More than 2,000 Shanghai middle school students gathered at a
suburban water town yesterday for the annual festival commemorating
the ancient poet-patriot Qu Yuan and the dragon boat tradition his
death inspired.
Dressed in old-style Chinese gowns and waving banners, the
students carefully followed the protocol recorded in China's
history books. They burned incense, toasted with wine, ate zongzi
-- sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves -- and recited poems and
bowed in front of a statue of Qu.
The gathering, in Minhang District's Qibao Town, attracted
students from more than 100 schools.
They watched the performances, competed in zongzi wrapping
contests, solved riddles and raced dragon boats during the half-day
event.
"The process helped students learn more about our traditional
cultural festival, which is gradually losing popularity among young
people," said Lu Jichun, headmaster of the No. 1 High School
affiliated with East China Normal University.
The central subject of the festival Qu was a famous poet and
well-liked official of the Chu Kingdom who drowned himself in the
Miluo River in today's Hunan Province after the king refused to
follow his advice on important military matters.
People saddened by Qu's death tossed zongzi into the river and
patrolled in boats shaped like powerful dragons in hopes of scaring
the fish away from Qu's body.
In today's China, many youngsters are more familiar with Western
festivals such as Christmas and Valentine's Day than with history
behind the Dragon Boat Festival.
"I heard about Qu Yuan and know that we should eat zongzi during
the festival. But I don't know how the two are connected," said Ge
Jiaqi, a 16-year-old Qibao Middle School student.
The apparent lack of knowledge has concerned some historians.
Last year, South Korea applied to the United Nations to list its
version of the Dragon Boat Festival as an intangible cultural
heritage.
"The application by a foreign country was an alert for all
Chinese people," said Yao Quanying, an official with the non-profit
group that organized the Qibao event. "We have the responsibility
to pass on our folk tradition and protect our festivals."
(Shanghai Daily June 2, 2006)