Traditionally held on the fifth day
of the fifth moon on the lunar calendar, late May to mid June on the
solar calendar, the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the life and
death of the ancient patriot-poet Qu Yuan who lived from 340-278
B.C.. Qu Yuan was a minister who advocated reforms in his home state
of Chu. The King refused to listen to Qu Yuan’s advice and instead
banished him from the state of Chu. In exile, Qu Yuan wrote poetry
expressing his concern for his country and people. In 278, when Qu
Yuan heard that his home had been invaded, he drowned himself in the
Mi Lo River.
The people of Chu rushed
to the river to rescue him. Too late to save Qu Yuan, they splashed
furiously and threw zung-ze, steamed rice wrapped in reed leaves,
into the river as a sacrifice to his spirit and to keep the fish
from Qu Yuan’s body.
Since that time, some
2,000 years ago, dragon boats are racing on rivers in China and
people throw zung-ze into the river to honour the memory of Qu Yuan.
Even before Qu Yuan, the
fifth moon was a time of danger. With the hot and wet weather of
summer came the perils of plagues and diseases. Parents embroidered
designs of tigers eating poisonous insects on children’s clothing to
protect them from evil spirits. In addition, children wore herb and
spice filled amulets around their necks to ward off insects. Chinese
people consider themselves to be the descendants of dragons and so
during the fifth moon, feel it is appropriate to paddle boats with
dragon designs and make sacrifices of zung-ze to cajole the river
dragons. |
