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Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Jie) Like many festivals, the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duan Wu Jie , was also originated from commemorating a historical figure. In this case, it's for the ancient patriot-poet Qu Yuan who committed suicide to protest against a corrupt regime over 2000 years ago. Qu Yuan lived in the fourth century B.C. when China was under political and military strife, an era known as the Warring States period (770 - 221 B.C.). The poet was also a minister who advocated reforms in his home state of Chu. The King refused to listen to his advice and instead banished him from the state. In exile, Qu Yuan wrote poetry expressing his concern for his country and people. In 278 B.C., when Qu Yuan heard that his home had been invaded, he drowned himself in the Mi Lo River (in Hunan Province). The people of Chu jumped into their boats and rushed out in a vain search for Qu Yuan. This unsuccessful rescue attempt is a part of what the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates every year.
In Guangzhou, dragon boat race can be dated back to over a thousand years ago. First it was mainly an entertainment for the royal families. In Ming (1368-1644 A.D.) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.), Guangzhou has become the center of dragon boat racing in China. The boat used to be more decorative and bigger, holding at least 80 people each. Gradually it has dwindled in size and become sportier. Now the annual Dragon Boat Race is held the in downtown area where the Pearl River runs through.
To the Chinese the fifth lunar moon is more than just the Dragon Boat Festival. Since antiquity, they have believed that this month is a pestilential and danger-fraught period. Children born in this month are said to be difficult to raise, and people tend to concentrate their efforts during this time attempting to protect their families from ills and misfortune. The day of the Dragon Boat Festival is customarily the time when cleaning and sanitation are stressed. Most families hang calamus and artemisia above their doors, both as a decoration and as a preventive against pestilence. There is an old saying to the effect that 'a disease of seven years can be cured by three years of artemisia'. Ancient folk medicines such as realgar are added to the food eaten on the Festival day. This is believed to prevent disease and to promote a healthy digestive system. The drinking of realgar in wine supposedly relieves the effects of poisons accumulated in human bodies. Other customary foods of the season, all of which are alleged to have medical value, including garlic, pickled vegetables, greens and yellow croaker (a type of fish). Other protective measures taken on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival include the painting of the ideograph (King) on the foreheads of children with realgar or cinnabar, and the fastening of amulets containing spices or medicines to the buttons of their clothing. These sachets, or Xiang Bao are very popular with children. But they're not the only ones who collect Xiang Bao. Older people are often given them as a symbol of respect, and they are prized because of the intricate and exquisite embroidery adorning them.
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Now
the most exciting aspect of the summer festival is the racing of the
dragon boats. The dragon boats feature the head and tail of a
dragon, a mythological creature regarded by the Chinese as having
dominion over the waters and exercising control over rainfall. The
heads and tails are kept ashore during the year and are only affixed
for the races. After they have been attached, it is necessary to
bring the boats to life. This is done in a ceremony presided over by
a Taoist priest and, amid the burning incense and exploding
firecrackers, the eyes of the dragon heads are dotted with paint.
Sacrificial paper money is put into the dragons' 
mouths
and also thrown into the water by the rowers. All of this is done to
dispel any evil spirits that might be lurking about waiting for an
opportunity to disrupt the festivities.
Another
tradition of the festival is the making and eating of a kind of
dumpling called Zongzi. When it became known that Qu Yuan was gone
forever, the people, living along the river, threw cooked rice into
the water as a sacrifice to their dead hero. The local fishermen
were la ter told in a dream that fish, not Qu Yuan, got the rice.
Therefore, the next time that they threw rice into the river, they
first stuffed it into bamboo
sections. This started the custom that has evolved into its
present-day version: rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, stuffed with
ham, beans, bean paste, salted egg yokes, sausages, nuts, and/or
vegetables. |
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Noted people in history |
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-Hongxiannv -Huangfeihong |
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People and Life |
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other info |
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| Guangzhou News | |
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