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Written by Administrator
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Sunday, 17 June 2007 |
The Legend of Qu Yuan
Can one man make a difference? In the case of dragon boat racing, the answer is definitely yes. More than 2000 years after his death, the story of Qu Yuan is still remembered and retold.
A highly respected poet-philosopher, Qu Yuan committed suicide by jumping into the Mei Lo River to protest the corrupt regime of a Chou emperor. According to legend, local fishermen, upon seeing their beloved poet's act of courage, raced out with their boats in an attempt to save him. To their dismay, they arrived too late. To prevent his body from being eaten by the fish, they beat the waters furiously with their paddles and threw rice dumplings wrapped in silk into the river to distract the fish away from Qu Yuan's body. |
