Dragon Boat Festival2000字
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is 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 (475~221 B.C.). Chu was in condtant danger of being invaded by the state of Qin, the strongest among the seven states 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, his patriotism and dedication were betrayed by capitulators who slandered him. The king of Chu believed them and sent Qu Yuan into exile. He wrote many immortal masterpieces exposing the corrupt and incompetent feudal regime. In his autobiographic works he expresses his political position and his ambition of rejuvenating his state. When Qu Yuan heard that Qin troops had occupied the Chu capital, he threw himself into the Miluo River in despair on the fifth day the fifth 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 rescue Qu Yuan. For a long time now they have been a popular sport. China has a long history of making big wooden boats sport. The prow is a carved dragon’s head, and the body id 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, following the strict rules and regulations set by the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission. 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 Southeast 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 QuYuan’s body. These dumplings now are boiled and eaten on the holiday. Suzhou in Jiangsu province and Ningbo and Jiaxin 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 shape, three-or four-cornered, or in the shape of a pillow, ax, ox horn and 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.
Coming in the lull between spring plowing and summer weeding, the festival is celebrated in a variety of ways. It has overtones of spring purification, and in the south it is the occasion for a good house cleaning to protect against various diseases that may come with the hot weather.
On this day it is also customary to take a drink of wine containing realgar, rub the wine on children’s forehead, and sprinkle it on beds and mosquito nets to keep away insects.
Qu Yuan2000字
For thousands of years, the tradition of the Duanwu Festival has been passed down from one generation to the next. But where did it come from and why did people eat Zongzi and race dragon boats? Many scholars have studied these questions and given their academic explanations.
One explanation is that the Duanwu Festival originated from people’s worship of dragons. In ancient China, people believed the dragon was the god in charge of water, which was vitally important to daily life and agricultural production. On the day of Duanwu, people raced dragon boats to entertain the god and offered him Zongzi as a treat. The sole purpose was to please the god to ensure a year of favorable weather.
Some people believe Duanwu comes from activities instigated by ancient sorcerers. These activities were held in early summer when the hot weather was about to bring diseases to people who didn’t have modern devices and medicines to protect themselves. So, ancient sorcerers encouraged people to wear fragrant pouches and hang mugwort and calamus on their doors to drive away the so-called evil spirits that caused diseases.
Scholars may provide many other explanations about the origin of the Duanwu Festival. But if you ask ordinary people about its origin, you’ll get the same answer. They will tell you that the Duanwu Festival honors the great poet, Qu Yuan. They’ll also tell you the story that has been passed down for more than 2,000 years.
Qu Yuan was born in 340 BC, during the Warring States Period. At that time, there were seven states struggling among themselves to unify China. Of the seven states, Qin was the strongest and Chu the largest.
Qu Yuan was a noble of Chu. During his lifetime, the powerful kingdom of Chu fell into a decline.
Early in his life, Qu Yuan won the confidence of the King of Chu, and was his deputy prime minister, helping draft laws and determine foreign policy. When he saw the danger posed by the ambitious Qin State, he proposed government reforms and an alliance with the neighboring Qi state as a way to ensure Chu’s safety.
But the King of Chu was surrounded by self-seekers, who were jealous of Qu Yuan. They accepted bribes from the Qin’s envoy, dissuaded the King from taking Qu Yuan’s advice and brought about the poet’s estrangement from the King. Qu Yuan was finally sent into exile for 20 years.
During those desperate years, Qu Yuan helplessly watched his beloved country become weaker every day. In the year 278 BC, the capital of Chu was stormed by troops from Qin. In great pain, Qu Yuan wrote “Lisao” or “The Lament”, the greatest of all his poems. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, he drowned himself in the Milo River, because he was hopeless about his country’s future.
People grieve for those who have grieved for them. Each year, during the Duanwu Festival, the day of Qu Yuan’s death, people race dragon boats to commemorate him. This is believed to be a representation of how the people of Chu tried, at the time, to recover Qu Yuan’s body from the Milo River. Pyramid-shaped dumplings by the name of Zongzi were thrown in the river to feed the fish, so they would stay away from Qu Yuan’s body.
Qu Yuan’s life was tragic but, as a poet, he achieved great success. In fact, he is considered to be the first poet in Chinese literature. Before his time, there were only folk songs. Qu Yuan created a new style of poetry, which became known as Chu Ci.
