Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 Lectured by Betsy Hu Xiaoqiong( 胡 晓琼）

Warming up Please watch a clip of video

Three questions: Do you know what people are doing in the video and pictures? Do you know the name of this activity and what it is used for? What kind of atmosphere can you feel if you are in the scene of the activity?

Dragon Boat Racing

Introduction & Explanation The Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese lunar calendar, has had a history of more than 2,000 years. It is usually in June in the Solar calendar.It's a national holiday. This year: June 12th

Birthplace Present-day Hunan and Hubei province

Qu Yuan

Origin of this summer f estival centers around a scholarly government official named Qu Yuan

Qu Yuan He was a good and respected man, but because of the misdeeds of jealous rivals he eventually fell into disfavor in the emperor's court. Unable to regain the respect of the emperor,in hi s sorrow Qu Yuan threw himself into the Mi Luo river.

Qu Yuan temple

Qu Yuan and His Patriotism In the People's Republic of China, Qu Yuan came to be regarded as a prime example of patriotism. His social idealism and unbending patriotism have served as the model for Chinese intellectuals to this day, particularly following the establishment of new China in 1949.

Qu Yuan and his identity as a poet Qu Yuan is regarded as the first author of verse in China to have his name associated to his work, since prior to that time, poetic works were not attributed to any specific authors. He is considered to have initiated the so-called sao style of verse, which is named after his work Li Sao, in which he abandoned the classic four-character verses used in poems of Shi Jing and adopted verses with varying lengths.

The school motto of CTGU is from Qu Yuan's Li Sao " 路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索 " “Although the road is endless and faraway, I still want to pursue the truth in the world”

Zong Zi 粽子 Qu Yuan drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 BC. Since ancient times, Chinese people threw into the water dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves on the day. Therefore the fish would eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned into the custom of eating Zong Zi.

Ingredients: The fillings are more diversified, including jujube and bean paste, fresh meat, and ham and egg yolk.

端午节 19

People will soak glutinous rice, wash reed leaves and wrap up Dumplingsthemselves. Otherwise, they will go to shops to buy whatever stuff they want.

The custom of eating Dumplings is now popular in North and South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian nations.

Dragon Boat Racing An indispensable part of the festival, held all over the country As the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragon- shaped canoes pulling the oars hurriedly, accompanied by rapid drums, speeding toward their destination.

Dragon Boat Racing

Folk tales say the game originates from the activities of seeking Qu Yuan's body.

Other Customs Wearing a perfume pouch Carry the small spice bag around with you, it not only drives away evil spirits but also brings fortune and happiness to those who wear it.

The small bags are hand-made by local craftsmen.

They're made with red, yellow, green and blue silk, fine satin or cotton. Figures of animals, flowers and fruits are often embroidered onto the bags and inside are mixed Chinese herbal medicines.

Five-colour silk thread

Hanging mugwort leaves and calamus Hang mugwort leaves and calamus on the front door. This is also to ward off evil.

Realgar Wine It is a very popular practice to drink this kind of Chinese liquor seasoned with realgar at the Dragon Boat Festival. This is for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year. In one word, all of the activities are to protect themselves from evil and honor the poet Qu Yuan

Summary & Discussion 1. General introduction 2. Qu Yuan 3. Customs

Discussion What's the core value of the spirit of Qu Yuan Is there any historical celebrity who has the same virtue as Qu Yuan has in your own country how do you commemorate him or her in your country ？ What can you learn from Qu Yuan ？

端午节 40 Thank you very much