Chu Yuan (Qu Yuan, 332-296 B.C.)
"I would prefer to jump into the river and be entombed in the stomachs of fishes than to bow while purity is defiled by vulgar pestilence..."
Chu Yuan was descended from the imperial family, and
an air of suffering nobility and fantasy can easily be sensed in his
works. He is one of the greatest Chinese poets of all times. His
tragic death is commemorated each year on the fifth day of the fifth
moon by dragon boat races and the offering of rice (zongzi) thrown
into the water. On that day, Chu Yuan committed suicide in the Milo River
of Hunan Province.
Chu Yuan lived at a time of remorseless wars when King Huai (329-299 B.C.) of Ch'u was busily attempting to extend the frontiers of his kingdom. As prime minister, Chu Yuan objected to the use of force, but without effect; and in 303 B.C. he was banished, never to return to power. Thereafter he wandered over the countryside, principally in the region of the vast inland T'ung-ting Lake in Northern Hunan. During this time he collected legends, rearranged folk odes, and wrote the long, tragic poem of complaint against the Emperor known as Li Sao. Eventually, unable to bear his fate any longer, he drowned himself. The Lord of the East in "Nine Songs:1" is supposed to have been the god of the eastern part of the state of Chu, of which Chu Yuan was at one time Prime Minister.
Also, check out "The Lighter Side of Chu Yuan--A Brief History of Dragon Boating" by Andy Holmes!