Welcoming God of Waves, this statement comes from Stele for Cao’e in East Han Dynasty. Cao’e was a girl lived in Shangyu in East Han dynasty. One day her father drowned in a river, but she could not fine his body for several days. So the fourteen-year-old filial daughter sought for her father’s body along the river day and night while she was crying. After seventeen days, the heartbroken girl drowned herself too on May 5. But five days later, she emerged from the river carrying her father’s body. In Spring and Autumn Period, after the virtuous general Wu Zixu from Wu state died in wrong treatment, he became God of Waves. People knew he was unfairly treated by the king of Wu state, so they held ceremonies to commemorate him, thus the emergence of Dragon Boat Festival.
Festival for Dragon, this statement comes from two articles composed by Wen Yiduo, Verification on Dragon Boat Festival and The Historical Education from Dragon Boat Festival. He argues that May 5 is the day when the Wu and Yue tribes, which took dragon as their tribal totem, hold sacrificial ceremonies to dragons. His main reasons are: First, the two major activities on Dragon Boat Festival, eating Zongzi and racing boat, are both related to dragon. The Zongzi thrown into water are often grabbed by dragon, while the boat for racing is dragon boat. Second, boat racing is closely related to the local customs and productions, plus that people there have the habits of cutting hair and tattooing to be like descendants of dragon. Third, in the ancient time on May 5, there is the local custom to use colored thread tying arms, which should be the remains of tattooing to be like descendants of dragon.
Vicious Day, before Qin unified China, it was popularly believed that May was a poisonous month, while the fifth day was a vicious day. Book of Rites records that Dragon Boat Festival originated from the practice of accumulating orchid for bath. In Memo on Mid-summer, one article in Mr. Lu’s Annal, regulates that people should constrain sexual desire and fast. Xia Xiaozheng records, “Today is for storing medicine to get ride of poisonous gases in the future.” Dadaili records, “On May 5, people should accumulate orchid for future bath”. There are also numerous statements that May 5 is a death day, so people would bathe to keep off evil gases. Meng Changjun Commentary Section of Shiji records that the well known Meng Changjun was born on May 5. He father advised his mother not to take this son. He says, “The sons born in May will be harmful to their parents when they grow up.” Collection of Local Customs reads, “The popular saying goes that children born in May will be harmful to their parents, the son will hurt his father, while the daughter will hurt her mother. ” Argument Criteria by Wangchong records, “People try to avoid delivering children in January and May, as they are harmful to their parents.” The famous general in East Jin dynasty Wang Zhen’e was born on May 5, so his grandfather named him thus implying to subdue evil. Emperor Huizong Zhaoji of Song dynasty was born on May 5, so he grew up outside of the imperial palace. It is obvious that in the ancient time it was widely believed that took May 5 as sinister. After Qin Shihuang unified China, this day had always been regarded as unauspicious. Thereby, it is quite nature that hanging calamus and wormwood leaves, smoking the root of dahuriae angelica, and drinking realgar wine to ward off evil and plague.
(Source: bjchinese.bjedu.cn)