The Fourth Yangtze River Gorges International Dragon Boat Rally
opened on Sunday in Yichang city in central China's Hubei
Province to honor Qu Yuan, an ancient Chinese poet and patriot
who committed suicide more than 2000 years ago.
The festivities are taking place in Zigui county of Yichang
city, Qu Yuan's hometown.
Twenty teams are taking part in the contest, which included a
500-meter sprint on Sunday, and a 35-kilometer rally on Monday.
Yichang is a city with a population of 546,000 that lies in the
middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and is the site of the Ge Zhou
Ba and the Three Gorges Dam hydrogen power projects in the western
mountain area of Hubei. This is the third time since 1992 that
Yichang is hosting the boat rally.
The rally is recognized by the International Dragon Boat
Federation as a standard contest.
Qu Yuan, one of China's most famous poets, committed suicide in
the Miluo River in Zigui, after discovering that the kingdom he
served was to be conquered in 278 BC. He is revered as a patriot by
the Chinese people and was listed by the World Peace Council as a
world cultural celebrity in 1953.
Qu Yuan's poems such as Li Sao and Jiu Ge were
first introduced overseas about 153 years ago in the German
language.
It is believed that the traditional Chinese festival, duanwujie,
came about to commemorate Qu Yuan's death anniversary.
Duanwujie falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the
Chinese lunar calendar, typically sometime in mid June. This year,
the festival falls on June 11.
On duanwujie, glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves,
or zongzi, are thrown into the river. Legend has it that it was to
prevent the fish in the river from eating Qu Yuan. Dragon boat
contests are also a main feature of duanwujie
celebrations.?
(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2005)
