Zavody dracich lodi
Dragon Boat Races

http://www.dragonboat.org.hk

jsou spojene s festivalem, ktery se kona kazdy rok, a je pripomenutim smrti Qu Yuan, velmi oblibenetho basnika, ktery zil v Cinskem kralovstvi Chu pred vice nez 2000 lety.

Zkorumpovana vlada Chu ho poslala do vezeni a byl vyhosten. V zoufalstvi a a jako gesto proti vlade, skocil do reky Mi Lo.

Zavody dracich lodi jsou pripominkou toho, jak to rybar na "draci" lodi zachranil.

Specilani knedliky - ryze s masem, zeleninou a morskymi plody, zabalena v banbusovem liste, symbolizuji fakt, ze lide zacali tyto knedliky hazet do vody, aby nakrmili ryby a ty neohrozovaly Qu Yuana kdyz se pokousel zachranit.

Dnesni tvar knedliku je odvozeny z jine povesti - jeden vysoce postaveny urednik odhail, ze jejih ryzi ji vodni draci a navrhl, zabalit ryzi do palmovych listu a prevazat je barevnymi stuzkami, protoze se toho draci leknou a nebudou ryzi jist.

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The proper name of the festival is actually The Duan Wu (Tuen Ng in Cantonese) Festival. Dragon Boat racing, which is the main activity linked to the festival, is held each year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Lunar Calendar to commemorate the death of Qu Yuan (pronounced Chu Yuan), a well-loved statesman and poet, who lived in the Chinese kingdom of Chu more than 2,000 years ago.

The government of the Kingdom of Chu was a corrupt one and after jealous rivals falsely accused him of treason, Qu Yuan was banished. In despair, and perhaps as a final gesture against the government, Qu Yuan threw himself into the Mi Lo River.

The festival's distinctive dragon boat races are a re-enactment of the frantic, vain attempts of the fishermen who rowed out to save him.

Special rice-and-meat dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves (zong zi) are eaten at this time of the year. They symbolize those that were thrown into the river to prevent fish from eating Qu Yuan's body, and to appease his spirit.

Although the traditional rice dumplings stem from the legend of Qu Yuan, their distinctive pyramid shape and leaf wrappings come from another legend. In about 40BC a high-ranking official revealed to fishermen that their offerings were being eaten by the River Dragon and suggested that they wrap the rice in leaves first and then tie them with the lucky five-coloured threads which the dragon monster dreaded.