Qingming Festival (QingMing Jie)

Natural solar term

Qingming Festival, with both natural and humanistic connotations, is not only one of the "24 solar terms", but also a traditional ancestor worship Festival. "Twenty four solar terms" is the product of ancient agricultural civilization. It is related to the time of the main branches and eight trigrams, and has a long historical source. "Twenty four solar terms" not only played a guiding role in agricultural production, but also affected the ancients' clothing, food, housing and transportation, and even cultural concepts. In the early era of observing and timing, when determining the age according to the star shift, the handle rotates clockwise, which is called one year old (photo). Tianwei Jianyuan began with Yin. For example, according to the astronomy training of Huainan Zi: "emperor Zhang Siwei, carry it to fight, move the moon for an hour and return to its place. The first month refers to Yin, December refers to ugliness, and turn at the age of one year, and it starts again and again". In traditional culture, Yin position is the "gen position" of the acquired eight trigrams. It is the position of the first intersection of all years, representing the end and beginning. Yi shuoguazhuan: "gen, the divination of the northeast, is the end and beginning of all things." Therefore, the handle of the Big Dipper starts from the moon of "Jianyin" pointing due east by North, and then rotates clockwise and goes back and forth; At the end of the year, December refers to the ugly side, and the first month returns to Yin again, all over again. The Big Dipper rotates in a circle, the handle returns to Yin, the Qianyuan Dynasty sets sail, and then returns to the Spring Festival. When the bucket handle points to the "B" position due east by south, it is the Qingming solar term. In the solar term of Qingming Festival, everything is clean, vigorous, fresh and fresh, and the temperature rises. The Earth shows the image of spring and Jingming. It is a good time for youth tours and tomb sacrifices in the suburbs.

Cultural connotation

Qingming Festival is the most grand ancestor worship festival of the Chinese nation. It is a traditional cultural festival that respects ancestors and pursues the future carefully. Qingming Festival embodies the national spirit, inherits the sacrificial culture of Chinese civilization, and expresses people's moral feelings of respecting their ancestors and ancestors and following their aspirations. Tomb sweeping is the "Tomb sacrifice", which means "respect for the time" to our ancestors. There have been two sacrifices in the spring and Autumn period since ancient times. Qingming Festival has a long history, which originates from the ancestors' beliefs and Spring Festival rites and customs in ancient times. According to the research results of modern anthropology and archaeology, the two most primitive beliefs of mankind are heaven and earth belief and ancestor belief. According to archaeological excavations, tombs of 10000 years ago were found at the Qingtang site in Yingde, Guangdong Province, which is the earliest identifiable burial type in China, indicating that ancient ancestors had a clear conscious burial behavior and customs concept 10000 years ago. The rites and customs of "Tomb sacrifice" have a long historical source. The "Tomb sacrifice" of Qingming Festival is the synthesis and sublimation of the traditional Spring Festival customs. The formulation of the ancient Ganzhi calendar provided a prerequisite for the formation of festivals. Ancestor belief and sacrifice culture are important factors in the formation of ancestor worship rites and customs in the Qingming Dynasty. Qingming Festival is rich in customs, which can be summarized into two major Festival Traditions: one is to respect our ancestors and pursue the future with caution; Second, go outing and get close to nature. The Qingming Festival not only has the theme of sacrificial sweeping, remembrance and remembrance, but also has the theme of outing and pleasure. The traditional concept of "unity of heaven and man" has been vividly reflected in the Qingming Festival. Through historical development, the Qingming Festival in the Tang and Song Dynasties integrated the customs of the cold food festival and the Shangsi Festival, mixed with a variety of folk customs in many places, and has extremely rich cultural connotation.

Festival integration

Integrate cold food festival customs

In the historical development, the Qingming Festival has integrated the fire prohibition and cold food customs of the cold food festival popular in the north. It is said that the cold food festival was set up in the spring and Autumn period to commemorate Jie Zitui, the loyal minister of the state of Jin. In folklore, although the cold food festival is related to Jie Zitui, the origin of the cold food is not to commemorate Jie Zitui, but to follow the old practice of changing fire in ancient times, that is, as stated in the Zhou Li, "in the middle of spring, it is forbidden to repair fire with a wooden duo in the country". Cold food festival is an early Festival spread in the Central Plains of northern China in ancient times. When the cold food festival was first a festival, fireworks were banned and only cold food was eaten. In the development of later generations, customs such as grave sweeping, swing, Cuju, hook pulling, chicken fighting and so on were gradually added. People are forbidden to make fires in the north when it is cold in March. In the Han Dynasty, the cold food festival was called the no smoking Festival, because people were not allowed to raise a fire on that day. In the evening, candles were lit in the palace and the fire was transmitted to the families of noble and important officials. According to the records of the later Han Dynasty, the initial cold food festival lasted for a long time, the longest 105 days and the shortest nearly a month. During the cold food festival, you can only eat raw food instead of making a fire, which is harmful to people's health.

It can be seen from the literature records that there were relatively strict fire prohibition systems in some parts of northern China in the pre-Qin period, and there was the custom of changing fire from the official to the folk. Zhou Li, written between the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, clearly recorded that there was an official of "Si Ju" at that time. Whenever the climate is dry in the middle of spring, not only the kindling kept by human beings is easy to cause fire, but also the occurrence of spring thunder is easy to cause mountain fire. In this season, the ancients often carried out grand sacrificial activities to extinguish all the fires handed down from the previous year, that is, "fire prohibition". Then drill the flint again and take out the new fire as the starting point of production and life in the new year, which is called "changing fire". During the period of banning and changing fire, people must prepare enough cooked food to live with cold food. Because the ancient fire ban system was too cruel and severe, and regardless of the specific conditions of various places, it even affected the production and life of the people. As a result, Zhou Ju abolished the vulgar fire prohibition in Taiyuan in the Han Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, fire was banned for a month in many places. In the Tang Dynasty, the cold food festival became three days, which were called big cold food, official cold food and small cold food. After the Tang Dynasty, the cold food festival gradually declined. During the song and Yuan Dynasties, the status of the Qingming Festival rose to replace the cold food festival.

Integrate the customs of Shangsi Festival

Qingming Festival also integrates the customs of Shangsi Festival, another earlier Festival. Shangsi Festival, commonly known as March 3. Shangsi Festival is the most important festival in the ancient activities of "taking a bath beside the river". People go to the water to take a bath together, which is called "taking a bath". Since then, sacrificial banquets, Qushui flowing wine cups, spring outings in the suburbs and so on have been added. In ancient times, "Ganzhi" was used to record the day. The first day in early March was called "Shangsi". The word "Shangsi" first appeared in the literature of the Han Dynasty. Zheng Xuan's note in Zhou Li: "it was eliminated when I was old, and now it is like water in March." After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the festival period of Shangsi festival was changed to the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, so it is also called "double third" or "March third".

The main customs of Shangsi Festival are spring outing in the suburbs, spring bathing, and rolling (bathing near the river to pray for disaster relief), etc. In ancient times, people went to the water to offer sacrifices every March. Lu Ji of the Jin Dynasty wrote in a poem: "late in the spring, the weather is soft and beautiful. At the beginning of Jilong in the Yuan Dynasty, you are cleaning and swimming in the Yellow River." That is, it is a vivid portrayal of people's outings and outings on the Shangsi Festival at that time, just as Wang Wei, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, said that "young people roam every day without Qingming and Shangsi". In the Song Dynasty, Shangsi festival gradually disappeared and disappeared from documents.

