The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four major traditional festivals in China, along with the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanyang Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chongwu Festival, Chongwu Festival, Tianzhong Festival, etc., is a traditional festival of the Han nationality. It falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year. It is a folk festival that combines worshipping gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and warding off evil spirits, celebrating entertainment, and eating. The most attractive activity on this day is dragon boat racing.
Introduction
The origin of dragon boat racing can be traced back to the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago. According to legend, the patriotic poet Qu Yuan was so heartbroken after learning that his country was about to perish that he threw himself into the river. In order to commemorate him, local people rowed boats to the river to look for him, and threw rice dumplings into the water to prevent fish and shrimp from eating his body. In order to commemorate Qu Yuan, the activity of dragon boat racing gradually took shape and was held during the Dragon Boat Festival every year.
As time went on, dragon boat racing evolved from a commemorative activity to a sports competition. During the Tang and Song dynasties, dragon boat racing had become an activity jointly participated by the court and the people. After entering the modern era, dragon boat racing has become not only widely popular in China, but also spread to all parts of the world, becoming an international sport.
During the Dragon Boat Festival every year, many regions across the country will hold distinctive folk dragon boat races, adding more cultural and entertainment elements, attracting a large number of spectators and tourists, and making the Dragon Boat Festival holiday more colorful. For example, Foshan Diejiao Water Village has become an ideal venue for dragon boat racing due to its unique river landform of "Nine Bends and Thirteen Bays". The dragon boat race here not only competes in speed, but also pays more attention to technology and skills, especially the unique competitive form of "dragon boat drifting", which is amazing. In the competition, the dragon boat racers need to control the dragon boat to complete the drifting action in the narrow river channel with sharp turns through skilled skills and tacit cooperation, and perform speed and passion on the water. This not only tests the technical level of the dragon boat racers, but also reflects teamwork and collective wisdom. The wonderful competition also makes the visiting tourists very addicted.
With the development of society and the advancement of science and technology, traditional dragon boat racing is also constantly innovating and developing. Modern dragon boat racing is not only more diversified in the form of competition, but also incorporates more technological elements. The live broadcast technology and aerial photography of the dragon boat race allow the audience to enjoy the grand event from all directions and angles. At the same time, with the help of the Internet and social media, it has also attracted the attention and participation of a large number of young people through short videos, live broadcasts and other forms, making the dragon boat race a cultural experience and tourism brand.
The ancient activity of dragon boat racing has undergone thousands of years of development and evolution. It not only retains its profound cultural connotation, but also has a new vitality in modern society. Its development process shows the inheritance and innovation of Chinese traditional culture in modern society. With the development of the times, dragon boat culture will surely show its unique charm in more fields and become one of the important windows to showcase Chinese culture.