A Revisionist Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival on May 5th in the Chinese (Lunar) Calendar is getting somewhat contentious these days.   Traditionally people make and eat dumplings.  The most common type, at least in Hong Kong, contains sticky rice, green beans, a piece of fatty pork and a salted egg yoke.  It has a complex, layered, and color-coded texture. More importantly, it brings back fond childhood memories. 

Many also row in, and more would watch, dragon boat races.  They are noisy, exciting, crowded, and enjoyable.  In fact, foreigners know it as the Dragon Boat Festival, instead of the formal Chinese name.    

Many have forgotten, but some still remember, that the festival is ostensibly celebrated in memory of Wat Yuan (Qu Yuan 屈原), a man who lived more than 2,000 years ago.  He was known as a scholar and government official of a country in the southern part of China along the Yangtze River. He had advised his king against aligning with a big, western country.  When his advice was ignored, he drown himself in the river.  He has written beautiful poetry.  Some were philosophical, raising questions regarding the nature of the universe, and many natural phenomena.  It is not dissimilar from the dialogue between Job and God in the Old Testament in the Bible.  Wat has long been considered a tragic hero.  He did not achieve material success and, in fact, met a tragic end.  But he is also revered for his wisdom, poetry, strength of character, and strong principles.  

This year, however, there appeared a number of revisionist re-telling of the story, and commentary on Wat Yuan.  Some questioned the historical accuracy of the story that we are familiar with.  Some seemed to think that he was wrong to be disrespectful of his king. Another version criticised Wat for giving up when his advice was rejected by his king.  That he should have continued to serve his country even when he disagreed with the government. That giving up was not in the best interest of his country.  Because of this, Wat should not be accorded the respect that he has traditionally been given.  

A common underlying theme among these revisionist comments seems to be: it is better to align yourself with the power of the establishment, that standing in opposition to established power is not so wise nor honourable.  Opinions of this type seem to be coming from people in the establishment (or aspiring to be so).  It has been said that history is written by the victor, who has the power and motivation to (re-) write history in their favour.  This is why true integrity (historical, intellectual and otherwise) is so valuable.  And faith in an almighty God should give us that strength to maintain integrity in the face of worldly power.  Sadly, it is not always the case.