Today is the day of the annual Dragon Boat Festival [端午节] in Chinese culture (possibly also in Korean culture) that commemorates the great deeds of a poet from over 2000 years ago.

In modern times this holiday is celebrated by eating glutinous rice wraps and hosting Dragon Boat Races.

On this day, the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar, a poet by the name of Qu Yuan [屈原], who lived in the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475 B.C. to 221 B.C.), drowned himself in the Mìluó River [汨罗江] in today's Hunan Province in 278 B.C. 

The story goes that he was an imperial advisor to the emperor, however lesser officials misdirected the emperor with lies against Qu Yuan and he was subsequently sent to lands far away from the capital. The area that he was sent to, consisted mostly of peasants and farmers. They very much respected Qu Yuan. However, under the misdirection of dishonorable officials the kingdom soon faced dire circumstances. Qu Yuan, hearing of this, was near heart-broken and in a last effort he threw himself into the Mìluó River hoping his death could awaken his emperor to revitalize the kingdom.

 The peasants then made glutinous rice balls and wrapped it into bamboo or reed leaves. The reason behind the shape of these glutinous rice wraps is that it is modeled after the shape of an ox foot. According to the Teacher of my Chinese Culture class, these glutinous rice wraps are shaped that way because oxen are an important part of the lives of the peasants and is reflected in the shape of these wraps.

These rice wraps were then thrown into the water on boats that were sent out to search for Qu Yuan in hopes of rescuing him from drowning. Each boat, one besides another, raced forward in urgency and as the years passed became known as the Dragon Boat Race. 

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