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Dragon Boat Festival in memory of patriotic poet
By Zhao Wen |
May 25, 2011, Wednesday
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Online Edition
Online Edition
THE traditional Dragon Boat Festival falls on June 6 this year. All public services will be closed from June 4 (Saturday) to June 6 (Monday), according to the holiday arrangement announced by the State Council.
The Dragon Boat Festival, on the fifth day of the fifth month in Chinese Lunar calendar, pays tribute to Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), a poet and patriotic minister in the State of Chu.
Qu was exiled for criticizing the king for his corrupt rule. Upon hearing that their capital city had fallen to the invading Qin army, Qu was so sorrowful that he drowned himself in the Miluo River in today's Hunan Province.
Villagers rushed to the spot in small boats to save their beloved poet but in vain. Later, they threw "zongzi," rice dumplings wrapped in reed leaves into the river in the hope that fish would spare his corpse. Today, boat race and "zongzi" are highlights of this traditional festival.
The Dragon Boat Festival, on the fifth day of the fifth month in Chinese Lunar calendar, pays tribute to Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), a poet and patriotic minister in the State of Chu.
Qu was exiled for criticizing the king for his corrupt rule. Upon hearing that their capital city had fallen to the invading Qin army, Qu was so sorrowful that he drowned himself in the Miluo River in today's Hunan Province.
Villagers rushed to the spot in small boats to save their beloved poet but in vain. Later, they threw "zongzi," rice dumplings wrapped in reed leaves into the river in the hope that fish would spare his corpse. Today, boat race and "zongzi" are highlights of this traditional festival.
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