Holiday change

Although the Qingming Festival has a long historical origin, it is popular all over the country and set up tomb sweeping holidays after the Tang and Song dynasties. According to records, in the Tang Dynasty, officials often delayed their duties when they returned home to visit tombs. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty issued a decree to solve the problem of holidays. According to the edict of the 12th year of the Dali calendar (777), the Yamen of the Tang Dynasty has a five-day holiday as a rule: "from now on, the cold food will pass the Qingming Festival and take a five-day holiday.". By the sixth year of Zhenyuan (790), holidays were added to seven days. In this way, officials can calmly carry out tomb sweeping and memorial ceremonies. Wang Lengran of the Tang Dynasty said in his cold food: "autumn is expensive, Double Ninth Festival is expensive, and wax is expensive in winter. It's better to eat cold food before spring." It can be seen that the cold food festival had become a very grand festival in the Tang Dynasty.

The cold food and Qingming Festival in the Song Dynasty also have seven days off. The first volume of Wenchang miscellany written by Pang Yuanying of the Northern Song dynasty recorded: "the ancestral temple has six days for people who are 70 years old, and seven days for the first day, cold food and winter solstice." Chen Yuanliang of the Southern Song Dynasty quoted LV Yuanming of the Song Dynasty from Volume 15 of the "year-old miscellaneous notes" and said: "the first two days of the Qingming Festival are the cold food festival, three days before and after each, and every seven days are off. Among the people, the fire is banned on the 14th day, which is called the private cold food, also known as the big cold food. People in the North sweep the tombs of the first tombs on this day, which lasts for a long time through the moon. There is a common saying of the cold food January Festival." According to the Song Dynasty's "Mengliang record", every tomb sweeping day, "officials, scholars and common people all go out of the provincial tombs in the suburbs to show their respect for the time." Tomb Sweeping activities before and after the Qingming Festival often become the personal participation of the whole society. In a few days, there are continuous exchanges of people in the countryside, and the scale is extremely prosperous.

In 1935, the government of the Republic of China clearly designated April 5 as the national holiday Qingming Festival. On December 7, 2007, the 198th executive meeting of the State Council adopted the decision to amend the national measures for annual and Memorial Day holidays, which stipulates that "Qingming Day is a one-day holiday (on the Qingming Day of the lunar calendar); in 2008, Qingming Day officially became a legal holiday and a one-day holiday; in 2009, the Qingming Day holiday, including compensatory leave, was changed to three days.

Development and evolution

Qingming Festival is the Spring Festival of the Chinese nation. Corresponding to the Qingming Spring Festival is the autumn festival of the Double Ninth Festival and the spring and Autumn Festival, which has existed since ancient times. Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has had the concept of etiquette and customs of respecting ancestors and pursuing the future with caution. Qingming Festival has a long history. It changes with the development of the times. Later, it gradually integrates the customs of cold food festival and Shangsi Festival. In ancient times, there were different customs between the north and the south of China. Before the Tang Dynasty, the tomb sweeping in the north of China was mainly on the cold food festival and the cold clothes Festival. According to the records of the book of rites and other documents, before the Tang Dynasty, there were no rules and regulations for Tomb Sweeping on the Qingming Festival in northern China. By the Tang Dynasty, Tomb Sweeping on the Qingming Festival had become a common practice. The Tang Dynasty is a period of integration of tomb sacrifice customs in the north and south of China. It followed the tomb sacrifice customs of the Qingming Dynasty and expanded to all parts of the country. After the Tang Dynasty, the cold food festival gradually declined because it was close to the Qingming Festival. During the song and Yuan Dynasties, the Qingming Festival rose to replace the cold food festival and integrated the customs of fire prohibition, cold food and so on.

The Qingming Festival, which integrates the customs of cold food and Shangsi festivals, formed a custom centered on ancestor worship and tomb sweeping in the song and Yuan Dynasties, integrating the customs of fire prohibition and cold food with Shangsi outings and other customs and activities; As the custom of banning fire and cold food on the cold food festival was moved to the Qingming Festival, some places in northern China still retain the habit of banning fire and eating cold food on the Qingming Festival. The Ming and Qing Dynasties generally inherited the old system of the previous generation, and the Qingming Festival still adhered to and developed its position as an indispensable festival in spring life. During the period of the Republic of China, on Tomb Sweeping Day, in addition to the original tomb sweeping, outing and other customs, tree planting was also determined as a conventional project, which is actually just an official recognition of the folk tree planting custom that has lasted for a long time.

Main customs

Qingming Festival is from April to June of the Gregorian calendar. The activities of worshipping the Qing Dynasty (Qingming ancestor worship) are usually from the first 10 days to the last 10 days of the Qingming Festival. In some places, the activities of worshipping the Qing Dynasty are as long as one month. Qingming Festival is one of the important "eight festivals of the year" in China. Qingming Festival, as a festival, is different from the pure solar terms. The solar terms are the sign of phenological changes and seasonal order, while the festival contains spiritual beliefs and festival etiquette. Ancestor belief and sacrificial culture are important factors in the formation of Qingming Festival. Qingming Festival is an important carrier of inheriting belief and family ethics. Qingming sacrifice is a cultural expression, an important way to thank our ancestors and close human feelings. The custom of tomb sweeping and ancestor worship during the Qingming Festival has been followed from generation to generation and has become a fixed theme of etiquette and customs.

The theme of Tomb Sweeping Festival is the same in different regions, but the content of Tomb Sweeping Festival is basically different in different regions. During the Qingming Festival, no matter where people are, they will return home to participate in ancestor worship activities and cherish the memory of their ancestors. Qingming etiquette and customs culture fully embodies the humanistic spirit of the Chinese nation to respect its ancestors and pursue the future with caution. The important function of Qingming ritual culture is to be cautious in the sacrificial ceremony of ancestors, to enjoy the fun of spring in the outing, and to inherit culture and adjust body and mind.

Outing

The Chinese nation has had the custom of going on an outing during the Qingming Festival since ancient times. In ancient times, outing was called exploring spring, searching for spring, etc., that is, spring outing, also known as "spring outing". It usually refers to walking in the suburbs in early spring. Outing, a seasonal folk activity, has a long history in China. Its source is the spring greeting custom of ancient farming sacrifice, which has a far-reaching impact on future generations. Qingming Festival has two connotations: solar terms and festivals. Qingming solar terms provide important conditions for the formation of Qingming outing custom in terms of time and meteorological phenology. During the Qingming Festival, spring returns to the earth, and a vibrant scene appears everywhere in nature. It is a good time for outing. People took advantage of the advantages to visit tombs. Besides, a family of children and old played in the mountains and countryside.

Chinese people have long maintained the habit of going on an outing during the Qingming Festival, and the custom of going on an outing has a long history. During the Qingming Festival, it is the season of full of spring. When all things sprout, spring outing in the wild has long become a custom. According to Jin Shu, every spring, people go to the suburbs to enjoy the scenery. The custom of outing flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties. According to the old book of Tang Dynasty, "it was lucky to have an outing in Kunming Lake at the noon of February in the second year of Dali." It can be seen that the custom of taking a youth tour has long been popular.

tree planting

Around the Qingming Festival, the spring sun shines and the spring rain flies. The survival rate of planted seedlings is high and grows fast. Therefore, there is the habit of planting trees during the Qingming Festival. Some people also call the Qingming Festival "tree planting day". The custom of planting trees has been handed down to this day. The custom of planting trees on Qingming Day is said to originate from the custom of wearing willows and inserting willows on Qingming Day. There are three legends about wearing willows and inserting willows during the Qingming Festival. The first legend is said to commemorate Shennong, the ancestor of the religious people's farming, which later developed the meaning of praying for longevity. The second legend is related to Jie Zitui. It is said that when Duke Wen of Jin led his officials to climb the mountain to pay tribute to Jie Zitui, he found that the old willow he had relied on before Jie Zitui died and resurrected, so he gave the old willow the name "Qingming willow". The third legend is that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty gave Liu Quan to the minister to show blessing and drive away the epidemic.

fly a kite

Kites are also known as "paper kites" and "kite children". Flying kites is a favorite activity during the Qingming Festival. A kite is a kind of aircraft that uses bamboo strips and other skeletons to paste paper or silk, pull the long line tied on it, and take advantage of the wind to fly into the sky. It belongs to a kind of aircraft that only uses aerodynamic force. During the Qingming Festival, people put it not only during the day, but also at night. At night, hang a string of colorful small lanterns under the kite or on the wind stable cable, like flashing stars, which is called "magic lamp". In the past, some people cut the strings after flying kites into the blue sky and let the breeze send them to the ends of the earth. It is said that this can eliminate diseases and disasters and bring good luck to themselves.

