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This year China has applied to UNESCO to have the festival – known as “Duanwu” in Chinese and celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month – included on its list of the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. The action was sparked by the fact that South Korea applied and was granted recognition by UNESCO in 2005 for its festival known as “Dano” – also celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
Many Chinese have lamented this fact, calling the South Korean move “cultural robbery.”
The Dragon Boat Festival derives from around 300 B.C., when Qu Yuan, a famous minister and poet from the state of Chu, drowned himself in the Miluo River in what is now Hubei province of China. Qu is remembered as a wise and scholarly man who opposed corruption at court, thereby antagonizing other officials, who influenced the emperor to banish him to a remote area.
Qu Yuan continued to try to influence the kingdom, traveling, teaching and writing poetry – works that are now considered masterpieces of ancient Chinese culture. Eventually, when he heard that the Chu state had been defeated by the stronger Qin state, in despair he decided to end his life by flinging himself into the river.
According to popular legend, when local fishermen heard what had happened they raced their boats to the spot he had last been seen, to search for his body. People threw dumplings, eggs and other food into the river for the fish, to prevent them from feeding on the scholar. Thus dragon boats and dumplings became part of commemorative celebrations on the anniversary of his death, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
This festival gradually spread throughout China and on to neighboring countries, where it went through considerable transformation. In their UNESCO application the South Koreans claimed they had celebrated it for 1,500 years. Their celebrations include mask dances, wrestling matches among men, and swinging competitions among women.
In Japan the festival was originally called “Tango no Sekku” and celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Later it was switched to May 5 by the solar calendar. It is now known as Children’s Day and the traditional activity is flying kites. However, the Japanese too eat sticky rice cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves on this day.
As the home of Confucianism, China has always valued the virtues of loyalty, filial piety, moral righteousness and justice. Chinese equate the Dragon Boat Festival with loyalty to king and country. In modern times, it has been promoted to encourage patriotism.
Yet during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, China’s traditional celebrations – including the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Tomb-sweeping Day – were either ignored or criticized as “superstitious.” After the end of the Cultural Revolution the festivals began to reappear, and starting last year these three festivals became public holidays.
In the wake of its remarkable success at modernizing the economy, China has found there is a great need to revitalize traditional culture as well. The government has realized that material development cannot go forward without paying attention to the cultural life of the people.
This awareness increased when the concept of “soft power” became popular in the arena of international relations. The term was coined by U.S. scholar Joseph Nye to refer to forces other than economic and military power. Like hard power, soft power can play a vital role in a country’s pursuit of national interests and expansion of its influence.
Therefore China is gradually paying greater attention to the preservation of its cultural heritage. This includes repairing its religious buildings, particularly Buddhist temples, restoring the status of its historical and revolutionary figures and opening up Confucian schools in foreign lands.
South Korea was aware much earlier than China of the need to preserve its national culture. This led to its successful application for UNESCO recognition of its Dano festival, with its practices and customs.
China has now initiated a similar process. At the same time, many Chinese are criticizing South Korea’s action. Should this be regarded as a kind of cultural theft?
Regardless of the roots of the festival, South Korea should not be blamed for seeking to preserve it as part of the world’s cultural heritage. Rather than complaining, the Chinese should be proud of the fact that this heritage originated in China.
Human cultures are inevitably exchanged, shared and adapted. Different interpretations of cultural traditions do not diminish them; instead they could extend and enrich them. Therefore, any attempt to preserve the valuable aspects of culture should be appreciated. In this sense, both the Korean and Chinese applications for cultural recognition should be encouraged.
This can be seen as a cultural contest, which can generate more healthy and positive competition between countries. The mission of UNESCO is to promote world culture; therefore culture can be seen as the asset of all humanity – it cannot be monopolized by any single country.
If people can recognize the salience of cultural influences, and can collectively adopt those traditions deemed valuable, all people of the world will benefit. If people devote their time to becoming “cultured,” the world will surely enjoy much greater peace and stability.
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(Dr. Zhang Quanyi is associate professor at Zhejiang Wanli University in Ningbo, China, and a guest researcher at the Center for the Study of Non-traditional Security and Peaceful Development at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. His research interest revolves around the creation of a world state. He can be contacted at qyzhangupi@gmail.com. ©Copyright Zhang Quanyi)
