The Patriotic Poet: Qu Yuan
爱国诗人：屈原
An outstanding statesman and patriotic poet in the state of Chu during the late Warring States period, Qu Yuan (339BC-278BC) was born in Dan Yang, Hubei Province. Qu Yuan lived through three reigns of Chu — Wei, Huai and Qingxiang, though the prime of his life was during the reign of King Huai, which was the dawn of national unification.
屈原，战国末期楚国人，杰出的政治家和爱国诗人。湖北丹阳人。屈原一生经历楚威王、楚怀王、顷襄王三个时期，主要活动在楚怀王时期。这个时期正是中国即将实现大一统的前夕。
A descendant of nobility and master of governance and eloquence, Qu Yuan was once deeply trusted by King Huai. He assisted King Huai in political reform and social invigoration, and advocated to ally with the state of Qi to contend with the hegemonic state of Qin in a bid to unity the nation, and for a time Chu was prosperous with strong army and that overawed the neighboring states.
屈原出身贵族，明于治乱，娴于辞令，故早年深受楚怀王宠信。屈原为实现楚国的统一大业，对内积极辅佐怀王变法图强，对外坚决主张联齐抗秦，使楚国一度出现了富国强兵、威震诸侯的局面。
However the conflicts with the corrupt aristocrats on internal and diplomatic policies, slanders from Qu Yuan’s peer ministers led to the King’s snub. Qu Yuan was banished from the capital Ying Du and removed to Han Bei until the 30th years of King Huai. King Xiang continued to surrender to Qin, and exiled Qu Yuan again to the south of the Yangtze River. Destitute and vagrant, Qu Yuan drifted among River Yuan and River Xiang. In the 21th year of King Xiang when Chu，s capital Ying Du was captured by Qin, Qu Yuan with all his bitterness drowned himself in Miluo River. Qu Yuan sacrificed his life to his political ideal, which featured “the perfection of ruling” of sage rulers and virtuous ministers. Taking people as the foundation for ruling featured another aspect of his political ideal, and this is clearly exemplified in his literary masterpieces such as Li Sao (Lament) and Jiu Zhang (Nine Elegies), in which the recurrence of the “people” showed his concern over the people’s sufferings.
但是，由于屈原在内政外交上与楚国腐朽贵族出现了尖锐的矛盾，屈原遭到小人诬陷被怀王疏远。后屈原被逐出郢都，到了汉北，怀王三十年，屈原回到郢都。 顷裏王即位后继续执行投降政策，屈原再次被逐出郢都，流放江南，辗转于沅、湘二水之间。顷襄王二十一年，秦国攻破郢都，屈原悲愤难抑，遂自沉汨罗江，身殉自己的政治理想，其特点就是“美政”即圣君贤相的政治。他的“美政”的另一基本内容就是民本思想，这在他的作品中有很清晰的表述。他在《离骚》、《九章》等作品中反复谈到“民”的问题，表达了他对民间疾苦的关心。
It was believed that Qu Yuan committed suicide on the lunar May 5th. According to folklore, his death threw people in Chu into deep grief and they thronged to Miluo River to mourn. Fishermen sailed their boats around in search of his corpse, and threw rice rolls and eggs into the river to wish that the minister’s body would not be gnawed. And so the custom was developed in memory of Qu Yuan the patriotic poem on the lunar May 5th when people make pyramidshaped rice rolls wrapped in bamboo leaves and tied with color threads, which was called Zong Zi, go for dragon-boat race, and drink realgar wine.
屈原去世的日子，据说是五月初五。传说在他死后，楚国的百姓异常哀痛，纷纷来到汨罗江边凭吊屈原。渔夫们划船在江上来回打捞他的尸体。他们拿出饭团、鸡蛋等食物丢到江里，以免那些鱼龙虾蟹咬屈原的尸体。后来人们用竹叶或苇叶包饭团，外缠彩丝，这就 是后来的粽子。以后每年的五月初五，就有了赛龙舟、 吃粽子、喝雄黄酒的风俗，以此来纪念爱国诗人屈原。
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