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The Suicide That Built a National Festival: The Dark Legend of Qu Yuan

To millions of people around the world, the Dragon Boat Festival is a joyful holiday filled with racing boats and delicious sticky rice dumplings (Zongzi). But the festival's origin is rooted in a deeply tragic political suicide: the death of Qu Yuan (340–278 BC).

Qu Yuan

The Exiled Voice of Truth

Qu Yuan was a high-ranking minister in the Kingdom of Chu. He pleaded with his king to prepare for an invasion from the aggressive Qin Empire. Instead of listening, the king was manipulated by corrupt officials and banished Qu Yuan into exile. For years, the poet wandered the wilderness, writing massive, haunting epics about his grief and love for his homeland.

The Miluo River Suicide

When the news arrived that the Chu capital had finally fallen to the invaders, Qu Yuan’s heart broke. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, he gathered a heavy stone, held it tightly to his chest, and threw himself into the Miluo River. Locals rushed out in boats to save him, beating drums and throwing rice into the water to stop fish from eating his body—a desperate act that became a global tradition.

"The road ahead is long and endless; I will seek high and low for the truth, no matter the cost."
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