Tomb sweeping and ancestor worship

Tomb Sweeping during the Qingming Festival is "Tomb sacrifice", which means "respect for the time" to our ancestors. Ancestor sweeping is a way of remembering our ancestors, and its custom has a long history. According to archaeological excavations, tombs 10000 years ago were found at Qingtang site in Yingde, Guangdong. According to the determination of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), it is about 13500 years ago and the age is the late Paleolithic age. It is the earliest recognizable burial type in China, indicating that more than 10000 years ago, the ancients in Lingnan had clear conscious burial behavior and etiquette and customs. Tomb sweeping and ancestor worship is the center of Qingming Festival customs. The Qingming Festival is mainly to offer sacrifices to ancestors to express their filial piety and missing for their ancestors. It is a cultural tradition of respecting ancestors and pursuing the future carefully. According to different places of sacrifice, Qingming sacrifice can be divided into tomb sacrifice and ancestral hall sacrifice. Tomb sacrifice is the most common. The characteristic of Qingming sacrifice is tomb sacrifice. Qingming sacrifice is called tomb sweeping, which is mainly due to the way of tomb sacrifice. Another form is ancestral hall sacrifice, also known as temple sacrifice. People of a clan gather in the ancestral hall to sacrifice their ancestors. After the sacrifice, they have a meeting and dinner. This sacrifice is a way to reunite the people.

There are some differences between different places before and after the Qingming Festival. Tomb Sweeping Day ancestor worship, according to custom, usually in the morning of Tomb Sweeping Day. The ways or projects of worshiping the Qing Dynasty vary from place to place. The common practice consists of two parts: one is to renovate the tomb, the other is to hang and burn paper money and offer sacrifices. When sweeping the grave, first renovate the grave, which is mainly to remove weeds, add new soil, and then kowtow to worship. On the one hand, this behavior can express the filial piety and care of the worshippers for their ancestors. On the other hand, in the belief of the ancients, the tombs of the ancestors have a great relationship with the rise and fall of future generations, so cultivating tombs is a sacrificial content that can not be ignored. The offerings offered are mainly food, with different varieties from place to place. They are all delicacies that the local people think and can be taken out according to the economic ability of the sacrifice, or characteristic foods suitable for the season.

Inserted willow

On the Qingming Festival, Chinese people have the custom of inserting willows. The custom of inserting willows during the Qingming Festival has three sources. Some experts believe that the custom of inserting willows is to commemorate the agricultural ancestor Shennong, who "taught the people to harvest". In some places, people insert willow branches under the eaves to predict the weather. There is an old saying that "willow is green and rainy; willow is dry and sunny". Willows have strong vitality. As the saying goes, "if you plant flowers intentionally, you will not grow flowers. If you plant willows unintentionally, you will become a shade." Willow sticks will live when they are planted in the soil. Wherever they are inserted, they will be planted with willows year after year, giving shade everywhere.

Another way of saying that willows are inserted and worn during the Qingming Festival is to expel ghosts and evil spirits. In some parts of northern China, Qingming Festival, Zhongyuan Festival and Hanyi Festival are collectively referred to as the "three Ghost Festivals". Due to the influence of Buddhist Guanyin holding willow sticks dipped in water to help all living beings, many people think that willow sticks can expel ghosts and ward off evil spirits, and call willow sticks "ghost terror wood". Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty wrote in Qi Min Yao Shu: "take the willow branches and put them in the house, and all ghosts will not enter the house." Since the Tomb Sweeping Day is the ghost festival, when the wicker sprouts, people insert and wear willows to ward off evil spirits.

Another saying is that this custom is to commemorate Jie Zitui. Jie Zitui burned himself under the big willow tree to keep his ambition and keep the festival, which made Duke Wen of Jin and his officials and people very sad. The next year, when Duke Wen of Jin personally led his officials to climb the mountain to worship Jie Zitui, he found that the old willow that had been burned down in that year had actually died and came back to life. Duke Wen of the Jin Dynasty immediately named the old willow "Qingming willow", and folded several wickers on the spot and put them on his head to show his nostalgia. Since then, the officials and people have followed suit, so it became common. Inserting and wearing willows during the Qingming Festival has become a symbol to commemorate Jie Zitui.

tug-of-war

In the early stage of tug of war, it was called "pull hook" and "hook strength", and it was called "tug of war" in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that it was invented in the late spring and Autumn period, became popular in the army and later spread among the people. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, a large-scale tug of war competition was held during the Qingming Festival. Since then, tug of war has become a part of the Qingming custom.

to swing

Swing is one of the customs of Qingming Festival in ancient China. "The legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" written by Wang Renyu of the Five Dynasties states that "during the cold food festival in the Tianbao palace, swings were erected, which made the palace concubines laugh and entertain. The emperor called it a semi immortal play, which was called by the sergeants and the people". In the poem "the cold food day crossed the Longmen" written by Wen Yanbo, the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, it is described as "willows and willows hanging green lines on the bridge, and swing hanging colorful ropes." Swing, which means moving by grasping the leather rope.

The history of swing is very old. It was first called Qianqiu. Later, in order to avoid taboos, it was changed to swing. In ancient times, the swing was made of tree branches and colored ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into a swing with two ropes and pedals. Swing can not only improve health, but also cultivate courage, which is loved by people, especially children.

Cockfighting

In ancient times, the game of cockfighting prevailed during the Qingming Festival. Cockfighting began at the Qingming Festival and lasted until the summer solstice. The earliest record of cockfighting in China can be found in Zuo Zhuan. In the Tang Dynasty, cockfighting became popular, not only among the people, but also among the emperors. Such as Tang Xuanzong's favorite cockfighting.

Shoot willow

Shooting willows is a game for practicing archery skills. According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, the pigeon was placed in the gourd, then the gourd was hung high on the willow, the bow was bent and shot at the gourd, the pigeon flew out, and the victory or defeat was determined by the height of the flying pigeon.

ancient game of kicking a ball

Ju is a kind of leather ball. The skin of the ball is made of leather and the inside of the ball is stuffed with wool. Cuju is playing football with your feet. This is a favorite game in the North during the ancient Qingming Festival. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor. Its original purpose was to train samurai. Polo is riding on a horse and playing with a stick. It was called bowing in ancient times. In the famous capital chapter of Cao Zhi of the Three Kingdoms, there is a sentence of "beating Ju on the soil in succession". "Analysis of Jin Zhi" records that Liao took playing polo as a traditional custom of the festival and hit the ball on the Dragon Boat Festival and Chongjiu. Jin Shi Li Zhi also records that Jin people hit the ball at the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Song Dynasty, there was a dance team called "playing music". Polo was still popular in the Ming Dynasty.

