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While some young people in traditional Chinese costume hanfu read Lisao（The Lament） by ancient patriotic poet Qu Yuan （about 340-278 B.C.）， others stuffed sachets with herbs like mugwort and vermilion， wove five-colored ropes and shot the “five poisonous insects” with arrows. These are only some of the ways traditional culture lovers in Beijing celebrated this year’s Dragon Boat Festival in the Yuan Dynasty （1271-1368） City Wall Relics Park.
The Dragon Boat Festival， also named Duanwu Festival， which fell on June 12 this year， is celebrated each year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
On the streets， nine out of 10 people will say that the aforementioned festival commemorates Qu， and involves eating zongzi （a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in reed leaves） as well as dragon boat racing.
Such events are closely related to Qu， a poet and statesman of the Chu Kingdom active during the Warring States Period （475-221 B.C.）， who drowned himself in 278 B.C. after the king rejected his advice on governance. Due to corruption， his country was invaded and finally conquered by the Qin， the strongest kingdom of the seven states at the time.
When Qu’s countrymen learnt about his death， they rushed to scatter rice across the Miluo River， where the poet succumbed by holding a big stone to his chest. In order to appease the fish so that they would not devour Qu’s body， more rice was later thrown into the river in the form of zongzi. Meanwhile， many boats gathered trying to salvage his body， said to be the origin of today’s racing.
However， some modern researchers suggest the story of Qu was only part of the reason for celebrating the festival， which was imposed to a pre-existing festival tradition.
As for its origins， theories differ， with three appearing to be more influential and widely accepted than others. That is why there are a number of folk traditions and myths connected to the observance of the festival.
PRESERVING TRADITION： Women in traditional Chinese hanfu pose for a picture at the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park in Beijing on June 12
TOUCH OF CULTURE： A teacher applies realgar wine by using mugwort leaf on a girl’s forehead， believed to dispel disease and evil spirits during a Dragon Boat Festivities in Nantong of Jiangsu Province on June 11 The first theory suggests the festival originates from dragon totem worship among the Wuyue ethnic group （who live in southeast China） in ancient times， which gave rise to the popularity of dragon boat racing. The second theory says the festival is a day to remind people of driving away diseases， poisonous insects and evil spirits with the approach of the hot summer， which responds to the Duanwu customs of using mugwort， cattail， realgar wine， etc.， which are still observed in many places across China， particularly in rural areas. The third theory， which is the most influential today， says the festival is attributed to Qu.
With most people only told of the poet， other customs that have long existed are no longer commonly observed， though some of them are practiced in some rural areas.
According to Records of Rites， a Confucian classic， in the fifth lunar month， yang， which represents life or masculine energy， reaches a peak and begins to decline， while yin， which represents death or female energy， begins to reemerge and grow. Therefore， the fifth lunar month was regarded as a time when the balance between yin and yang is broken and all kinds of diseases can strike. It contrasts with people’s assumption that the end of summer is the time when yang starts to decline.
It was believed that the day was unlucky， as it was soon followed by midsummer， which would bring various maladies that could spread rampantly in hot and humid weather. In ancient times， the Chinese considered this time of year especially dangerous when extra efforts had to be made to keep safe.
Ancient Chinese employed several methods to fight evil and disease， which were believed to be very useful. People drank and bathed in herbal soup， while adults drank realgar wine to remove poisons from the body. The latter was believed to be a powerful antidote for all poisons， and thus most effective to kill insects and drive away evil spirits.
Families hung various herbs， such as cattail and mugwort， on their gates for protection， while sachets containing various herbs were worn to keep the wearer from contracting any illness. Besides， some people would also wear charms and talismans. Children， who are believed to be most vulnerable to disease and evil， would wear necklaces or bracelets， made of red， yellow， blue， white and black threads， for the purpose of staying safe. Children would also have the Chinese character wang， which means“king，” written on their foreheads with realgar wine. In addition， to dispel evil spirits， families would put pictures of Zhong Kui， a legendary Chinese ghost-catcher believed to be able to guard against evil， on the front doors of their homes.
Pictures of the five deadly poisonous insects， namely， scorpions， centipedes， toads， snakes and spiders， were also used to exorcise evil with evil. All these pose as strong evidence that the original cultural basis for the Dragon Boat Festival is the removal of evil spirits and illness， reflecting ancient Chinese wisdom in using herbs to reach the goal of living in harmony with nature.
“I never knew that the festival can be celebrated in this way. It’s not only interesting， but also culturally rich and inspiring，” said Jin Tianyi， a 19-year-old college student. “Before， I only knew that it commemorated poet Qu， but now I know this is mostly a day for us to make more effort to keep away from illness in the coming midsummer.” Jin said he has become more aware and proud of Chinese history and traditional culture since he began to take part in these cultural activities.
The Dragon Boat Festival has become a legal holiday since 2008 together with the Tomb Sweeping Day and Mid-Autumn Festival， commemorated for thousands of years in China.
Turning such festivities into public holidays shows the Chinese Government’s high regard for traditional culture. However， at the ground level， many still fail to see the significance of events such as the Dragon Boat Festival.
Many of China’s traditional festivals are in danger of being marginalized. While making them legal holidays to preserve culture， these traditional festivities are becoming increasingly popular among young people， who hope traditional customs like the Dragon Boat Festival could be further enriched for thousands of years to come.
