12 Dragon Boat Festival Facts: Honoring Patriotism and Banishing Pests
Interesting Chinese Dragon Boat Festival facts, origins, and customs.
Duanwu Jie—The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival
The most important summer festival for the Chinese, the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Jie (端午节), continues to be celebrated by Chinese communities worldwide each year.
In modern times, the signature activity of the festival, dragon boating, has also taken the global sporting scene by storm. Dragon boating regattas are nowadays hosted worldwide and throughout the calendar year. This, in turn, gave rise to the popular English name of the festival.
If you’re new to this vibrant and colorful festival, here are the most important origin stories, festive customs, and facts to know. And if you’re reading because celebrations are near, duanwu jie kuai le (端午节快乐)!
May you enjoy good health and be free of pesky bugs. May you have a great time feasting on yummy glutinous rice dumplings with family and friends too.
* All photos below by The Scribbling Geek unless otherwise indicated.
1. “Duanwu Jie” Means the Festival of the Beginning of the Fifth Month
The Dragon Boat Festival has many Chinese names but is most commonly referred to as Duanwu Jie. (In Hong Kong, this is written as Tuen Ng) Chinese characters-wise, duan (端) means “beginning,” while wu (午) means “noon.” Combined, the name seemingly means the “beginning of noon/summer.”
This interpretation is, however, partly erroneous. Under the Chinese Earthly Stem calendar system, the same wu character refers to the fifth lunar month too. Thus, Duanwu could also mean means the “beginning of the fifth month.”
Furthermore, wu is a homonym for wu (五), the latter character meaning “five.” As the festival is always celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, some historians believe the festival was originally called 端五 (same pronunciation). Over time, the name morphed into its modern form.
Lastly, Duanwu Jie is sometimes also called the Chinese Dumpling Festival. This is because of the sticky rice dumplings associated with the festival. In Chinese, these dumplings are known as zongzi (粽子).
Is It a Horse or a Dragon?
Under the Earthly Stem calendar system, wu (午) can also be a poetic reference to “horse.” This, unfortunately, then creates confusion within the same system, as there is also a poetic word for “dragon.” Non-Chinese familiar only with the English name of the festival will especially be baffled.
Fun Fact: The Dragon Boat Festival is the most important Chinese summer festival.
2. The Dragon Boat Festival Is One of the Four Most Important Chinese Festivals
The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four most important Chinese traditional festivals, the other three being Chinese New Year, the Qingming Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival. As the festival is the only one happening within the summer months, it could also be considered the most important summer festive celebration for the Chinese.
3. The Festival Was Originally a Ritual to Banish Insects and Gods of Plague
In Ancient China, the fifth lunar month, particularly the fifth day, was regarded as exceptionally terrible. It was believed that these were the dates when insects and diseases would start overwhelming the world, and when plague gods would descend on Earth.
Ancient Chinese communities, therefore, displayed drawings of gods during the fifth lunar month to banish illnesses. Some communities would also hang insect/evil banishing herbs like Artemisia (wormwood) and Calamus around their homes.
There were even the practices of drawing the Chinese five venomous creatures, sticking these on walls, and putting pins onto the illustrations. To put it in another way, the “festival” originally has nothing at all to do with dragon boating.
In fact, it wasn’t even a festival. It was more of an annual, fearful ritual. One done in desperate hopes of good health.
It’s Not All Superstition
The fifth lunar month marks the start of the warmest days in the Northern Hemisphere, i.e., summer. Scientifically, summer is known to be the favorite season of insects.
Statue of the patriotic Qu Yuan in Singapore. The poet-politician is associated with many things in Chinese culture but most famously with the Dragon Boat Festival.
4. The Dragon Boat Festival Commemorates the Death of Patriotic Poet, Qu Yuan
For modern generations, Duanwu Jie is most famously associated with Qu Yuan (屈原), a poet-politician of the State of Chu during China’s Warring States Era.
So the story goes, the wise and patriotic Qu was aghast at the decision of his sovereign to ally with the expansionistic State of Qin. His protests then resulted in him being accused of treason and banished from Chu.
Years later, when Qin conquered the Chu capital, the heartbroken Qu Yuan killed himself by leaping into the Miluo River. On learning of the suicide, the surrounding country folk paddled out in boats to retrieve his body, and when unsuccessful, dropped balls of glutinous rice into the river to discourage fish from eating Qu Yuan’s body.
