Tomb-Sweeping Day, English translator: Tom B- Tomb-Sweeping Day or Qingming. It is one of the 24 solar terms in China, which falls on April 5th of the solar calendar every year. This holiday has been listed as a national holiday for 3 days. In 2009, the General Office of the State Council issued a notice on the holiday arrangement of part 20 10. According to the notice, according to the State Council's decision to amend the National Holidays and Remembrance Days, Tomb-Sweeping Day will have a three-day holiday. Because the 24 solar terms objectively reflect the changes of temperature, rainfall and phenology throughout the year, the Qingming written by Du Mu, an ancient laborer.
People use it to arrange agricultural activities. "Huainanzi Astronomical Training" says: "Fifteen days after the vernal equinox, the bucket refers to B, and the Qingming wind is coming." According to the centenarian question, "everything grows clean and bright at this time." So it is called Qingming. " As soon as Qingming arrives, the temperature rises and the rainfall increases, which is a good time for spring ploughing and planting. Therefore, there is an agricultural proverb that "before and after Qingming, point melons and plant beans" and "planting trees is not as good as Qingming". It can be seen that this solar term is closely related to agricultural production. However, Qingming, as a festival, is different from pure solar terms. Solar terms are symbols of phenological changes and seasonal order in China, while festivals contain certain customs and activities, which have certain commemorative significance. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional festival in China, and it is also the most important festival to worship ancestors and sweep graves. Grave-sweeping is commonly known as going to the grave and offering sacrifices to the dead. Most Han people and some ethnic minorities visit graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day. According to the old custom, when sweeping graves, people should bring food, wine, fruit, paper money and other items to the cemetery, offer food to the graves of their loved ones, then burn the paper money, cultivate new soil for the graves, break some green branches and insert them in front of the graves, then kowtow and worship, and finally go home after eating and drinking. The poem Qingming written by Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "There are many rains during the Qingming period, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. Ask local people where to buy wine? The shepherd boy pointed to Xinghua Village. " Write about the special atmosphere in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the outing festival, according to the solar calendar, between April 4th and 6th every year, it is the season of beautiful spring and lush vegetation, and it is also a good time for people to have a spring outing (called outing in ancient times), so the ancients had the custom of going for an outing in Qingming and carrying out a series of sports activities. There is also a saying in ancient times, that is, "March Festival". In the concept of the ancients, 108 is a large number representing perfection, auspiciousness, antiquity and profundity. It is of profound significance to put Qingming Festival on the 108 day from winter to the future. Qingming gets its name not only because everything grows cleanly at this time, but also because the sun in this period is also a fresh sun, and the sun flowing between heaven and earth in this period is also a fresh sun.
Edit this historical development.
By the river during Tomb-Sweeping Day.
According to legend, after Dayu's flood control, people used the language of "Qingming" to celebrate that the flood had been eliminated and the world was at peace. At this time, spring blossoms, everything recovers, and the sky is clear and bright, which is a good season for spring outing. Going for an outing began as early as the Tang Dynasty and has become a habit throughout the ages. In addition to enjoying the beautiful lakes, mountains and spring scenery, we also carry out various entertainment activities to increase the interest of life. Grave-sweeping is very popular in Tomb-Sweeping Day. In fact, sweeping graves is the content of Tomb-Sweeping Day's Cold Food Festival the day before. It is said that cold food originated in Jin Wengong to mourn Jiexiu. During the twenty years of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, he ordered the world to "eat cold food in the ground". Because cold food is associated with Qingming, it gradually spread to sweeping graves in Qingming. During the Qingming period, sweeping graves is more popular. In ancient times, children often flew kites when sweeping graves. Some kites are equipped with bamboo flutes, which can make a sound when the wind blows, just like the sound of kites. It is said that this is the reason why kites get their names. Tomb-Sweeping Day was very common in the Northern Song Dynasty, and now Zhang Zeduan's <> depicts the characters on both sides of the Bianliang River in Tokyo during Huizong's Qingming period in the Northern Song Dynasty. Since 2008, China has recognized Tomb-Sweeping Day as a legal holiday with one day off. It was changed to three days in 2009. Has continued to this day. Qingming will go to the grave to show respect and nostalgia for the deceased. [1] In Tomb-Sweeping Day, some people shed tears at the graves of their deceased ancestors, while others hid their faces and shed tears at the graves of their pets. Not only people but also pets have cemeteries. People sweeping graves for pets is similar to offering sacrifices to ancestors. There are photos, chrysanthemums, their favorite toys, cement and marble slabs in front of their graves, just like people. In addition to physical cemeteries, online pet cemeteries and commemorative blogs have also become popular. Like the online family memorial hall, the pet memorial hall can provide wine and flowers, and it is also very convenient to apply. Most people just need to enter the names of their pets and owners.
