A Bite of China - Famous Cultural Figures Talk About Famous Snacks

Author: Ma Mingbo, Xiao Yao / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
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The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the commemoration day of the poet Qu Yuan, known as the Dragon Boat Festival. This nation is renowned for its pragmatic nature and lack of fantasy. Yet, this is an exception: this pragmatic people finally set aside one day out of the 365 days in a year to honor a poet. It is said that the poet died on this day and was resurrected on this day, reborn in all the vast lands where smoke rises from kitchens and the aroma of new wheat fills the air. Eating zongzi is an inherent custom of this day. It is said that after the poet drowned in the river, the grief-stricken people on both banks took this protective measure to ensure the river would forever hold the poet's complete body and soul. They threw zongzi into the river to feed the fish, so that the fish would not harm the poet's body. Instead, the grateful fish would escort the poet to roam the rivers, lakes, and seas. This idea and practice are so naive and simple, yet so profound and beautiful. A beautiful and steadfast poet departed, and was beloved by a group of people with the same beauty and steadfastness. Though they knew such attempts to hold him back were futile, people still stubbornly tried to keep him. Faced with the relentless flow of water, the best way people could think of was to forever preserve the poet in their memories. Memory, the memory of a group of people, is also an endless river. Eating zongzi has thus become a commemorative ritual. A nearly religiously deep and lofty longing was made popular, massified, and daily through the act of "eating." I believe this is the extraordinary and endearing quality of our nation, which is far from perfect. It expresses and perpetuates a spiritual reverence in such a and secular way, linking "poetry" with "eating," the spiritual with the secular, and the soul's desire with the body's need. Zongzi has become a totem with a touch of divinity.
A thousand years ago, we ate zongzi while discussing a poet; a thousand years later, people still eat zongzi while discussing a poet. Zongzi is immortal, and so is the poet.
On this day, bundles of mugwort are also hung at the doors of every household. Mugwort is a tall, upright plant with a fresh, noble, and bitter fragrance, a plant often praised in Qu Yuan's poetry, one of the fragrant herbs in the metaphor of "beauty and fragrance." Hanging mugwort on the door is believed to ward off insects and evil spirits. I think its practical use is minimal; it is primarily used to convey the inner longing through the eternal green and fragrance of nature. At the same time, it serves as a symbol of the festival, appropriately honoring the poet while decorating life. And because it is associated with the same poet, its practical use takes on a transcendent meaning: this is the day of the poet's resurrection. The bitter fragrance of mugwort swirls around the doors, permeating life. Even if there are insects that cannot be driven away and evil spirits that cannot be avoided in life, the noble fragrance that lingers in the soul will never dissipate.
P304-305