"They say, after you wash your hair you should brush your hat; after a bath you should shake your dress. How can a man sully his clean body with the dirt outside? I would rather jump into the river and bury myself in the belly of the fish, than suffer my cleanliness to be sullied by the filth of the world!"

Qu Yuan

A minister and patriotic poet during the Warring States Period in Chinese history (451-221 B.C.)

    On the Chinese calendar, today (May 31st) marks the fifth day of the fifth lunar month which means that today is Duan Wu Jie also known as the Dragon Boat Festival Day.  It is a very ancient holiday which commemorates the life (and death) of the famous Chinese poet / minister / patriotic figure–Qu Yuan.  As the festival name suggests this celebration primarily involves racing boats that look like dragons.  (I am told there are no appropriate bodies of water on which to hold the races here in Xining, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone in this city tried it…)

    As legend has it Qu Yuan was a well-loved minister to the Zhou Emperor. He was very wise and articulate and fought against the rampant corruption that plagued the court.  Because he fought against corruption, he made political enemies and his career was pretty topsy-turvy. When Qu Yuan  urged the emperor to avoid conflict with the Qin Kingdom some antagonistic influential officials pressured the Emperor to have him removed from service. In exile, Qu Yuan traveled, taught and wrote for several years. Hearing that the Zhou had been defeated by the Qin, he fell into despair and threw himself into the Milou River.

    Since Qu Yuan was so popular with the common people, it is said that some fishermen rushed out in long boats beating drums to scare the fish away and throwing "zong zi" (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) into the water so that fish would not eat Qu Yuan’s body.

If you’d like a little more reading about the Dragon Boat Festival and its origins, here’s a link I got some of this information from.  (And here’s another site with more boat pics…)  Here’s some pictures of the "zong zi" that Chinese people still make and eat (even here in Xining!) on Duan Er Jie.  One of my teachers brought some in to class today.  Typically, the sticky rice has either bean curd, meats, egg yolk, dates, or other bits of fruit inside… Kind of interesting, eh?  I think I’ll stick to Rice Krispie treats, but the story behind the custom was very interesting.