爱国诗人屈原

　　屈原(约公元前340年—前278年)是中国古代伟大诗人，他出身于楚国贵族，非常有学问。他在楚国做官期间，主张改革，主张联合齐国抵抗秦国，遭到奸臣的排挤反对，被楚王流放，长期在外漂泊。公元前278年，楚的都城郢被秦军攻破后，他悲愤绝望，跳进汨罗江自杀。传说屈原投江的日子是中国农历的五月初五，人们为了纪念他，每年的这一天都要赛龙舟、吃粽子。赛龙舟，是为了把鱼吓走；人们还包粽子喂鱼，这些都是为了让鱼不要去吃沉没在江中的屈原的尸体。后来农历的五月初五演变为中华民族的传统节日—端午节。

　　屈原生前采用楚国方言，利用民间歌谣的形式，创造出一种新的诗歌体裁，后人称为“楚辞”体。他写了许多优秀的诗篇，以抒情长诗《离骚》最为著名。他的作品表现了他对楚国的深切怀念和为理想而献身的精神，语言优美，想象奇特，融合大量古代神话传说，富有浪漫主义色彩。屈原的诗不仅在中国被广为传诵，还被译为多种外国文字，成为中华民族贡献给人类文化的一份珍贵遗产。

　　Qu Yuan, a Patriotic Poet

　　Qu Yuan (340 - 278 BC) was born into an aristocratic family of the State of Chu, and showed a talent for writing poetry at an early age. As a senior official, he tried to warn the ruler of Chu of danger from the State of Qin, but lost his official post due to intrigue, and was exiled. In 278 BC, the capital city of Chu, Ying, fell to an invading army from the State of Qin. Overcome with grief, Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River in northeast Hunan Province. Tradition has it that this occurred on the fifth day of the fifth month by the lunar calendar. In commemoration of this patriotic man of letters, dragon-boat races are held on this day every year. Also, people eat zongzi (a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves). The dragon-boat races are meant to frighten fish away from Qu Yuan's body, and zongzi are supposed to be used to feed the fish, so that they would not eat the poet's dead body. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the highlights of the Chinese calendar.

　　Adopting the framework of Chu folk ballads and using the Chu dialect, Qu Yuan created a new type of poems, called the "songs of Chu" genre by later generations. His most famous poem is the long lyric work Li Sao. Qu Yuan's poetic works are filled with devotion to his native State of Chu, and are enlivened with references to ancient myths. They have been translated into many foreign languages.