The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

Commemorating Qu Yuan

This story first appeared in Wu Jun’s “Continuation of the Records of the Strange Things of Qi” from the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties and in Zong Yan’s “Records of the Sui and Sui Dynasties of Jingchu” from the Southern Dynasties. It is said that after Qu Yuan drowned in the Miluo River, local people, upon hearing the news, immediately rowed boats to rescue him, reaching all the way to Dongting Lake, but his body was nowhere to be found. It was raining, and the boats on the lake gathered near a pavilion on the shore. When people learned that the rescue was for the loyal minister Qu Yuan, they braved the rain again and rushed out into the vast Dongting Lake. To express their grief, people rowed boats on the rivers, and this gradually evolved into dragon boat racing. Fearing that the fish in the rivers would eat Qu Yuan’s body, the people returned home to bring rice balls and threw them into the river to prevent them from desecrating the body. This later became the custom of eating zongzi (rice dumplings). It seems that eating zongzi and dragon boat racing during the Dragon Boat Festival are related to commemorating Qu Yuan, as evidenced by the Tang Dynasty poem “Dragon Boat Festival” by Wen Xiu: “Who said that the Dragon Boat Festival is a festival? It has been said for thousands of years that it is for Qu Yuan. It is laughable that the vast and empty Chu River cannot wash away the injustice done to the loyal minister.”

Commemorating the filial daughter Cao E

This story originates from the Cao E Stele, a stele from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao E, a native of Shangyu during the Eastern Han Dynasty, lost her father in a river, and his body was missing for several days. The filial daughter, only fourteen years old at the time, wailed day and night along the river. Seventeen days later, on May 5th, she jumped into the river and recovered her father’s body five days later.

Welcoming the God of Waves

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of the State of Wu, was wronged and died. He was transformed into a god of waves, and the world mourned and worshipped him, hence the Dragon Boat Festival. This legend is widely circulated in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. Wu Zixu was a member of the State of Chu. His father and brother were both killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu defected to the State of Wu and assisted Wu in its conquest of Chu. After five battles, he entered the Chu capital, Yingcheng. At that time, King Ping of Chu had already died. Zixu excavated the tomb and whipped the corpse 300 times to avenge the murder of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his grandson Fuchai succeeded to the throne. The morale of the Wu army was high, and they won every battle. The State of Yue was defeated. King Goujian of Yue requested peace, and Fuchai agreed. Zixu suggested that the State of Yue should be completely annihilated, but Fuchai refused. The prefect of Wu, bribed by the State of Yue, slandered Zixu against him. Fuchai believed his advice and gave Zixu a sword, which led to Zixu’s death. Zixu was a loyal and righteous man who was ready to face death with equanimity. Before his death, he said to his neighbors, “After I die, dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of Wujing, so that I can watch the Yue army enter the city and destroy Wu.” Then he committed suicide. King Fuchai was furious when he heard this, and ordered Zixu’s body to be taken, wrapped in leather, and thrown into the river on May 5th. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also the day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

Dragon Festival

This theory comes from Wen Yiduo’s “A Study of the Dragon Boat Festival” and “A Historical Education of the Dragon Boat Festival.” He believed that the fifth day of the fifth lunar month was the day when the “dragon” tribes in the ancient Wu and Yue regions held totem sacrifices. His main reasons are: (1) The two main activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, eating zongzi and dragon boat races, are both related to dragons. Zongzi thrown into the water are often stolen by dragons, while dragon boats are used for dragon boat races. (2) Dragon boat races are particularly closely related to the ancient Wu and Yue regions, and the people of Wu and Yue also had the custom of cutting their hair and tattooing themselves “to resemble dragon sons.” (3) On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, there was a folk custom of tying “five-colored silk” on the arms, which may be a relic of the custom of tattooing “to resemble dragon sons.”

