Read on the Lake: the Dragon Boat Festival special event
“Poem, is the shelter for poet’s will, is the will when the poet puts it in heart, turns into a poem when the poet speaks out.”Dragon boat Festival, also known as Duanyang Festival, is the first Chinese festival that is selected into World Intangible Cultural Heritage, and we also call it the Poets’ Festival. During the Dragon Boat Festival on May 25th, to lead everyone to appreciate the beauty of Chinese poetry, and promote traditional Chinese culture. In Liang Island of Xuanwu Lake Park, “Read on the Lake: Dragon Boat Reading Festival Special Event” was organized by Jiangsu Reading Promotion Association, Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation, Nanjing Literature Center, and Jiangsu Shuxiang Reading Foundation, Nanjing Reading Promotion Association, Nanjing Xuanwu Lake Park Office, Litchi Reading Club are as co-organizers. With beautiful poems, the reading festival was sending best festival wishes to everyone.
The theme of this festival was ‘Enjoy 2020 Dragon Boat Festival, Read together’. Hu Xuan, the chief editor of ‘Yangtze River Poetry Magazine’ and the winner of Luxun Literature Prize; Huang Fan, professor of Nanjing University Of Science And Technology and novelist; Yu Bang, the associate editor of magazine ‘Yuhua’; He Tongbing, the youth reviewer, subeditor of magazine ‘Zhong Shan Literary Bimonthly’, gathered together with hundreds of poetry fans across the age range all over Jiangsu province. Their resolutions and emotions were expressed out, combining their poetry creations. They also discussed poetry as the treasure of traditional Chinese culture, the intertextuality between Nanjing and Poetry, the relationship between life and poetry, the meaning of poetry to lives. Everyone was appreciating the outstanding original works of poetries and enjoying the Dragon Boat Festival together.
Poetry is a genre of literature based on phonology; the beauty of poetry is not only about vibe is more about its artistic conceptions and strength. Hu Xuan, Huang Fan and Yu Bang, these three famous poets were reading their poems for audiences. Looking back into histories or recording current life, writing a biography or travelling to distant places, poems are always beautiful, the recitation of these three poets brought surprise and affection to audiences.
On the site, there were poetry ballads concert and recitation of young poetry fans wearing traditional Chinese clothing. With poetry as the theme, audiences realized the philosophy and meaning of life from texts and rhymes.
In addition, poets Liu Yunhui, Shu Xiaojing, Yumu were reciting classics and poems created by themselves. Their recitation took audiences to the past; they looked at the origin and traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival, also the patriotism behind it. Like others, these poets sent their best wishes to audiences as well.
At the end of the festival, famous poet Hu Xuan recited his original poetry In Nanjing with all the poetry fans on the scene. ‘In Nanjing, I love listening to the sound of the bell from Jinghai Temple…I pick up fallen leaves, inside cracks of time, letters from anonymity…looking down at the Zhong Mountain, that pavilion, the green top of the mountain seems to contain the edge of the world.’ Texts are the world; poems are distant travelling. The recitation let people truly feel Nanjing’s profound cultural background and elegance as the capital of six dynasties and world ‘city of literature’.
The poetry festival was broadcast online; people who love poetry were able to participate online. They could feel the strong influences of beautiful poetry and outstanding traditional culture.From ‘The Power of Literature against COVID-19’ to ‘Children’s Literature’, to ‘Dragon Boat Poetry Festival’. ‘Read on the Lake’ is always attempting to promote the idea of nationwide reading; it’s also helping everyone to move forward to achieve this goal. In the future, there will be a series of reading activities with different themes. We will invite experts and cultural celebrities to enjoy and analyze literature works, discuss literature topics with citizens, and we will build a ‘Literary Space’ for every reader.