan Legend was approved by the State Council to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Introduction to Quyuan

Quyuan (about 340 BC - 278 BC), a great patriotic poet in ancient China. Huaxia nationality, born in Danyang, Chu State, Mingping, the original character. During the Warring States Period, the aristocrat of the State of Chu was a doctor of Sanlu and a Zuo Tu. He was also in charge of important affairs of internal affairs and diplomacy. He advocated enlightening the virtues and abilities in the interior, enlightening the laws and regulations, and jointly fighting against the Qin Dynasty with foreign powers. Later, because of the exclusion of aristocrats, they were exiled in the Yuanyuan and Hunan valleys. In 278 B.C., Bai Qi of the Qin Dynasty attacked Yundu, the capital of the State of Chu. Quyuan, worried about his country and people, committed suicide in Huaishi, Miluo River near Changsha. The Dragon Boat Festival is said to be his anniversary. He wrote many immortal poems, became the founder of ancient Romantic poetry in China, and created a new style of poetry Chuci on the basis of Chu national songs. The main works are Lisao, Nine Chapters, Nine Songs, Tianwen and so on.

Legendary features

As a unique cultural phenomenon, the legend of Quyuan is bred in the magnificent mountains and rivers of Zigui and the brilliant humanistic environment of Bachu, which is charming and full of personality. Its basic characteristics mainly include five aspects:

Unique regionality

Ban Gu's Hanshu Geographic Records of the Han Dynasty recorded: "Zhinan County, Lingxian 18, the first said Zigui." Yuan Shansong, a writer of Jin Dynasty, said in The Records of Mountains and Rivers in Yidu: "Quyuan's former virtuous sister, who was banished by Wen Yuan, also returned, likened to lenient herself, and the whole townsman hoped for his advice, and was called Zigui because of her name." In the Jin Dynasty, Yu Zhongyong's Jingzhou Records said, "There is a hundred miles north of Zhigui County. There is Quyuan's old house, seven hectares square, and the stone is the roof. Now its place name is Leping." Zigui Lepingli is the birthplace of Quyuan. Quyuan was born in Zigui and named after him. Zigui is the hometown of Quyuan, and Quyuan is a celebrity of Zigui. Therefore, people in Zigui preferred Qu Yuan. From ancient times to the present, the stories and legends handed down by the people of Zigui's hometown are closely related to Quyuan, either praising him, or remembering him, or recommending him. "Quyuan Legend" can be said to be the "heirloom" of Zigui, an ancient and civilized special area.

Unique artistry

Quyuan and his works are well-known in the world. The artistic characteristics of his works are developing and shining. Zigui's "Quyuan Legend" may be influenced by the artistic characteristics of Quyuan's works, and the legends and stories all have high artistry. From 91 legends of Quyuan collected and sorted out, some of them are deep-hearted and touching, such as "My Brother Hui" and "Three Duanyang", which express the feelings of sisters and brothers and their homeland perfectly; some of them are magical and romantic and have unique imagination, such as "Shenyu" and "Female Anvil Rootstock", which make people's beautiful wishes and clear expression of Qu Yuan's missing happy;some of them are magical and romantic and have unique imagination, such as "Goddess Fish" and "Woman Anvil Anvil Anvil Rootstock". With the help of mountains and rivers, the deities, such as Lingniu, Shuangquan Temple and Zhuangmiaoquan, are cleverly blended with the deities of mountains and rivers to vividly express Quyuan's love for the country and the people. Some of them express Quyuan's seeking spirit and honest and upright personality by means of metaphor and thought-provoking, such as Reading Cave and Jin Japonica Rice. The language of these legends and stories is easy to understand and appropriate. They have high literary and artistic value.

Unique inheritance

Quyuan's life is great. Although he passed away for more than 2000 years, his image and spirit are forever engraved in the hearts of the world, especially his father and fellow countrymen. He not only extensively inherited Quyuan's legends and stories through oral and oral transmission, but also carried forward Quyuan's legends and stories through his unique traditions of Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Boat race, poetry festival in the Sao Tan, and Quyuan Cultural Research Association. 。 At the same time, due to the spread of the legend of Zigui Quyuan, experts and scholars at home and abroad quote Quyuan's legend in many great academic works, such as Guo Moruo's Study of Quyuan, Lu Xun's Outline of the History of Chinese Literature, Quyuan and Songyu, etc. In recent years, a large number of "Quyuan Legend" books published by Zigui have also appeared. Therefore, it can be said that Quyuan's legends are not only on paper, but also on the mouth.

