History & Modern Practice of Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 or Duānwǔjié in pīnyīn) is an official public holiday in Mainland China. This traditional holiday, also called the Double Fifth festival, is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar (called 农历 or nónglì in Chinese).

The use of the lunar calendar to set the festival’s date means that it is celebrated at a different time every year. Generally, the holiday falls anywhere from the end of May to the end of June according to the Gregorian calendar (阳历, yánglì).

What is the history of the Dragon Boat Festival?

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that has been around in various forms for thousands of years. Its current iteration is an amalgamation of multiple different festivals and traditions. Two prevailing stories are often cited to explain the origin of this age-old holiday.

The suicide of Qu Yuan

The suicide of Qu Yuan is a popular story used to explain the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival.

In modern times, the most popular story explaining the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival concerns the death of Qu Yuan (屈原, Qū Yuán), a poet of the Warring States period (approx. 475 to 221 BC).

At the time, it was common for Chinese literati to work in government, and Qu Yuan was no different. He served faithfully as a government official in the State of Chu for some time. After being slandered by another official, however, he was sent into exile.

Qu Yuan spent his exile in a productive manner, writing many works of poetry, but his mind was troubled. The State of Chu was not doing well politically, and news of its various defeats at the hands of competing states sent Qu Yuan into a deep depression.

Eventually, his despair in the face of the political situation drove him to commit suicide by drowning himself in Hunan Province’s Miluo River.

During his time in exile, Qu Yuan had become quite popular with the local people. Legend has it that when they realized he was attempting to drown himself, the citizenry rushed in boats to the middle of the river in an attempt to save him or at least retrieve his body.

Unable to find him and worried that fish would eat his body, they threw balls of sticky rice into the river in hopes that the fish would choose the rice over Qu Yuan.

Avoiding bad luck in the fifth month

Another possible explanation for the origins of the festival is linked to superstitions surrounding the date on which it falls. As noted above, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Double Fifth Festival because it falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month.

Traditionally, the fifth lunar month was considered to be an unlucky time. People in certain regions of China believed that during this month, the dreaded five poisonous animals (五毒, wǔdú), started to come out of their winter hiding places.

Five poisons

In ancient China, the fifth lunar month was associated with the emergence of five types of poisonous animals.

Traditionally, the animals referred to as wǔdú included centipedes, poisonous snakes, scorpions, lizards and toads. To safeguard themselves during this time, ancient people practiced rituals such as poking pictures of the five poisonous animals with pins, which was believed to render their real-life counterparts harmless.

In addition to the threat posed by the reemergence of poisonous animals, it was also believed that people were more prone to falling ill around this time.

Over the years, various traditions emerged to help ensure that people were protected from illness and bad luck during the dreaded Double Fifth. One such tradition that has survived to this day and is still incorporated into modern Dragon Boat Festival celebrations is the custom of hanging mugwort and calamus branches on one’s door to ward off evil spirits.

How do people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival?

The dragon boat festival is a fun, boisterous holiday. In most parts of China, the weather is quite good at this time of year, and people congregate outside on the banks of rivers and lakes to enjoy the fine weather while watching traditional dragon boat races.

Participating in or attending dragon boat races

These days, the most well-known aspect of the Dragon Boat Festival is the tradition of racing dragon boats (赛龙舟, sàilóngzhōu).

Although the Dragon Boat Festival has a long history, it has not always found favor with the Chinese authorities. During the 1960’s, when China was embroiled in the Cultural Revolution, campaigns against traditional culture and customs caused the popularity of traditional festivals, including the Dragon Boat Festival, to decrease dramatically.

In recent years, however, Dragon Boat Festival has regained its traditional place as an important holiday in Mainland China. Thanks to attempts by the Chinese government to promote traditional Chinese culture, the Dragon Boat Festival reemerged as an official public holiday in 2008.

Despite the various ups and downs it has faced over the years, anyone who has the chance to experience the fun and infectious excitement of the Dragon Boat Festival in China will quickly understand why its popularity has endured for many millennia.

Dragon Boat Festival is just one of many fascinating Chinese holidays with roots stretching back into the distant past. If you'd like to learn more about China's many ancient holidays and traditions, you can also explore other traditional holidays like the Qingming Festival and the winter solstice festival.

Learning about these traditional festivals is a fun and interesting way to enrich your understanding of Chinese culture.

(Written by Anne Meredith, Chinese Language Institute)