One#
Time flies, and the Dragon Boat Festival has arrived. Many countries have numerous holidays in the first half of the year, but there are significantly fewer in the second half, and I have never understood why. The next long holiday will not come until the Mid-Autumn Festival.
According to the introduction of “Standards for National Holidays and Related Leave in Our Country”, China's current holiday system is divided into five components: rest days, which means working 5 days a week and resting 2 days; holidays, which include 1 day for New Year's Day, 3 days for Spring Festival, 1 day for Qingming Festival, 1 day for Labor Day, 1 day for Dragon Boat Festival, 1 day for Mid-Autumn Festival, and 3 days for National Day, totaling 11 days; annual leave, which is 5 days for those who have worked for more than 1 year but less than 10 years, 10 days for those who have worked for more than 10 years but less than 20 years, and 15 days for those who have worked for more than 20 years; as well as family visit leave and marriage and funeral leave.
This holiday system is the result of multiple evolutions.
In December 1949, the then State Council issued the “National Holidays and Commemorative Days Leave Method,” which designated New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Labor Day, and National Day as national statutory holidays, totaling 7 days. It also implemented a single rest work system, working 6 days a week and resting 1 day. It wasn't until 1994 that the State Council issued the “Regulations on Working Hours for Employees,” beginning to trial the “alternate week five-day work system,” which allowed for an extra Saturday off every other week. It was only in 1995 that the five-day work week was officially implemented. Therefore, the implementation of a double rest week in our country has only been in place for about 30 years.
As for the “Golden Week,” it was only established in 1999, combining the holiday periods of Spring Festival, Labor Day, and National Day with the weekends before and after to create a 7-day long holiday. However, in 2007, the State Council revised the “National Holidays and Commemorative Days Leave Method” again, adding Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival as statutory holidays. Although the “Golden Week” was abolished, several short holidays were created due to the adjustment leave system.
The adjustment leave system has been criticized many times, and I am too lazy to criticize it again. In this magical country, there are always policies that seem to be well thought out but are actually conceived in the office without much consideration.
“The butt decides the brain,” this is a difficult reality to change. Whether in this magical country or in other countries, such phenomena exist. The difference lies in whom the brain is accountable to; in other words, who evaluates the brain's KPI. Therefore, there is naturally a distinction between “what the upper levels favor, the lower levels must follow” and “the people are precious, the state is secondary, and the ruler is light.”
This is also true in work. When we participate in a project, we need to clarify whether we are responsible for the project, for the boss, or for the investors. Clarity leads to understanding, and understanding leads to effectiveness.
Two#
There are many interpretations of traditional festivals around the world, generally either commemorating a historical figure or a historical event.
The Dragon Boat Festival is perhaps the most significant among the many traditional Han festivals in China. The most common interpretation is to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, while another interpretation is to commemorate Wu Zixu. A less common interpretation is to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E from the Eastern Han period. Additionally, some scholars believe that the Dragon Boat Festival falls on an inauspicious day, so families must drive away evil spirits and avoid misfortune, which over time has formed a festival tradition. There are also interpretations related to the worship of Chi You.
Whether it is Qu Yuan, Wu Zixu, or Cao E, Chi You, and the ways of commemoration such as making zongzi, dragon boat racing, wearing sachets, drinking realgar wine, and hanging mugwort and calamus, all relate to southern China or the Yangtze River basin. This is in stark contrast to other traditional festivals associated with northern China (the Yellow River basin).
Although the Han people are now collectively referred to as the Han nationality, if we trace back to ancient times, the Han can be divided into several groups: the Huaxia people living in the Yellow River basin, the Baiyue people living in the Yangtze River basin and southward, and the Dongyi people distributed around Shandong and Jiangsu. Perhaps due to the early integration of the Dongyi and Huaxia people, among the various traditional Han festivals that have survived to this day, only the Dragon Boat Festival is related to the Baiyue people.
Exploring such topics is very interesting; the more I learn, the more I feel that the evolution of human races and societies is full of mysteries. Therefore, I have a great fondness for archaeology, history, and sociology. Archaeology studies the settled dust, history studies the dust in the air, and sociology studies the dust that suddenly rises. On YouTube, HereIsAleph_Old News has produced many videos discussing Chinese history, rich in knowledge and well worth watching.