Unique History

From the existing ancient literature, the earliest historical material that can trace the legendary information of Quyuan is the Eastern Han Dynasty writer Yingxuan's "Customs and Customs". It says, "On May 5th, people who tie arms with five silk pickings, pioneer soldiers and ghosts, make people not sick, but also because of Quyuan." The Hanshu Geographic Chronicle describes this custom and legend of "due to Quyuan" as "conventionally handed down" and "Nanjun especially". Zi belonged to Nanjun when he returned to the Han Dynasty. This shows that the Han Dynasty has combined the customs and legends of Quyuan and Dragon Boat Festival and spread widely. However, according to the law of development of legends, the legend of Quyuan should have come into being after the death of Quyuan or in his later years. Therefore, the legend of Quyuan originated about 2200 years ago. There are a lot of historical documents after the Han Dynasty. Zongmu of Liang people in the Northern and Southern Dynasties said in his book Jingchu Sui Shi Ji: "On May 5th, the race to cross the river was a common practice for Quyuan to join Miluo Day, which hurt his life, so he ordered Zhouhu to save it. So far, it has become a common practice." Subsequently, the legends of Quyuan were recorded in Wu Jun's Continuation of Qi Harmony in Southern Dynasty, Du Taiqing's Jade Candle Treasure Book in Sui Dynasty, Yichang Zhi in Tongzhi three years in Qing Dynasty and Guizhou Zhi in Guangxu eight years in Qing Dynasty. The legendary Dragon Boat Race in Zigui Quyuan coincides with the records of ancient books and documents. These records fully illustrate that the legend of Quyuan has a long history. In the long history of more than 2200 years, people in Zigui praised Quyuan's personality and spirit in a special way, envied evil and praised good, and inspired the world. This way of inheritance, whether in the past or in the future, plays an irreplaceable positive role.

Unique Ideology

In Quyuan's legend, the connotation is profound and contains rich ideological contents such as positive progress, pioneering and enterprising, unity and struggle, honesty and integrity. For example, the stories of Chu Wang Jing and the people fighting drought and drilling wells touched the world; for example, the stories of "mourning people's livelihood and hardship" (Lisao) in Micangkou touching people's hearts; for example, the stories of calamus insertion in "calamus sword" protecting Quyuan's tomb, touching. In these legends, even for the colorful flowers, trees, birds and animals of different shapes, Qu Yuan is full of love and hatred, and radiates the light of human nature. Quyuan's unremitting pursuit spirit and fervent patriotic feelings are even more absorbed in them, which makes people feel amazed after reading. The ideological features of Quyuan's legends and stories are of far-reaching significance in warning the world, inspiring people, rejuvenating the country and showing sympathy to the people.

Inheritance value

Although the main form of expression of Quyuan legend is oral language inheritance, followed by written inheritance, it has high value. This form is an indispensable part of culture and art, as well as the spiritual food that has been circulated throughout the ages in Zigui. Its value is mainly manifested in five aspects:

Mellow literary value

The legendary story of Zigui Quyuan grasps the essence of literature, touches people with emotion, inspires people with reason and touches people with emotion. At the same time, the scenery implies emotion, the matter implies reason, the falsity implies reality, and the reality implies falsity. Strong emotions, profound connotations. The combination of realism and Romanticism is even more valuable. For example, the legends of Star Moon in "Three Stars Show Half Moon" reading all night, Mingzhao loyalty and treachery in "Shadow Well" and "Hang Aisong Inserting Acorus" expulsion and thieves by Ai Po are easy to understand and profound in meaning. Such as the exaggeration in Shenyu, the allegorical technique in Red Lacquer Coffin, the lyric technique in My Brother's Return, and the comparative technique in Thunder-splitting Stone, etc., make the literary and artistic value of Quyuan's legend further deepened. From this, we can not only summarize the useful experience of literary creation, but also promote the research of folk literature theory.

Beautiful Appreciation Value

Existing 91 Quyuan legends can be divided into four categories, which are beautiful and interesting, and are well-known. "Landscape legends" are intermingled with reality, such as "Three Hills of Corn" and "Fu Hu Falling Bell", etc.; "Place name legends" are vivid and memorable, such as "Le Ping Li" and "Jiu Bin Xi"; "People's legends" disparage evil, praise good and make people happy, such as "Ma Sang Shu" and "Easy to Serve the Savior"; "Custom legends" elegant and common appreciation, provoking people to be relaxed and happy. For example, Sanlu Feng and Yarn Cap Wings. These legends of Quyuan are interesting to listen to and enjoy endlessly. Give people beauty.

