What is the history of the Dragon Boat Festival?

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that has been around in various forms for thousands of years. Its current iteration is an amalgamation of multiple different festivals and traditions. Two prevailing stories are often cited to explain the origin of this age-old holiday.

Read on to discover the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival and learn more about the customs associated with this traditional celebration.

Who is QU YUAN

In modern times, the most popular story explaining the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival concerns the death of Qu Yuan , a poet of the Warring States period (approx. 475 to 221 BC).

At the time, it was common for Chinese literati to work in government, and Qu Yuan was no different. He served faithfully as a government official in the State of Chu for some time. After being slandered by another official, however, he was sent into exile.

Qu Yuan spent his exile in a productive manner, writing many works of poetry, but his mind was troubled. The State of Chu was not doing well politically, and news of its various defeats at the hands of competing states sent Qu Yuan into a deep depression.

Eventually, his despair in the face of the political situation drove him to commit suicide by drowning himself in Hunan Province’s Miluo River.

How do people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival?

The dragon boat festival is a fun, boisterous holiday. In most parts of China, the weather is quite good at this time of year, and people congregate outside on the banks of rivers and lakes to enjoy the fine weather while watching traditional dragon boat races.

Eating Zòngzi

Almost every Chinese holiday has a specific food or foods associated with it, and Dragon Boat Festival is no different. On this holiday, the food of choice is zòngzi.

Zòngzi are a type of pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and stuffed with various sweet or savory fillings. Common fillings for sweet zòngzi include sweet red bean paste or jujube .

Savory zòngzi might be stuffed with salted egg yolks, pork or mushrooms. The dumplings themselves are wrapped in bamboo leaves, tied with a string, and either steamed or boiled.

Participating in or Attending Dragon Boat Races

Dragon Boat Race (English name: Dragon Boat Race) is one of the important customs of the Dragon Boat Festival in China. It is common in southern China, and there are also Dragon Boat races in cities near rivers and lakes in northern China, mostly in the form of rowing dry Dragon boats or dancing Dragon boats.

If you want to know more information of Dragon Boat Festival, welcome to come to China .