Dragon Boat Festival! 端午节 (Duānwǔ jié)!

Hi everyone!

Today, we will be discussing one of the most famous holidays in China—the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as “端午节” (Duānwǔ jié).

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端午节; Dragon Boat Festival

This year (2016), 端午节 occurs on Tuesday, June 9th, which is the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. The holiday serves to remember 屈原 (Qūyuán), a famous Chinese official, whose intellect and morality stirred up envy among the other court officials, leading to the false accusation of his brewing of a conspiracy against the government. Due to the false rumor, he was exiled by the king and committed suicide in the Miluo River, or 汨罗江 (Mìluō jiāng).

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汨罗江; Miluo River

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屈原; Qu Yuan

As 屈原 was and always had been a beloved statesman (and poet [which is why 端午节 is also called “诗人节” (Shīrén jié)]), many people searched for him in their boats, a quest that would ultimately lead to no success. However, the locals did not give up, and instead, creatively came up with the idea of sacrificing 粽子 (Zòngzi) into the river to attract the fish away from 屈原’s body. Thus came the tradition of dragon boat races and 粽子 consumption on 端午节!

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粽子; the bamboo wrapping around the sticky rice holds the rice together, allowing the food to sink to the bottom of the river by 屈原’s body!

I hope you enjoyed and learned a lot about the famous Chinese holiday 端午节 from today’s post! Until next time! 再见!

There are 2 comments

  1. 茱蒂

    最近才听到朋友的儿子参加的龙舟比赛得了冠军,就看到了这篇文章。这些年,不仅是中国孩子,连美国年轻人也开始风靡了划龙舟。一来健身,而来培养团队精神,是一个非常有益身心健康的体育活动。

  2. Kelly W

    The Dragon Boat Festival happens on the fifth month of the lunar calendar. I didn’t know that and it was interesting to learn. I also didn’t know this festival had an alternate name. I can’t believe Qu Ran was sacrficied for being envied. This is a really well-informed article.

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