there is another story that accompanies the dragonboat festival. this one does not have a happy ending, or a heavenly intervention, or even a smoke machine. this other story is the sad tale of a chinese statesman and poet named qu yuan who lived during china's warring states period. qu yuan was so distraught over the incorporation of his own state into a larger, stronger one, that he drowned himself in the miluo river. his fellow citizens tried to paddle to his rescue, beating the water with oars and throwing rice to divert hungry fish, but to no avail. people now hold annual dragon boat races and eat sticky rice dumplings called zongzi to commemorate qu yuan. last weekend in taipei, i joined a team of 17 foreign rowers relying on high spirits and north american girth to lead us to victory... we walked away dazed, exhausted, and enormously proud of our 4th place standing (4th of 4). sometimes finishing really is everything.
yesterday was the official duan wu jie, so i went to visit my friend may in donggang, home of taiwan's 2nd largest harbor (and october's boat-burning festival). thanks to the abruptly blazing blue sky, we had the stands to ourselves while everyone else took shelter under a tent. we watched dragon boat races for a while, noting the rowers' clever synchronization and lack of fatigue.
watching strong people row under a hot sun gets pretty tiring, so we left to eat mango ice and balance some eggs. donggang is known for its spectacular mango ice and a great gold-plated temple archway. the egg balancing is just something people say can be done at noon on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. it didn't work.
zongzi are glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves. they're stuffed with tasty items including chestnuts, pork, egg yolks, peanuts, and mushrooms, and then steamed. they can be set on a small table as an offering to the ancestors, along with incense and paper money. they can also be set on a large table and consumed in mass quantities, with a sweet, spicy sauce on top.
eating too many zongzi and watching world cup soccer while strong people row under a hot sun can also be exhausting, so we headed to the shrimp fishing warehouse. may's husband is an avid indoor shrimp fisherman. he caught 3. he's also quite good at the claw-hand-grabber game. he grabbed 2. the guy pictured above, however, really had the best technique i've ever seen.
donggang's great big harbor means a great big gigantic fish market. you can pick up ANYTHING in any size, quantity, or state of aliveness. we opted for sashimi, shrimp, razor clams, and crabs. we could have had desalinated mullet roe (a delicacy), fish stomach, sting ray, eels, lobsters, deep fried caviar, oysters, octopus, squid, fish tail, seaweed, lobster, or pretty much anything else under the sea. to top off our seafood dinner, we had a dessert from outer space-- astronaut ice cream from NASA.
duan wu jie kuai le!*happy dragon boat festival*
photos: dragon boat race on taipei's danshui river; blue skies & dragon boats in donggang; liang, may, guang, and may's husband; donggang's gold plated temple arch; liang blowing incense; zongzi feast; may's husband's two passions in life; giant fish eyeballs, purple crabs, and rainbow fish at donggang's fish market; guang & his marvelous grandpa; guang and liang getting acquainted with astronaut ice cream; donggang's last dragon boat race
No comments:
Post a Comment