Dragon Boat Festival
Many years ago in China, there was a place called Chu and a place called Chin. The people in Chin did not like the people in Chu, and the people in Chu did not like the people in Chin. In Chu, the king was named King Huai. King Huai had a friend called Chyu Yuan. Chyu Yuan was very smart, and told the king many good things to do.The people in Chin were very sly. They wanted to trick King Huai. They wrote a letter to King Huai. The letter said the Chin people wanted to be King Huai’s friend. They told King Huai to come to Chin, and they would all have a good time.
Chyu Yuan did not think this was a good idea. He told the king not to go to Chin. He told the king it was a trick. But the king did not listen to Chyu Yuan. He went to Chin. When he got there, he did not have a lot of fun. The Chin people put him in jail. He was in jail for three years, then he died.
The soldiers from Chin came to Chu for a big fight. The Chin soldiers won, and killed many Chu soldiers. They set fire to the king’s house. Chyu Yuan felt very sad. He missed his friend the king. He jumped in a river called the Mi Luo River and died.
The people loved Chyu Yuan very much, and they wanted to get his body out of the river. They got in boats and went out in the water, looking for Chyu Yuan. That is why people race Dragon Boats on Dragon Boat Festival Day.But the people could not find Chyu Yuan in the water. They were very sad. They did not want the fish to eat him. So they made rice dumplings , called zong zi, and threw them in the water. The fish could eat the zong zi, and not eat Chyu Yuan’s body. So today, on Dragon Boat Festival Day, we still eat rice dumplings. At 12:00 noon on Dragon Boat Festival Day, the sun will be straight over your head. Don’t look at it; it can hurt your eyes. But you can try something interesting; put an egg on its end right at twelve o’ clock, and it will stand up. The sun helps hold it up.
Vocabulary:
Chu: 楚
Chin: 秦
King Huai: 楚懷王
Chyu Yuan: 屈原
sly: 狡猾
trick: 欺騙
jail: 監獄
set fire to: 放火
missed: 想念
Mi Luo River: 汨羅江
body: 屍體
dragon boats: 龍舟
rice dumplings: 粽子
noon: 中午
straight: 直接
interesting: 有趣
Dragon Boat Festival Questions
Who was the king of Chu?
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Did Chyu Yuan think King Huai should go to Chin?
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What did the Chin people do to King Huai?
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How long was King Huai in jail?
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Who won the fight between Chin and Chu?
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How did Chyu Yuan die?
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How did the people look for Chyu Yuan’s body?
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Why did they throw rice dumplings in the water?
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