"General examination of continued literature · Le Kao" records that emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty once hit the ball and willow in Dongyuan several times. In the long volume of the Ming Dynasty's "Xuanzong's pleasure map", there is a scene of Xuanzong enjoying polo. Wang Zhi, an official at that time, wrote a poem about playing ball in the Dragon Boat Festival Solar Temple: "the jade lotus has thousands of Golden Horses, and the carved seven treasure balls. When the wind flies, the electric switch is startled, and the stars are awakened. When the fire page passes into three victories, the first chip is passed happily. The clouds follow the leisurely feet and wrap around the east end of the hall." In front of baiyun temple in Beijing, there is also a ceremony of people riding and hitting the ball. Polo also existed around the temple of heaven in the Qing Dynasty. It didn't disappear until the middle of the Qing Dynasty.

Silkworm Flower Festival

Wutong Flower Fair is a unique folk culture in silkworm villages. During the Tomb Sweeping Day, there were such folk activities in the areas of Indus, Wuzhen, Chong Fu and Zhou Quan. Among them, the silkworm Flower Fair of maming temple in zhouquan and Shuangmiao temple in Qingshi is the most wonderful and grand. Maming temple is located in the west of zhouquan town. It is known as the "king of the temple" locally. Every year, the silkworm Flower Festival is crowded with people and has frequent activities. There are more than ten activities, such as welcoming the silkworm God, rocking the clipper, Naotai Pavilion, worshiping the incense stool, boxing, dragon lantern, raising the high pole, singing and so on. Some of these activities are carried out on shore and most of them are carried out on board, which has the characteristics of water town.

Seasonal food

As the cold food custom of the cold food festival was transplanted to the Qingming Festival, some places in northern China still retain the habit of eating cold food on the Qingming Festival. In Shandong, Jimo eats eggs and cold pastry, while Laiyang, Zhaoyuan and Changdao eat eggs and cold sorghum rice. It is said that otherwise, they will suffer hail. Tai'an eats cold pancakes and raw bitter vegetables. It is said that he has bright eyes. Jinzhong area still retains the habit of banning fire the day before Qingming. Many places eat the sacrificial food after the sacrificial ceremony. During the Qingming Festival, people in southern Shanxi used to steam steamed buns with white flour, with walnuts, dates and beans in the middle. The records of folk cold food customs almost suddenly appeared in the documents of the Eastern Han Dynasty, mainly concentrated in Shanxi. Even in the Tang and Song Dynasties, when the cold food custom was very popular, its spread did not extend beyond the north. In the book of Ye Zhong Ji, written by Jin Luzhen, the special food in cold food was first mentioned: "on the day of cold food, make Li cheese, cook japonica rice and wheat as cheese, pound apricot red and cook porridge." Until the Tang and Song Dynasties, people still ate this cold barley porridge.

During the Qingming Festival in some parts of southern China, there is the custom of eating qingtuan. Qingtuan is also known as Qingming cake, miancai steamed glutinous rice cake, cihushi, Qingming cake, Aiye Baba, AICI, Qingming fruit, spinach, Qingming cake, Aiye Ciba, Aibing, wormwood cake, Qingming dumpling, warm mushroom bag, wormwood green dumpling, etc. In the hometown of overseas Chinese in Southern Fujian, every Qingming Festival, we must make some cakes, rice cakes and rice brown for our families to eat before and after the Qingming Festival. In the old custom of Shanghai, the steamed cakes and cakes used for sacrifice are penetrated with wickers and stored after drying. On the day of the beginning of summer, they are fried and eaten by children. It is said that they can't prevent summer sickness after eating them. In Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, zongzi is wrapped around every family during the Qingming Festival, which can be used as a sacrifice to the grave and as dry food for outing. As the saying goes, "Qingming zongzi is stable and firm." Before and after the Qingming Festival, the snail is fat and strong. Eating lotus root is to wish the silkworms baby spit long and good silk. Eating sprouted beans is a way to get rich. Eating Malan's first-class fresh vegetables is to take the word "green" to match the "green" of "Qingming".

domestic

Guangdong

In Guangdong, tomb sweeping during the Qingming Festival is called mountain sweeping, mountain worship and Qing worship. During the Qingming Festival, Guangdong has shown the image of spring and Jingming. Tomb sweeping, ancestor worship and outing are the main etiquette and customs themes of Cantonese festivals; Taking advantage of the advantages, the rest of the family, old and young, also went for an outing in the countryside. Cantonese attach great importance to ancestral temples and ancestors, and the sacrifice of ancestral temples, ancestral halls and ancestral tombs has always been regarded as a top priority. Every Qingming Festival, whether overseas or not far from home, we have to rush back to our hometown to worship our ancestors with our parents and villagers. Qingming has also become a day for family reunion.

Guangdong has the custom of "going to Qing Dynasty" and "outing". "Xingqing" is different from "outing". Outing is an outing and getting close to nature. Xingqing is a family or a group of people who agree to sweep the mountains at an agreed time. When worshiping the mountain every year, first remove the weeds around the ancestral tomb, then tie paper, and place tribute such as golden pig, chicken, duck and fish, fresh fruit cakes, wine and water for ancestor worship. After the worship ceremony is completed, the roast pigs are cut on the spot and served with fresh fruit and tea, or have a picnic, or go home for a dinner. Qingming Festival is a grand festival of ancestor worship in Guangdong. Some places have the custom of holding Qingming meeting and eating Qingming banquet since ancient times. All men, women, old and young of the whole family participate in it. The scene is grand and lively.

Hong Kong and Macao

The Qingming customs in Hong Kong and Macao are roughly the same as those in Guangdong. During the Qingming Festival, Hong Kong people usually go to the tombs of their ancestors to worship, burn incense candles and incense sticks, remove weeds and offer fruits, fragrant wine, flowers, roast pigs or white cut chickens. Although most cemeteries and cemeteries in Hong Kong have public transport connections, the traffic is still congested on the day of Qingming Festival. In order to avoid overcrowding, people are often used to staggered peak worship, and do not necessarily abide by the tradition of tomb sweeping and ancestor worship on Qingming Day.

Qingming Festival is a legal holiday in Macao. Tomb sweeping and offering sacrifices during the Qingming Festival is a custom that Macao residents attach great importance to. Macao people call the Qingming Day "Zhengqing" and Tomb Sweeping on the Qingming Day "xingzhengqing". Before and after the Qingming Festival, the people of "xingzhengqing" not only bring their own incense candles and ghost paper, but also bring roast meat or a whole suckling pig, fruit, pastries and wine to worship their ancestors.

Zhejiang

In Zhejiang, Qingming Festival is commonly known as sacrificing Qingming, or "sacrificing graves" to worship Taigong. Customs vary from place to place. Some places offer sacrifices to graves on the Qingming Day, while others must go to graves on the Qingming Day. Generally, people of their own ethnic group worship Taigong a few days in advance. They worship Taigong first and then their ancestors. When sacrificing the Tomb Sweeping Day, first "add soil" or "add soil" to the ancestral grave, that is, use a dustpan to take soil and add it to the top of the ancestral grave. When the offerings are arranged, light candles first and then incense. The incense is distributed according to the number of people. The chief sacrifice prayer is given by the senior, and then everyone kneels down together. After the sacrifice, children can share the Qingming food. Finally, pack up the offerings and leave. All the tombs have to be visited. They all use the same procedure for sacrifice.

