Duan1 Wu3 Jie2: The Dragon Boat Festival

In the Chinese traditional calendar，May 5 is a traditional day. Among many Chinese online lessons, this time our theme is the Dragon Boat Festival．Also called Duan wu，or Duan Yang，it began during the Spring and Autumn or Warring States periods，containing a history of over two thousand years．There are many legends of its origin that can be learnt through Chinese lessons online，such as to remember Wu Zixu，to commemorate the filial daughter Cao Er，and the practice of the Yue people offering sacrifice to their ancient totems Among this folklore, the greatest impression is the commemoration of Ou Yuan

Today’s Chinese lesson online will first give you a brief introduction. Qu Yuan was a chancellor to Emperor Huai of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period. He pressed the worthy people to make the military stronger and the country wealthier，and advocated strongly to ally with the state of Qi in opposition to the state of Qin，yet Lord Zi Lan and others strongly opposed him，banishing him from the capital city and sending him into exile along the Yuan River in the Xiang valley．While in exile，he wrote，Sorrow of Parting, asking Heaven and Nine Songs to express the concern for his country and people. These immortal poems have exhibited great influence ( the Dragon Boat Festival is also called Poets Day)．In 278 B．C．the Qin army breached the capital of the state of Chu．Witnessing his mother Land being invaded was like a knife in his heart．This produced the literary work “Embracing the Sand”. Afterwards，he committed suicide by throwing himself into the Mi luo River，ending his life as a magnificent writer of patriotic poetry．

Legend has it that after the death of Qu Yuan，the commoners in the state of Chu expressed deep sorrow one by one they went to the banks of the Mi luo River to

pay homage to the great Qu Yuan．Fishermen rowed their boats the river，surrounding the body of Qu Yuan to protect it．Some fishermen took out rice balls，eggs，and other food．and dropped them into the water for the fish，lobster，and crabs to eat in so that they would not bite their be love d Minister Qu’s body．As people saw this，riley imitated the min succession An old doctor brought a bottle of yellow wine，pouting

it into the river as to intoxicate the dragon fish，in efforts to preserve the remains of Minister On. Fearing that the dragon fish would eat all of the food in the river，people wrapped rice in azalea leaves and tied them with a silk thread to feed the serpent. Later this developed into the modern day’s Zong zi. As a result，each year on May 5，dragon boat rowing competitions，eating zone zi and drinking yellow wine are social customs in commemoration of Qu yuan. So let us look at celebrations in our Chinese online lesson.

Dragon Boat Race

China’s observance of the Dragon Boat Festival is a grand celebration with activities of all sorts. A common custom is the dragon boat race．To the pulsing rhythm drums，boats in the shape of dragons are rowed，racing each other，in order to amuse the gods and people. This festival displays the characteristics of half religion and half entertainment．Now, it has broken the barrier of time and borders，becoming an international sporting competition．

Wearing Fragrant Pouches

It is said that the kids wearing the fragrant pouch during Dragon Boat Festival Day with the intention of avoiding evil spirits and pestilence. The pouch is filled with cinnabar，and fragrant herbs，bound together by a five colored silk ribbon and button. The ornate pouches come in many shapes and sizes and maybe strung together．