Forthousandsofyears,thetraditionoftheDuanwuFestivalhasbeenpasseddownfromonegenerationtothenext。ButwherediditcomefromandwhydidpeopleeatZongziandracedragonboats?Manyscholarshavestudiedthesequestionsandgiventheiracademicexplanations。 OneexplanationisthattheDuanwuFestivaloriginatedfrompeople’sworshipofdragons。InancientChina,peoplebelievedthedragonwasthegodinchargeofwater,whichwasvitallyimportanttodailylifeandagriculturalproduction。OnthedayofDuanwu,peopleraceddragonboatstoentertainthegodandofferedhimZongziasatreat。Thesolepurposewastopleasethegodtoensureayearoffavorableweather。 SomepeoplebelieveDuanwucomesfromactivitiesinstigatedbyancientsorcerers。Theseactivitieswereheldinearlysummerwhenthehotweatherwasabouttobringdiseasestopeoplewhodidn’thavemoderndevicesandmedicinestoprotectthemselves。So,ancientsorcerersencouragedpeopletowearfragrantpouchesandhangmugwortandcalamusontheirdoorstodriveawaythesocalledevilspiritsthatcauseddiseases。 ScholarsmayprovidemanyotherexplanationsabouttheoriginoftheDuanwuFestival。Butifyouaskordinarypeopleaboutitsorigin,you’llgetthesameanswer。TheywilltellyouthattheDuanwuFestivalhonorsthegreatpoet,QuYuan。They’llalsotellyouthestorythathasbeenpasseddownformorethan2,000years。 QuYuanwasbornin340BC,duringtheWarringStatesPeriod。Atthattime,thereweresevenstatesstrugglingamongthemselvestounifyChina。Ofthesevenstates,QinwasthestrongestandChuthelargest。 QuYuanwasanobleofChu。Duringhislifetime,thepowerfulkingdomofChufellintoadecline。 Earlyinhislife,QuYuanwontheconfidenceoftheKingofChu,andwashisdeputyprimeminister,helpingdraftlawsanddetermineforeignpolicy。WhenhesawthedangerposedbytheambitiousQinState,heproposedgovernmentreformsandanalliancewiththeneighboringQistateasawaytoensureChu’ssafety。 ButtheKingofChuwassurroundedbyselfseekers,whowerejealousofQuYuan。TheyacceptedbribesfromtheQin’senvoy,dissuadedtheKingfromtakingQuYuan’sadviceandbroughtaboutthepoet’sestrangementfromtheKing。QuYuanwasfinallysentintoexilefor20years。 Duringthosedesperateyears,QuYuanhelplesslywatchedhisbelovedcountrybecomeweakereveryday。Intheyear278BC,thecapitalofChuwasstormedbytroopsfromQin。Ingreatpain,QuYuanwroteLisaoorTheLament,thegreatestofallhispoems。Onthefifthdayofthefifthlunarmonth,hedrownedhimselfintheMiloRiver,becausehewashopelessabouthiscountry’sfuture。 Peoplegrieveforthosewhohavegrievedforthem。Eachyear,duringtheDuanwuFestival,thedayofQuYuan’sdeath,peopleracedragonboatstocommemoratehim。ThisisbelievedtobearepresentationofhowthepeopleofChutried,atthetime,torecoverQuYuan’sbodyfromtheMiloRiver。PyramidshapeddumplingsbythenameofZongziwerethrownintherivertofeedthefish,sotheywouldstayawayfromQuYuan’sbody。 QuYuan’slifewastragicbut,asapoet,heachievedgreatsuccess。Infact,heisconsideredtobethefirstpoetinChineseliterature。Beforehistime,therewereonlyfolksongs。QuYuancreatedanewstyleofpoetry,whichbecameknownasChuCi。