According to Chinese lunar calendar, June 19th is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which is a famous traditional festival – Duanwu festival.For thousands of years, Duanwu has been marked by eating Zongzi and racing dragon boats.
The taste of Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves to give it a special flavor, varies greatly across China. Zongzi is often made of rice mixed with dates in Northern China, while Eastern China people like to stuff Zongzi with pork, ham, chestnuts and other ingredients, making them very rich in flavor.
Duanwu is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, because dragon boat races are the most popular activity during the festival, especially in Southern China. A dragon boat is shaped like a dragon, and is brightly painted in red, white, yellow and black. Usually, a dragon boat is 20 to 40 meters long, and needs several dozen people to row it. Boatmen row the boat in cadence with the drumbeats, as the captain standing in the bow of the boat waves a small flag to help coordinate the rowing. Before the race gets underway, a solemn ceremony is held to worship the Dragon King.
Dragon boat racing is quite a spectacle, with drums beating, colorful flags waving, and thousands of people cheering on both sides of the river. Nowadays, it has become a popular sporting activity in Southern China. International dragon boat races are held in Guangzhou and Hong Kong every year.
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?
There is a common legend in China says that the Duanwu Festival honors the great poet, Qu Yuan, who 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 and weaker. In the year 278 BC, the capital of Chu was stormed by troops from Qin. In great pain, Qu Yuan wrote “Lisao” (“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.