A Little Spiel About Dragon Boat
The majority of the American population probably has no idea what the sport of dragon boat is or how it came to be. Many just think that it is a strange hobby that Asians like to do in their free time. However, just like crew, or rowing as others would like to call it, dragon boat is also a water sport. The popularity of dragon boat is actually rising around the states, mostly on the West Coast, and especially in California.
Dragon boat originates from an old Chinese legend. The basic gist of the story tells of a respectable high ranking court official with great integrity and loyalty named Qu Yuan who was banished by the king after corrupted officials slandered his name. After hearing that the state he had once governed had been invaded, he was devastated and committed suicide by holding a large rock and drowning in a river.
After the common people heard of Qu Yuan’s suicide, they hurried off into the river in their fishing boats and beat drums while splashing the water with their paddles to prevent the fish and the evil spirits from getting to his body. Some also threw rice into the river so that the fish would not devour his body. It is said that in the middle of the night, the spirit of Qu Yuan showed up at the village saying that the rice was being seized by a dragon. In order to ward off the dragon, they would have to wrap the rice into a three-cornered package.
To commemorate Qu Yuan, dragon boat festivals and races are held each year on the day of his death in the area of the river where it is said that he committed suicide.
Deriving from an ancient Chinese legend, dragon boat has become a competitive and also recreational sport among people of all ages. It is also popular among high schools in San Francisco. In fact, there is an annual Youth Race coming up on April 23rd. So if you’re interested, you should come out to support the various high school/community youth teams of San Francisco as well as other high school dragon boat teams in the Bay Area since they will also be in attendance.
