The treasure of Chinese culture – Dragon Boat Festival

May 29,2025

The treasure of Chinese culture – Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duan Yang Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Chong Wu Festival, is one of the most important traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. It is usually celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year. In 2009, UNESCO listed the Dragon Boat Festival as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, indicating that this festival belongs not only to China, but also to the precious cultural wealth of all mankind. The Dragon Boat Festival has a long history and integrates a variety of cultural connotations such as sacrifice, commemoration, blessing, and health preservation, reflecting the rich and profound traditional spirit of the Chinese nation.

1. Origin of the festival: commemorating Qu Yuan and expressing grief

The most widely circulated saying about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Qu Yuan, a great patriotic poet of the Chu State during the Warring States Period. Qu Yuan was loyal to the emperor and patriotic throughout his life, but was exiled because of slander. When the Chu State was destroyed, he was heartbroken that his country was broken and the people were separated, and he committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The local people were grief-stricken upon hearing the news, and they rowed boats to salvage his body and threw rice dumplings into the river to prevent fish and shrimp from eating his body. This legend has been passed down for thousands of years and has become the core cultural symbol of the Dragon Boat Festival – the spirit of loyalty and patriotism.

In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival may also incorporate the ancient summer custom of “expelling poison and avoiding evil spirits”. The fifth month of the lunar calendar is called the “evil month”. The ancients believed that plague and poisonous insects were prevalent at this time, so they would exorcise evil spirits and avoid disasters by inserting mugwort, hanging calamus, drinking realgar wine, and wearing sachets, implying peace and health.

2. Festival customs: concentrated cultural life wisdom

The traditional customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are rich and colorful, passed down from generation to generation, and are still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Dragon Boat Racing Dragon Boat Racing is one of the most representative activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, especially in the Jiangnan water towns, Guangdong, Taiwan and other places. People rowing beautifully shaped dragon boats on rivers, lakes and seas is not only a commemoration of Qu Yuan’s suicide, but also a cultural symbol of collective cooperation and courageous fighting spirit. Today’s dragon boat racing has developed into an international sports event, spreading the spiritual power of the Chinese nation’s unity, cooperation and striving for progress.

Eating Zongzi Zongzi is a traditional food for the Dragon Boat Festival. It is made of glutinous rice wrapped with red dates, bean paste, fresh meat, egg yolk and other fillings, wrapped in zong leaves and then steamed. Zongzi in different regions has different flavors. For example, most of them are sweet in the north, while they are salty in the south. Eating Zongzi not only satisfies the taste buds, but also carries people’s remembrance of Qu Yuan and their cherishment of reunion life.

Hanging mugwort and wearing sachets During the Dragon Boat Festival, people often insert mugwort and calamus on the door, which means to drive away evil spirits and avoid disasters, clean and eliminate plague. Wearing sachets is also very popular. The sachets contain a variety of spices or Chinese herbal medicines, which can not only repel insects and prevent diseases, but also have auspicious meanings. These customs reflect the wisdom of the ancients to follow nature and advocate health.

Hanging colorful silk threads and tying five poisonous ropes Children’s wrists, ankles, and necks are tied with colorful silk threads, called “five-color ropes” or “longevity ropes”, which symbolize warding off evil spirits and praying for blessings, peace and health.

3. Cultural Value: Family and Country Feelings and Life Care

The Dragon Boat Festival is not only a festival celebration, but also a cultural spirit inheritance. It not only carries the memory of Qu Yuan’s loyalty and integrity, but also expresses people’s good wishes for health and peace. In the integration of “festival” and “ritual”, the Chinese nation’s family and country feelings, ethics and natural wisdom can be passed down from generation to generation.

In contemporary society, the Dragon Boat Festival is a bond of cultural identity and emotional cohesion. Whether in cities or villages, whether in domestic or overseas Chinese communities, the Dragon Boat Festival is an important moment to connect the hearts of Chinese people. By making rice dumplings by hand, participating in dragon boat races or telling Qu Yuan’s stories, people not only continue the tradition, but also relive the cultural identity and spiritual power rooted in the blood of the Chinese nation.

4.Conclusion

The Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional festival spanning thousands of years, is a shining cultural pearl in the long history of the Chinese nation. It is not just a festival, but also a spiritual inheritance and a cultural power. In the new era, the Dragon Boat Festival has renewed vitality, and it also reminds us to cherish culture, respect history, and inherit spirit. Let us, amid the fragrance of rice dumplings and the sound of drums, jointly safeguard the cultural confidence and spiritual home of the Chinese nation.

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