The 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar year is an important day for the Chinese people. The day is called Duan Wu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, celebrated everywhere in China. This festival dates back to about 2,000 years ago with a number of legends explaining its origin. The best-known story centers on a great patriotic poet named Qu Yuan.
Who is Qu yuan ?
Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC), born in Zigui, Danyang, the state of Chu (now Yichang, Hubei), was a poet and politician of the state of Chu during the Warring States period. Because of being excluded and slandered by the nobility, he was exiled to the north of Han Dynasty and the Yuanxiang River Basin. After the Yingdu of the state of Chu was conquered by the Qin army, he sank in the Miluo River and died in the state of Chu. He is a great patriotic poet in Chinese history and the founder of Chinese Romantic literature. According to legend, the day Qu Yuan threw himself into the river is the fifth day of may in the lunar calendar, that is, the Dragon Boat Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival was originally a festival for the Chinese people to eliminate diseases and prevent epidemics. Before the spring and Autumn Period in Wuyue area, it was customary to hold tribal totem sacrifice in the form of dragon boat race on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Later, because Qu Yuan died on this day, it became a traditional festival for the Chinese people to commemorate Qu Yuan.
What people do in Dragon Boat Festival ?
Eating zongzi
Most Chinese festivals are tied to a particular food, and the Dragon Boat Festival is no exception.
A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat Festival is zongzi. This tasty dish consists of rice dumplings with meat, peanuts, egg yolks or other fillings wrapped in reed leaves. The tradition of zongzi is meant to remind us of village fishermen scattering rice across the water of the Miluo River in order to appease the river dragons and fish so that they would not devour Qu Yuan.
Dragon boat racing
At the center of the festival are the dragon boat races. Competing teams drive their colorful dragon boats forward to the rhythm of the beating drums. These exciting races were inspired by the villagers’ valiant attempts to rescue Qu Yuan from the Miluo River. This tradition has remained unbroken for centuries.
chinese dragon boat festival 2020
chinese dragon boat festival 2020
chinese dragon boat festival 2020
