The legendary Dragon Boat festival

A smell of bamboo leaves integrated with sauté-braised meat and mushrooms pervades the air. Sitting on the bench aside the doorstep, grandmother wraps rice dumplings with extraordinary skills, smiling, with wrinkles under her eyes and gray hair blowing in the wind. Every passerby cannot help but lick their lips.

Children run laughing, around their neck hang a variety sachets in different shapes , and the dragon-shapedones are particularly noticeable.

Not far from the streets, cheers from the crowd burst out along the riverside for those dragon-shaped boats on the river. Paddlers row paddles with full strength trying to outperform one another, shouting in unity: ”Hey Hey Yo Yo !”, as loud as they can with high spirits under the sun.

Dragon Boat Festival takes place every year on May 5 based on the lunar calendar, and often turns out to be in June of solar calendar. Families putting on Artemisia argyi, enjoying rice dumplings, wearing sachets, and watch dragon boat races have become traditional customs.

In Taiwan, cities, on the whole, often hold dragon boat competitions during Dragon boat festival. Take Taipei city council as an example, it has been running the race in Xindian River for years in order not only to promote the cultural tradition but to raise Taipei citizens’ awareness to get involved in public events as well.

Among all traditions in this festival, dragon boat competition is one of the most important main customs for Dragon boat festival. It can be traced back to a Chinese historical legend. Thousands of years ago, a loyal minister named Qu Yuan , advocated other countries to unite in the sense to fight against Qin Dynasty’s great ambition. However, the emperor of Chu Dynasty doubted him, he hence jumped into Dongting lake in grief so as to express his honesty. Upon hearing the tragic news, a significant number of Chu citizens therefore rowed boats chasing and searching on the lake to rescue him. In addition, they paddled boats, and beat the drums , hoping to drive away fish in the river ; moreover, they tossed rice balls packed with bamboo leaves, known as rice ​​dumplings nowadays, into the river to feed the creature and to prevent them from eating Qu Yuan 's dead body. Later on in order to commemorate him, every year on May 5, dragon boat racing can be seen almost in every Chinese city.

As descendants of Chinese culture, people often claim themselves to be successors of the dragon. Dragon has an important and indelible position in Chinese culture.

Legendary dragon tales from ancient time talked about dragons appearing with cloud. They are also said to be able to create sea waves as well as generate quakes and earth movements. Moreover, it can be asserted that perhaps for thousands of years, the supreme ruler of Chinese oriented society often was regarded as offspring of "real dragon". Everything in their daily lives was " dragon related" to show their privileges and dignities.

The main spirits of dragon are tolerant and inclusive, which already had existed as early as the prehistoric epoch. During the long development of dragon culture, there are both good and bad implication, but no doubt that the Chinese people's compatible and integrated way of thinking have created a unique form of dragon and it has become a traditional cultural connotation and one of the most attractive oriental image.

This article was published in "Center on Taipei" magazine summer edition, 2013.

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