Happy Dragon Boat Festival

This Chinese festival commemorates the life of the famous Chinese scholar and poet Qu Yuan, who was a loyal minister of the State of Chu in the third century BCE. Qu Yuan’s wisdom and intellect antagonized several court officials, and so they falsely accused him of treason and as a result he was exiled by the king.  During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry expressing his sorry and pain.  In despair, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Mìluójiāng river.  It is said that the local people, who admired Qu Yuan greatly, raced out in boats to save him, or at least to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of the Dragon Boat Race.  When his body could not be found, they dropped wrapped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat these instead of Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of Zongzi.  This fascinating and tragic story of loyalty, betrayal, and redemption live on through the commemoration of the Dragon Boat Festival each year.

Students from Grades 4 and 5 had the opportunity to learn more about the history of the festival, presented by Martin Challenor, the Overseas Communications Officer at Ningbo Focus. He commented that,"I was so pleased to speak about the Dragon Boat Festival with some of the young people from the school. They were interested and I liked the way they particiapted in the discussion. What stood out for me, however, was their artwork. There were several inspired drawings. " 

Together, students read the story of Qu Yuan, asked questions, and discussed the origins of zongzi! Afterwards, they were given some time to get creative and draw their own interpretation about the history of the Dragon Boat Festival. To end this learning activity, students made their own fragrant sachets! Everyone received a tiny silk bag and filled them with the Chinese herbs: orange peel, lavender, and wormwood.