Lisao, or encounterting sorrows, a poem by Qu Yuan, the greatest ancient Chinese poet

路漫漫其修远兮,吾将上下而求索。 Long, long had been my road, and far, far was the journey. I would go up and down to seek my heart's desire. This is a famous line from the Chinese poem Li Sao, or Encountering Sorrow written by Poet Qu Yuan during the Warring States period of ancient China. The line indicates the poem's positive desire to pursue his dream amid obstacles As a traditional Chinese festival, the Dragon Boat Festival or Duanwu Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, commemorates Qu Yuan, a patriotic point and a loyal official of the state of Chu during the Warring States period. He dedicated his whole life to assisting the Qin to build the state of Chu stronger. As an ancient literature giant, Qu Yuan is regarded as one of the most prominent figures of romanticism in Chinese literature. Best known for his poem Li Sao from the anthology Chu Ci, Qu expresses his love and passion for his country and the sadness and suffering of the ordinary people through numerous metaphors. Other famous lines like 惟草木之林落兮,恐美人之池木。 And I thought how the trees and flowers were fading and fallen, and feared that my fairest beauty would fade too. Qu uses metaphors and association to compare the fading of fallen of trees and flowers to the aging of people. Life is short and nothing gold can stay. He wants to treasure time and fulfill his political aspirations, but also worries about the future of the state of Chu. Upon hearing the defeat of the state of Chu in 278 BC, Qu Yuan, in great despair, committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River, located on the eastern bank of Dongting Lake, the largest tributary of the Xiang River in central China's Hunan province. When they heard of his death, the local people rode out on the river to search for his body, but found nothing. In order to preserve his body, people paddled boats up and down the river, heating the water with the paddles and beating drums to scare evil spirits and fish away. They also threw lumps of rice into the river to feed the fish, so that they would not eat Qu's body. Gradually, rowing boats developed into dragon boat racing, and lumps of rice became sticky rice dumplings, or zongzi, in commemoration of the great patriot Qu Yuan. There are other traditions to keep out evil during the festival, like drinking realgar wine, wearing a perfume pouch and five-color silk, hanging plants such as Chinese mugwort and calamus over doors, and pasting paper cutouts in windows. Since 2008, the Dragon Boat Festival is not only a festival, but also a public holiday in China. In September 2009, UNESCO added the Dragon Boat Festival to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, making it the first Chinese festival to receive the honor.