What are we giving away?

     The annual Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, a happy occasion for working-class people. Perhaps their joy isn't so much for the festival itself, but rather the holiday it entails. Whether it's the Chinese-originating Qingming, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival, or the internationally celebrated May Day and New Year's Day, they embrace them all. Perhaps it's because their busy lives allow them a respite during these breaks.

    Recently, while watching the TV program "Weekly Li Bo Show," Zhou Libo, with his humorous and witty hosting style, mentioned that South Korea's application for the Dragon Boat Festival had been approved by UNESCO. While some Chinese people expressed their indignation and complaints, they still favored Western holidays like Valentine's Day and Christmas. This biased preference makes those traditional festivals, which have existed for thousands of years, seem particularly desolate and lonely.

    I then looked up information online about South Korea's application for the Dragon Boat Festival. Here's the situation: South Korea listed the Dano Festival as its 13th Important Cultural Property in 1967, protecting it and subsequently applying to UNESCO for recognition as a national cultural heritage. On November 27, 2005, the Gangneung Danoje Festival, submitted by South Korea, was officially recognized by UNESCO as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity." The Dano Festival originated in China, famous for Qu Yuan, and has a history of over 2500 years. South Korea's Gangneung Danoje Festival also has a history of 1000 years. It differs from the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival customs of eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and dragon boat racing, undergoing significant changes after incorporating local culture, even presenting a completely different picture from its place of origin. Let's look at the three main characteristics of the Korean Danoje Festival. First, the scope of the rituals is quite broad. Local heroes and figures worthy of commemoration are included. Moreover, the festival lasts a long time, from April 5th to May 7th. Second, various games and celebrations. The festival features various singing competitions, primarily dance-based with masks, including traditional song and dance competitions as well as modern song competitions for young people. Thirdly, a wide range of activities are held around the Dragon Boat Festival, including sports such as wrestling and swinging. These activities attract not only local residents but also tourists from around the world.

    Perhaps due to a lack of cultural elements, even after innovating upon imported culture, South Korea has managed to make it its own. Later, South Korea designated Gangneung, where the Dano Festival is prevalent, as one of its ten major festival sites. As the birthplace of the "Dragon Boat Festival," we, perhaps because our ancestors left us so much, have neither valued it nor possessed the same drive for innovation as South Korea. More importantly, we have neglected it, as our Dragon Boat Festival today remains primarily a commemorative event involving eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and dragon boat racing, lacking the spirit of inheritance and development.

    Here, I will not comment on whether South Korea's attempt to claim the "Dragon Boat Festival" title from China was right or wrong. Perhaps when we find ourselves in the eye of the storm, the wise thing to do is to reflect on our own mistakes rather than blindly blaming others. After South Korea successfully registered "Dragon Boat Festival," the insults and accusations may not change the outcome. But we must consider this: why is it that when our own things are borrowed, they can be transformed into something more sophisticated and widespread, while our own remains unchanged, and even so, we still hold them in contempt? Gunpowder already showed us our humiliation in the late Qing Dynasty, yet this problem persists a century later. What are

    we handing over? It's not simply "gunpowder" and "Dragon Boat Festival," but rather the ingrained mindset behind this phenomenon, and a "wanting what you have, you can't have it" mentality. Moreover, this mentality is a strange kind of thinking. They always believe that others' things are better than their own, so they begin to belittle and ignore their own. However, these things are often not useless; in fact, they are often highly sought after by others. When others take what they consider discarded and make it their own, and then promote it, they feel extremely uncomfortable—a kind of jealousy born of ignorance.

    What are we giving away so readily? Often, it's not something we created ourselves, but rather something inherited from our ancestors. Because of our tendency to favor one thing over another, because of our biases and prejudices, our eyes are blind to our own, so we only see what belongs to others. When others are promoting their own things, we feel a sense of friendly joy and join them in promoting them. But when others suddenly and successfully promote their own things, and these people appear in their own name and with their own products, these compatriots feel extremely unhappy.

    Here, I am not defending South Korea's application, nor do I think their actions are noble. I simply want to use this incident to prevent this situation from happening again. We must guard our own territory, protect our own things, whether in material or spiritual form. At the same time, we must also promote what can be called the essence of things, even if we need the cooperation of others, at least the ultimate ownership of this jointly developed thing belongs to us.

    I wonder how many people are currently enthusiastic about internationally celebrated holidays like Valentine's Day and Christmas, neglecting our own traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival, Qixi Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival. In this blind participation, can we be aware of what we are giving away? Hopefully, our rationality will allow our descendants to see our own traditional festivals flourished and developed, rather than others or other countries prematurely registering them. Finally, I hope my compatriots enjoy the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. Thank you!