Ｄｒａｇｏｎ　Ｂｏａｔ　Ｆｅｓｔｉｖａｌ.docVIP

Ｄｒａｇｏｎ　Ｂｏａｔ　Ｆｅｓｔｉｖａｌ 　　 　　Dragon Boat Festival is called Duan Wu Jie in Chinese. Jie means festival. The festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and together with Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival forms one of the three major Chinese holidays. 　　Of all the major holidays celebrated in China, Dragon Boat Festival has the longest history. The most popular theory of the origin of the festival is that it was derived from the activities of commemorating a great patriot poet, Qu Yuan. The story about Qu Yuan has been deeply rooted in Chinese culture and this festival, so it is definitely a very important factor for the origin of the festival. 　　Qu Yuan served in the court of Emperor Huai during the Warring States (475 - 221 BC). A wise and articulate man, he was loved by the common people. His ability and fight against corruption antagonized other court officials. They exerted their evil influence on the Emperor, so the Emperor gradually dismissed Qu Yuan and eventually exiled him. During his exile, Qu Yuan did not give up. He traveled extensively, taught and wrote about his ideas. His works, the Lament (Li Sao), the Nine Chapters (Jiu Zhang), and Wen tian, are masterpieces and invaluable for studying ancient Chinese culture. He saw the gradual decline of his mother country, the Chu State. And when he heard that the Chu State was defeated by the strong Qin State, he was so despaired that he ended his life by flinging himself into the Miluo River. 　　Legend says after people heard he drowned, they were greatly dismayed. Fishermen raced to the spot in their boats to search for his body. But it was all to no avail. In one version of the legend, they began throwing rice on the water as a sacrifice to their dead hero, and to nourish his spirit. One night, the image of Qu Yuan appeared to one of the fisherman in a dream. In the dream, the poet revealed that the fish were eating the rice. He asked that the rice be wrapped in silk to prote