Evil Day

In the pre-Qin era, the fifth month was widely believed to be a poisonous month, and the fifth day was considered an unlucky day. Legend has it that evil prevailed on this day, and the five poisonous creatures emerged. According to the Book of Rites, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the Zhou Dynasty practice of bathing with orchids. The “Midsummer Records” chapter of the Lüshi Chunqiu stipulates abstinence and fasting during the fifth month. The “Xia Xiaozheng” notes, “On this day, herbs are collected to dispel poisonous gases.” The “Da Dai Li” records that “orchids are collected for bathing on the fifth day of the fifth month.” Bathing to ward off evil spirits also led to the belief that the Double Fifth Festival was a day of death. The “Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of Mengchangjun” records that the famous historical figure Mengchangjun was born on the fifth day of the fifth month. His father urged his mother not to give birth to him, believing that “a child born in the fifth month will grow taller than the household, bringing harm to both parents.” An excerpt from the “Fengsu Tong” states, “It is said that a child born on the fifth day of the fifth month will harm the father if it is a boy, and the mother if it is a girl.” Wang Chong, author of Lun Heng, also noted: “It is taboo to raise children born in the first and fifth months of the lunar year; children born in the first and fifth months of the lunar year will kill their father and mother, so raising them is forbidden.” The Eastern Jin Dynasty general Wang Zhen’e was born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and his grandfather named him “Zhen’e.” Song Huizong Zhao Ji was born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and was fostered outside the palace from an early age. This shows that the ancient practice of viewing the fifth day of the fifth lunar month as an unlucky day was widespread. This suggests that from the pre-Qin period onwards, this day was considered unlucky. Therefore, it was natural to plant calamus and mugwort to ward off evil spirits, to fumigate with atractylodes and angelica root, and to drink realgar wine to ward off epidemics. People also avoided the taboo of “Duanwu” (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), calling it “Duanwu” (the Dragon Boat Festival).

Summer Solstice

Liu Deqian, who holds this view, offers three main reasons in his articles “Another Theory on the Origin of the Dragon Boat Festival” and “Interesting Talks on Traditional Chinese Festivals”: (1) The authoritative treatise on seasonal events, “Jingchu Sui Shi Ji,” does not mention the custom of eating zongzi on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, but instead includes it during the Summer Solstice. As for dragon boat racing, “Yuzhu Baodian,” written by Du Taiqing during the Sui Dynasty, includes it in the recreational activities of the Summer Solstice, suggesting it wasn’t necessarily intended to salvage the great poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the river. (2) Some Dragon Boat Festival customs, such as “stepping on hundreds of herbs,” “fighting hundreds of herbs,” and “collecting various herbs,” are actually unrelated to Qu Yuan. (3) The first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival in “Sui Shi Feng Wu Hua Ji Li” is: “The sun is at its highest point in the sun, and the time is midsummer.” Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival can also be called the Mid-Heaven Festival. Therefore, the earliest origin of the Dragon Boat Festival must be the Summer Solstice. Various theories have emerged, but the theory that it commemorates Qu Yuan is the most widely held. Because of Qu Yuan’s outstanding personality and artistic talent, people are willing to attribute this commemoration to him.

Commemorating the poetess Qiu Jin

Qiu Jin, courtesy name Ruiqing Jingxiong, also known as the Jianhu Heroine and nicknamed Yugu, was a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. From a young age, she excelled in poetry, lyrics, songs, and prose, and enjoyed horseback riding and fencing. She was often called the “living equivalent” of Hua Mulan and Qin Liangyu. At the age of 28, she joined the revolution and had a profound influence. While planning an uprising, she was captured by Qing troops but remained unyielding until her death, heroically executed at Xuanhengkou in Shaoxing on June 5, 1902. To honor her poetry and mourn her bravery, later generations combined her commemoration with Poets’ Day, which in turn commemorates the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, known as the Dragon Boat Festival.

Dragon Boat Festival is the festival of the sun

The Dragon Boat Festival is a festival dedicated to the sun. China also has a moon festival, Mid-Autumn Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival, celebrated at noon, is a festival dedicated to exorcising evil spirits. The sun can ward off evil, after all. This festival actually existed before Qu Yuan’s suicide by drowning. It symbolized a battle totem, a march against evil, with mugwort serving as a sword. China is filled with stories about the Dragon Boat Festival, such as the flooding of Jinshan Mountain and White Snake drinking realgar wine. It’s a long-standing folk festival. Qu Yuan chose to sacrifice his life on the Dragon Boat Festival, elevating its humanistic spirit. Originally a festival dedicated to upholding justice, it expressed dragon totem worship and stemmed from people’s fear of nature. However, Qu Yuan imbued the festival with new meaning. “Li Sao” is a masterpiece of poetry, “Without the bitterness of wandering by the lake, how could I have written such a masterpiece?” This ancient folk custom has gained new meaning thanks to Qu Yuan. Today, we value a harmonious society, and every battle is for harmony. The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival for the Han Chinese. Essential activities on this day have gradually evolved into eating rice dumplings (zongzi), dragon boat racing, hanging calamus, mugwort, and wormwood, fumigating with atractylodes and angelica, and drinking realgar wine. It is said that eating rice dumplings and dragon boat racing were to commemorate Qu Yuan, so after the liberation, the Dragon Boat Festival was named “Poet’s Day” in his honor.