Qu Yuan and the Dragon Boats · chapter 3 of 3
The Dragon Boats
龙舟
On the fifth day of the fifth month, a whole fishing village takes to its boats, and more than two thousand years later a little girl finds out why.
Read what you hear
- Qu Yuan 我想再看看汨罗江。老人家，您回家吧。
Wǒ xiǎng zài kànkan Mìluó Jiāng. Lǎorénjia, nín huí jiā ba.
I'd like to look at the Miluo River one more time. Go on home, old friend.
- The Old Fisherman 好……您早点儿回来！我给您做鱼吃！
Hǎo… nín zǎo diǎnr huílái! Wǒ gěi nín zuò yú chī!
All right… Come back soon! I'll cook you some fish!
- Narrator 那天是五月初五。屈原走进了汨罗江，没有再回来。
Nà tiān shì wǔ yuè chū wǔ. Qū Yuán zǒu jìn le Mìluó Jiāng, méiyǒu zài huílái.
That day was the fifth day of the fifth month. Qu Yuan walked into the Miluo River, and he never came back.
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Qu Yuan and the Dragon Boats is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- The Old Fisherman 屈大夫！屈大夫！大家快来啊！
Qū dàfū! Qū dàfū! Dàjiā kuài lái a!
Grand Master Qu! Grand Master Qu! Everyone, come quick!
- A Villager 老人家，出什么事了？
Lǎorénjia, chū shénme shì le?
Old man, what's happened?
- The Old Fisherman 屈大夫走进江里了！快，快上船！
Qū dàfū zǒu jìn jiāng lǐ le! Kuài, kuài shàng chuán!
Grand Master Qu has walked into the river! Quick, get to the boats!
- A Villager 大家快上船！去找屈大夫！
Dàjiā kuài shàng chuán! Qù zhǎo Qū dàfū!
Everyone, into the boats! We have to find Grand Master Qu!
- Narrator 很多很多船，一起在江上找。
Hěn duō hěn duō chuán, yìqǐ zài jiāng shang zhǎo.
Boat after boat set out, searching the river together.
- The Old Fisherman 屈大夫！您在哪儿？
Qū dàfū! Nín zài nǎr?
Grand Master Qu! Where are you?
- A Villager 屈大夫！快回来吧！
Qū dàfū! Kuài huílái ba!
Grand Master Qu! Please come back!
- A Villager 老人家，江里有很多鱼。怎么办？
Lǎorénjia, jiāng lǐ yǒu hěn duō yú. Zěnme bàn?
Old man, there are so many fish in the river. What do we do?
- The Old Fisherman 打鼓！大家打鼓！鱼听见了，就会走开！
Dǎ gǔ! Dàjiā dǎ gǔ! Yú tīngjiàn le, jiù huì zǒukāi!
Beat the drums! Everyone, beat the drums! When the fish hear them, they'll swim away!
- A Villager 我们还有米！给鱼吃米！
Wǒmen hái yǒu mǐ! Gěi yú chī mǐ!
We've got rice, too! Let's feed the fish rice!
- The Old Fisherman 鱼儿，鱼儿，来吃我们的米吧。别去找屈大夫……
Yú'ér, yú'ér, lái chī wǒmen de mǐ ba. Bié qù zhǎo Qū dàfū…
Little fish, little fish, come and eat our rice. Leave Grand Master Qu alone…
- The Old Fisherman 屈大夫，我们年年都来！年年都给您打鼓，送米！
Qū dàfū, wǒmen niánnián dōu lái! Niánnián dōu gěi nín dǎ gǔ, sòng mǐ!
Grand Master Qu, we'll come back every year! Every year we'll beat the drums and bring rice for you!
- The Old Fisherman 您的诗，我会给大家看。大家会记得您！
Nín de shī, wǒ huì gěi dàjiā kàn. Dàjiā huì jìde nín!
And your poems, I'll share them with everyone. Everyone will remember you!
- Narrator 两千多年过去了。今天，又是五月初五，端午节。
Liǎngqiān duō nián guòqù le. Jīntiān, yòu shì wǔ yuè chū wǔ, Duānwǔ Jié.
More than two thousand years have passed. Today it is the fifth day of the fifth month once again: the Dragon Boat Festival.
- Tiantian 爷爷，你看！龙舟来了！好快啊！
Yéye, nǐ kàn! Lóngzhōu lái le! Hǎo kuài a!
Grandpa, look! Here come the dragon boats! They're so fast!
- Grandpa 甜甜，你知道吗？端午节，人们为什么划龙舟？
Tiántian, nǐ zhīdào ma? Duānwǔ Jié, rénmen wèishénme huá lóngzhōu?
Tiantian, do you know why people race dragon boats at the Dragon Boat Festival?
- Tiantian 为了比赛！看谁是第一！
Wèile bǐsài! Kàn shéi shì dì yī!
For the race! To see who comes first!
- Grandpa 对，也不对。以前，人们划船，是去找一个人。
Duì, yě bú duì. Yǐqián, rénmen huá chuán, shì qù zhǎo yí gè rén.
Yes, and no. Long ago, people rowed out in boats to look for someone.
- Tiantian 找人？找谁？
Zhǎo rén? Zhǎo shéi?
To look for someone? Who?
- Grandpa 找屈原。他很爱楚国。五月初五那天，他走进了汨罗江……
Zhǎo Qū Yuán. Tā hěn ài Chǔguó. Wǔ yuè chū wǔ nà tiān, tā zǒu jìn le Mìluó Jiāng…
Qu Yuan. He loved Chu very much. On the fifth day of the fifth month, he walked into the Miluo River…
- Tiantian 那打鼓呢？是不是……让鱼走开？
Nà dǎ gǔ ne? Shì bu shì… ràng yú zǒukāi?
Then what about the drums? Are they… to make the fish go away?
- Grandpa 对！你知道得真多！
Duì! Nǐ zhīdào de zhēn duō!
That's right! You know so much!
- Tiantian 那粽子呢？粽子也是给鱼吃的吗？
Nà zòngzi ne? Zòngzi yě shì gěi yú chī de ma?
And the zongzi? Are zongzi for the fish too?
- Grandpa 以前，人们给鱼送米。后来，人们用叶子包米，就有了粽子。
Yǐqián, rénmen gěi yú sòng mǐ. Hòulái, rénmen yòng yèzi bāo mǐ, jiù yǒu le zòngzi.
Long ago, people brought rice for the fish. Later, they wrapped the rice in leaves, and that's how zongzi began.
- Tiantian 那我吃一个，鱼吃一个，好不好？
Nà wǒ chī yí gè, yú chī yí gè, hǎo bu hǎo?
Then I'll eat one and the fish can eat one, okay?
- Grandpa 好！可是，这是你的第三个了！
Hǎo! Kěshì, zhè shì nǐ de dì sān gè le!
Okay! But that's already your third one!
- Tiantian 屈原爷爷，我们都记得你！
Qū Yuán yéye, wǒmen dōu jìde nǐ!
Grandpa Qu Yuan, we all remember you!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- On what day does Qu Yuan walk into the Miluo River?
“那天是五月初五。屈原走进了汨罗江，没有再回来。”
- Why does the fisherman tell everyone to beat drums?
“打鼓！大家打鼓！鱼听见了，就会走开！”
- What do the villagers give the fish?
“我们还有米！给鱼吃米！”
- According to Grandpa, how did zongzi begin?
“后来，人们用叶子包米，就有了粽子。”
- Why does Grandpa laugh at Tiantian?
“可是，这是你的第三个了！”