The old custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors during the Tomb Sweeping Day includes family sacrifice, clan sacrifice and ancestral sacrifice. The ancestral hall door will be opened in the morning of the Qing Dynasty, and the clan will offer sacrifices. The hall will be hung with great ancestral painters. Men, women, old and young will gather together to offer sacrifices to the ancestors. The sacrifices will be made with three animals of whole pigs, whole sheep and whole chickens and all kinds of fruits. After the sacrifice, the members were divided into children and grandchildren, and a banquet was held to entertain the people. The scene was grand and the ceremony was grand. The positions on the seats, old and young, were in chronological order, regardless of wealth or wealth, and the small held the pot. After the founding of the people's Republic of China, there were few ancestral temples. Now there are only family sacrifices, and each family has a table of vegetarian food to worship their ancestors.

Jiangsu

The customs of Qingming Festival in Jiangsu are different. Taizhou people hold a boating competition on Qingming Festival, which is called "supporting the boat". Zhenjiang people make tea with seven willow leaves. It is said that drinking it can brighten their eyes. On the day when the Tomb Sweeping Day was the incarnation of the dragon's mother in fangmao mountain, Wujin County, villagers competed to worship and pray. Xuzhou people sweep tombs during the Qingming Festival, still known as "Shangling" (the pronunciation of the mausoleum is "Lin", which refers to the land of the Mausoleum). When the Qingming Festival is approaching, Xuzhou people will go to their families' graves to worship their ancestors, no later than the Qingming Festival. In addition to listing mellow wine, delicacies, burning incense and candles and melting paper to worship ancestors, it is also necessary to add soil to the ancestral tombs; During the Qingming Festival in Xuzhou, we should not only eat steamed vegetables and green dumplings, but also insert willows, go to the grave to worship our ancestors, cover bones, sweep "gold and silver ashes", go on spring outings and outings.

Shanghai

The main activities of Shanghai Qingming Festival are tomb sweeping and outing. Nearly ten million pedestrians are sacrificed before and after Qingming every year. Due to the promotion of the prosperity of cemetery, the relevant sites are mainly Suzhou, Jiaxing and other places in other provinces. In addition, the Youth League is the Qingming Festival dim sum in Jiangnan area. Its main body is made of glutinous rice powder, which is mixed with green wormwood (grass head juice) to form a green cake Group, which is generally filled with bean paste or sesame. For Shanghainese, the Youth League is an essential offering for ancestor worship during the Qingming Festival.

Anhui

The custom of Qingming Festival is also different in different regions of Anhui Province. On the Qingming Festival in Guichi County, women make rice cocoons to offer sacrifices to silkworms and pray for a good harvest of sericulture; Jingxian County calls Qingming the willow Festival; On the birthday of spring and Tomb Sweeping Day, every family inserts willows and hangs paper money on the tomb tree, which is called wild ghost; Every household in Hefei is used to hanging willow branches above their doors, offering sacrifices to their late ancestors in cemeteries and outings in the suburbs. In addition to offering sacrifices to ancestors and sweeping tombs, the customs of Qingming Festival also include a series of customs and sports activities, such as outing, swing, Cuju, polo, willow and so on.

Hainan

When Hainan people worship their ancestors during the Qingming Festival, they also have the folk tradition of reciting ancestral training and clan rules. There are "ancestral temples" built all over Hainan, and most of them hold sacrificial activities during the Qingming Festival. In these sacrificial activities, there are often eight tone accompaniments, reciting and singing sacrificial texts, and praising the merits and virtues of Qiong's ancestor. "In the process of folk sacrifice, we should also recite the maxims of ancestral training and clan rules, and these sacrificial texts, ancestral training and clan rules are wonderful ballads."

When visiting tombs, Hainan people offer sacrifices to pigs, geese, fish, cakes and fruits, and burn incense to turn treasure. There are also residents with the same surname who grab pigs and pull sheep to sacrifice at the tomb of their ancestors to pray for the prosperity of future generations., There are two kinds of ancestor worship during the Qingming Festival. The first is to sacrifice "self ancestors". One or several households are taken as units. The "three animals" and dry meals are placed in front of the ancestral tablet at home, and everyone kneels down. Later, it was sacrificed to "ancestors", with dozens or hundreds of households as units, and all clans with the same surname participated. Take the prepared sacrifices to the ancestors' tombs to worship, remove weeds and add new soil.

Guangxi

According to the custom of Guangxi, it is taboo to visit the grave at night. The tomb sweeping ceremony should be carried out according to the generations of ancestors. First sweep the ancestral graves, and then sweep the family graves. According to custom, the procedure of sacrificial sweeping is to clean the cemetery first. If the cemetery is on the mountain, remove the weeds in the cemetery; Then there is sacrifice. In the past, people used to sacrifice their wine, food, fruits, paper money and other items in front of their relatives' tombs, offer incense and toast, and then kowtow to express their respect and condolences to their ancestors. In Guangxi, many people will make five colored glutinous rice and three livestock (chicken, pork and fish) in advance, which means that their children and grandchildren have rich food and clothing and are surplus every year. After the sacrifice, relatives and friends drink and feast nearby, which is called "picnic".

Fujian

The hometown of overseas Chinese in Southern Fujian attaches great importance to the Qingming Festival. The custom of the Qingming Festival in Southern Fujian is a folk tradition tracing back to its origin. Its main activity is to sweep tombs and worship ancestors. Offering sacrifices to ancestors: at noon on that day, every family should cook "moistening cakes and vegetables" (spring rolls), bring animals and lilies, and go to the hall and ancestral house to honor the souls of their lineal ancestors, as well as the owners of the house and the foundation. Southern Fujian does not necessarily only sweep tombs on the Qingming Festival. There are generally two kinds of tomb sweeping dates. Quanzhou customs are a few days before and after the Qingming Festival, while some people in Zhangzhou choose to sweep the tomb near the Shangsi Festival on the third day of March, while Hakka people usually sweep the tomb after the Spring Festival. The way is that after cleaning the tomb environment (such as weeds and trees), first worship the earth God, and then worship the ancestors. After the worship, press the "Tomb paper" on the tomb with small stones, which means that the tomb has been repaired. During the Qingming Festival in Fuzhou, there are a lot of tourists in the eastern suburbs. Most of them pick up wild vegetables and cook them, which is called "cooking vegetables". Huian people put paper kites and played wheat flute when sweeping tombs. Quanzhou Qingming eats "moistening cakes" and makes "feet and eyes", which is a spherical dessert. It is said that eating feet and eyes on Qingming Festival can increase the strength of feet. Children under the age of 10 also paste colored flags for play on the Qingming Festival.

Shandong

In Zhaoyuan, Jimo, Linqu, Linqing and other places, new soil should be added to the graves during the Tomb Sweeping Day. It is said that this is to build a house for our ancestors to avoid rain leakage in summer. In Weihai, Qixia, Huangxian and other places, the whole family eat steamed bread and dishes after offering sacrifices to their ancestors' graves together, which is called "room food" or "Yi society". Northern Shandong also retained the custom of "fighting chicken" in the northern and Southern Dynasties. On this day, children in Binxian County top each other with boiled eggs. Whoever breaks the eggs first loses. Qishan, Boshan and other places cook a pot of millet dry rice on the Qingming Festival to feast the cattle, which is called "rice cattle". There is a proverb: "a thousand scolds a million, and a meal at Qingming Festival".

Hunan

Changsha, Hunan, calls Tomb Sweeping "hanging mountain", which is called "the first three days and the last seven days", that is, seven days after the first three days of the Qingming Festival is the tomb sweeping period. There is a sequence of tomb sweeping and sacrifice. Generally, the cemetery should be cleaned up first, the weeds in the cemetery should be removed, and the "hanging mountain note" should be inserted to worship in front of the tomb. In Changsha, willows are inserted during the Qingming Festival, which is called "remembering the years". Yongzhou Prefecture draws water in the early morning of the Qingming Festival. After several months, the taste and color remain unchanged. It is especially good for making wine. According to the agricultural proverb of Xintian County, "all things become clear and bright".

