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Why is Qu Yuan associated with the Dragon Boat Festival?

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Scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms — Chinese literature *Zhang Fei on the Long Sloped Bridge Turning Away One Million Wei Troops with a Powerful Stare*, woodblock colour print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1884. It depicts a scene from the novel *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*.

The association between Qu Yuan and the Dragon Boat Festival stems from the most popular legend explaining the holiday's origins. Qu Yuan, a celebrated poet and counselor during the Warring States period, was exiled after being falsely accused of treason. Upon learning that the capital of his state, Chu, had been conquered, he drowned himself in the Miluo River in despair.12

According to tradition, the festival's signature practices are linked to his death:
* Boat Racing: It is said that people rowed boats into the river to search for his body in an attempt to save him.2
* Zongzi: To prevent fish from consuming his remains, people tossed sticky rice dumplings (zongzi) into the water. Another version suggests that after his spirit complained that a water dragon was eating the offerings, he instructed people to wrap the rice in leaves to protect it.2

While the festival likely originated from ancient agricultural rites, these legends of self-sacrifice have become central to its cultural identity, leading the holiday to be known in some regions as Poet’s Day.32