well-known
poem
by
Tang
Dynasty
writer
Du
Mu
tells
of
a
sad
scene
in
early
April:
"rains
fall
heavily
as
Qingming
comes,
and
passers-by
with
lowered
spirits
go."
Qingming
Day,
the
traditional
tomb-sweeping
day,
falls
on
April
4-6
each
year.
It
is
a
time
for
remembering
loved
ones
who
have
departed.
People
visit
their
ancestors'
graves
to
sweep
away
the
dirt.
Du Mu, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, has a famous poem that describes a sad scene in early April: "It rains a lot during the Qingming Festival, and pedestrians on the road want to die." Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional grave-sweeping day around April 4-6 every year. On this day, people mourn their dead relatives and visit the graves of their ancestors.
Its
origin
dates
back
to
the
Spring
and
Autumn
Period.
Jin
prince
Chong'er
ran
away
from
the
country
with
his
supporters
due
to
persecution.
They
were
homeless
for
19
years
and
things
got
so
bad
that
Chong'er
began
to
starve
to
death.
One
of
the
prince's
faithful
followers,
Jie
Zitui,
cut
a
piece
of
muscle
from
his
own
leg
and
served
it
to
his
master.
Chong'er
was
saved
and,
in
636
BC,
he
took
back
the
throne.
Tomb-Sweeping Day can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period. Zhong Er, the son of the State of Jin, led his supporters to flee because of persecution. 19 years, they lived without a fixed place and drifted around. Once, their situation was quite embarrassing, and Zhong Er was dying of hunger. At this time, the loyal meson tui cut a piece of meat from his leg and gave it to Zhong Er, and Zhong Er was saved. In 636 BC, he regained the throne.
He
rewarded
the
officials
who
had
stayed
loyal
to
him
but
he
forgot
about
Jie
Zitui.
By
the
time
Chong'er
remembered
him,
a
heartbroken
Jie
Zitui
had
traveled
deep
into
the
mountains.
Chong'er
wanted
to
persuade
Jie
to
come
home,
so
he
had
the
hills
set
on
fire.
But
Jie
was
later
found
beside
a
large
tree,
with
his
old
mother
on
his
back.
Both
were
dead.
After the accession to the throne, Zhong Er greatly rewarded his supporters, but forgot to give up the meson. By the time I think of this loyal minister, the sad meson push has already fled into the depths of the mountains. Zhong Er wanted to force him to come back, so he burned the mountain. Later, I found a meson push carrying my mother beside a big tree. Both of them were burned to death.
Saddened
by
the
tragedy,
Chong'er
ordered
that
fires
could
not
be
lit
on
the
day
of
Jie
Zitui's
death.
From
this
comes
Hanshi
Day,
or
Cold
Food
Day.
People
visited
Jie
Zitui's
tomb
the
next
day
to
pay
their
respects.
Over
time,
Hanshi
Day
was
replaced
with
tomb-sweeping
day.
Zhong Er was devastated. He ordered that no fire should be made on the anniversary of the death of meson tui. This is where the Cold Food Festival comes from. On the day after the Cold Food Festival, people paid tribute to the tomb of Jiezitui. As time goes on, cold food