我们为什么过端午？一个诗人、一条江，和两千年的纪念

端午节，

The Dragon Boat Festival

在农历的五月初五，

falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month,

所以也叫"五月节"。

so it's also called the 'Fifth-Month Festival'.

对很多中国人来说，

For many Chinese people,

端午，

Duanwu

意味着一个三天的小长假，

means a three-day holiday,

意味着满桌的粽子，

a table full of zongzi,

也意味着，

and also

江面上热闹的龙舟。

the lively dragon boats on the river.

但你有没有想过：

But have you ever wondered:

我们今天做的这些事，

the things we do today,

到底是从哪来的？

where do they actually come from?

今天，

Today,

我们就把它，

we'll lay it all out,

一件一件，

one piece at a time,

说清楚。

and make it clear.

先说，

First,

最重要的那个名字——屈原。

the most important name of all — Qu Yuan.

屈原，

Qu Yuan

是两千多年前的人。

lived over two thousand years ago.

那时候，

At that time,

中国还没有统一，

China was not yet unified,

分成了好几个国家。

split into several states.

屈原，

Qu Yuan

是其中"楚国"的一位大臣，

was a minister of one of them, the state of Chu,

同时，

and at the same time,

也是一位了不起的诗人。

a remarkable poet.

他有多爱国呢？

How patriotic was he?

他一心想让楚国，

He wished with all his heart to make Chu

变得更强大，

stronger,

不被别的国家欺负。

so it wouldn't be bullied by other states.

他给国王，

He gave the king

提了很多好的建议。

much good advice.

可是，

But

国王身边的坏人，

the wicked men around the king,

不喜欢他，

who disliked him,

总在国王面前说他的坏话。

were always speaking ill of him to the king.

结果，

As a result,

屈原不但没被重用，

Qu Yuan was not only passed over,

反而，

but instead,

一次又一次地，

again and again,

被赶出了京城。

was driven out of the capital.

他只能眼睁睁地，

He could only watch, helplessly,

看着自己深爱的楚国，

as the Chu he loved so deeply

一天天走向衰败。

declined day by day.

最后，

In the end,

最坏的消息还是来了：

the worst news came after all:

楚国的都城，

Chu's capital

被强大的秦国，

was, by the powerful state of Qin,

攻破了。

broken through.

对屈原来说，

For Qu Yuan,

这就像天塌了一样。

it was as if the sky had fallen.

他实在不愿意，

He simply could not bear

看着自己的国家灭亡。

to watch his country perish.

于是，

And so,

在极度的悲痛中，

in utter grief,

他抱起一块石头，

he picked up a stone,

纵身跳进了汨罗江。

and threw himself into the Miluo River.

那一天，

That day

正是五月初五。

was exactly the fifth of the fifth month.

消息传开，

As the news spread,

两岸的老百姓，

the common folk on both banks

都悲痛欲绝。

were stricken with grief.

他们太爱戴这位诗人了。

They loved this poet so dearly.

人们划着船，

People rowed their boats,

冲进江里，

rushing out onto the river,

四处打捞他的身体，

searching everywhere for his body,

却怎么也找不到。

yet could not find it.

为了不让江里的鱼，

So that the fish in the river

去啃食屈原，

would not gnaw at Qu Yuan,

大家纷纷，

people, one after another,

把米饭、食物，

took rice and food

扔进江中。

and threw it into the river.

还有人，

Some even

把雄黄酒倒进江里，

poured realgar wine into the river,

说是要醉倒水里的"恶龙"。

to drug the 'evil dragon' in the water, it was said.

你看，

You see,

今天的很多习俗，

many of today's customs,

源头就在这里。

their source is right here.

人们划船打捞屈原，

People rowing boats to find Qu Yuan

慢慢演变成了，

slowly evolved into

今天的赛龙舟。

today's dragon-boat racing.

往江里投饭团，

Throwing rice balls into the river

慢慢演变成了，

slowly evolved into

我们今天吃的粽子。

the zongzi we eat today.

当然，

Of course,

端午的故事，

the story of Duanwu

还有另一面。

has another side too.

其实，

In fact,

在屈原之前，

before Qu Yuan,

古人就觉得，

the ancients already felt

农历五月，

that the fifth lunar month

是一个"毒月"。

was a 'poison month'.

因为天气变热，

Because the weather turns hot,

蛇虫变多，

snakes and insects multiply,

人很容易生病。

and people fall ill easily.

所以，

So,

端午的很多习俗，

many Duanwu customs

本来就和"健康"有关。

were, from the start, about 'health'.

比如，

For example,

在门口挂上艾草，

hanging mugwort at the door,

在身上戴一个香囊，

wearing a scented sachet,

给孩子手上，

and on children's wrists,

系上五彩绳。

tying five-color threads.

这些，

These

都是古人，

were all the ancients'

祈求平安、赶走疾病的，

ways of praying for safety and driving off illness,

一种方式。

a kind of method.

就这样，

And so,

对屈原的纪念，

the remembrance of Qu Yuan

和古老的健康习俗，

and the ancient health customs

慢慢地，

slowly,

合在了一起，

merged together,

变成了我们今天的端午节。

and became the Dragon Boat Festival we know today.

说到这里，

Speaking of this,

我想和你多聊一句。

I want to say one more thing to you.

一个人，

A man

已经离开了两千多年。

has been gone for over two thousand years.

但因为他，

But because of him,

一整个民族，

an entire people,

每年都会，

every year,

为他停下来一次，

pause once for him,

吃一口粽子，

eat a bite of zongzi,

看一场龙舟。

watch a dragon-boat race.

这种记忆，

This kind of memory

真的很了不起。

is truly remarkable.

最后，

Finally,

我想留给你两个问题。

I want to leave you two questions.

第一，

First,

端午节，

of the Dragon Boat Festival,

你最喜欢的，

what do you like most —

是哪个部分？

which part?

是粽子，

The zongzi,

是龙舟，

the dragon boats,

还是那个，

or that

关于屈原的故事？

story about Qu Yuan?

第二，

Second,

两千多年过去了。

over two thousand years have passed.

你觉得，

Do you think

人们真正纪念屈原的，

what people truly commemorate in Qu Yuan

是他这个人，

is the man himself,

还是，

or

他身上那种，

is it that quality in him —

"明知很难，也要坚持"的，

that 'knowing it's hard, yet holding on',

那股劲儿？

that spirit?

这两个问题，

These two questions

没有标准答案。

have no standard answer.

但是值得我们，

But they're worth our

慢慢去想。

thinking about slowly.