Hubei

The customs of Tomb Sweeping Day in Hubei cities are different. Wuhan Qingming Festival has the custom of "hanging paper". Some people make lanterns and flags with colorful paper, hang them on their ancestral graves, and light firecrackers for sacrifices. Pingba, Sanyang, Luodian, Songhe and other places also have the custom of carrying incense cases and whole pigs to the cemetery to worship their ancestors. When the Huangshi people sweep the tomb, people should bring wine, food, fruits, paper money and other items to the cemetery, offer food to their loved ones in front of the tomb, burn the paper money, cultivate new soil for the tomb, fold a few fresh green branches and insert them on the grave, then kowtow and worship, and finally eat wine and food home.

Yunnan

Customs vary across Yunnan. In some places, around the Qingming Festival, a family will invite dozens of people to buy vegetables, bring pots and pans, and set out early in the morning to find an open space on the mountain to start cooking. At noon, they will offer wine, food and fruit to the tomb, burn some paper money, kowtow and salute in memory of their ancestors.

Sichuan, Chongqing

In eastern Sichuan and Wanzhou, Chongqing, there was the custom of "Shangye grave" in the old time. Before and after the Qingming Festival, three or two women went to the countryside for a picnic with wine and food. Men, whether they know each other or not, can sit down and have fun. In Shifang, Sichuan and other places, women dip shepherd's purse cauliflower with oil and put it into the water. Depending on the water surface pattern, they can predict good or bad luck, which is called "oil divination". In Chengdu, fried rice balls are sold with colored dots and strings, which are called "Huanxi group".

Jiangxi

There are also differences in various places in Jiangxi Province, such as the choice of time. Tomb sweeping in Yongfeng County lasts for "the first three days and the last seven days" of the Qingming Festival. Jiujiang is used to sweeping tombs within the first three days and the last four days of the Qingming Festival, which is called "the first three days and the last four days". Most people in Yuanzhou District choose to sweep tombs on the third day of the third lunar month. Only a few people who go out to work will rush home to sweep tombs on the Qingming Festival. Spring cakes are used as an example in Qingming sweeping in Xinjian County. In addition to the routine sacrificial rites, Yongfeng county also uses rice flour as fruit, which is called cocoon fruit, or pressed glutinous rice as cake, poured with sugar juice, which is called rice fruit, which still has the legacy of cold food. Anyi County Tomb Sweeping Festival, but men and women do not participate.

Guizhou

The "Qingming food" of the old Guiyang people when they visit the tomb on Qingming Day is often cakes, jelly, cold noodles with pickled vegetables and cold dishes; Guokui with marinated vegetables and cold dishes. In addition to paper money and incense candles, people also bring a string of paper cut into paper and hang it in front of the grave to summon souls, commonly known as "hanging green".

Shaanxi

During the Qingming Festival in Xingping County, in laws presented paper money to each other and worshipped each other's tombs. Every family in Fuping County invited the spring water of the famous mountain in Qingming to worship a God. Preparing sacrifices to pray for a good harvest is called "swimming". After the Tomb Sweeping Festival in Tongzhou County, willow branches were broken and inserted into the door; It is said that it can prevent insects and ants. The steamed buns in Luochuan County are eaten during the Qingming Festival. The buns are decorated in the shape of birds and snakes. It is said that when Jie Zi was pushed up Mianshan mountain, birds and snakes protected him, so it was taken as a souvenir.

Qinghai

Qinghai people have some unique customs during the Qingming Festival. The Qingming Festival of Qinghai people began after the spring equinox, commonly known as "Tian she". Starting from Tian she, we should prepare to go to the grave and sweep the grave. We can sweep the grave every day until the Tomb Sweeping Day. The traditional sacrificial offerings in Xining are paper money, yellow watch paper, ghost money and 12 big steamed buns. The prepared food includes wine, rice soup, milk tea and meat. After burning paper on the grave, they light a coal fire, gather the food brought by each family and heat it on the fire. The men guessed boxing and drank happily. The women sat on the side of the house, picked up some sacrificial offerings scattered on the grave, patted the earth and ate them. It is said that after eating the sacrifice on the grave, the back teeth will no longer hurt.

Gansu

Flower Memorial, tree planting Memorial, memorial service and online memorial service have gradually become the fashion of Qingming Festival in Gansu Province. In the past, the tomb sweeping time of old Lanzhou people generally began from the "Tian society" to the Qingming Day. "Tian she" is also called the first sacrificial day. "Tian society" has a simple calculation method among the people: that is, "nine to ten days is Tian society".

Shanxi

Tomb Sweeping Day, most places in southern Shanxi do not burn incense, do not turn paper, to hang things such as money on the grave, there is a saying that "the tomb is white at the Tomb Sweeping Day". The reason is that fire is forbidden during the cold food festival, and the Qingming Festival is during the cold food festival. Most places in northern Shanxi have to burn all the money and other things, on the grounds that if they are not burned, they will not be transferred to their ancestors. Datong and other places are used to going to the grave in the daytime and burning money and silk at home at night.

In Hequ and other places in the northwest of Shanxi Province, the old custom is to bring wine and food to the grave to sacrifice Bi's ancestors, so they eat and drink in the grave, which means to drink and eat with their ancestors. In Wenxi and other places in southern Shanxi, when going to the grave, you have to roll around on the grave with jujube cakes. It is said that it is to scratch the itch for the dead old man. In Jiexiu and other places in the middle of Shanxi Province, the offerings at the grave were bread, shaped like a snake. After returning home, put the dough cake in the yard, blow and dry it before eating. Old people pay attention to treatable diseases, which is due to cold food and fire prohibition.

Hebei

In Hebei's Shangfen burning paper money pays attention to "early Qingming, late 11". Tomb sweeping and paper burning began a week before Qingming, and few people went to the tomb on Qingming Day. Southern Hebei chose to sweep tombs during the cold food festival the day before the Qingming Festival. Qingcheng men and women go out for outings, flowers, vegetables and hairpin willows. There is a proverb: "a beautiful woman becomes a bright head without a willow on Qingming Day". Planting willows and watching flowers during the Qingming Festival in Dong'an County. Five or seven days before the festival, people sweep the graves, and on the day of Qingming Festival, they sacrifice their ancestors in their own hall. Yongping mansion takes the day before the cold food as the maggot day to make acyl sauce. The official sacrificial altar. The Qingming Festival in Yuanshi County is also known as the flower festival. People buy flowers for a banquet and invite guests.

Jilin

There is a custom of eating cakes during the Dragon Boat Festival. This is a new year cake made of wormwood and glutinous rice. It is said that the cake made of Artemisia argyi has a delicate flavor and very national characteristics.

Beijing

In addition to tomb sweeping, there are also outings, willow planting, kite flying and other activities in Beijing. In addition, it is said that in order to commemorate the spring and Autumn period when Jie Zitui was burned in Mianshan by fire, Duke Wen of Jin ordered to ban fire and eat only cold food.

Henan

During the Qingming Festival in Gongxian County, the son-in-law also sacrificed to the ancestral grave of the Yue family. People offer sacrifices to Qingmiao, Niuwang and Hongshan gods. Qingming in Mengjin County planted young crops in the wheat field. In the Northern Song Dynasty, "issuing new fire" was an important custom popular from the royal family, the government and all sectors of society. It was held during the Qingming Festival every year. At the ceremony, we should extinguish the old fire, drill wood for fire again, and send the fire to the people to get rid of the old and make new clothes.

