Chu Huaiwang received a letter from Zhao Xiang, the king of Qin, but he didn't want to go for fear of offending Qin. Go ahead, for fear of danger. He held consultations with ministers.
The doctor Qu Yuan said to Chu Huaiwang, "Qin is as cruel as a jackal. We were bullied by Qin more than once. The king will fall into their trap when he goes. "
Zilan, the son of Chu Huaiwang, persuaded him to go, saying, "Many people died and lost their land in order to fight against Qin Wei.
Since Qin is willing to make up with us, how can he refuse others? "
Chu Huaiwang listened to Zi Lan and went to the State of Qin.
As Qu Yuan had expected, Chu Huaiwang had just set foot in the Wu Pass of Qin State, and was immediately cut off by the troops ambushed by Qin State in advance. At the meeting, the state of Qin forced the land in central Guizhou to be ceded to the state of Qin, but did not agree. Zhao Xiang, king of Qin, took Chu Huaiwang to Xianyang, put him under house arrest, and asked the minister of Chu to redeem the land before releasing him.
When the minister of Chu heard that the monarch was detained, he made the prince the new monarch and refused to cede territory. This monarch is the king of Chu Qing. Son Zilan became the commander-in-chief of the State of Chu.
Chu Huaiwang was imprisoned in Qin for more than a year and suffered a lot. He ventured out of Xianyang and was chased back by Qin Jun. Soon, he died in the state of Qin, although he was ill in the state of Qi.
The Chu people died outside because they were bullied by the state of Qin. They were very unhappy. The doctor Qu Yuan, in particular, was furious. He advised King Xiang of Chu to recruit talented people, stay away from villains, encourage soldiers, train soldiers and avenge his country.
However, his suggestion not only failed to fulfill his responsibility, but attracted the hatred of Yin and Jin merchants. They speak ill of Qu Yuan in front of Xiang Wang every day.
They said to Qing Xiang, king of Chu, "Didn't your majesty hear that Qu Yuan scolded you? He always tells people that it is unfilial for a king to forget the enemy of Qin; Ministers who do not advocate anti-Qin are disloyal. With such disloyal and unfilial monarch and minister, how can Chu not perish? Your majesty, think about what this is called! "
King Xiang of Chu was furious, dismissed Qu Yuan and exiled him to southern Hunan.
Qu Yuan's ambition to save the country and the people and his plan to enrich the country and strengthen the people were pushed out by the treacherous court official, and he was mad. After he arrived in southern Hunan, he often walked along the Miluo River (now the northeast of Hunan Province) and sang sad songs.
Farmers nearby know that he is a patriotic minister, and they all sympathize with him. At this time, there was a fisherman who often fished on the Miluo River. He admires Qu Yuan's personality, but he just doesn't approve of his melancholy appearance.
One day, Qu Yuan met a fisherman by the river. The fisherman said to Qu Yuan, "Aren't you a doctor of the State of Chu? How did you get here? "
Qu Yuan said: "Many people are dirty, only I am a clean person;" Many people are drunk, but only I am sober. So I was sent here. "
The fisherman said disapprovingly, "since you think everyone else is dirty, you shouldn't flatter yourself;" Since everyone else is drunk, why do you wake up alone! "
Qu Yuan objected, "I've heard that people who have just washed their hair always bounce up their hats, and people who have just taken a shower always like to dust off their clothes. I would rather jump into the river and bury myself in the belly of a fish than jump into the mud with my clean body and get dirty. "
Because Qu Yuan didn't want to go with the flow, on the fifth day of May in 278 BC, he finally jumped into the Miluo River with a big stone in his arms and committed suicide.
When the farmers nearby got the news, they all rowed to save Qu Yuan. But there was a flood in Wang Yang, and there was no trace of Qu Yuan. Everyone fished for a long time on the Miluo River, but they didn't find Qu Yuan's body.
The fisherman felt very uncomfortable. Facing the river, he scattered the rice in the bamboo tube on the ground as a gift to Qu Yuan.
On the fifth day of May of the following year, the local people remembered that it was the first anniversary of Qu Yuan's plunge into the river, rowed a boat and scattered rice in a bamboo tube to sacrifice to him. Later, they changed the bamboo tube filled with rice into zongzi and rowed the boat into a dragon boat. This activity in memory of Qu Yuan has gradually become a custom.