-
中华龙舟起源
The Origin of Chinese Loong Boat
Festival
龙是中国最大的神物
,
也是最大的吉祥物。龙在华夏五千年的
历史中有着无比重
要的地位。
它不仅仅是雨神和风调雨顺的象征。
从夏商开始，<
/p>
龙就已成为中华民族吉祥权威象征物。
后世历朝历
代皇帝被称为“真龙天子”，而整个中华民族都称自己是龙的传
人。
单从这方面来说，
中国的
loong
与西方的
dragon
就有着非常
< br>大的区别。
Chinese
Loong
is
the
largest
divine
creature
in
China,
and
it
is
also
the
largest
mascot
in
Chinese
history.
Loong
has
a
very
important position in
the 5000 years Chinese history which is just as
the symbol of the God of Rain and
Prosperity.
From
the
beginning
of
Xia
and
Shang
dynasties
(21
st
~16
th
century
BC),
Loong
has
become
a
symbol
of
Chinese
auspicious
authority.
Emperors
of
different
dynasties
are
called
“
the
Avatar
of
the
Loong
and
the
whole
Chinese
unity
call
themselves
“
the
Descendants
of
the
Loong
”
.
In
this
respect
alone,
there
is
a
big
difference
between China's Loong and the western dragon.
中华民族对龙的崇拜历史久远，从最早发现的龙图形，距今
已有七八千年
。龙是治水英雄夏禹的化身。在宋朝年间，下令祭
祀河神，就将龙摆上了祭祀位，从此以
后，江河湖泊凡有水处，
皆归龙神和龙王支配，更有后来的皇帝下诏天下，封龙为王，龙
王就成为了河海诸神之尊。
Chinese
has
a
very
long
history
of
worship
of
Loong.
The
appearance of the first Loong image can
be tracked back to seven
thousand or
eight thousand years ago. Loong is the embodiment
of
The
Great
Yu
who
is
flood-
control
hero
in
ancient
China.
In
Song
Dynasty(10
th
~13
th
century
AD),
The
government
ordered the
ritual
of
the
river
god,
which
Loong
was
put
on
the
shrine.
Henceforth,
rivers and lakes
are considered to be dominated by Loong.
龙和雷
公是两个主要的雨神，人们不仅仅把龙看成是造雨的神，
也把它看成是繁荣和荣誉的象征
。
所以人们常常以一些祭祀活动
来表达对神明的敬意以及对丰收
平安的愿景。
Loong
and
the
master
of
the
thunder
are
the
two
major
Rain
Gods
in China. People not only regard the Loong as the
rain god but
also
take
it
as
the
symbol
of
prosperity
and
honor.
Therefore,
people often express their respect for
Loong as one of the gods and
the vision
of harvest and peace with some sacrificial
activities.
“
loo
ng
龙”在中国传统农耕文明中庇护百姓的祥神寓意，而绝
非西
方
“
dragon
龙”
给民众通常展现出来的那种邪恶暴力的负面
形象。
In the Chinese traditional
agricultural civilization, Loong implies
the guardian spirit of the people
rather than the negative image of
evil
and violence that the western
龙神与端午
The Loong
and the Loong Boats Festival
端午节和竞渡的起源与
龙有着密切关系，
龙舟竞渡应该是史前图
腾社会的遗俗。
端午节本是吴越民族举行图腾祭的节日，
而赛龙
舟便是这祭仪中半宗教、半杜会性的娱乐节目。
theLoong Boat Festival and Loong Boat
Racing generated from
Loong
culture.
loong
boat
racing
is
the
relic
of
prehistoric
totem
society, which is first celebrated by
Wu and Yue totem nationalities
in
Southern China. And the loong boat racing is the
event with both
religious rituals and
entertainment during the festival.
在急鼓声中，
划着那刻画成龙形的独木舟，
在
水上作竞渡游
戏，
给图腾神也给自已取乐。
而在祭祀中人们为祈求图腾神的欢
心和赐福，便发生争作第一到达祭神的竞争。
In the drumbeats,
men stroke the Loong shaped canoe to race
on the water, please the god and please
themselves. Meanwhile in
the
sacrifice,
people
who
pray
for
the
totem
God's
favor
and
blessings, will fight for the first
place to sacrifice the competition.
图腾祭的目的是祈吉禳灾，划龙舟也不例外。民以食为天，
端午划龙
舟所祈求的，除了平安自然还有丰收。
The purpose of totem god worship is to
pray for luck and dispel
the disaster,
Loong boat racing is no exception from that. And
the
Loong Boat Racing is also for the
purpose of peace and harvest.
< br>龙舟竞渡不仅是一场速度的比拼，
也是为了祈求龙王保佑风
调雨顺、稻谷丰登。
In
all, Loong Boat Festival is not only a speed
competition, but
also to pray for good
weather with harvest and prosperity.