Over time, this legend gave rise to the customs most associated with the Dragon Boat Festival today. Specifically: dragon boating and the making and eating of rice dumplings (zongji) during the month of Duanwu Jie.
5. Qu Yuan Is Not the Only Folkloric Chinese Hero Commemorated by the Festival
While most famous, Qu Yuan is not the only Chinese folkloric hero associated with the Dragon Boat Festival.
In the Suzhou region, the festival commemorates the death of Wu Zixu (伍子胥). A general of the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period, the fiercely loyal and outspoken Wu was executed by his king after he harshly warned the unwise sovereign about the impending threat of the neighboring Yue State.
Elsewhere in Northern Zhejiang, the festival commemorates Cao E (曹娥). The filial daughter of a shaman, the teenager died after unsuccessfully searching for her father in the Shun River; her dad had fallen into it. After both bodies were found, a temple was built in her memory. The Shun River was also renamed the Cao E River in her memory.
6. Some Chinese Historians Debate the Historical Associations
Chinese historians such as pre-modern author Wen Yiduo (闻一多) debate the association of Qu Yuan with the Dragon Boat Festival. Wen highlighted that Duanwu Jie was already an important commemoration day in the State of Wu before Qu Yuan’s time.
Other historians posited that the act of “dragon boating” and dropping rice balls/dumplings into rivers might have originated as prayer rituals for a plentiful harvest. Zhejiang is today located where the historical States of Wu and Yue were. The people of these ancient states also regarded themselves as the descendants of dragons. Both acts could thus be parts of an annual prayer ritual for good weather and plentiful harvests.
The same historians moreover theorize that over time, people began visiting friends and relatives with canoes during Duanwu Jie. (Zhejiang province is full of rivers) They even held festive canoe races. These practices possibly gave rise to the modern associations we are familiar with today.
Today, dragon boating is a popular sport throughout the world, with many non-Chinese countries having their own national teams.
7. Dragon Boating Did Not Originate From This Festival
Further to the Dragon Boat Festival origins debate mentioned above, dragon boating in its modern form did not originate from Duanwu Jie. Instead, the sport began as an annual competition between contending villagers in Guangdong. Guangdong is located thousands of miles from the above-mentioned Zhejiang.
Historians, sinologists, and anthropologists also believe that the sport began over two and half millennia ago, with the races themselves an important part of Chinese celebrations of the summer solstice. In turn, the races being typically held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month led to their current association with Duanwu Jie.
Yummy Chinese zongzi, or filled glutinous rice dumpling, wrapped and unwrapped.
Meaty filling within a zongzi.
8. Zongzi: The Signature Dragon Boat Festival Rice Dumpling
All important Chinese festivals have associated festive foods. For the Dragon Boat Festival, this would be zongzi (粽子), i.e., pyramid-like or oval-shaped sticky glutinous rice dumplings with fillings, wrapped with flat leaves before steamed or boiled.
As highlighted above, zongzi are said to have originated as rice dumplings desperately thrown into the Miluo River to prevent fish from eating Qu Yuan’s body. Whether or not this is true, classic Chinese annals and compilations from the Han Dynasty onwards contain numerous mentions of the food, although it is usually referred to with alternate names.
Jump forth to modern times, zongzi are eaten and sold throughout the Chinese-speaking world, and not just during the Dragon Boat Festival. Expectedly, there are nowadays significant regional variations too.
To give some examples, the Jianshui zong (碱水粽) is intended as a dessert item and is filled with sweet paste. In contrast, the Guangdong zong (广东粽), i.e., Cantonese version is salty and looks more like a wedge.
In Singapore and Malaysia, the popular Nyonya zong (娘惹粽) has a stronger taste of spice thanks to the inclusion of ingredients like coriander seeds.
The popularity of these rice dumplings and their “historical” origin also led to the Dragon Boat Festival being called the Chinese Dumpling Festival in Non-Chinese publications.
9. The Festival Goes by Many Other Chinese Names
Given the many different “origins” of the Dragon Boat Festival, there are different names for it in the Chinese language.
Examples
- Duanyang Jie (端阳节): The festival of the beginning of the sun.
- Wu Ri Jie (五日節): The festival of the fifth day.
