officially on falling on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the dragon boat festival is also known as double fifth day. while many stories regarding its origin abound, the most popular and widely accepted version regards qu yuan, a minister during the warring states period (475 - 221 bc)

legend of the dragon boat festival's origin
端午节起源的传说

at the end of the zhou dynasty, the area we now know as china had fallen into a state of fragmentation and conflict. while the zhou dynasty had ruled for several centuries, several other states, originally feudal domains, tried to carve out their own kingdoms. the state of qin would eventually emerge the victor and unify all of china under one rule for the first time in history.

qu yuan served as minister to the zhou emperor. a wise and articulate man, he was loved by the common people. he did much to fight against the rampant corruption that plagued the court-- thereby earning the envy and fear of other officials. therefore, when he urged the emperor to avoid conflict with the qin kingdom, the officials pressured the emperor to have him removed from service. in exile, he traveled, taught and wrote for se

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