Edit the origin of this festival
Tomb-Sweeping Day is an important traditional folk festival in China, and it is one of the eight important festivals: Shangyuan, Qingming, Long Summer, Dragon Boat Festival, Central Plains, Mid-Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice and New Year's Eve. Generally introduce the traditional festivals in China.
April 5th in the Gregorian calendar, but its festival is very long. There are two kinds of sayings, eight days before the 10th lunar month and ten days after the 10th lunar month. These 20 days belong to Tomb-Sweeping Day. It is said that the origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day began with the "grave-sweeping" ceremony of ancient emperors and generals. Later, people followed suit, and it became a fixed custom of the Chinese nation to worship ancestors and sweep graves on this day. Originally, the Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day were two different festivals. In the Tang Dynasty, the day of sweeping graves was designated as the Cold Food Festival. The name "Tomb-Sweeping Day" also comes from the Tomb-Sweeping Day atmosphere in the twenty-four solar terms of the China lunar calendar. 105 The first day after winter is Qi Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day gas * * * has 15 days. As it is Tomb-Sweeping Day, the time is after the vernal equinox. At this time, winter has gone, spring is full, the weather is sunny, the fields are bright and clean, and the vitality of nature is everywhere. It is an appropriate word to call this period "Qingming". [2] One hundred and five days after beginning of winter was called cold food. In the past, fire was forbidden and cold food was eaten, so it was also called "Cold Food Festival" and "No Smoking Festival". According to folklore, cold food is to commemorate the burning of mesons in Mianshan during the Spring and Autumn Period, and Jin Wengong ordered the fire to be banned. Jiezitui is from Shanxi, so the custom of cold food is first popular in Shanxi. In the old days, cold food cut off fire, and the next day there was a ceremony to drill wood for fire in the palace, and the people also begged each other for fire with wicker.
Edit related festivals in this section.
In ancient China, before Tomb-Sweeping Day, there was an important festival related to Tomb-Sweeping Day-Cold Food Festival. The cold food is on the day after tomorrow 105, the cold food lasts for 3 days, and then it is Qingming, so Tomb-Sweeping Day is on the day after tomorrow 108. The modern Cold Food Festival has basically been incorporated into Tomb-Sweeping Day, but there are still differences between the two, and there is a legend about it. According to legend, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Jin Xiangong's concubine killed the prince in order to let her son inherit the throne, and Shen Sheng was forced to commit suicide. Shen Sheng's younger brother, Zhong Er, went into exile to escape the scourge. During his exile, Zhong Er suffered humiliation. Most of the courtiers who went out with him went out one after another. Only a few loyal people have been following him. One of them is called meson push. On one occasion, Zhong Er fainted from hunger. In order to save Zhong Er, Jiezitui cut a piece of meat from his leg, cooked it with fire and gave it to Zhong Er. Nineteen years later, Zhong Er returned to China and became the monarch, that is, Jin Wengong, one of the famous five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period. After Jin Wengong came to power, in addition to meson push, he offered many rewards to courtiers who shared his joys and sorrows. Someone defended meson in front of Jin Wengong. Jin Wengong suddenly remembered the past and felt guilty. He immediately sent someone to ask meson to take the imperial court to be rewarded as an official. However, after several trips, the meson could not be pushed. Jin Wengong had to please. However, when Jin Wengong came to the meson pusher's house, he saw that the door was closed. Jiezitui didn't want to see him, and had already been hiding in Mianshan (now southeast of Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province) behind his mother's back. Jin Wengong asked his body guard to search Mianshan, but he couldn't find it. So, someone had an idea, saying, it is better to let Yamakaji go, set fire on three sides, leave one side, burn it and the meson will come out. Jin Wengong ordered the promotion of Yamakaji. