Text:

The festival is called:

Chinese: 端午節
Phonetic: Duānwǔjié
Transliteration: End Noon Festival
Translation: Dragon Boat Festival

“I think the festival is around his death, so it really is just a festival to commemorate him the guy who jumped into the river and killed himself the guy who suicided I guess I mean it’s in the name although it’s not really a tradition anymore it’s really more about the food nowadays more than racing dragon boats they still do it in southern china. It still happens but it’s less common than just eating the food thats what we do mostly. We don’t really do much we just know that day is a day off and we eat Zongzi as a family.”

Context:

Informant (XY) is a student aged 19 from Changsha, China. He spent a few years going to elementary school in Canada but has spent almost his entire life in China. He currently goes to USC. This piece was collected during an interview over dinner in the dining hall. He learned about this from his family. He doesn’t really see any larger meaning behind the festival.

Interpretation:

This piece demonstrates how festivals have changed with industrialization. As (XY) mentions, this festival today is more seen as a day off than anything else. The piece demonstrates how festival practices have changed with industrialization, and, in China, how the Cultural Revolution has impacted traditional cultural practices.