Taiwan

China has a vast territory and different climates from north to south, so the Qingming Festival varies from place to place, from the second day of February to the third day of March. Taiwan's Zhangzhou nationality Qingming Festival is on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. The custom of Taiwan's Tomb Sweeping Day is similar to that of Southern Fujian. The time for Taiwan Hakka to worship their ancestors and sweep their tombs starts after the Lantern Festival, and the date is set by each family until the Tomb Sweeping Day.

The tomb sweeping custom of the people in Taiwan can generally be divided into two types: one is the general ritual sweeping, and the ritual and sacrificial things are relatively simple, mostly for some rice cakes, rice cakes and cakes; The second is to repair the ancestral tomb. The sacrificial ceremony is quite grand. The sacrificial ceremony generally includes various sacrificial gifts, 12 kinds of vegetables, rice cakes, cakes and so on. When sweeping the tomb, you must offer "Tomb paper" (cut into a rectangle with five-color paper) around the tomb. Each paper is pressed with small stones, and you have to put a stack on the tombstone. This ceremony, commonly known as "hanging paper", is money dedicated to ancestors. If it is to cultivate the tomb, that is, to repair the ancestral tomb, the whole family should eat red eggs around the tomb, and the eggshell is scattered on the cemetery, which has the auspicious meaning of metabolism and endless life.

abroad

Indonesian Chinese

In the early years, Indonesian Chinese mostly worshipped their ancestors in the ancestral halls of hundreds of surnames. Since each surname had its own ancestral hall, the relatives gathered in the hall to worship their ancestors. Chinese living in Indonesia have continued the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors and sweeping tombs on the Qingming Festival. "Filial piety comes first". In the values of Chinese society, "filial piety" comes first. Tomb sweeping and ancestor worship is an expression of filial piety. A week before the Qingming Festival, Indonesian Chinese began to buy paper money, candles, flower baskets and modern offerings such as "gold bars" and "mobile phones". Indonesian Chinese said that the Qingming Festival is very meaningful. During this period, it is not only a day to visit the tomb and pay homage to the ancestors and remember their merits, but also a day for brothers and sisters to reunite. The customs of the Qingming Festival should be inherited from generation to generation, especially in modern society.

Most Chinese worship their ancestors in the ancestral halls of hundreds of surnames. Since each surname has its own ancestral hall, the relatives have gathered in the hall to worship their ancestors. The relatives usually have lunch after offering sacrifices to their ancestors and have good relations with their ancestors. Some also took advantage of this opportunity to award scholarships to the children of outstanding lineages, which reflects the traditional virtue of Chinese people to be cautious in pursuing the future, cherish the merits of their ancestors, and encourage future generations to study hard and work hard. During the Qingming Festival, some places held a gathering of teachers, students and alumni to deepen mutual friendship. More Chinese families go to the cemetery to sweep the tombs of their ancestors, or to the temple to offer incense and pray.

Malaysian Chinese

Malaysian Chinese do not forget to sweep tombs and worship their ancestors on Tomb Sweeping Day. Ching Ming Festival is not a public holiday in Malaysia. In Malaysia, the public cemetery of Chinese people is generally called "Yishan", so locals often say that the Tomb Sweeping Day should "go up the mountain to sweep the tomb" or directly "worship the mountain". On the day of Tomb Sweeping Day, worshippers first clean the tomb, then put flowers, fruits, etc., and then light a incense stick to express their grief and cherish the memory of their ancestors.

Singaporean Chinese

Similarly, in Singapore, where Chinese are the majority, Ching Ming Festival is not a public holiday. In Singapore, the main memorial ceremony of Tomb Sweeping Day is tomb sweeping. Tomb sweeping is the earliest custom of Qingming Festival. This custom continues to this day and has been gradually simplified with the progress of society. During the Qingming Festival, Chinese Singaporeans will travel with their families. Their descendants will first trim and clean up their ancestors' tombs and the weeds around them, then put wine, food, fruits and flowers in front of their relatives' tombs, light incense and candles, burn paper money, kowtow and salute, and finally eat wine and food home.

Going back to China to find ancestors and worship ancestors has been the trend of Chinese in Singapore in the past 20 years. Before Tomb Sweeping Day, Chinese Singaporeans often ask each other in their hometown dialect: "have you ever been home for Tomb Sweeping Day?" There is only one reason to go all the way back to China's ancestral home to visit the tomb: we can't forget our ancestors.

Some Chinese said they could not accept the fashionable way of "online worship". If conditions permit, they must kowtow in person in front of their ancestors' tombs. Even young Singaporeans who have received western education dare not neglect the Qingming Festival, because ancestor worship and ancestor worship are Chinese traditions that have been circulating for thousands of years.

Chinese Americans

During the Qingming Festival, the Chinese History Society of Southern California will hold activities every year to commemorate the Chinese ancestors and appeal to the Chinese people not to forget their contributions to the founding of the territory in California. Local Chinese have carried out the annual Qingming Festival commemoration in different ways.

The different experiences of Chinese in New York determine their different ways of celebrating Qingming Festival. On this day, many traditional overseas Chinese groups published advertisements for Spring Festival sacrifice in newspapers and posted notices in the club to organize members to pay homage to the cemetery where their ancestors were buried. Tomb Sweeping Day has become a social occasion for Chinese to contact and increase exchanges. After the 1970s, new immigrants to the United States often express their thoughts on their ancestors to their relatives and friends far away in their hometown through letters and telephone calls.

Although Chinese Americans are far away from their hometown, many people believe that while accepting the mainstream American social culture, they should not forget Chinese traditional festivals. Chinese Fang Yan pointed out that commemorating Chinese traditional festivals will help carry forward the virtues of the Chinese nation and enhance the exchanges and unity of overseas Chinese.

Qingming solar term: Douzhi B; The solar yellow meridian is 15 °; The festival will be handed in on April 4-6 of the Gregorian calendar. "24 solar terms" was initially determined by the direction of the top of the handle of the Big Dipper. The handle starts from the "Yin position" and then rotates clockwise. When the handle points to the "B position", it is the Qingming solar term. From the Han Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, the "average time method" was used to divide the solar terms, dividing the winter solstice and the next winter solstice into 24 segments (each segment has 15 days), and taking the winter solstice as the starting point of the "24 solar terms"; The Qingming solar term starts from the winter solstice, that is, on the 105th day after the winter solstice. The current "24 solar terms" comes from the "fixed Qi method" (which has been used since 1645) established more than 300 years ago. It is determined according to the position of the sun on the return ecliptic. When the solar yellow meridian reaches 15 °, it is the intersection of Qingming and Ming.

"Huainanzi astronomy training": "on the 15th day after the spring equinox, fighting finger B will bring the Qingming wind"; The "Qingming wind" in the text means the fresh, clear and clean wind. "A hundred questions at the age of ten": "when everything grows, it is clean and clear, so it is called Qingming." "Almanac": "on the 15th day after the spring equinox, dou Zhiding is Qingming. When everything is clean and neat, it is Qingming. When it is covered, it is Qingqi and Jingming, and everything is obvious. Therefore, it is named."

Qingming Festival is a solar term that reflects the phenological changes in nature. In this season, the sun is bright, plants sprout, the atmosphere is clear and the scenery is bright, and everything is obvious. Nature presents a vibrant scene. By the time of Qingming, the climate in southern China has been fresh and warm, and the earth is like spring and Jingming; In the north, the snow also began to break and gradually entered the sunny spring.

Famous poems

dynasty

author

Title

author

Title

Tang

Du Mu

Qingming Festival

song zhiwen

"Cold food on the way"

Zhang Ji

"Lu men impromptu"

Han Hong

Cold food

Gu Feixiong

"Chang'an Qingming's thoughts"

Jia Dao

"Send friends to the garden on Qingming Day"

Lai Hu

"Traveling with friends on the Tomb Sweeping Day"

Li Zhengfeng

"After the rain on the Tomb Sweeping Day in Luoyang"

Song Dynasty

Wang Yucheng

Qingming Festival

Wu Weixin

"Su Di's Tomb Sweeping Day"

Cheng Hao

"On the outskirts of the country"

Yang Wanli

"Cold food on the grave"

Huang Tingjian

Qingming Festival

Gao Zhu

"Wine on the Qingming Day"

Su Shi

"Jiangchengzi Yimao's dream on the night of the 20th day of the first month"

bright

Gao Qi

Sending Chen Xiucai back to the provincial tomb

Wang pan

"Qingjiang River Diversion - Qingming Day travel"

clear

Li e

"Hundred word order · Ding you Qingming"

Agricultural Proverbs

As soon as the Tomb Sweeping Day comes, the temperature rises and the rainfall increases, which is a good time for spring farming and spring planting. Therefore, there are agricultural proverbs of "planting melons and beans before and after Qingming" and "planting trees is better than Qingming". It can be seen that this solar term is closely related to agricultural production.

Before the rain hits Qingming, the spring rain will be frequent (Lu).

It rained on the Tomb Sweeping Day and continued

Continued for three months (Guangxi). Qingming is seldom sunny, and Gu Yu is seldom cloudy (Lu).

Qingming is not afraid of sunny, Gu Yu is not afraid of rain (black).

Before the rain hits Qingming, the depression is good for farming (black).

Qingming rain stars, a sorghum dozen a liter (black).

Qingming should be sunny, Gu Yu should be rainy (Jiangxi).

Qingming breaks snow, Grain Rain breaks frost (East China, central China, South China, Sichuan and Yunnan Guizhou Plateau).

During the Qingming Festival, the snow is cut off, and the valley rain is cut off, and the frost is cut off (Hebei and Shanxi).

There is no rain in Qingming, and there is rain in Qingming (Jiangsu and Hubei).

The frost, fog, thunder, cold and warm weather in the Qingming solar term can predict the future weather. Relevant proverbs include:

Wheat is afraid of Qingming frost, and the valley is dry in autumn (cloud)

Qingming has frost and less plum rain (Su)

There is fog during the Qingming Festival and rain in summer and autumn (Jiangsu and Hubei)

Clear and foggy, sunny day (Henan)

Qingming dust, loess buried people (Shanxi, Inner Mongolia)

Qingming thunder head plum (Zhejiang)

Qingming cold, good year (Liao, Hebei)

Qingming warm, cold dew cold (Hunan)

The wind of the Qingming solar term also predicts the future weather and the quality of the year, which is of great concern to farmers. Therefore, many proverbs about this aspect have been spread among the people. For example:

Qingming south wind, more summer water; Qingming north wind, less summer water (Fujian)

The northwest wind blows at the Qingming Festival. It was dry and windy that year

The north wind of Qingming Festival is cold for ten days, and the end of spring frost is in sight (Hebei)

It takes 45 (Su) to scrape the earth during the Qingming Festival

Can we wish each other happiness on Qingming Festival? There is a view that: No. The main activities of Qingming Festival are ancestor worship, grave sweeping and solemn. At the same time, these two are related to death, ghosts and gods, and the attitude of "happiness" is not desirable.

In this regard, Gao Wei, Secretary General of the Beijing folklore society, admitted that the Qingming Festival can be said to be "happy Qingming Festival", which has actually lasted for a long time; Comparatively speaking, "you can't say happy Tomb Sweeping Day" is a saying that came out only in recent two years. The reason for the controversy is that people do not understand the connotation of Qingming Festival deeply enough.

Gao Wei analyzed that Qingming Festival is the most important festival in spring, with rich theme content. The theme of Tomb Sweeping Day is not only tomb sweeping, but also the combination of tomb sweeping and outing. When we wish happiness, it also means that we have the courage to overcome sadness and difficulties. This is also a positive attitude.

Stories and legends

It is said that in the spring and Autumn period, Duke Chong'er of Jin went into exile to escape persecution. On his way into exile, he was in a deserted place. He was tired and hungry and could no longer stand up. Suichen looked for a long time and couldn't find anything to eat. When everyone was very anxious, suichen Jiezi pushed him to a quiet place, cut a piece of meat from his thigh and boiled a bowl of meat soup for the childe to drink. Chong Er gradually recovered his spirit. When Chong Er found that the meat was cut by Jiezi's own leg, he shed tears. Nineteen years later, Chong'er became the monarch, that is, the Duke of Jin Wen in history. After he ascended the throne, Duke Wen rewarded the meritorious officials who accompanied him in exile, but forgot Jie Zitui. Many people complain about Jie Zitui's grievances and persuade him to ask for a reward. However, Jie Zitui despises those who strive for merit and reward. He packed up and quietly went to Mianshan to live in seclusion with his mother. When Duke Wen of Jin heard about it, he was too ashamed to take someone to invite Jie Zitui himself. However, Jie Zitui had left home for Mianshan. Mianshan mountain is high, with dangerous roads and dense trees. It's not easy to find two people. Someone offered advice and burned Mianshan mountain from three sides to force Jie Zitui. The fire burned all over Mianshan, but there was no figure of Jie Zitui. After the fire went out, people found that Jie Zitui, who was carrying his old mother, had died under an old willow tree. Duke Wen of Jin saw this and wept. During the funeral, a bloody book was found in the hole of the tree, which said: "cut the meat and serve the king with all his heart. I hope the Lord will always be clear." In order to commemorate Jie Zitui, Duke Wen of Jin ordered that this day be designated as "cold food festival". The next year, Duke Wen of Jin led his officials to climb the mountain for memorial. When he found that the old willow was dead and resurrected, he gave the old willow "Qingming willow" and told the world, so he designated the day after the cold food festival as "Qingming Festival".

In the literature records, Jie Zitui is a real person, but in the records of Zuo Zhuan, historical records and other historical books, there is no plot of Jie Zitui being burned to death. Moreover, the cold food festival originated in commemorating Jie Zitui, which was not recorded until the turn of the Han Dynasty (see Huantan's new theory). Many scholars believe that this is the attachment of future generations to explain the cold food festival. According to the research, the origin of Qingming Festival has nothing to do with meson push. Qingming Festival, as a spring festival, had been determined long before the Zhou Dynasty. China has a vast territory and different customs between the north and the south in the pre-Qin period. The northern customs are mainly recorded in the literature. The Tang Dynasty is a period of integration of tomb sacrifice customs around the country. Since then, the tomb sacrifice customs of Qingming Festival have gradually appeared in the literature. In the historical development and evolution, most traditional festivals will be attached with a legend as the "origin", but the actual investigation shows that these statements are far later than the birth of the festival and are constructed by later generations.

Protection unit

In November 2019, the list of protection units of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects was published, and the Ministry of culture and tourism obtained the qualification of protection units of "Qingming Festival".

2021

According to the notice of the general office of the State Council on the arrangement of some holidays in 2021 (Guo Ban Fa Zhan Dian [2020] No. 27), the Tomb Sweeping Day in 2021: there will be a three-day holiday from April 3 to 5.

2022

On October 25, 2021, the notice of the general office of the State Council on the arrangement of some holidays in 2022 was issued. Tomb Sweeping Day in 2022: a three-day holiday from April 3 to 5. Work on April 2 (Saturday).