Dragon Boat Festival

• Dragon Boat Festival is one of the major

holidays in Chinese culture.
• This summer festival was originally a time to
ward off bad spirits, but Dragon Boat Festival
is now a celebration of the life of Qu Yuan, a
Chinese Poet.
• The highlight of Dragon Boat Festival is the
Dragon Boat Race, where teams of rowers
propel Dragon Boats to the beat of drums.
• This tradition is centuries-old, and has been
taken up in countries around the world.
 Dragon Boat Festival and Qu Yuan

• Qu Yuan was a minister to the Zhou emperor during

the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC).
• Because of Qu Yuan’s success, he aroused jealousy in
his fellow ministers. They plotted against him and
convinced the emperor that Qu Yuan was a traitor. Qu
Yuan was banished, and returned to his home town.
• During his years of banishment, Qu Yuan collected
legends and folk tales, and wrote poetry. He never lost
his patriotic love for his emperor, and was greatly
concerned about the future of the Zhou dynasty.
 The Death of Qu Yuan

• Eventually the Qin warriors overthrew the Zhou rulers

and proceeded to plunder the country.
• On the 5th day of May, 278 BC, Qu Yuan learned about
the sack of his capital city, and in a fit of despair,
committed suicide by throwing himself into the Miluo
river.
• The townspeople, hearing of Qu Yuan’s fate, rushed to
their boats to try to save him. Since he was much
loved, they tried to prevent the fish from eating his
body by throwing rice dumplings into the water.
• They beat drums to keep evil spirits away.
• To this day, the 5th day of the 5th lunar
month is celebrated by eating rice dumplings
(zong zi) and racing dragon boats. It is also a
day for wearing talismans to keep away evil
spirits. Adults drink Xiong Huang wine, and
children wear fragrant silk pouches to guard
against evil.
Mandarin Chinese Phrases for Dragon
Boat Festival
• Here are a few Mandarin words and phrases
relating to Dragon Boat Festival.
English Pinyin Traditional Simplified
Characters Characters
Dragon Boat duān wǔ jié 端午節 端午节
Festival
Dragon Boat long zhōu 龍舟 龙舟
Rice zòng zǐ 粽子 粽子
Dumplings
Qu Yuan qū yuán 屈原 屈原
Zhou Dynasty chǔ guó 楚國 楚国
Xiong Huang xióng huáng 雄黃酒 雄黄酒
jiǔ
• Source:
http://mandarin.about.com/od/chinesecultur
e/a/dragon_boat.htm