Origins of the Dragon Boat Festival (5/29/2017)
Here is how it all began. On Thursday evening, Jacopo, Elena’s son, told me that Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (28-30 May 2017) were to be a National Holiday. “As a result,” Jacopo explained, “Saturday, which is usually a day of relaxation [as in the West], suddenly became a “work day” for everyone, including those, like me, who are students.” Jacopo also spoke of boat races but, when I quizzed him, he didn’t know where they took place and he had never witnessed them.
Next, when Elena and I were heading for our dance session down town, we noticed that one out of ten people on the streets were carrying palm and peonee branches (or so it appeared to me). Elena knew that this had something to do with the “Dragon Boat Race Festival” but had no clear idea as to the details.
After supper, Xiao Chen, our live-in cook, explained that the banches we saw were placed near the door of people’s homes to ward off “harmful spirits.” She also told us about specially-prepared rice balls that were eaten during the time of the festival.
Then Elena consulted the internet and found the complete story that brought the dragon boats, the branches, and the rice balls together.
For starters, The Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the Duanwu [‘double five’] Festival in China. It is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
Note here that the Chinese have their own lunar calendar that continues to be used to calculate traditional festivals. Remember here that the date for Easter is traditionally celebrated on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover that traditionally takes place on the “first full moon of the new year.” Hence, even Christian celebrations still remain rooted in a lunar calendar used by Jews.
As for origins: The Dragon Boat commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan (Chu Yuan). It was elevated to a national holiday only in 2008. Now, I’m asking what “socialist principles” would have prompted this move and who was “Qu Yuan”?
The famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan, who was a loyal minister of the King of Chu in the third century BCE. Qu Yuan’s wisdom and intellectual ways antagonized other court officials, thus they accused him of false charges of conspiracy and was exiled by the king. During his exile, Qu Yuan composed many poems to express his anger and sorrow towards his sovereign and people.
Qu Yuan drowned himself by attaching a heavy stone to his chest and jumping into the Miluo River in 278 BCE at the age of 61. The people of Chu tried to save him believing that Qu Yuan was an honorable man; they searched desperately in their boats looking for Qu Yuan but were unable to save him. Every year the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated as a way to commemorate this attempt at rescuing Qu Yuan.
[I think here of how eating turkey on Thanksgiving commemorates the donation by Native Americans of wild turkeys and squashes to the Jamestown British colonists who arrived in the New World in the fall with no prospects of planting a crop that would allow them to survive the brutally cold winter. Despite this donation, nearly half the colonists starved during that first winter—a brutal fact that, to my knowledge, is never told to our children nor is it narrated in their history books.]
The local Chinese people began the tradition of throwing sacrificial balls of cooked rice into the river for Qu Yuan. Some believe that this was done in the hope that the rice would prevent the fishes in the river from eating Qu Yuan’s body. However, the tradition of wrapping the rice in bamboo leaves to make zongzi began only in the following year.
With this cultural informative recipe you will make sweet and savoury Zongzi (Chinese sticky rice dumplings) with great ease.
The hanging of calamus and moxa [not the palm and peonee branches that I imagined] on the front door, the pasting up of pictures of Qu Yuan, drinking hsiung huang wine and holding fragrant sachets are understood by the Chinese as activities efficacious for preventing evil [sickness of body and mind] and bringing peace.
As for the boat races, this is a late expansion that serves to bring some drama and excitement to the veneration of the life of Qu Yuan:
A dragon boat is a human-powered boat that is traditionally made of teak wood to various designs and sizes. They usually have brightly decorated designs that range anywhere from 40 to 100 feet in length, with the front end shaped like open-mouthed dragons, and the back end with a scaly tail. The boat can have up to 80 rowers to power the boat, depending on the length. A sacred ceremony is performed before any competition in order to “bring the boat to life” by painting the eyes. The first team to grab a flag at the end of the course wins the race.
