1、A Brief Introduction to Dragon Boat Festival,Can you recognize this kind of plant?,Chinese Mugwort 艾草,Which festival will cross your mind at the sight of the picture of Qu Yuan?,Dragon Boat Festival,About its name,The Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Duanwu Festival. Since it is celebrated on
2、 the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese Lunar calendar, it earns another name Double Fifth Festival. Actually, it has a variety of names in Chinese.,List,端阳节 龙舟节 午日节 五月节 浴兰节,Popularity,It is a popular and traditional festival celebrated by the Hans, Koreans, Mongolians, Huis, Yis,
3、 Bais, Miaos, Zhuangs and others, altogether 27 of the 56 nationalities in China. And now the Asian people, including Japanese, Vietnamese, etc.,The origins of Dragon Boat Festival,There are a great many of legends about the origin of Dragon Boat Festival. The most popular theory of the origin of th
4、e festival is that it was derived from the activities commemorating kmemreiti （纪念）Qu Yuan. The story about Qu Yuan has been deeply rooted in Chinese culture and this festival, so it is definitely a very important factor for the origin of the festival.,Qu Yuans drowning into the Miluo River,Qu Yuan w
5、as a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period (475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed （德高望重）for his wise counsel kaunsl （进谏）that brought peace and prosperity to the state.,However, when a dishonest and corru
6、pt prince vilified vilifaid （中伤） Qu Yuan, he was disgraced, dismissed from office, and eventually exiled. During his exile, Qu Yuan did not give up. He traveled extensively, taught and wrote about his ideas. His works, the Lament lment (Li Sao), the Nine Chapters (Jiu Zhang), are masterpieces and in
7、valuable for studying ancient Chinese culture.,He saw the gradual decline of his motherland, the Chu State. And when he heard that the Chu State was defeated by the strong Qin State, he was so despaired that he ended his life by flinging himself into the Miluo River.,It was said that after people he
8、ard he drowned, they were greatly dismayed. Fishermen raced to the spot in their boats to search for his body. Unable to find his body, people threw rice dumplings, eggs and other food into the river to feed fish, hoping to secure his corpse. Since then, people started to commemorate Qu Yuan through
9、 dragon boat races, eating rice dumplings and other activities, on the anniversary of his death, the 5th of the fifth month.,This is said to be the origin of the present nation-wide custom, which is the common peoples expression of grief over Qusdeath.,But since some of the well-known traditions of
10、the festival already existed even before Qu Yuan, other origins of the festival were also suggested. Wen Yiduo suggested that the festival may be associated with dragon closely because two of the most important activities of the festival, dragon boat racing and eating rice dumplings, are related to
11、dragon.,Another view is that the festival is originated from the taboo 禁忌 of evil days. The fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar is traditionally considered an evil month and the 5th of the month is particularly a bad day, so a lot of taboo had been developed.,Customs,How do you celebrate the D
12、ragon Boat Festival in your hometown?,Rice Dumplings,Rice Dumpling is a pyramid dumpling made of glutinous lu:tins rice（糯米）wrapped in bamboo or reed （芦苇）leaves.,Rice Dumplings,The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu Yuan threw rice balls into the river to feed fishes ,so the fishes wouldnt eat
13、 his body,every year on the fifth day of the fifth month. But one year, the spirit of Qu Yuan appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile reptail（爬行动物）in the river had stolen the rice. The spirit then advised them to wrap the rice in silk and bind （绑） it with five different-colored threads be
14、fore tossing （投） it into the river.,Ingredients of rice dumplings,Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds（莲子）, chestnuts（栗子）, pork and the yolk juk （蛋黄）of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice.,Dragon boat races,The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover
15、 Qus body. A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam （梁）of about 5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side by side.,Today, people hold the race differently from place to place.,Here are some instances.,Hubei Province,1. Along the Miluo River in Hubei Province, the f
16、estival celebrators hold a grand opening ceremony before the race starts. 2. At the ceremony dozonds of men in new clothes, with burning candles in hands, walk around boats three times to show worship of Lu Ban.,3.Then they carry, on their shoulders, an image of a dragons head to the Temple of Qu Yu
17、an. 4. Finally, they tie red ribbons to the boats and pull them into the river for the race. 5. At the crack of a signal gun, the boats race ahead like discharged arrows fitted to bowstrings 弓弦.,Xiamen and Zhangzhou,In the areas of Xiamen and Zhangzhou of Fujian Province, a big wooden boat is arrang
18、ed lying at the finishing line. When race boats reach the line, a number of ducks are released from the big wooden boat into the river for all the racers to catch amid mid （在 之中）thunderous cheers of spectators on the banks.,Chinese Dragon Boat Race,Recently, CCTV held the Chinese Dragon Boat Race ar
19、ound the oriental world, many teams get involved the long-term race during the whole year. And Wujin District got a race division. We can see the powerful athletes and gorgeous teams in April every year.,Hanging mugwort plants,It is said that hanging mugwort plants can protect people from ill fortun
20、e.,This custom hangs an interesting folk tale. Towards the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) a nation-wide peasant uprising took place. It is said that one day the leader Huang Chao, commanding his army, came to present Dengxian County of Henan Province to survey the terrain terein （地形）for a battle.
21、,Huang came across a panic-stricken woman who held a child about six years old in one arm and took a child about three years old by the hand. Puzzled, Huang dismounted from his horse and asked why she behaved so. The woman replied in a plaintive voice, “The older is an orphan and the younger is my o
22、wn son. In case we run into Huang Chaos soldiers, I would flee with the older alone at the sacrifice of my own son.”,Huang was moved by the reply, pulling up two mugwort plants at the roadside immediately and gave them to her. Huang added:“ Tell the poor residents in Dengzhou city to hang this kind
23、of mugwort plants on their doors. Seeing this sign, my soldiers will not kill them. ” the next day, Huang Chaos army captured Dengzhou city, killed the magistrate mdistrit (地方官员）,and distributed grain from the official granaries rnri （谷仓）to the poor. That day happened to be the Dragon Boat Festival;
24、 hence the custom of hanging mugwort plants on doors.,Drinking realgar ril（雄黄）wine,It is said that, on the day of Qu Yuans death, an old practitioner of Chinese medicine poured a jar of realgar wine into the Miluo River, supposedly to make drunk the dragon and other aquatic animals which might devou
25、r Qu Yuans corpse.,Yet the present custom is a little different from what it used to be. At the festival, adults of a family drink it as a prevention against vermin v:min （害虫）and children, who are unfit to drink wine, have some of the wine applied to their noses and ears for the same purpose.,World
26、Heritage,The Dragon Boat Festival comprising ceremonies, dances, performances, games, and the preparation of food and beverages, is carried out in an atmosphere of harmony that strengthens social cohesion kuhi:n （凝聚力）, and is regarded and transmitted by Chinese from generation to generation as part of our cultural identity.,Thank you !,
