China Reader

Author: Su Shuyang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-01-01
Features: On a late spring day over 2,000 years ago (the 37th year of King Xian of Zhou, or 278 BC), the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, a frail, gray-haired old man, in a state of despondency, wandered aimlessly by the banks of the Miluo River. The wind blew, the clouds drifted, and the river surged. He lowered his head, reciting verses, then raised his voice in a long cry, finally throwing a stone into the water and drowning himself. He was the Three Enclosures Minister of the Chu State, the great poet Qu Yuan. Grieving people came from all directions, rowing small boats to search for Qu Yuan’s body and throwing glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo slips into the river as offerings. From then on, every year on this day, people raced boats and ate zongzi to commemorate this great poet who worried about his country and its people, a tradition that has endured for over 2,000 years. The scene of rescuing Qu Yuan and honoring the deceased gradually evolved into a traditional festival of a great nation—the Dragon Boat Festival. The remembrance of a poet, spanning the vastness of time and turmoil, has become a living custom of the entire nation, a rare phenomenon in human history. Qu Yuan’s body was never recovered; he merged into the land and rivers of his homeland, and his character and spirit have become an integral part of the Chinese nation’s identity and ethos. In his immortal lyrical poem Encountering Sorrow, Qu Yuan wrote that he refused to associate with corrupt, foolish kings and treacherous petty men, desiring to drive a chariot drawn by divine steeds to journey far into the heavens, following the noble predecessors. Yet, “Ascending the radiant heights of the sun, I suddenly gazed upon my beloved homeland. My charioteer could not conceal his sorrow, and my old horse crouched in pain, reluctant to move forward.” (When the rising sun shone brilliantly in the heavens, I suddenly glimpsed my beloved homeland from high above. My charioteer could not hide his grief, and my old horse crouched in pain, unwilling to proceed further.) This deep affection for one’s homeland is a sentiment shared by all Chinese people. Let us also drive our celestial chariots and explore the corridors of time, space, appearance, and essence to get to know our motherland, our nation, and let a profound sense of pride rise within us, whispering, “To be Chinese is worth it!”