The Relationship of Taoism in the Song Dynasty to the Duanwu Festival

WANG Lin

Abstract： The fifth day of the Fifth lunar month is the traditional Duanwu Festival of China. There are various opinions regarding the origin of this festival. The first is that it is a way to commemorate historical figures.The second opinion on the origin is that it is derived from the taboo of the “Evil Month and Evil Date”. Ancient Chinese people believed that the fifth day of the fifth lunar month was the evil month and evil date.Therefore， on this day， people began the custom of driving away evil and praying for luck. The third opinion is that this festival is related to the worship of the dragon totem. Modern archaeological discoveries have verified that there is a Neolithic culture found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River whose remains are characterized by pottery with geometric-patterns. The experts believe that these relics belong to the Bai Yue people who took the dragon as their totem， and who regarded themselves as the descendants of dragon.The Duanwu festival was the festival for worshipping their ancestors. The fourth opinion is that it is related to the day King Gou Jian （King of the Yue Kingdom from 496-464 B.C.） drilled his navy.In addition， some people believe that the Duanwu Festival is rooted in the Summer Solstice.

During the long process of its history， the folk culture of the Duanwu festival became increasingly enriched. Many customs developed， such as eating Zongzi （traditional Chinese sticky rice dumpling wrapped in leaves）， drinking realgar wine， racing dragon-boats， hanging perfume satchels， hanging wormwood etc. Many of these customs are strongly influenced by Taoism and have a strong Taoist color. This article tries to explore the Taoist implications found in the Duanwu festival by taking Song dynasty as the example.

1. Taoist Deities and the Custom of the Duanwu Festival in the Song Dynasty

The Taoist deities related to Duanwu Festival in the Song dynasty mainly include Wenshen（God of Plague）， Zhang Tianshi（Heavenly Master Zhang） and Zhong Kui. Wenshen originally was a folk deity who was responsible for spreading acute， deadly infectious diseases. After the rise of Taoism， this folklore was adopted by the Taoism， and built into a set of theological theory related to infectious diseases.Different from the action of worshipping Wenshen and sending away Wenshen，Zhang Tianshi and Zhong Kui were two Taoist deities invited into the Duanwu festival by the people during the Song dynasty.Based on inheritance of the folklore culture of the Duanwu festival from the former dynasties， the people in the Song dynasty added a new content to the celebration of the Duanwu Festival， i.e. no matter whether in the palace or among the common folk， it was popular to hang a Tianshi Figure or wear a Tianshi amulet. In addition to Zhang Tianshi， it was also popular to invite Zhong Kui to the Duanwu festival during the Song dynasty，because the people in the Song dynasty believed that Zhong Kui could kill the five poisonous creatures， prevent the one hundred diseases， and protect and bless ones family.

2. Taoist Magic Charms and the Customs of the Duanwu Festival in the Song Dynasty

The custom of pasting magic symbols for preventing disasters during the Duanwu festival is an ancient custom.There are records in the literature from the Han dynasty that people already had the custom of pasting magic symbols. The people in the Song dynasty also kept this custom—in the Duanwu Festival， these kinds of Taoist charms were sold in the market.Buddhist monks and Taoist priests also gave pouches containing the magical charms to donors. The Tianshi symbol was one of the Taoist charms worn by the Song people during the Duanwu festival.The Caihuifu（the colored drawing amulet）， the chilling fu （efficacious amulet）， chaitoufu （hairpin amulet） were also Taoist amulets often worn by the Song people during the Duanwu Festival. Wearing Taoist amulets during the Duanwu festival was originally a kind of protective action related to religion， but with social change and the in-depth development of folklore activities， Taoist amulets gradually changed into a kind of decoration.

3.Taoist Ideas on Medicine and Health and the Customs of the Duanwu Festival in the Song Dynasty

In addition to relying on Taoist deities， and magic amulets for sheltering people from evil and diseases，plants such as wormwood， calamus， peach， and willow， were regarded as having a function in preventing evil， and were very popular in Duanwu Festival of the Song dynasty. The people in the Song dynasty either hung these plants on the gate or wore them on their heads， They also steeped them in wine， or boiled them in water to be used to bathe， or burnt them in the house. The purpose was to protect the peoples security and health.

4.The Taoist Pursuit of Longevity and the Customs of the Duanwu Festival in the Song Dynasty

Driving away ghosts， preventing evil and making potions were all for the purpose of obtaining health and longevity. This is the ultimate pursuit of the Taoism. Hence， there was also a custom， such as tying a white string around your arm to symbolize long life inthe Duanwu Festival in the Song dynasty. Hence， we can note that Taoism actively involved itself in the Duanwu Festival during the Song dynasty， and affected the folk culture of the Duanwu festival in the Song dynasty from various aspects. On one hand， it enriched the content of the folk culture of the Duanwu Festival， endowed the culture of the festival with a religious nature， and played an important role in the evolution process of festival folklore culture； On the other hand， it enabled Taoism itself to step into the daily life of the common folk， and expanded its influence among the general public.

Key Words： Song Dynasty； Taoism； Duanwu Festival； folklore

References：

Beijing daxue guwenxian yanjiusuo.quan song shi（The Song Poems）[Z].Beijing：beijing daxue chubanshe，1992.

Chen Shou（the Jin）.sanguo zhi（Records of the Three Kingdoms[Vol.8]）[M].Beijing： zhonghua shuju，1959.

Chen Yuanjing（the Song）.suishi guangji（Records on Festivals in History ）[M].Changsha：shangwu yinshuguan，1939.

Ge Hong（the Jin）.shenxian zhuan jiaoshi（Annotations to The Tales of Immortals ）[M].Hu Shouwei，annotation，Beijing：zhonghua shuju，2010.

Huang Yongwu.dunhuang baocang（Dunhuang Treasure）[Z]. Taibei：xinwenfeng chuban gongsi，1985.

Li Fang（the Song）.taiping yulan（Taiping General Cyclopedia）[Z].Xia Jianqin et.al.Shijiazhuang：Hebeijiaoyu chubanshe，1994.

Tang Guizhang.quansongci（The Song Lyrics）[Z].Beijing：zhonghua shuju，1965.

Yueyang Fengtuji（Yueyang Traditions and Legends）[M].Taibei： chengwen chubanshe youxian gongsi，1976.

Wu Zimu（the Song）.menglianglu（Records on the Capital of the Southern Song[Vol.3]）[M]//biji xiaoshuo daguan（Notes and Novels[Vol.7]），Yangzhou：jiangshu guangling guji keyinshe，1983.

Zhou Mi（the Song）.wulin jiushi（Wulin Stories）[M]//biji xiaoshuo daguan（ Literary Sketches），Yanzhou：jiangshu guanglin guji keyinshe，1983.