Society

Origins of Dragon Boat Festival a tragic tale

By Zhang Yue (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-05 08:53

There are many different versions about the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival held each year on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month.

The most widely believed concerns Qu Yuan, an official in the Kingdom of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

Qu was born to a noble family, had great talent and was highly appreciated by the emperor. He was entrusted with important tasks, yet he gave the emperor advice the leader did not want to hear and was finally banished from the capital city.

His journey of exile passed through many provinces including Hunan and Hubei and left in its wake his poems about improving the country and his deep depression.

The Kingdom of Chu was destroyed by the Kingdom of Qin in 223 BC when Qu was in exile. When he heard the news, he was heartbroken.

He jumped into the Miluo River with a heavy stone and drowned himself.

Among the poetry he left behind, the most popular is titled Lisao.

It is renowned not only for its moving words, but also for the creation of new form of verse that became known as Chuci.

After Qu's death, his body was found in the river. Local people rowed boats to try to rescue him. When they could not save his life, they honored the great poet and patriot with steamed rice wrapped in reed leaves that were dropped into the Miluo.

Today people still row boats on the day Qu died in the Dragon Boat Festival. In south China, the race is also a festive gathering.

Though 2,000 of years have passed and people no longer drop food into the Miluo River, making and eating sticky rice wrapped with leaves has become a tradition passed down for centuries.

New ways of celebrating the festival have added other customs in different areas of China.

In Fenghuang county, Hunan province, a dragon boat race is held every year that attracts tourists from all over the country.

It is a grand occasion for local people as they dress in festive clothes. The event includes catching ducks, with those successful in the endeavor said to be endowed with good fortune.

The custom is included in the romantic novel Bian Cheng by Shen Congwen, a famous writer of contemporary Chinese literature.

In Beijing, where some people still live in siheyuan - or courtyard homes - it is a custom to hang bulrushes and wormwood leaves in the yard and at the gate during the Dragon Boat Festival to keep each family safe and healthy.