Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Chinese Culture in Perspective for Chinese Language Participants and Interns in China
If your China Internship Program has already started, get ready for a cultural treat! If you are already learning Chinese in China within these periods, it’s even better! You know what’s up? The Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon Boat Festival, which is also known as Duanwu Festival (端午节, Duānwǔ Jié), is a traditional Chinese festival that commemorates life and death of the minister and poet QU Yuan. The festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The Dragon Boat Festival this year 2017 falls on May 30, a sunny Tuesday. During the Dragon Boat Festival, Our China Internship Participants will be treated very typical dishes with some cultural twists. They will be biking around the major streets in Shanghai with some kungfu classes.
History
Ancient Chinese believe that the Dragon Boat Festival originated in the old China when the minister Qu Yuan of the kingdom of Qu committed suicide. He was a wise, intelligent and most importantly loyal minister of the Qu kingdom. His intelligent ways antagonized the other court officials, and he was later accused of false charges and forced into exile. During his exile, Qu Yuan composed poems to express his feelings of anger and sorrow towards his people. Moreover, seeing the Qi kingdom take over his Dynasty, he deiced to end his life by drowning himself in Miluo River.
The people of Qu who admired him rushed to the river and tried to save him knowing that Qu Yuan was an honorable man. They searched desperately in their boats looking for him but could not find his body. The people dropped sticky rice into the river for the fish to eat the rice instead of Qu Yuan. This is said to be the origin of Zongzi, 粽子 (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves), dragon boat and the dragon boat races.
Activities
There are three most popular activities conducted during the festival; eating zongzi, dragon boat racing and drinking realgar wine. Other events include hanging mugwort, taking long walks, wearing perfumed medicine bags, making the egg stand at exactly 12:00 noon, and writing spells.
Zongzi rice: The Main Dish
Zongzi is pyramid-shaped sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves which have become a symbolical food for celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. The food is then passed by for thousands of years. It originated when the local people of Qu kingdom were trying to save Minister Qu Yuan’s body. The rice is filled with meat, sweet bean paste, jujubes, egg yolk etc.
Dragon boat racing
A dragon boat is a paddle boat that is traditionally made of teak wood to various designs and sizes that are usually brightly decorated, with the front end shaped like open-mouthed dragons, and the back end with a scaly tail. It is also believed that a sacred ceremony is performed before any competition to “bring the boat to life” by painting the eyes. One team member sits at the front of the boat beating a drum in order to maintain morale and “jiāyóu” (加油) the rowers. The first team to grab a flag at the end of the race wins. It is believed that the race originates from the idea of the people who rowed their boats to save Qu Yuan after he drowned himself in the river. The race has turned to be a sporting event not only held in China but also in other places like Vietnam and Japan.
Click here to see what “jiāyóu” (加油) means;
Other activities like drinking of realgar wine, hanging mugwort, taking long walks, wearing perfumed medicine bags, and writing spells were regarded by the ancients as effective in preventing disease or evil, while promoting health and well-being. Making the egg stand at exactly 12:00 noon implied that if someone succeeded doing that they will receive luck for the next year.
