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Tuesday, May 30, 2006
DRAGON BOATS: REPRESSING HISTORY IN CHINA  It is the fifth day of the fith lunar month and time for the Dragon Boats! The Dragon Boat Festival dates back hundreds of years. It is a commemoration of the poet Qu Yuan (Fourth Century BC) in China. Tens of thousands will gather near my home to watch them race down the Pearl River. One sour note today: Sadly, in some parts of China, the local party leaders have destroyed some dragon boats as they are fearful of the consequences: such large gatherings might cause civil unrest. In one city the tradition was banned entirely. This cherished, popular cultural celebration has some rural villagers a bit peeved. They want their children to know and enjoy dragon boat racing. Officals physically cut the boats in half and then compensated villagers from $100-300 USD (depending on the age of the boat) for the loss. This is ironic because while in exile the poet Qu Yuan spent much of this time collecting legends and re-writing folk poetry while travelling the countryside, producing some of the greatest original poetry in Chinese literature. His poetry expressed a deep love for China and a deep concern for its future. According to Wikipedia: "In 278 BC, learning of the capture of his country's capital, Ying, by General Bai Qi of the state of Qin, Qu Yuan is said to have written the lengthy poem of lamentation called "Lament for Ying" and later to have waded into the Miluo river in today's Hunan Province holding a great rock in order to commit ritual suicide as a form of protest against the corruption of the era. Local people, learning of his suicide, rushed out in their fishing boats to the middle of the river and desperately tried to save him, but were unsuccessful. In order to keep fish and evil spirits away from his body, they beat drums and splashed the water with their paddles. They threw rice into the water as a food offering to Qu Yuan and to distract the fish away from his body. However, late one night, the spirit of Qu Yuan appeared before his friends and told them that the rice meant for him was being intercepted by a huge river dragon. He asked his friends to wrap their rice into three-cornered silk packages to ward off the dragon. These packages became a traditional food known as zongzi, although the lumps of rice are now wrapped in bamboo leaves instead of silk. The act of racing to search for his body in boats gradually became the cultural tradition of dragon boat racing, which is held on the anniversary of his death every year." If the daily rains of late hold back the Guangzhou festival still seems intact and uninfluenced. I will be on the banks of the Pearl River, a block from my house, watching. China Asia Blogging China Blogs China Blog Blogging Lonnie Hodge Humor Chinese South China Guangzhou Expats Expats Guangzhou Travel Guangzhou Pearl River Dragon Boats China Festivals Censorship Blogger News Network is advertiser-supported, and your visits to our advertisers help BNN to meet its expenses. Help keep us afloat! posted by Lonnie at 10:54 PM |
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