Qu Yuan, a Patriotic Poet

Qu Yuan (340 – 278 BC) was born into an aristocratic family of the State of Chu, and showed a talent for writing poetry at an early age. As a senior official, he tried to warn the ruler of Chu of danger from the State of Qin .he advocated to unite the State of Qi to fight against the State of Qin. However, he was defamed by other villains and was exiled to lead a vagrant life for a long time. In 278 BC, the capital city of Chu, Ying, fell to an invading army from the State of Qin. Overwhelmed by deep grief, Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River in northeast Hunan Province. Tradition has it that it occurred on the fifth day of the fifth month by Chinese lunar calendar. In commemoration of this patriotic man of letters, dragon-boat races are held on this day every year. Also, people eat zongzi (a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves). The dragon-boat races are meant to frighten fish away from Qu Yuan’s body, and zongzi are supposed to be used to feed the fish, so that they would not eat the poet’s dead body. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the highlights of the Chinese traditional holidays.

Adopting the framework of Chu folk ballads and using the Chu dialect, Qu Yuan created a new type of poems, which is called the “songs of Chu” genre by later generations. His most famous poem is the long lyric on Encountering Trouble(Li Sao). Qu Yuan’s poetic works are filled with his deep miss and devotion to his native State of Chu. the beautiful language ，peculiar imagination and abundant references to ancient myths makes his works romantic. Qu Yuan’s poets are not only popular in China, but also are widely spread all over the world a precious heritage to human culture.