eight-immortals:

端午节/Duanwu Festival also known as the Dragon Boat Festival has a history of over 2000 years! There are many sayings of the origin of this festival, however, the most well known is that this festival has been held in honor of Chinese patriotic poet and statesman Qu Yuan (340 – 278 BC).

The Legend:

As a minister in the State of Chu – one of the seven Warring States, Qu Yuan was a patriotic poet who wrote a lot of works to show his care and devotion to his country. Composing masterpieces like Li Sao (The Lament), he was regarded as one of the greatest poets in Chinese history. After he was exiled by the king, he chose to drown himself in the river rather than seeing his country invaded and conquered by the State of Qin. He died on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, thus people decided to commemorate him on that day every year.

Traditions and Customs:

Zongzi:

This day is celebrated by eating Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in reed leaves. It has various fillings such as jujube, meat, bean paste, etc. 

Where did this customs come from?

It is said that when Qu Yuan drowned, many people went looking for his body, but his body was never found. People were worried that the fish would eat Qu Yuan’s body so they made Zongzi to lure the fish away. 

(Homemade Zongzi by me)

Dragon Boat Racing:

Legend holds that the race originates from the idea of the people who rowed their boats to save Qu Yuan after he drowned himself. Now it has turned to be a sport event not only held in China but also observed in Japan, Vietnam, Britain, and other countries. 

（sources: travelchina, dianliwenmi.com)

spoonofconsciousness:

The Only Way To Make Your Dreams Come True

Everyone who has gone down in the history books as someone who achieved something extraordinary started off where you are right now – they had an idea. We all have ideas but few of us actually work on them – hence why so few people achieve their goals.

The only difference between those who have succeeded and you is that they executed every day until they brought their idea into reality. This requires time, dedication and effort – which you are capable of using. The question is – are you prepared to give up “chilling” to do it?

Whatever it is you want to achieve – stop dreaming about it and start doing. We live in a day and age where anything is possible. We have instant communication with people all over the world and information is at our fingertips at all times.

Stop watching so much TV, stop watching so many videos, stop reading so many books and start doing.

If you want to have a successful YouTube channel – start making videos.

If you want to be a successful author – start writing books.

If you want to be a movie star – start acting.

So many of you are sitting around thinking instead of doing and this is why you won’t achieve your goals. No one else will tell you this because they’re under the same illusion. Wake up and start doing before it’s too late and you become bitter about how you wasted your life.

The distractions you love so much will always be there – the TV shows will be available to stream and on DVD, those clubs will still be there in 5 years & those videos will still be online. But this time will never come around again – it’s up to you to use it to make something of your life. 

Stop thinking and start doing – this is the only way to succeed.

Peace & positive vibes.