One might think that the boat competitions attracts only the young men. Not so! Mao had the genius of bringing Chinese women into the center of the people’s revolution and here is where they have [more or less] stayed. See http://www.china-family-adventure.com/chinese-dragon-boat-festival.html
Elena and I have received an invitation to a “cocktail party” hosted by a Chinese family. Elena asked politely why they would consider inviting “two foreigners.” Response: “You will help us keep face and honor our gathering.”
Two interviews:
Name: Zhou Huikai
From: Zhejiang
Age: 21
Profession: College student
CNNGo: What comes to mind when you think of the Dragon Boat Festival?
Zhou Huikai: The poet Qu Yuan because the festival is held in his memory. He has been my idol since when I was young. I especially like his poem: “For the ideal that I hold dear to my heart, I’d not regret a thousand times to die” (“亦余心之所善兮, 虽九死其犹未悔”).
CNNGo: What your favorite type of zongzi?
Zhou Huikai: Kitten zongzi (猫咪粽). It’s a specialty from my hometown that uses white rice not sticky rice — and don’t worry, there are no cats in it either. It’s filled with pickles, minced meat and bean curd. I can’t find it in Shanghai, so I’d opt for ham zongzi.
CNNGo: Does your hometown still host dragon boat races?
Zhou Huikai: Not many people do dragon boat race today since it’s a dangerous sport. Some people have fallen off the boats. I’ve never participated in one and I don’t want to because it’s a risky sport.
CNNGo: Are the races still important to the festival?
Zhou Huikai: Yes. It’s a tradition, so it should be kept. In addition, it’s a fun festival activity. The massive preparation beforehand in order to race adds to the festival ambiance.
CNNGo: Have you seen any new Dragon Boat Festival customs?
Zhou Huikai: Not really, people care less and less about the festival.
Read more about Shanghai’s Dragon Boat Festival at “Paddling the dragon: Celebrating Shanghai’s Dragon Boat Festival“.
Name: Yan Zhigan
From: Shanghai
Age: 63
Profession: University professor
CNNGo: What comes to mind when you hear the words Dragon Boat Festival?
Yan Zhigan: Qu Yuan and zongzi. This is related to the origin of the festival. According to the legend, we make zongzi to commemorate Qu Yuan and to protect his soul.
CNNGo: What Dragon Boat Festival traditions did you grow up with?
Yan Zhigan: Making zongzi. In the past, neighbors would give zongzi to each other. Now families have a chance to come together over the holiday.
CNNGo: Does your hometown still host dragon boat races?
Yan Zhigan: I have never seen any. Even if there were a race, I wouldn’t go to see it. I am not fond of hustle and bustle as I’m getting old.
CNNGo: Is Dragon Boat race still important for this festival?
Yan Zhigan: To some degree, yes. As a public, commemorative activity, [it] should be kept to pass on the cultural heritage. Moreover, as it’s rare to see a dragon boat now, it becomes more valuable. If there was a large scale dragon boat race, media would report on it. For young people, the dragon boat can serve as an inspiration. As for me, I am not interested.
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Some Words of Qu Yuan
“The Great Summons” (trans. Arthur Waley)
- O Soul go not to the West
Where level wastes of sand stretch on and on;
And demons rage, swine-headed, hairy-skinned,
With bulging eyes;
Who in wild laughter gnash projecting fangs.
O Soul go not to the West
Where many perils wait!- Lines 27–33
- O Soul come back to watch the birds in flight!
He who has found such manifold delights
Shall feel his cheeks aglow
And the blood-spirit dancing through his limbs.- Lines 144–147
“Encountering Sorrow” (trans. David Hawkes)
- 惟夫党人之偷乐兮，路幽昧以险隘。
- The fools enjoy their careless pleasure,
But their way is dark and leads to danger.- Line 17
- The fools enjoy their careless pleasure,
- 余固知謇謇之为患兮。
- How well I know that loyalty brings disaster.
- Line 21
- How well I know that loyalty brings disaster.
- 路曼曼其修远兮，吾将上下而求索。
- Long, long had been my road and far, far was the journey;
I would go up and down to seek my heart’s desire.- Line 97
- Long, long had been my road and far, far was the journey;