FESTIVE WRAP： Farmers in Suichuan County， east China’s Jiangxi Province make zongzi in celebration of the coming Dragon Boat Festival on June 10
The Dragon Boat Festival， also named Duanwu Festival， which fell on June 12 this year， is celebrated each year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
On the streets， nine out of 10 people will say that the aforementioned festival commemorates Qu， and involves eating zongzi （a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in reed leaves） as well as dragon boat racing.
Such events are closely related to Qu， a poet and statesman of the Chu Kingdom active during the Warring States Period （475-221 B.C.）， who drowned himself in 278 B.C. after the king rejected his advice on governance. Due to corruption， his country was invaded and finally conquered by the Qin， the strongest kingdom of the seven states at the time.
When Qu’s countrymen learnt about his death， they rushed to scatter rice across the Miluo River， where the poet succumbed by holding a big stone to his chest. In order to appease the fish so that they would not devour Qu’s body， more rice was later thrown into the river in the form of zongzi. Meanwhile， many boats gathered trying to salvage his body， said to be the origin of today’s racing.
However， some modern researchers suggest the story of Qu was only part of the reason for celebrating the festival， which was imposed to a pre-existing festival tradition.
As for its origins， theories differ， with three appearing to be more influential and widely accepted than others. That is why there are a number of folk traditions and myths connected to the observance of the festival.
PRESERVING TRADITION： Women in traditional Chinese hanfu pose for a picture at the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park in Beijing on June 12
TOUCH OF CULTURE： A teacher applies realgar wine by using mugwort leaf on a girl’s forehead， believed to dispel disease and evil spirits during a Dragon Boat Festivities in Nantong of Jiangsu Province on June 11 The first theory suggests the festival originates from dragon totem worship among the Wuyue ethnic group （who live in southeast China） in ancient times， which gave rise to the popularity of dragon boat racing. The second theory says the festival is a day to remind people of driving away diseases， poisonous insects and evil spirits with the approach of the hot summer， which responds to the Duanwu customs of using mugwort， cattail， realgar wine， etc.， which are still observed in many places across China， particularly in rural areas. The third theory， which is the most influential today， says the festival is attributed to Qu.
With most people only told of the poet， other customs that have long existed are no longer commonly observed， though some of them are practiced in some rural areas.
According to Records of Rites， a Confucian classic， in the fifth lunar month， yang， which represents life or masculine energy， reaches a peak and begins to decline， while yin， which represents death or female energy， begins to reemerge and grow. Therefore， the fifth lunar month was regarded as a time when the balance between yin and yang is broken and all kinds of diseases can strike. It contrasts with people’s assumption that the end of summer is the time when yang starts to decline.
It was believed that the day was unlucky， as it was soon followed by midsummer， which would bring various maladies that could spread rampantly in hot and humid weather. In ancient times， the Chinese considered this time of year especially dangerous when extra efforts had to be made to keep safe.
Ancient Chinese employed several methods to fight evil and disease， which were believed to be very useful. People drank and bathed in herbal soup， while adults drank realgar wine to remove poisons from the body. The latter was believed to be a powerful antidote for all poisons， and thus most effective to kill insects and drive away evil spirits.
Families hung various herbs， such as cattail and mugwort， on their gates for protection， while sachets containing various herbs were worn to keep the wearer from contracting any illness. Besides， some people would also wear charms and talismans. Children， who are believed to be most vulnerable to disease and evil， would wear necklaces or bracelets， made of red， yellow， blue， white and black threads， for the purpose of staying safe. Children would also have the Chinese character wang， which means“king，” written on their foreheads with realgar wine. In addition， to dispel evil spirits， families would put pictures of Zhong Kui， a legendary Chinese ghost-catcher believed to be able to guard against evil， on the front doors of their homes.
Pictures of the five deadly poisonous insects， namely， scorpions， centipedes， toads， snakes and spiders， were also used to exorcise evil with evil. All these pose as strong evidence that the original cultural basis for the Dragon Boat Festival is the removal of evil spirits and illness， reflecting ancient Chinese wisdom in using herbs to reach the goal of living in harmony with nature.
“I never knew that the festival can be celebrated in this way. It’s not only interesting， but also culturally rich and inspiring，” said Jin Tianyi， a 19-year-old college student. “Before， I only knew that it commemorated poet Qu， but now I know this is mostly a day for us to make more effort to keep away from illness in the coming midsummer.” Jin said he has become more aware and proud of Chinese history and traditional culture since he began to take part in these cultural activities.
The Dragon Boat Festival has become a legal holiday since 2008 together with the Tomb Sweeping Day and Mid-Autumn Festival， commemorated for thousands of years in China.
Turning such festivities into public holidays shows the Chinese Government’s high regard for traditional culture. However， at the ground level， many still fail to see the significance of events such as the Dragon Boat Festival.
Many of China’s traditional festivals are in danger of being marginalized. While making them legal holidays to preserve culture， these traditional festivities are becoming increasingly popular among young people， who hope traditional customs like the Dragon Boat Festival could be further enriched for thousands of years to come.
FESTIVE WRAP： Farmers in Suichuan County， east China’s Jiangxi Province make zongzi in celebration of the coming Dragon Boat Festival on June 10