Legend has it that dragon boats were first used to search for the body of Ch'u Yuan, a poet who committed suicide by jumping into the Mi Lo river to protest the despotic rule of the emperor.
古書記載：「端，初也。」每月初五，皆可稱「端五」。但諸月初五，不敵五月五，﹘﹘因為它有兩個五，「端五」乃成今日特稱的「端五」。