The Story Behind Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival (龙船节), also known Duanwu Jie (端午节) falls on the fifth day on fifth lunar month of every year and since 2008, has been considered a public holiday. Main activities during this time include eating zongzi (粽子 or steamed glutinous rice with various fillings wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves), drinking xionghuang jiu (雄黄酒, a kind of alcohol made from realgar), and watching dragon boat races.

There are many legends about the origins of the festival, but the most popular one tells that it was established to commemorate the death of the poet, Qu Yuan.

Qu Yuan, lived between 340 and 278BC and was a poet during the State of Chu. At that time, the State of Qin was trying to take control of the Chu, motivating Qu Yuan to try and help strengthen the Chu's military forces.

However, he was opposed by a number of the state's top aristocrats, leading to his deposition and exile by King Huai. In 278BC, when Qin finally conquered Chu, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

The people of Chu admired the poet's actions, and to show their appreciation threw zongzi and xionghuang jiu in the water to keep fish away from Qu Yuan's body. Fishermen sailed their boats up and down the river, looking for him, thus creating the customs of dragon boat racing, eating zongzi, and drinking xionghuang jiu to commemorate Qu Yuan and the Dragon Boat Festival.

Zongzi
Zongzi (粽子) are made of glutinous rice stuffed with fillings, then wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, and tied with colored thread. The fillings vary region by region. In the north, the fillings are usually sweet: red bean paste, tapioca, or taro. In the south, they tend to be more savory. Fillings include duck egg, pork, chicken, or mushrooms.

Xionghuang Jiu
Xionghuang jiu (雄黃酒), also known as realgar wine, is a Chinese liquor seasoned with realgar. The tradition of drinking xionghuang jiu  is also related to the fact that Dragon Boat Festival marked the beginning of summer and the appearance of dangerous animals and evil spirits. Since xionghuang jiu contains arsenic sulfide (considered to be an antidote for poison), drinking it was meant to protect people from these doers of harm.

Dragon Boats
The reason why dragon boats (龙舟) are dragon-shaped is that dragons in Chinese culture are considered rulers of rivers, lakes and seas. The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is when the sun is at its strongest. Depictions of the sun and the dragon are often used together to represent male energy, whereas female energy is linked with the moon and the phoenix.

This article first appeared on our sister site beijingkids.

Photo: english.gov.taipei