Dragon Boat Racing
|
| 
|
| Dragon Boat Festival racing in Macau |
Zongzi: Rice dumpling with red bean filling
The Duanwu Festival is a Chinese traditional and statutory holiday. It is a public holiday in mainland China[1][2] and in Taiwan, where it is known as the "Duanwu Festival". It is also a public holiday in Hong Kong and Macau, where it is known as Duen Ng Festival. Its alternative name in English is "Dragon Boat Festival", after one of the traditional activities for the holiday.
The Duanwu Festival has also been celebrated in other East Asian nations. For their equivalent or related celebrations, see Dano (Korean festival), Tết Đoan Ngọ (Vietnam), and Kodomo no hi (Japan).
The Duanwu Festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the
Chinese calendar, giving rise to the alternative name of
Double Fifth [3]. In 2008, this falls on
8 June. The focus of the celebrations include eating
zongzi, which are large rice wraps, drink
realgar wine, and race
dragon boats.
History
Origins
The Duanwu Festival originated in ancient China. There are a number of theories about the origins of the festival. Today, the most commonly accepted version relates to the death of poet Qu Yuan in 278 BC, detailed below. There are, however, a number of competing theories.
Qu Yuan
The most well-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC - 278 BC) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the Chu capital. In despair. Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month.
It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.
Wu Zixu
Despite the modern popularity of the Qu Yuan origin theory, in the former territory of the state of Wu the festival commemorated Wu Zixu (526 BC - 484 BC). Like Qu Yuan, Wu Zixu was a loyal advisor whose advice was ignored by the king to the detriment of the kingdom. Wu Zixu was forced to commit suicide by the king Fuchai, with his body thrown into the river on the fifth day of the fifth month. After his death, Wu Zixu was revered as a river god. In places such as Suzhou, in Jiangsu province, Wu Zixu is remembered during the Duanwu Festival to this day.
Pre-existing holiday
Modern researchers have theorised that the commemoration of Qu Yuan or Wu Zixu were superimposed onto an existing holiday tradition, but has subsequently overtaken the original significance.
One theory points to the traditional rituals of the Duanwu Festival, which mostly relate to avoiding diseases. Thus, it is said, Duanwu Festival originates from rituals designed to avoid disease during the mid-summer months (corresponding to the fifth month of the Chinese calendar).
Another theory, advocated by Wen Yiduo, is that the Duanwu Festival had its origins in dragon worship. Support is drawn from two key traditions of the festival: the zongzi and dragon boat racing. Throwing food (zongzi) into the river is said to represent offerings to the dragon king, while dragon boat racing comes from the worship of the dragon, combined with the tradition of visiting friends and family on canoes.
One view is that the festival is a celebration that is characteristic of ancient Chinese agrarian society: the celebration of the harvest of winter wheat. Offerings would be made to gods and spirits on this date: in the ancient Yue, dragon kings; in the ancient Chu, Qu Yuan; in the ancient Wu, Wu Zixu (as a river god); in ancient Korea, mountain gods (see Dano (Korean festival)). As interactions between different regions increased, these similar festivals were eventually merged under the same name.
In the early years of the Republic of China, Duan Wu was also celebrated as "Poets' Day," due to Qu Yuan's status as China's first poet of personal renown.
Activities
The three most widespread activities for the Duanwu Festival are eating (and preparing) zongzi, an angular rice ball wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves; drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.
Other common activities include hanging up icons of Zhong Kui (a mythic guardian figure), hanging up mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, and wearing perfumed medicine bags. Other traditional activities including a game of making an egg stand at noon, and writing spells. All of these activities, together with the drinking of realgar wine, are designed to ward off disease or evil.
