The Dragon Boat Festival is a time when the yang energy is at its peak during the year. The weather is usually hot and humid, and if there is a lot of work pressure, the body's physiological blood and qi circulation may be affected, leading to irritability, restlessness, and chest tightness. Changes in emotions can also affect the functions of the organs and may even lead to mental disorders, such as joy harming the heart, anger harming the liver, and worry harming the spleen.
To stay healthy in the summer, it is important to regulate the qi of the spleen, stomach, heart, and lungs. In addition to medication, dietary therapy, and maintaining a balanced mindset, exercise should also be emphasized. Dragon boat racing can promote smooth blood and qi circulation throughout the body, enhance the functions of the heart and lungs, regulate the metabolism of the spleen and stomach, and balance the flow of qi and blood. It can also help alleviate feelings of sadness and anxiety.
Why do we race dragon boats during the Dragon Boat Festival?
Legend has it that Qu Yuan, a poet during the Warring States period, drowned himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. After his death, he was trapped by a water dragon. To mourn him, people would throw colorful silk-wrapped rice dumplings into the river on this day to drive away the dragon.
Another story goes that after Qu Yuan drowned himself, the local people immediately rowed boats to rescue him. They rowed all the way to Dongting Lake but couldn't find his body. It was raining at the time, and the small boats on the lake gathered near a pavilion on the shore. When people learned that they were searching for the virtuous Qu Yuan, they went out in the rain again, competing to row into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to express their sorrow, people started paddling boats on rivers and lakes, which gradually developed into dragon boat races.
