5-DragonBoatFestival
2008-9-14
Dragon Boat Festival
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional Chinese festival dedicated to the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan for his devotion to his native state.
Qu Yuan lived in the state of Chu during the Warring States period Chu was in constant danger of being invaded by the state of Qin, the strongest among the seven stetes then existing in central China. As one of the dukes, Qu Yuan advocated that Chu should join forces with the neighboring state of Qi to fight against Qin’s troops. However, he was
slandered by a few nobles of Chu who would like to make peace with Qin. The king of Chu believed them and sent Qu Yuan into exile. In his masterpiece, On the Departure from Ying, the Capital of Chu he expresses his political position and his ambition of rejuvenating his state. When Qu Yuan heard that Qin troops hac occupied the Chu capital, he threw himself into
thththe Miluo River in despair on the 5 day of 5 lunar month.
Local people honor the memory of Qu Yuan on this day by holding dragon-boat races. It is said that the boat races were regarded as a symbol of the people’s attempt to rescure Qu
Yuan. For a long time till now they have been a popular sport. The prow is a carved dragon’s head, and the body is made in a
dragon-like shape or following the design of fish, birds or shrimp. It is painted red, yellow, black or white according to the taste of the oarsmen. Different size boats hold different numbers of oarsmen, seated in pairs. Boat races are held in rivers going either up or downstream or from bank to bank. Winners are awarded trophies. Every year the “Qu Yuan Cup”
is held in China. The boat race is also very popular in Japan, Korea and Southest Asia.
It is a tradition to eat zongzi, pyramid-shaped dumplings made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, with different fillings added for interest. According to one popular story, such dumplings were thrown into the river as food for the fish and shrimp to keep them from eating Qu Yuan’s body.
These dumplings now are boiled and eaten on the holiday. Suzhou in Jiangsu Province and Ningbo and Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province are known for their zongzi with date and sweet bean paste, ham, or bacon filling. Beijing is famous for date and preserved fruit fillings. They are made in various shapes, three- or four- cornered, or in the shape of a pillow, ax, ox horn or pagoda. The largest ones may weigh half a kilogram.
For more than 2,000 years, people not only in China but also in
Southeast Asia, Japan and Vietnam have maintained the
tradition of eating zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival.
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