The Dragon Boat Festival occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese lunar calendar. It is one of the four traditional festivals in China, celebrating the rich and colorful social life and culture of ancient China. Thus, the festival has profound historical and cultural connotations. The festival also features a 2500 year old sporting event: dragon boat racing.
Dragon boats are a human-powered long boat, traditionally made of teak. Modern dragon boats are made of synthetic materials, such as carbon fiber or fiberglass. During the festival, the boats are fitted with decorative dragon heads.
Legendary origins of the Chinese dragon boat festival
This is the popular folklore of the origin of the dragon boat festival.
During the Warring States Period in China, there was a poet and politician of Chu, and his name was Qu Yuan. He loved his province very much. On the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar in 278 BC, his homeland was invaded. The countryside was destroyed due to the corruption of the nobles. He was very sad and angry, but he couldn’t save anything. Qu Yuan wrote a poem, “Huaisha,” and then he jumped into the Miluo River with a stone in his arms. He committed suicide to express his anger.
The people living on the riverside heard about this, and they regretted his death. They were worried that Qu Yuan’s body would be eaten by fish in the river, so they all rowed out in their boats to recover his corpse. An old doctor brought a jar of realgar wine and poured it into the river to prevent the water snakes from harming Qu Yuan’s body. People threw rice into the river, hoping that the fish would not harm Qu Yuan’s body after they were full from eating the rice.
Every year on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, people go to the riverside to mourn Qu Yuan. Gradually, this evolved into the current custom of dragon boat racing and eating rice dumplings.
Dragon Boat Race
Dragon boat racing is an important activity of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is widespread in southern China, and it can also be seen in the northern areas near rivers or lakes. The dragon boat race originated in the Yangtze River and took place at about the same time as the ancient Greek Olympic Games. Both the Greek Olympic Games and the Chinese Dragon Boat Race use sports as a religious ceremony. Since 1976, the Dragon Boat Race has had an international management organization and is being considered as an Olympic sport.
The hull of a dragon boat is generally long and thin. The bow is decorated with dragon head wooden sculptures and the stern is decorated with dragon tail wooden sculptures. Paintings and decorations are also displayed on the hull, and gongs and drums and flags are placed on the boat. The size of the boat varies from region to region. For example, the total length of the dragon boat is 33 meters, 20 meters, 18 meters, and so on. The shortest boat can accommodate a team of 25 people. The dragon boat race is intensely exciting. After setting the distance of the race, rowing starts at the same time, and the ranking is determined in the order of arrival at the finish line. There are minor rules variations according to region or ethnicity, but the differences are minor.
The gongs and drums placed on the dragon boat are to maintain the rhythm of the team and ensure that the force on the left and right sides of the dragon boat is even. Secondly, they also has the effect of boosting morale. When the drum beats up, it means that it is the final sprint stage, alerting teammates to increase the frequency of paddling.
Eating Zongzi (rice dumplings)
The origin of the zongzi commemorates Qu Yuan’s martyrdom. Even today, the Chinese people regard it as a must-do for the Dragon Boat Festival. Both the southern and northern people will eat zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival. Although eating zongzi has become more custom and traditional diet than a commemoration of Qu Yuan, we will never forget the culture that has been passed down from ancient times to the present.
In the past, people put rice in a bamboo tube, sealed it, and roasted the rice. People now commonly use special Zongzi leaves (箬叶). When the Dragon Boat Festival is about to come, you can see Zongzi leaves in supermarkets and some shops. Most families choose to make zongzi by themselves. Now the types of zongzi are becoming more abundant. We can add various ingredients such as meat, chestnut, mushroom, egg yolk, etc. to the zongzi. Usually a lot of rice dumplings are made at one time. The cooked dumplings are stored in the refrigerator for freezing. When you want to eat, you can take them out of the refrigerator and heat them.
With the abundance of materials, we can even buy the finished products of zongzi directly in the supermarket, vacuum-packed zongzi, gift box zongzi, various flavors, as you choose. This is very convenient for people, because making zongzi is not a simple matter. Most young people may not have much time to make zongzi from scratch.
Realgar wine
Drinking realgar wine is a traditional custom during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is white wine or yellow wine made with realgar (an arsenic sulfide compound) that has been ground into powder. In traditional Chinese medicine, realgar is a kind of Chinese universal antidote against poison and insects. For Chinese medicine, it has the functions of sterilization and insecticide. But realgar is a mineral that contains arsenic, which is toxic. Therefore, the realgar wine that is usually consumed is only a small amount of realgar added to the wine. Realgar cannot be eaten directly. For underage children, adults apply realgar wine on their foreheads, ears, palms and soles to disinfect and prevent bacterial infections.
Modern science shows that realgar wine is best for external use only, and not consumed internally. Due to the arsenic compounds, it needs to be used carefully.
Respect for tradition
When you come to China, you can always feel the rich history and traditional culture of this country. In the rapid development of the times today, it is not easy to stick to tradition, but to retain respect and nostalgia for our forefathers is our constant spirit.
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