Duanwu Festival
| 端午节 Duanwu Festival |
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 Hong Kong Discovery Bay's dragon boat races |
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| Official name | Duanwu Festival (端午节) Tuen Ng Festival (端午節) |
| Also called | Double Fifth (雙五節) Dragon Boat Festival (龍舟節) Gō͘-go̍eh-cheh/Gō͘-ge̍h-choeh (五月節) Gō͘-ji̍t-cheh/Gō͘-ji̍t-choeh (五日節) |
| Observed by | Chinese |
| Type | Cultural |
| Date | 5th day of the 5th lunar month |
| 2012 date | June 23 |
| 2013 date | June 12 |
| Observances | Dragon boat racing, consumption of xionghuangjiu and zongzi |
| Related to | Children's Day, Dano, Tết Đoan Ngọ, Yukka Nu Hii |
| Duanwu Festival | |||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 端午節 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 端午节 | ||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 龍船節 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 龙船节 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Dragon Boat Festival | ||||||||||||||
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Duanwu Festival, also known as Dragon Boat Festival and the Double Fifth, is a traditional and statutory holiday originating in China and associated with a number of East Asian and Southeast Asian societies. In Mandarin, it is known as Duānwǔ Jié; in Hong Kong and Macau, by the Cantonese name Tuen Ng Festival; in Hokkien-speaking areas like in Malaysia and in Singapore, by the names Gō͘-go̍eh-cheh/Gō͘-ge̍h-choeh (五月節) and Gō͘-ji̍t-cheh/Gō͘-ji̍t-choeh (五日節). In 2008, it was recognised as a public holiday in mainland China for the first time since the 1940s.[1][2] The festival has also long been celebrated in Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Equivalent and related festivals in Asia include the Tango no Sekku in Japan, Dano in Korea, and Tết Đoan Ngọ in Vietnam.
The festival occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunisolar Chinese calendar. This is the source of the alternative name of Double Fifth.[3] The date varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. In 2011, this fell on June 6 and in 2012 on June 23. In 2013, it's on June 12th. The focus of the celebrations includes eating rice dumplings zongzi,[4] drinking realgar wine xionghuangjiu (雄黃酒), and racing dragon boats.
The sun is considered to be at its strongest around the time of summer solstice ("mid-summer" in traditional East Asia) when the daylight in the northern hemisphere is the longest. The sun, like the Chinese dragon, traditionally represents masculine energy, whereas the moon, like the phoenix, traditionally represents feminine energy. The summer solstice is considered the peak annual moment of male energy[5] while the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, represents the peak annual moment of feminine energy. The masculine image of the dragon is thus naturally associated with Duanwu.
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History[edit]
Origin[edit]
The Duanwu Festival is believed to have originated in ancient China. A number of theories exist about its origins as a number of folk traditions and explanatory myths are connected to its observance. Today the best known of these relates to the suicide in 278 BCE of Qu Yuan, poet and statesman of the Chu kingdom during the Warring States period.
Qu Yuan[edit]
The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BCE) of the ancient state of Chu during the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty.[6] A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance; he was accused of treason.[6] During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin captured Ying, the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
It is said that the local people, who admired him, dropped sticky rice triangles wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river to feed the fish. The rice was wrapped so that fish would not eat Qu Yuan's body and eat the rice instead.[6] This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.
Wu Zixu[edit]
Despite the modern popularity of the Qu Yuan origin theory, in the former territory of the state of Wu, the festival commemorated Wu Zixu (died 484 BCE). Wu Zixu was a loyal advisor whose advice was ignored by the king to the detriment of the kingdom. Wu Zixu was forced to commit suicide by the king Fuchai, with his body thrown into the river on the fifth day of the fifth month. After his death, in places such as Suzhou, Wu Zixu is remembered during the Duanwu Festival to this day.
Cao E[edit]
Although the Qu Yuan origin theory is the most popular, much of Northeastern Zhejiang (Shaoxing, Ningbo and Zhoushan) commemorates Cao E (曹娥) (130–143 CE) rather than Qu Yuan. Cao E's father Cao Xu (曹盱) was a shaman who presided over local ceremonies in Shangyu in Zhejiang province. In 143 CE, while presiding over a ceremony commemorating Wu Zixu during the Duanwu Festival, Cao Xu accidentally falls into the river. Cao E, in an act of filial piety, decided to find her father in the river, searching for three days trying to find him. After five days, she and her father were both found dead in the river from drowning. Eight years later, in 151 CE, a temple was built in Shangyu dedicated to the memory of Cao E and her sacrifice for filial piety. To this day, a tributary of the Qiantang River is named after Cao E.
