Duanwu

The Dragon Boat Festival, which is called Duanwu, is an interesting event. The girls had been talking about what they'd learned at school and I've been reading up. The gist of it, paraphrased from different sources and my girls, is to commemorate Qu Yuan, loyal minister and brilliant scholar under King of Chu, whose idealogies fell out of sync with the king. In the 278 BCE, he clasped a large stone to his chest and jumped into the river. The townspeople were so distraught, they searched the river in vain. So began the Dragon Boat races. The people also sacraficially throw bamboo-wrapped rice into the river to either feed the drowned Qu Yuan or feed the fish so they won't eat Qu Yuan.

We neither threw rice nor rode in a boat that day. Instead we went to Mudu, which is out towards Lake Tai. The girls were out of school for the day and Larry was home. The weather has turned hot, which is fine with me, and the mosquitos are out in full force. We loaded ourselves down with water and bug spray and battled the crowds walking the streets. I just loved the narrow streets that follow the canals. The girls just loved looking at the silk dresses, jewelry and purses. Larry loved the scewered crabs, fried live in a spicy batter. For snacks we ate peeled, crisp cukes, which seem to taste so much better over here than in the States. Of course, the girls had their picture taken a dozen times. And, Katie even dared to use the public 'water closet'. All in all, a nice way to commemorate an ancient drowning.