Poet and minister of the state of Chu, author of the long poem 离骚. He drowned himself in the Miluo River after Qin took the Chu capital; the Dragon Boat Festival, 端午节, is said to remember him.
The Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Qu Yuan.
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From his 离骚 comes the classic line for a long, determined quest: 路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索, 'the road ahead is long and far; I will search high and low'. Its 兮 is an exclamatory particle typical of the Chu songs.