Pre-existing holiday[edit]
Some modern researchers[who?] suggest that the stories of Qu Yuan or Wu Zixu were superimposed on a pre-existing holiday tradition.[clarification needed] The promotion of these stories over the earlier lore of the holiday seems to have been encouraged by Confucian scholars, seeking to legitimize and strengthen their influence at a time when other belief systems were seen as gaining influence in China.[when?]
The deaths (and lives) of both Qu Yuan and Wu Zixu were recorded in Sima Qian's Shiji, completed 187 and 393 years after the events, respectively. While Sima Qian gave high praise to both characters, there is no evidence showing any link between the historic account of these characters in Shiji and the popularity of the festival in their names.
Many traditional rituals[clarification needed] of the Duanwu Festival emphasize the avoidance of disease. The desire to prevent health hazards associated with the mid-summer months may have been the primary original motive behind the holiday.[according to whom?]
Another theory, advanced by Wen Yiduo, is that the Duanwu Festival had its origins in dragon worship. Support is drawn from two key traditions of the festival: the tradition of zongzi, or throwing food into the river, and dragon boat racing. The food may have originally represented an offering to the dragon king, while dragon boat racing naturally reflects reverence of the dragon and the active yang energy associated with it. This combines with the tradition of visiting friends and family on boats.
Another suggestion[by whom?] is that the festival celebrates a widespread feature of east Asian agrarian societies: the harvest of winter wheat. Offerings were regularly made to deities and spirits at such times: in the ancient Yue, dragon kings; in the ancient Chu, Qu Yuan; in the ancient Wu, Wu Zixu (as a river god); in ancient Korea, mountain gods (see Dano (Korean festival)). As interactions between different regions increased, these similar festivals eventually merged into one holiday.
Public holiday[edit]
The festival was long marked as a festival culturally in China and is a public holiday in Hong Kong. However, the People's Republic of China government, established in 1949, did not officially recognize Duanwu as a public holiday. Beginning in 2005, the government began to plan for the re-recognition of three traditional holidays, including Duanwu.[7] Since 2008, Duanwu has been celebrated not only as a festival but also a public holiday in the People's Republic of China.[8]
Activities[edit]
Three of the most widespread activities for Duanwu Festival are eating (and preparing) zongzi, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.[9]
Other common activities include hanging up icons of Zhong Kui (a mythic guardian figure), hanging mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, and wearing perfumed medicine bags. Other traditional activities include a game of making an egg stand at noon (this "game" is one that if you make the egg stand at exactly 12.00 noon you will have luck for the next year), and writing spells. All of these activities, together with the drinking of realgar wine, were regarded by the ancients as effective in preventing disease or evil and promoting health and well-being.
In the Republic of China, Duanwu was also celebrated as "Poets' Day," due to Qu Yuan's status as China's first poet of well renown. In modern Taiwan, zongzi are no longer thrown into rivers, but people still eat them as a holiday tradition and testament to Qu Yuan's self-determination.
Culture[edit]
The holiday is commemorated in a solo piano work, "Dragon Boat Festival" (龍舟競渡, 1996) by Taiwanese composer Tyzen Hsiao.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Decree of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (No.513) 2008. (Index entry, State Council Gazette Issue 2 Serial No. 1253)
- ^ "Chinese mark first "official" Qingming". English.gov.cn. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
- ^ Double Fifth (Dragon Boat) Festival for the name "Double Fifth"
- ^ Duanwu Festival is also known as 肉粽節 (Bah-chàng-cheh or Bah-chàng-choeh), literally "meat rice dumpling festival" in Hokkien.
- ^ Chan, Arlene; Humphries, Susan (2009-05-25). Paddles Up!: Dragon Boat Racing in Canada. Dundurn Press Ltd. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-55488-395-0. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ a b c SCMP. "SCMP." Earthquake and floods make for muted festival. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.[dead link]
- ^ People's Daily. "Peopledaily." China to revive traditional festivals to boost traditional culture. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
- ^ Xinhua Net. "First day-off for China's Dragon Boat Festival helps revive tradition." Xinhua News Agency. Published 2008-06-08. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
- ^ "Dragon Boat Festival". China Internet Information Center. Retrieved on 2013-06-12.
External links[edit]
- Dragon Boat Festival on the official Hong Kong tourism website
- More pictures of Dragon Boat Festival
- Dragon Boat World Int. - the world's dragon boat magazine
- History, Tradition and Legends of Dragon Boat Festival
- - Dragon Boat Festival on the China Internet Information Center website
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