- Tianzong Jie (天中節): The festival of the middle of the sky. A metaphor for the noon sun.
- Zongzi Jie (粽子節): A colloquial name derived from the custom of eating zongzi.
- Longzhou Jie (龙舟节): This is a direct translation of the English name.
10. Apart From Dragon Boating and Eating Zongzi, There Are Other Festive Activities
Other than boat races and the eating of rice dumplings, many other rituals and customs are associated with the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, the making and wearing sachets of insect-repelling herbs.
In Taiwan, there is also the unusual practice of “balancing” an egg at the stroke of noon. Known as li dan (立蛋), doing so is believed to secure good fortune.
Elsewhere in rural Taiwanese communities, clean well water known as wu shi shui (午时水) would be drawn and drunk at noon. Doing so is said to be good for health. Clean water drawn from wells at this hour is also believed to be the strongest in yang, i.e., positive energy, with the practice mentioned as early as the Song Dynasty.
Lastly, Realgar wine was previously widely drunk and sprayed around homes on Duanwu Jie, with the concoction itself made by dissolving Realgar (arsenic sulfide) in Chinese yellow wine. Believed to be an effective insect repellent as well as capable of neutralizing poisons, children too young to ingest alcohol would have words written on their foreheads using the wine.
In modern times, though, medical concerns over the toxicity of Realgar wine resulted in the practice now being under intense scrutiny.
Classic illustration of Xu Xian seeing the true form of his beloved wife. The episode is known as Duan Wu Jing Bian (端午惊变) in Chinese opera. The title translates to “a shocking change on Duan Wu.”
11. Realgar Wine Is Indeed Deadly to Snakes!
Serving Realgar Wine during the Dragon Boat Festival was a key plot device in some versions of the classic Chinese myth, Madam White Snake.
Unable to convince the story's protagonist, i.e., Xu Xian that his wife is a snake spirit, the exorcist monk Fa Hai implored Xu to serve a glass of Realgar wine to her on Duanwu Jie. Should she not be human, she would be forced to reveal her true form.
Believing that the wine would do his wife no harm, as it was commonly drunk, Xu Xian agreed and did as told. As Fa Hai predicted, Madam White was able to resist the wine but for a few hours and soon reverted to her serpentine form. The horrific spectacle resulted in Xu Xian dying from shock. The quest to revive her husband then set in motion the next story arc of the legend.
Rice Dumplings on sale in a supermarket. This picture was taken two weeks before the Dragon Boat Festival
12. Other East and Southeast Asian Countries Also Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival is currently a public holiday in the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, Macau SAR, and Hong Kong SAR. For the PRC, though, it was only re-introduced as a public holiday in 2008 as part of efforts to revive traditional culture.
Other Asian countries with significant Chinese populations such as Malaysia and Singapore also celebrate the festival, although it is not designated a public holiday. In Singapore, for example, many Chinese households continue to prepare zongzi around the festive date. Related festive events such as dumplings exhibitions will also be held.
Finally, countries such as Japan and Korea have their own versions of the festival. In Japan, the fifth of May is Children’s Day, and families with children would fly colorful flags of carp for good health. In Korea, prayers would be conducted together with the hosting of traditional wrestling matches.
Appendix: A Visual Guide to Types of Zongzi, i.e., Chinese Glutinous Rice Dumplings
As with the case of mooncakes, Zongzi are big business in the world of Chinese festive foods. Here’s a quick look at the many types sold today. Note too that Zongzi are called “bak zhang” in the Teochew Chinese dialect and they go by this name in some parts of China and Southeast Asia.
Further Reading
- From Warm to Swarm: Why Insect Activity Increases in Summer
As ectothermic creatures, an increase in environmental temperatures will typically correlate with an increase in insect activities. - How People Spend Dragon Boat Festival in South Korea and Japan
Influenced by Chinese culture, South Korea, Japan and other countries in Southeast Asia developed their own version of the festival, along with some unique customs. - Everything You Need to Know about Duan Wu Jie in Taiwan
A summary of the festive customs in Taiwan. - The Legend Behind Zongzi
Zongzi, a traditional Chinese food, is made of sticky rice stuffed with special fillings and wrapped up in Argy-wormwood leaves. - Zongzi - How to Make Zongzi
How to make your own Chinese zongzi.
© 2021 Ced Yong
