In history it was known as the "Warring States Period" (476 BC - 221 BC). China was divided into seven kingdoms which were locked in grim battle for supremacy and survival. Qu Yuan was believed to be a minister of Chu, one of the seven kingdoms whose territory included modern-day Hunan and Hubei Provinces.

Upright and outspoken, Qu was sent to exile by the corrupt court. But as history had shown, both before and after him, personal travails could do a lot towards nurturing creativity. The man channeled his strong and fervent love for his own country, as well as profound grief, into penning numerous poems. The rhapsodic Li-Sao (Lament) and the fantastic Tian-Wen (Questions to the Heaven) are the most famous among them.

In 278 BC, upon learning of the imminent devastation of his state by the invading Qin army - Qin being another kingdom that eventually conquered all the other kingdoms and united China - Qu waded into the Miluo River, staging his final act of protest by drowning himself.

The villagers searched for him in vain. They rushed to the water in fishing boats, beat drums and splashed water with their paddles to keep the fish and evil spirit away from his body.This was how the tradition of dragon boat racing began.

(HK Edition 05/01/2008 page3)