The Dragon King lifts his head
Legend has it that the Dragon King, lord of rain, lifts his head on this day, and rain then comes more often to water the fields.
Told in: A popular tale, relayed in two Chinese Wikipedia entries.
Dragon Raises Its Head Festival · FFET10339
Eating longxu mian when the dragon raises its head
On the second day of the second month people eat noodles, which Qing Beijing called dragon-whisker noodles, along with dragon-scale cakes and other foods.
On the second of the second month the dragon raises its head: spring rain is coming, and farmers pray for a good year
Longtaitou, the dragon raising its head, is the second day of the second lunar month. The Yuan Xijin zhi already has the phrase for the day; this relies on a secondhand account, without checking the original. The Yanjing suishiji (the postscript is dated 1900) records that those who eat noodles on the day call them longxu mian. Other foods include dragon-scale cakes, dumplings and fried beans; the 2 accounts list slightly different foods. The available material does not describe longxu mian as a specific hand-pulled noodle.
What
On the second day of the second month, when the dragon is said to raise its head, people eat noodles called longxu mian, a name that borrows the image of a dragon's whiskers.1,2,3
When
It falls on the second day of the second lunar month. The phrase for the day appears in the Yuan Xijin zhi; this relies on a secondhand account, without checking the original. The name longxu mian appears in the Yanjing suishiji (the postscript is dated 1900). The second-month section of the Mengliang lu, scroll 1, describes gifts of seeds and the like and names no festival noodle.1,3,4
Where
The Yanjing suishiji records Beijing customs. Eating noodles on this day is a custom in Beijing and the north; Wenzhou eats mustard-green rice, while Hakka communities hold community rites.1,2,3
How
Noodles are eaten on the day. Other foods include baked dragon-scale cakes, dumplings and fried beans; the 2 accounts list slightly different foods. Related customs include haircuts for children, no sewing, and smoking beds against insects.1,2
Why
According to tradition, the Dragon King, lord of rain, lifts his head on this day so that rain comes more often for the crops. The noodle name borrows dragon imagery.1,3
Impact and influence
The day marks the start of spring farming, and the Taihao Mausoleum fair also begins on it; the available material gives no figures.1,2
The grieving Dragon King
Another telling has the Dragon King, sad over a lost daughter, rise from the sea each year to gaze in the direction she went.
Told in: A popular tale, relayed in the Chinese Wikipedia entry on longtaitou.