Qu Yuan, a great politician and poet in the Warring States Period (476 BC - 221 BC), was born in a noble family of the Chu State, one of seven powerful states at that time. He was the chief poet and representative of chuci (the Songs of Chu), a member of the ruling house, a state man and a diplomat.
屈原是战国时期（公元前476年-公元前221年）伟大的政治家和诗人，出生在当时七大强国之一的楚国的一个贵族家庭。他是楚辞的创立者和代表作者，也是楚国的统治者、政治家和外交家。
There were several ups and downs in his career — for after each banishment (流放) he was recalled to court, only to be again refused and shamed. In the meantime, his country was in danger. Failing to follow Qu Yuan’s advice, the king of Chu foolishly went to a conference with the king of Qin, the most powerful military state in that period. He was held there by the Qin army and died in captivity (囚禁). His son, the new king, instead of avenging (报仇) his father’s death, made a humiliating peace with his enemy. This, however, did not deter Qin’s aggressive designs against Chu, and Qu Yuan, who had started his banishment as a result of his political failure, lived long enough to see the capital of his state ruined by the army of Qin in 278 B.C. At that time, Qu Yuan was already an old man of over sixty, and the fall of the Chu capital was the last blow to his patriotic hope.
在他的职业生涯中有过几次起伏——因为每次被流放后，他都被召回朝廷，但又一次被拒绝和羞辱。与此同时，他的国家正处于危险之中。楚王没有听从屈原的建议，愚蠢地与当时最强大的军事国家的秦王会面。楚王被秦军囚禁而死，他的儿子新楚王，没有为他父亲的死“报仇”，而是与他的敌人达成了屈辱的和平。然而，这并没有阻止秦国对楚国的侵略计划。由于政治上的失败，当时屈原已经开始被流放，直到公元前278年，他看到楚国首都被秦军摧毁。那时，屈原已经是一个六十多岁的老人，郢都的沦陷是他爱国希望的最后一击。
On the breakthrough of Qin army into the capital of his country, Qu Yuan threw himself into Milo River and died with his country. At the news of his suicide, Chu people, who showed high respect to him for his integrity and nobleness, rushed to save by boat. But, they failed even to find his body. So they dropped rice balls into the river in order that the fish would not eat his body.
在秦军突入郢都之际，屈原投奔汨罗河，与国同归于尽。楚国人得知他自杀的消息，对他的正直和高贵表示了崇高的敬意，纷纷乘船前去营救。但是，他们甚至没能找到他的尸体。所以他们把饭团扔到河里，以免鱼吃掉他的身体。
In memory of this great patriotic poet, people made it a custom that on the day of his death, the fifth day of every fifth lunar month, loong boat races would be held and people should eat zongzi. The tradition is still kept up to now, called the Loong Boat Festival.
为了纪念这位伟大的爱国诗人，人们在他去世的那天，也就是每年农历五月初五，举行龙舟比赛，人们应该吃粽子。这一传统至今仍保留着，被称为端午节。
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