Tag: Chinese Festival

The Duanwu festival is known as the Dragon Boat festival named after the popular activity of dragon-shape rowboat racing during the festival. 

Did the Duanwu Festival Really Originate From the Death of Qu Yuan(屈原)?

Today it is widely believed that the dragon boat race and the customs of eating zongzi originated from the death of Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan, who supposedly lived from 338 to 278 B.C.E., served as a minister in the southern kingdom of Ch’u, which shared the continent with other two powerful states: the northeastern state of Qi, and the aggressive state of Qin to the northwest.

The Fifth day of the Fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar marks the celebration of the Duanwu festival (端午). “Duan Wu”(端午) in Chinese means the beginning of the fifth month. Originating from China, the festival is widely celebrated in East and Southeast Asia with dragon boat racing, eating zongzi rice dumplings, and commemorating China’s earliest known poet, Qu Yuan(c. 340–278 B.C.E). Today most Chinese believe that the festival is to remember the virtues of the patriotic poet who served as a loyal minister of King Huai who reigned from 328 to 296 B.C.E. over the state of Chu. However, the origins of the Duanwu festival have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. Folklorists, historians, and anthropologists have proposed multiple explanations for the origin of the Duanwu festival. 

The Duanwu festival as we now know has its roots in plague-prevention rites in the summer solstice and fertility rites to ensure good harvests dating back at least two thousand years in southern China. In this article, we explore the reasons why the Chinese consider the Fifth month of the Lunar Calendar inauspicious and evil as well as the rituals employed to ward off evils.