As the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend approaches in Taiwan, the National Palace Museum has launched a new exhibition titled “Treasured Historical Documents from the Qing Dynasty – Duan Yang Season” from the 1st to the 25th of the month, inviting the public to explore the rich cultural significance of traditional seasonal festivals.
The museum’s press release highlights that the exhibition showcases selected artifacts related to the Dragon Boat Festival, interpreting the Duan Yang season, which represents the summer festival through themes of summer legends, stories of the Double Fifth, collecting the essence of Duan Yang, joyous moments in the heavens, and the Dragon Boat Festival on Kun Island.
Curator and Deputy Researcher Lai Yuling shared that “Duan Wu,” originally referred to as the “Double Fifth” at the beginning of May, has its origins in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties’ Summer Solstice festival. Its main significance lies in warding off evil spirits and diseases, in conjunction with solar terms, ceremonial rites, and festival objects, and is known by various names such as the May Festival, Double Fifth Festival, Heavenly Center Festival, Noon Festival, Duan Yang Festival, Calamus Festival, Orchid Bathing Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Rice Dumpling Festival.
Lai Yuling mentioned that the “Duan Yang Season” exhibition aims to help the public understand the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival through ancient texts, tracing the customs of driving away evils during the poisonous month of summer, symbolized by hanging calamus, eating rice dumplings, drinking Realgar wine, and racing dragon boats. The exhibition also displays paintings and objects depicting hibiscus, pomegranate, calamus, lychee, rice dumplings, or the five poisons, showcasing the elegant and refined taste of traditional offerings during ancient seasonal festivals.
One of the magnificent exhibits, “Heavenly Center Scenery by Yuan Artists,” depicts the theme of “Tian Zhong,” another name for the Dragon Boat Festival. The painting features hibiscus, pomegranate, calamus, and other May flowers arranged in a vase, with sachets hanging from the branches and Taoist talismans and Zhong Kui’s paintings above, symbolizing the exorcism and blessings of the Dragon Boat Festival.
The “Qing Dynasty Ivory Fairy Ship” is a Duan Yang display made of ivory, with the ship’s body shaped like a dragon, a three-story pavilion as the cabin, and eight oars on each side of the ship. The deck is intricately carved with railings, pavilions, and corridors, showcasing exquisite and delicate craftsmanship.
The “Qing Dynasty Copper Enamel Flower and Herb Five Poisons Box” is a small floral box with a powder blue cover painted with geometric patterns in pink, yellow, blue, and green, depicting the five poisons of scorpions, snakes, centipedes, toads, and spiders, in line with the tradition of resisting the five poisons during the Dragon Boat Festival. Additionally, in conjunction with the special exhibition “Duan Yang Season,” on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival on June 10th, the Northern Branch of the museum will offer a handcrafting experience activity called “Heavenly Center Scenery – The National Palace Museum Invites You to Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival.”
Visitors can exchange materials for free at the B1 Children’s Art Center in main building of the National Palace Museum with that day’s entrance ticket. The activity will be available while supplies last. At 3 p.m. in the B1 Lobby of the main building in the Northern Branch of the museum, the “National Palace Museum Dragon Boat Festival Music Concert” will be held, featuring a performance by the “Little Giant Chinese Orchestra” with melodious tunes played on various instruments such as pipa, erhu, flute, yangqin, and ruan, interpreting familiar songs. Visitors are welcomed to the National Palace Museum to view the exhibition, listen to music, engage in handicrafts, and joyously celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival.