Awakening The Dragon Analysis

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Dear Mom,
I have recently read a book called “Awakening the Dragon by Arelene Chan”. The story behind the Dragon Boat Festival is really moving and interesting.
Do you know the historical belief of the dragon? Ancient China believed that in each river or sea, there was a dragon. When the dragon was mad, it made storms and floods. So, the ancient Chinese thought they needed to make the dragon happy. They made dragon boats and used them for dragon boat racing. They also thought that the sound of drums and the beautiful shape of the boat would make the dragon happy.
Then, there were six warring kingdoms in China. The most powerful kingdoms were Qin and Chu. There was an advisor called Qu Yuan in Chu. The king trusted him the most. One day, Qin offered a peace agreement for Chu to sign. Qu Yuan didn’t know it was a trap and advised the king to sign it. However, soon Qu Yuan found out that it was a trap. He persuaded the king to cancel it but the king didn’t listen to him and forced him to get out of this kingdom. Qu Yuan was really disappointed. He stayed in the forest. After nearly twenty-five years, Qu Yuan heard that Kingdom Chu was conquered by the army of Qin. He lost all his hope. He tied himself on a heavy rock and jumped into the river. When the villagers of the Chu kingdom discovered …show more content…

I have gained a lot from it. Not only have I learnt a lot of historical facts, my word search and reading skill have also improved. I need to read many sentences and look up the new words in the dictionary in order to have a better understanding of the content. This is a good way of improving my English as well as increase my knowledge of Chinese legends.
I definitely love Dragon Boat Festival more than before after knowing the story behind this festival. I would really suggest you to read it.
Your son,
Oliver
(Book borrowed from Hong Kong Central Library, Children Library on 2/F, J 394.268 CHA, Awakening the dragon, by Arlene