Strong Social Value

The most important function of Quyuan's legend is to enlighten people's thinking, infiltrate people's soul and activate pastoral culture. Promote people to establish correct ideological and moral concepts, life values, cultural and scientific concepts. It has high reference value for the study of cultural anthropology, folklore, psychology, linguistics and aesthetics. Quyuan's legend naturally reveals the national, patriotic, family, folk and homesickness, which refreshes people's hearts and spirits. At the same time, the special way of inheritance of Quyuan's legend can make people love society, life, culture and Quyuan more.

Far-reaching Collection Value

In Quyuan's legend, the application and Enlightenment of the natural and human environments contain the phenomena and charm of Cuban and Chu cultures, as well as the cultural traditions and spirits, such as Quyuan's spirit, literature and art, which need to continue to be inherited and developed in the present and future. It is not only a wealth of folk literature, but also an indispensable spiritual mine in people's material and cultural life. Some legends and stories can even be called treasures of Chinese folk culture. Therefore, it has great collection and inheritance value. From the field survey, its space is still very broad. To further collect, collate, publish, collect and protect the legends of Quyuan and make them immortal cultural heritage is a great contribution to human culture.

Rich Tourism Value

Situated on the beautiful bank of Xiling Gorge of the Yangtze River, Zigui is connected with the lofty Three Gorges Dam. It is a tourist attraction with beautiful scenery and outstanding people. In particular, the historic sites and buildings of Quyuan, which are scattered all over the village of Zigui, are graceful and colorful. For example, the birthplace of Quyuan, Lepingli, eight sceneries of Quyuan, female anvil, the former residence of Quyuan, the temple of Quyuan, the waking Pavilion of Paddy Field Baxiang, Qugongbi of Lianghekou Town, Quziqiao of Xiaoxintan, Wangjing of Chu of Shazhenxi Town, Jiuwan Zhilan of Zhou Ping Town, Quyuan Temple, Quyuan Memorial Hall and Quyuan Tomb of Guizhou Town, all of these scenic spots have their own unique legends of Quyuan. The collection and inheritance of Quyuan's legends and stories will add to tourism development, enrich rural culture and tourism culture, and add more economic value to the cause of Zigui tourism.

Current Situation and Suggestions

Due to the impact of modern culture and other factors, "Quyuan Legend" shows the crisis of inheritance and dating. The main manifestations are as follows: the existing "Quyuan Legend" lacks inheritors, and most of the old artists of "Quyuan Legend" have passed away or are old. Moreover, the scenic spots on which "Quyuan Legend" relies are also disrepair and seriously damaged, which urgently need rescue and protection.

Increase investment in funds

Raising funds from various channels, increasing investment, renovating old and disrepair scenic spots and buildings, and supporting or subsidizing the collection, collation and publishing of "Quyuan Legend" will provide certain material rewards for those who have made greater contributions and influence. It can also adopt the ways of leasing scenic spots, contracting projects, focusing on collating and publishing, absorb social funds and personal investment, and promote the construction of scenic spots and the distribution and dissemination of publications of "Quyuan Legend". Provide financial guarantee for collecting, arranging and publishing, and repairing scenic spots.

Strengthen collection and arrangement

Through this work, 91 Quyuan legends were collected and sorted out, but their quantity and quality were not satisfactory. Most of them were published or collected. This work requires manpower and energy. It can organize special classes and designate special persons to collect and organize the work. At the same time, we should keep the quality at a high level, search and select the best works, and produce the best ones.

Strengthen publicity and popularization

First, the legend of Quyuan will be integrated into local textbooks of primary and secondary schools, and expand the inheritance field of "Quyuan legend". The second is to stimulate people's enthusiasm for inheriting the legend of Quyuan by launching the speech contest of Quyuan's legendary stories, the essay contest of creation or research, and the literature and art performance, and continuing to adhere to the annual Dragon Boat race, the Dragon Boat Festival Poetry Festival, and the cultural research of Quyuan. Thirdly, we should adopt the methods of "go out, please come in", such as academic exchanges and exhibitions of achievements, to publicize and study the "Quyuan Legend", to publicize the culture and spirit of Quyuan, and to expand the knowable and cognitive aspects of "Quyuan Legend".