端午节与屈原

 

There are a great many of legends about the origin of Dragon Boat Festival. The most popular theory of the origin of the festival is that it was derived from the activities commemorating（纪念） Qu Yuan. The story about Qu Yuan has been deeply rooted in Chinese culture and this festival, so it is definitely a very important factor for the origin of the festival.

Qu Yuan was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period (475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed （德高望重）for his wise counsel（进谏）that brought peace and prosperity to the state.

However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified（中伤） Qu Yuan, he was disgraced, dismissed from office, and eventually exiled. During his exile, Qu Yuan did not give up. He traveled extensively, taught and wrote about his ideas. His works, the Lament, the Nine Chapters, and Wen tian, are masterpieces and invaluable for studying ancient Chinese culture.

He saw the gradual decline of his mother country, the Chu State. And when he heard that the Chu State was defeated by the strong Qin State, he was so despaired that he ended his life by flinging himself into the Miluo River.

Legend says after people heard he drowned, they were greatly dismayed. Fishermen raced to the spot in their boats to search for his body. Unable to find his body, people threw zongzi, eggs and other food into the river to feed fish, hoping to secure his corpse. Since then, people started to commemorate Qu Yuan through dragon boat races, eating zongzi and other activities, on the anniversary of his death, the 5th of the fifth month.

This is said to be the origin of the present nation-wide custom, which is the common people’s expression of grief over Qu’s death.