Popular Chinese Stories 中国传统故事 英文版.docVIP

Popular Chinese Stories The Death of Qū Yuán 屈原 On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the day of the dragon boat festival (Duānwǔ jié 端午节), people eat zòngzi 粽子 (although people also eat them at other times, since they are delicious). The association of zòngzi with this occasion is said to be in memory of the poet Qū Yuán 屈原, an official of the state of Chǔ 楚 during the Warring States Period (period 04e, 200s and 300s BC). The famous warring states included Yān 燕, Qí 齐, Zhào 赵, Wèi 魏, Hán 韩, Chǔ 楚, And Qín 秦, as well as the diminutive Wèi 卫, Dōngzhōu 东周, Sòng 宋, and Lǔ 鲁 (where Confucius lived). Among all these, the state of Qín was by far the most powerful and sought to dominate or absorb the others. (Eventually it succeeded. That’s where the Qín dynasty came from.) Qū Yuán was a scion of an aristocratic family and a trusted counselor at the court of king Huái, 怀), where he was an advocate of close alliances with the other states in the hope of frustrating Qín’s expansionist ambitions. But he was hated by an envious competitor for the kings attention. In the late 280s BC the state of Qín 秦 broke its alliance with Chǔ, and many battles ensued. eventually Qín suggested that the Chǔ monarch go to Qín for peace talks. Qū Yuán counseled against doing so, for he did not trust Qín. But king Huáis son Qǐng Xiāng 楚顷襄 argued in favor of the trip, and king Huái went. As Qū Yuán had predicted, king Huái was arrested, held in exile in Qín for three years, and finally executed. Meanwhile his son Qǐng Xiāng became monarch, and selected Qū Yuáns old enemy as his prime minister, who immediately persuaded him to have Qū Yuán banished. He moved to his old home in what is today northern Húběi 湖北 and spent his time collecting folklore and writing poetry. In 278 BC Qín forces, under the command of the famous general BáI Qǐ 白起, occupied Yǐng 郢, the Chǔ capital (in modern Jiānglíng county 江陵县 in Húběi). Qū Yuán was in despair both at the injustice of his exile and at the loss of his