端午節(jié)的由來

王天和

The Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month， has had a history of more than 2，000 years. It is usually in June in the Gregorian calendar.

There are many legends about the evolution of the festival， the most popular of which is in commemoration of Qu Yuan （340-278 BC）. Qu Yuan was minister of the State of Chu and one of Chinas earliest poets. In face of great pressure from the powerful Qin State， he advocated enriching the country and strengthening its military forces so as to fight against the Qin State. However， he was opposed by aristocrats headed by Zi Lan， and later deposed and exiled by King Huai.

In his exiled days， he still cared much for his country and people and composed immortal poems including Li Sao (The Lament)， Tian Wen (Heavenly Questions) and Jiu Ge (Nine Songs)， which had far-reaching influences. In 278 BC， he heard the news that Qin troops had finally conquered Chus capital， so he finished his last piece Huai Sha (Embracing Sand) and plunged himself into the Miluo River， clasping his arms to a large stone. The day happened to be the 5th of the 5th month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

After his death， the people of Chu crowded to the bank of the river to pay their respects to him. The fishermen sailed their boats up and down the river to look for his body. People threw zongzi and eggs into the water to divert possible fish or shrimp from attacking his body. An old doctor poured a jug of reaglar wine into the water， hoping to turn all aquatic beasts drunk. Thats why people later followed the customs such as dragon boat racing， eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine on that day.

There is a very famous traditional Chinese story that has a close connection to the Dragon Boat Festival. Once upon a time on E-Mei Mountain there lived two snake spirits， White Snake and Green Snake.These snakes， being magical， turned themselves into beautiful maidens and set off on a journey to the West Lake of Hang Zhou.

When they arrived at West Lake they met a man named Xu Xian. White Snake quickly fell in love with Xu Xian and they were soon married. A Buddhist monk， named Fa Hai warned Xu Xian of his wifes deceptive appearance and suggested to him a plan.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival， White Snake wished to stay home so as to avoid the Ay Tsao， used for protection from spirits， hanging on the doors of peoples houses. Her husband prepared， according to Fa Hais instruction， some realgar wine， as this was a tradition during the Dragon Boat Festival. White Snake， thinking her magic would protect her from the effects of the realgar wine accepted a cup. After she drank the wine she became very ill and was barely able to get to her bed. When her husband came to her side， he found not his wife but a huge white snake. So great was Xu Xians shock that he fell to the floor dead.

After recovering from the realgar wine and regaining her human form， White Snake was grief-stricken to find her husband dead. She set off on a journey to obtain a potent medicinal herb， which could revive her husband. After returning and reviving her husband with the medicine， she explained to Xu Xian that the white snake he saw was actually a dragon and that this vision was indeed a very good omen. Xu Xians fears were put to rest for the moment by his wifes fanciful story...

端午節(jié)是在農(nóng)歷的五月初五，至今已有2000多年歷史，它通常在陽歷的六月份。

這個節(jié)日有著眾多的傳說，其中最著名的傳說是為了紀念屈原（340-278 BC）。屈原是春秋時期楚國的大臣和中國早期最著名的詩人之一。他面對強秦的壓迫，倡導舉賢任能，富國強兵，但他遭到貴族子蘭等人的強烈反對，屈原遭懷王去職，后被流放。

他在流放中，仍心系他的祖國，寫下了憂國憂民的《離騷》《天問》《九歌》等不朽詩篇，影響深遠。公元前278年，在他聽到秦軍攻破楚國京城的消息時，于農(nóng)歷的五月五日，在寫下了絕作《懷沙》之后，抱石投汨羅江而死。

傳說屈原死后，楚國百姓紛紛涌到汨羅江邊去憑吊屈原。漁夫們劃起船，在江上來回打撈他的尸體。人們拿出粽子、雞蛋等食物，丟進江里，說是讓魚蝦們吃飽了，就不會去咬屈大夫的身體了。一位老醫(yī)生則拿來一壇雄黃酒倒進江里，說是要藥暈蛟龍水獸，以免傷害屈大夫。后來人們就延續(xù)了這一傳統(tǒng)，在端午節(jié)這天舉辦龍舟賽、吃粽子和喝雄黃酒。

另一個非常有名的與端午節(jié)相關(guān)的中國傳統(tǒng)故事是“白蛇傳”。從前，在峨眉山上有兩只蛇精，白蛇與青蛇。這兩只蛇精運用法力將自己變成美麗的女子，并準備到杭州西湖游玩。

當她們在西湖游玩時，遇到一位名叫許仙的男子，白蛇與許仙很快地相戀并在不久后結(jié)婚。當時一位名叫法海的和尚，曾經(jīng)警告許仙注意他妻子惑人的外表，并教給他一個揭開真相的計劃。

端午節(jié)當天，白蛇待在家里以避開人們掛在門上驅(qū)邪的艾草。而許仙則依照法海的建議準備了大家在端午節(jié)時都會喝的雄黃酒。白蛇自認法力可以抵擋雄黃酒對她的影響，因此喝了一杯。但是在她喝下那杯酒之后，她卻變得精疲力竭，幾乎走不到床上。當許仙走到白蛇身邊，看到的不是自己美麗的妻子， 而是一條巨大的白蛇，許仙震驚不已，倒地而亡。

當白蛇恢復法力和人形后，她才發(fā)現(xiàn)自己丈夫已經(jīng)身亡，因此白蛇外出尋找能使許仙起死回生的強效藥草。許仙在服用藥草并起死回生之后，白蛇告訴許仙他看到的那條白蛇，其實是一條代表吉相的龍。許仙被他妻子編的故事所打動，不再感到恐懼了……