Preparing for the Dragonboat Race
Chu Yuan
Legend has it that the Dragonboat festival commemorates the life and especially the death of Chu Yuan (c. 340-278 B.C.), the first great poet in Chinese history. He lived during the Warring States period (a time when China was divided into several warring kingdoms) and was a high-ranking official in the state of Chu. At that time his homeland was under siege by another powerful state called Qin. The king of Chu did not recognize Chu Yuan's correct stand or appreciate his suggestions for saving their country. What is more, treacherous officials slandered him, and at last he was sent into exile. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, when he heard news that the capital of Chu had fallen into enemy hands, he threw himself into the Miluo River (in present-day Hunan province) and drowned.
Chu Yuan, a great patriot, was loved by the people. When villagers heard he had thrown himself into the river, they rushed in their boats to try to save him, but they were too late. Dragon boat races commemorate their rescue attempt.
Legend has it that when Chu Yuan drowned, his body was never found. People felt very sad and worried that his body would be eaten by the creatures in the river. So they threw packets of rice into the river to feed the hungry animals and asked them to eat the rice instead of Chu Yuan’s body. Those packets were zongzi. Another legend says that the people offered zongzi as sacrifices to the soul of Chu Yuan. To prevent the food from being eaten by animals, they wound it with brightly colored thread, which they believed would scare away dragons and other aquatic beasts. Nowadays you can see at the festival markets beautiful model zongzi made of paper and covered with colorful silk thread.
Legend has it that the Dragonboat festival commemorates the life and especially the death of Chu Yuan (c. 340-278 B.C.), the first great poet in Chinese history. He lived during the Warring States period (a time when China was divided into several warring kingdoms) and was a high-ranking official in the state of Chu. At that time his homeland was under siege by another powerful state called Qin. The king of Chu did not recognize Chu Yuan's correct stand or appreciate his suggestions for saving their country. What is more, treacherous officials slandered him, and at last he was sent into exile. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, when he heard news that the capital of Chu had fallen into enemy hands, he threw himself into the Miluo River (in present-day Hunan province) and drowned.Chu Yuan, a great patriot, was loved by the people. When villagers heard he had thrown himself into the river, they rushed in their boats to try to save him, but they were too late. Dragon boat races commemorate their rescue attempt.
Legend has it that when Chu Yuan drowned, his body was never found. People felt very sad and worried that his body would be eaten by the creatures in the river. So they threw packets of rice into the river to feed the hungry animals and asked them to eat the rice instead of Chu Yuan’s body. Those packets were zongzi. Another legend says that the people offered zongzi as sacrifices to the soul of Chu Yuan. To prevent the food from being eaten by animals, they wound it with brightly colored thread, which they believed would scare away dragons and other aquatic beasts. Nowadays you can see at the festival markets beautiful model zongzi made of paper and covered with colorful silk thread.
posted by Linda @ 10:43 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home