Dragon Boat Day ------Traditional Chinese Festival General Introduction •

8/14/2019 Dragon Boat Day ------Traditional Chinese Festival General Introduction

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Dragon Boat Day

------Traditional Chinese Festival


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General introduction

When :Held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the

Chinese Calendar (19/June/07 & 08/June/08).

It is also known as the Double Fifth. It has

since been celebrated in other parts of EastAsia as well.

For thousands of years, the festival has been

marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice

wrapped to form a pyramid using

bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon

boats.


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Where :

In the early years of the Republic of China, Duan Wu was alsocelebrated as "Poets' Day," due to Qu Yuan's status as China's firstpoet of personal renown.


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Origin :

The origins of Duan Wu originated in ancient China.

1. One traditional view holds that the festival memorializes the

[officer]] Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC-278 BC) of the Warring States

Period. He committed suicide by drowning himself in a river

because he was disgusted by the corruption of the Chu

government. The local people, knowing him to be a good man,

decided to throw food into the river to feed the fish so they wouldnot eat Qu Yuan's body. They also sat on long, narrow paddle

boats called dragon boats, and tried to scare the fish away by

the thundering sound of drums aboard the boat and the fierce

looking carved dragon head on the boat's prow.

2. Another popular legend holds that after Qu Yuan committedsuicide, because the people loved him so much, they raced out

to recover his body, and the races signify the boats skimming

across the water to find him.


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Tradition :

1.ZongziToday, people eat bamboo-wrapped steamed ricedumplings called zongzi(the food originally intended tofeed the fish) and race dragon boats in memory of QuYuan's death.

During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice puddingcalled zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings toQu. Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds, chestnuts,pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg areoften added to the glutinous rice. The pudding is then

wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a kind of raffiaand boiled in salt water for hours.
http://www.answers.com/topic/zongzihttp://www.answers.com/topic/zongzi


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2.Dragon boat festival

The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts torescue and recover Qu's body. A typical dragon boat

ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam of about5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side byside.In a dragon boat, there is a drummer sitting in frontfacing back, a rudder person at the tail, and pairs of

rowers in the middle. Those who have competed in thedragon boat races say that paddling in sync and notindividual strength is the key to being fast.


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Additional information

About Qu Yuan :

Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated inpresent-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during theWarring States Period (475-221BC). He was upright,loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel thatbrought peace and prosperity to the state. However,when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he wasdisgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that thecountry was now in the hands of evil and corruptofficials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the

Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearbyfishermen rushed over to try and save him but wereunable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the statedeclined and was eventually conquered by the State ofQin.


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Influence

Over the years, the story of Qus demisetransformed into the traditions of racing dragon

boats and eating zongzi a kind of rice wrappedin bamboo leaves. The races have certainlycaptured the imagination of people from all overthe world. Every spring there are nearly 60dragon boat races held outside of China in citiesfrom Vancouver to Sydney, from Gdask,Poland to Cape Town, South Africa. Canadaalone has nearly 50 dragon boat teams andGermany has nearly 30.


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Reason

So what is it about the Dragon Boat Festival thatappeals to foreigners? Its an unusual sport,

says one racer from Germany. Its not likeeverybodys doing it. Thats one of the reasonsthat theres such great team spirit in a dragonboat team everybody feels like were doing

something special. And what about the zongzi?Ehhh, theyre not bad, I guess, he says.Something of an acquired taste. I just haventreally acquired it yet.


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Dragon Boat Day ------Traditional Chinese Festival General Introduction •