(1) Dragon boat visited by celebrities. For example, it is recorded in Mu Chuan that "only by bird boat, the dragon boat is captured in the swamp", "The Emperor": "It is the luck of Jiangdu to board the dragon boat", and "Meng Qian Bi Tan Ji" says that in the early Song Dynasty, the dragon boat was provided for the imperial court to swim. This kind of dragon boat is more than 20 to 30 feet long and 3 to 4 feet wide. Today, the dragon boats for sightseeing in the Summer Palace in Beijing and the West Lake in Hangzhou are also like this.
(2) Dragon boats are generally medium-sized boats, about 30 meters long and 3-4 meters wide. There are two halls on the ship, with swing or mast facilities for artists to perform their skills on. 1986, when the fixing film studio filmed the location of "Chu Huaiwang Dragon Boat" in the film "Two Spirits in Clear Water" on the Tianhan River under Tang Rui, there were two extra-large dragon boats besides the dragon boat of 1000. Six red ribbons were hung on the beam of the main mast of the dragon boat, and three acrobats made thrilling moves such as volley and handstand. It is this kind of dragon boat, also called Diange.
(3) It is a dragon boat for folk competitions. Generally, the shape is long and narrow, light, with inclined ends, short blades and no paddles. According to local waters and customs, several rowers with different numbers are set up, with a rudder at the stern, a flag at the bow and a drum and gong in the middle cabin. It is the dragon boat mentioned in this article.
There are different opinions on the historical origin of wuyue folk dragon boat races, which can generally be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period or the Warring States Period, and it has been more than 2,000 years since then. According to the research of some scholars, it has to be pushed back to four or five thousand years ago. Taken together, there are three kinds of statements.
-Totem theory. According to the Dragon Boat Festival Examination written by the famous scholar Wen Yiduo, about four or five thousand years ago, the ancient wuyue people in China took dragons as their ancestors, protected the gods, regarded dragons as totems and attached worship to them. In order to show that they are descendants of the dragon, wuyue people "keep tattooing" hold a grand totem commemoration every year, offering all kinds of food packed in bamboo tubes or wrapped in leaves to totem gods. In the sudden drums, canoes carved in dragon shapes are rowing, and a competition to protect balloon totem gods is held on the water. According to this research, Ou Yue, a member of the Yue nationality, should have the original form of dragon boat race when he was in the ancient clan society. It's just an ancient water recreation to worship the gods.
-Gou Jian said. The game started with Gou Jian, the king of Yue. This is the earliest record of dragon boat race in local chronicles so far, pointing out that dragon boat race originated from Gou Jian and has the meaning of praying for peace in memory. According to the Western Han Dynasty's Yue Jue Shu and other historical records, during the Spring and Autumn Period, after the monarch of Yue was released by Fu Cha, the king of Wu, he worked hard for ten years to restore the country. According to the characteristics of the water town of Yue State, he attached great importance to the construction of boats, which were long and narrow, with many paddles and flying fast. Every year in Duanyang, Gou Jian paddles a dragon boat and directs the race himself. It is really the practice of the water army, "boat 300", which is very powerful. After ten years of hard work, in 473 BC, he finally realized his desire to restore the country, defeated Wu and rebuilt Yue. To commemorate this king, Duanyang held grand dragon boat races all over the country to pray for peace.
-Qu Yuan said. Dragon boat race has become a memorial to Qu Yuan, a doctor of Chu State. This may be due to the integration and exchange of the ancient Wuyue culture and the Yangtze River culture, and the unified China gradually replaced China, who was separated by a powerful group. In addition, Qu Yuan's life experience and epic patriotic behavior deeply touched people all over China. In 278 BC, the capital of Chu State was captured by Qin State, and the mausoleum was also burned down. Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet and a doctor of Chu, felt that the future of the country was desperate and his ideals were shattered. So on May 5th, he picked up a stone and jumped into the Miluo River. The local people sailed to save him. Sui Shu? Geography "contains:" Scholars chase to Dongtou, but they don't see it. The lake is big and the boat is small. They can't get help, but they sing: How can they get the lake? Therefore, the battle for the return of the drums will be played on the field and passed down from generation to generation. It is a horse racing drama. Later, the dragon boat race held in memory of Qu Yuan was widely spread throughout the country. There is a folk song in southern Zhejiang: "On the Dragon Boat Festival on May 5, Qu Yuan hated the Miluo River, and the dragon boat team was flying in the river, drinking Pu Jiu. "
Regarding the historical origin of folk dragon boat rowing, which of the three statements is closer to the historical facts? Let's not go into it too much, but no matter what kind of statement, it is an indisputable fact that it has a long history, and the folk custom of rowing dragon boats is mainly used to pray for Ansai and commemorate the sages, and its significance is the same.