Another interesting point is that many traditional festivals are closely tied to specific foods. The Spring Festival has dumplings and rice cakes, the Mid-Autumn Festival has mooncakes, Thanksgiving has turkey, Halloween has candy, and so on. I believe this phenomenon is closely related to the sense of ritual. During festivals, family and friends gather together to share specific festive foods, which not only satisfies the appetite but also enhances emotional bonds, providing psychological and emotional comfort.
Food has become a meme, strongly associated with festive customs. Even in a foreign land, seeing specific festive foods can evoke thoughts of “missing loved ones even more during festive times.”
When I was young, before the Dragon Boat Festival, I would go with my grandparents to cut mugwort and gather zongzi leaves. Fresh mugwort would be hung on doors and windows, while some would be crushed and dried in a sieve, later made into sachets or added to other herbs for boiling water or foot baths.
As for zongzi leaves, after cleaning them, the leaf stems would be removed, and then they would be blanched in hot water until soft. A fragrant aroma would rise with the steam. Then, the softened zongzi leaves would be placed in cold water for later use.
Strangely enough, I love eating dumplings but am not very good at making them. I have never eaten zongzi, yet I can wrap them quite well.
Three#
The “Chronicle of Mr. Yangming” records the story of Wang Shouren at the end of his life. It was the seventh year of the Jiajing era (1528), and near his sixtieth year, Wang Shouren, while serving as the governor of Guangxi, suddenly experienced a severe deterioration of his long-standing illness—tuberculosis. He knew that his time was limited, but he was always concerned about his hometown and wanted to return to his roots in his final moments. So, he first submitted a resignation request and then, despite advice against it, took a boat from Wuzhou, heading north through Shaoguan, determined to return to the hometown he longed for even in his dying moments.
When he left Guangdong, his loyal disciple, the provincial governor Wang Dayong, was filled with unease. He knew his teacher was gravely ill and worried that the journey would be too taxing, potentially causing him to collapse at any moment. He prepared a coffin in advance and quietly followed the returning party, ready to handle the aftermath at any time.
On November 25, the returning party's boat reached the junction of Meiling in Guangdong and Nanan in Jiangxi. The local magistrate, Zhou Ji, who was also a student of Wang Yangming, hurried to visit his teacher upon hearing the news. Although Wang Yangming was already coughing and weak, he struggled to sit up and looked in the direction of his student, saying to himself, “The illness is critical, but I am still alive.” His words revealed that although he was gravely ill, he still clung to the hope of returning home. However, the illness was relentless, and his condition continued to deteriorate. Concerned that he might not survive the journey, everyone decided to stay in Nanan for five days to assess the situation before making further plans.
Unexpectedly, on the morning of the 29th, Wang Yangming suddenly summoned Zhou Ji to see him. Zhou Ji hurried to his teacher's side and saw him lying in bed, barely breathing. He struggled to open his eyes and weakly said to Zhou Ji, “I am leaving.”
Zhou Ji was already in tears and choked up as he asked, “Is there any last words you wish to convey, teacher?”
Wang Yangming smiled wryly at the words and slowly said, “This heart is bright; what more is there to say!” As soon as he finished speaking, he closed his eyes forever.
“This heart is bright; what more is there to say?” These eight characters, if we do not contemplate the philosophical implications behind them and only look at their surface, actually resemble the current state of many people in our country—everything is understood without words.
This is a more advanced state than “the road is seen through the eyes.” Communicating with glances on the street still involves some communication, indicating a lack of refinement. When the heart is as clear as a mirror, Person A knows that Person B knows, and Person B knows that Person A knows, but there is no need for any form of communication. Isn’t this state advanced?
However, the hidden worries brought about by this state are even more concerning. After all, “the road is seen through the eyes” involves action, while “understanding without words” is like hidden reefs in the ocean, only discovered when the tide recedes.
Why has it come to this? I cannot understand and do not wish to understand. Because the “Tao Te Ching” has long made it clear:
What is easy to hold is easy to manage before it is manifested; what is fragile is easy to break, and what is subtle is easy to scatter. Act before it exists, govern before it is chaotic. A tree that can be embraced grows from a tiny sprout; a nine-story tower rises from a pile of earth; a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Those who act will fail, and those who cling will lose. Therefore, the sage does nothing and thus suffers no failure; does not cling and thus suffers no loss. The people's endeavors often fail when they are almost complete. Be cautious at the end as at the beginning, and there will be no failure. Therefore, the sage desires not to desire, does not value hard-to-obtain goods; learns not to learn, returns to what the masses have gone through; assists all things in their natural course and does not dare to act.
The essays on the Dragon Boat Festival end here; see you at the Mid-Autumn Festival.