一端午節Dragonboat

Fest ivalJune 16 20109 am to 6 pm

MacRitchie Reservoir

FO

RE

WO

RD

Duanwu Festival is a festival celebrated on the 5th day of

the 5th month of the lunar calendar, by countries with

significant Chinese population such as China, Taiwan,

Hongkong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. There are

equivalent festivals held in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam,

known as Dano, Kodomo no hi, and Tet Đoan Ngo.

The festival is sometimes called Dragon Boat Festival or

Double Fifth.

In 2008, China’s Cabinet, revised the nation’s official

holiday schedule to add three traditional festivals,

“Tomb-Sweeping Day,” “Mid-Autumn Festival”, and

“Dragon Boat Festival”, in response to public demand.

In 2009, China nominated the festival for the UNESCO

list of “Intangible Culture Heritage”.

The highlight of the celebrations includes eating the rice

dumpling zongzi, and racing dragon boats.

0201

源 故

Origin

Co

nt

en

ts

Sto

ry

050403 06 07 08

事 慶 重 思 精 傳

Activ

ities

Celeb

ratio

n

Imp

orta

nce

Co

ncep

t

Essen

ce

Co

ntin

uity

01

Associated with the summer solstice

Purpose of obtaining rain

Harmonizing the yin and the yang

Origin

源

Storyof Qu Yuan

02

故

Qu Yuan was a loyal minister serving the King of Chu

during the Warring States Period. The king highly

favored Qu Yuan, causing other officials to be jealous

of Qu’s wisdom. When the king decided to ally with the

increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished

for opposing the alliance, and was also accused of

trumped-up charges of conspiracy by the jealous court

officials. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the

capital of Chu. In despair, he committed suicide by

drowning himself in the Miluo River, on the fifth day of

the fifth lunar month. The people of Chu rushed to the

river to try to save Qu, knowing that he was a righteous man.

The people desperately searched the waters in their boats

looking for his body but were unsuccessful in their attempt

to rescue him. Every year the Dragon Boat Festival is

celebrated to commemorate this attempt at rescuing him.

03

Eating Rice Dumplings

Racing Dragon BoatsIn contemporary folk tradition, locals scoured the

river for Qu Yuan’s body, beating drums and racing their

boats in the course of their search. Hence dragon boating

became a commemorative activity during the festival.

The association between dragons and Duanwu Festival

can however be dated much further back to ancient days

of dragon worship. Dragon boat racing is the basis for

annual water rituals and festival celebration, and for

the traditional veneration of the dragon water deity.

The origin of rice dumpling is said to be a tradition to

pray for 传宗接代 and was also used for dragon worship

in the past. Qu Yuan’s story narrates that the locals began

the tradition of throwing sacrificial cooked rice into the

river, hoping that he will receive it. Wrapping a zongzi is

a skill, which is passed down through families, as are the

recipes. Making zongzi was a family event with everyone

helping out.

Activit ies

Drinking Realgar Wine

Balancing Egg at Horse Hour

事

The drinking of realgar wine, was regarded as effective

in preventing disease or evil. However it is a tonic wine

and not suitable for children, therefore adults will wipe

children forehead with the wine as they believe that it

will make the child healthier.

Another age-old Chinese belief states that the person,

who can make an egg stand during the Horse Hour,

from 11am to 1pm to be exact, will be lucky for the

ensuing year. The standing up egg competition is held

during noon in many places.

Duanwu festival is known as Tuen Ng Jit. It is known as the

birthplace for modern dragon boat culture. Every year in

either May or June, Tuen Ng Jit dragon boat race features

some of the best teams from around the world where they

will compete in traditional vessels in Victoria Harbour.

Duanwu festival is now an official 3 days holiday where

the locals will take time to ponder about what the festival

means and in what ways they observe it. It is also a day to

spread knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, as a

healthy lifestyle is the fundamental idea of most of the

traditions of the festival.

A dragon boat race called ‘The World Invitaional Dragon

Boat Race’ will be held in Marina Bay, in which teams from

all over the world compete. Stalls around the bay sell rice

dumplings and souvenirs. Dragon boat races are also held

more than once annually as a regular sports competition

in Singapore.

China

Hong Kong

Singapore

04

Celebration

慶

Importance

05

重

It is important to preserve this age-old culture

as culture always unites people. Moreover these

traditions make each society unique. Even the same

festival can be celebrated differently in different

countries, with different degrees of importance.

The traditional festivals, which embody the unique

spirit, affections, and feelings of the Chinese nation

and reflect Chinese civilization, are an important

factor for the promotion of national unity, and

solidarity among the people of different ethnicities.

Ferti l i tySkills through generation

Masculinity

Dragon

UnityWorking as a body

Heartbeat of the dragon

Dragon boating teamwork

MoralitySense of responsibility

Qu Yuan’s morals

Patriotism

思 。

06

思 。

CONCEPT

“宗子”也，寓为“祖宗之子”，不可以忘本；

“种子”也，传宗接代的品牌，让人以此为本；

“纵子”也，往往由长辈亲手包成，赠给后辈；

“重”也，深厚感情的食品，多年来，未以忘怀；

“中”也，一种中国人所特有的感情寄托方式；

“众”也，中国人团结一心、力量巨大的形容词；

“忠”也，一种中国人独有的爱国精神

/ son of ancestors. remembering one’s roots.

/ continuity of descent. building foundation.

/ wrapped by elderly, gifted to young

/ food made with deep feelings, unforgettable

/ a way to focus one’s feelings

/ to symbolize unity and strength

/ patriotism to the country

ancestor

seed

set free

important

center

multitude

loyalty

07

精

精

精

精

Seed

All C

hinese seem

to have the same basic values, an

d no value have

been cham

pioned m

ore than the fam

ily. In an

cient C

hina, the

view of the fam

ily was so pow

erful, it became in

tertwin

ed with art,

politics and philosophy.

An

other reason w

hy the Chin

ese have such strong in

trinsic

values is due to their emphasis on

unity. A

strong tradition

unifies differen

t and even

opposing view

points.

Qu Y

uan’s spirit shines a brillian

t light in today’s society.

He con

sidered the prosperity of his nation

and the happin

ess of

his people the most vital thin

g in his life. H

e focused on in

creasing

his own

moral stan

dards and w

as never corrupted.

Mu

ltitud

e

Lo

ya

lty

众忠力 一

量 个

巨 专

大们

的 用

形 来

容 强

词 调

。 团

万 结

变 一

不 心

离 、

其

宗

。

爱

国

精

神

,

不

偏

不

倚

之

意

，

中

心

从

中

。

种让 一

人 种

以 可

此 以

为 以

本 此

， 相

不 传

能 ，

忘 传

本 宗

。接

代

的

品

牌

Essence

C o n t i n u i t y

08

C o n t i n u i t y

As compared to a festival like Qingming

Festival, Duanwu Festival celebrates the

future built upon the past, rather than

the source of the past itself. It is a day

that adults pass down tales and skills

to their children. The essence of

Duanwu Festival is to spread

the Chinese spirit, tradition

and cultures. Derived from

the words 种 众 and 忠,

is the idea 传宗接代,

continuity of descent.

Patriotism

傳

///

Designed by

Jean Yap

2010