Dragon Boat Festival

端午节Lectured by Betsy Hu Xiaoqiong( 胡晓琼）

Warming up

Please watch a clip of video

Three questions:Do you know what people are

doing in the video and pictures?

Do you know the name of this activity and what it is used for?

What kind of atmosphere can you feel if you are in the scene of the activity?

Dragon Boat Racing

Dragon Boat Racing

Introduction & Explanation The Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th

day of the 5th month in the

Chinese lunar calendar, has had a

history of more than 2,000 years. It

is usually in June in the Solar

calendar.It's a national holiday.

This year: June 12th

Birthplace

Present-dayHunan and Hubei province

Qu Yuan

Qu Yuan

Origin of this summ

er festival centers 

around a scholarly g

overnment official n

amed Qu Yuan

Qu Yuan He was a good and respected man, but because

of the misdeeds of jealous rivals he eventually

fell into disfavor in the emperor's court.

 

Unable to regain the respect of the emperor,in h

is sorrow Qu Yuan threw himself into

the Mi Luo river.

Qu Yuan temple

Qu Yuan and His Patriotism In the People's Republic of

China, Qu Yuan came to be

regarded as a prime example

of patriotism. His social

idealism and unbending

patriotism have served as the

model for Chinese

intellectuals to this day,

particularly following the

establishment of new China in

1949.

Qu Yuan and his identity as a poet

Qu Yuan is regarded as the first author

of verse in China to have his name

associated to his work, since prior to

that time, poetic works were not

attributed to any specific authors. He

is considered to have initiated the so-

called sao style of verse, which is

named after his work Li Sao, in which

he abandoned the classic four-

character verses used in poems of Shi

Jing and adopted verses with varying

lengths.

The school motto of CTGU is from Qu Yuan's Li Sao " 路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索 "

“Although the road is endless and faraway, I still want to pursue the truth

in the world”

Zong Zi 粽子 Qu Yuan drowned on

the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 BC. Since ancient times, Chinese people threw into the water dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves on the day. Therefore the fish would eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned into the custom of eating Zong Zi.

Ingredients:

The fillings are more

diversified, including

jujube and bean paste,

fresh meat, and ham

and egg yolk.

23/4/20 端午节 19

People will soak glutinou

s rice, wash reed leaves a

nd wrap up Dumplingsth

emselves. Otherwise, the

y will go to shops to buy

whatever stuff they want.

The custom of eating Du

mplings is now popular in

North and South Korea, J

apan and Southeast Asia

n nations.

Dragon Boat Racing An indispensable part of the festival, held all over the

country

As the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragon-

shaped canoes pulling the oars hurriedly,

accompanied by rapid drums, speeding toward their

destination.

Dragon Boat Racing

Dragon Boat Racing

Folk tales say t

he game origin

ates from the a

ctivities of see

king Qu Yuan's

body.

Other Customs Wearing a perfume

pouch

Carry the small spice bag

around with you, it not only

drives away evil spirits but also

brings fortune and happiness to

those who wear it.

The small bags are hand-made by local craftsmen.

They're made with red,

yellow, green and blu

e silk, fine satin or cot

ton. Figures of animal

s, flowers and fruits a

re often embroidered

onto the bags and insi

de are mixed Chinese

herbal medicines.

Five-colour silk thread

Hanging mugwort leaves and calamus

Hang mugwort leaves and calamus on the front door.

This is also to ward off evil.

Realgar Wine

It is a very popular practice to drink this kind of Chinese liquor seasoned with realgar at the Dragon Boat Festival.

This is for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year.

In one word, all of the activities are to protect themselves from evil and honor the poet Qu Yuan

Summary & Discussion

1. General introduction

2. Qu Yuan

3. Customs

Discussion

What's the core value of the spirit of Qu Yuan

Is there any historical celebrity who has the

same virtue as Qu Yuan has in your own

country how do you commemorate him or her

in your country ？

What can you learn from Qu Yuan ？

23/4/20 端午节 40

Thank you very much