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and nights. After the fire was put out, the meson was not pushed out after all. Looking up the mountain, the mother and son were holding a charred willow tree and were dead. Jin Wengong looked at meson push's body and cried for a while. Then I buried the body and found that the back of meson push was blocked by a willow hole, as if there was something. I took it out and saw that it was a skirt with a bloody poem engraved on it: "May my Lord be clear forever." It is better to be a ghost than to accompany you as an exhorter. If your master has me in his heart, remember that I often reflect. I have a clear conscience in Jiuquan, and my diligence is clear. [3] Jin Wengong hid the bloody book in his sleeve. Then meson tui and his mother were buried under the charred willow tree. To commemorate Jiexiu, Jin Wengong ordered Mianshan to be changed to Jiexiu Mountain, and an ancestral temple was built on the mountain, and the day when Yamakaji was released was designated as the Cold Food Festival, telling the whole country that it is forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers on this day every year and only eat cold food. When he left, he cut a charred willow and made a pair of clogs in the palace. He looked at it every day and sighed, "What a pity." The "first step" is the name of ancient people's subordinates respecting each other between superiors or peers, which is said to come from it. The following year, Jin Wengong led his ministers to go hiking in plain clothes to show their respect and condolences. Walking to the grave, I saw the dead old willow tree resurrected, with thousands of green branches dancing in the wind. Jin Wengong looked at the resurrected old willow tree and seemed to see the meson push. He walked up to him respectfully, lovingly squeezed a branch, braided it into a circle and put it on his head. After the sacrifice, Jin Wengong named the resurrected old willow "Tomb-Sweeping Day Willow" and named this day Tomb-Sweeping Day. Later, Jin Wengong often took a bloody book with him as a souvenir, urging himself to take power. He worked hard in Tomb-Sweeping Day and managed the country well. Since then, the people of Jin have been able to live and work in peace and contentment, and they are very nostalgic for Jietui, who has made outstanding contributions and is not looking for wealth. On the day of his death, it is forbidden to set off fireworks in memory of him. It is also made of flour and jujube paste into the shape of a swallow, strung with willows and inserted in the door to summon his soul. This thing is called "pushing swallows" (also called intermediary pushing). Since then, the Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day have become grand festivals for people all over the country. Whenever there is cold food, people don't make a fire to cook, but only eat cold food.
Edit this holiday custom
Tomb-Sweeping Day's customs are rich and interesting. In addition to paying attention to the prohibition of fire to sweep graves, there are a series of customs and sports activities such as jogging, swinging, playing cuju, playing polo and inserting willows. According to legend, Tomb-Sweeping Day visited the grave.
This is because it is forbidden to eat cold food during the Cold Food Festival. In order to prevent the harm of cold food and cold meal to people, everyone comes to participate in some sports activities to exercise. In Tomb-Sweeping Day, people avoid injections and washing clothes, and women in most areas avoid walking. Before evening, a gray line should be spread in front of the gate, which is said to prevent ghosts from entering the house. Therefore, this festival is a distinctive festival, with sad and sour tears to sweep the new grave and laughter for an outing.
play on the swing
This is the custom of ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day in China. Swing, that is, lift the rope, move. It has a very long history. It was originally called Qian Qiu, but later it was changed into a swing to avoid taboos. In ancient times, swings were made of branches and tied with ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into two ropes, a pedal swing. Swing can not only improve health, but also cultivate courage, which is deeply loved by people, especially children.
play football
Bow is a rubber ball, the skin of which is made of leather, and the ball is stuffed with wool. Cuju is kicking the ball with your feet. This is a popular game in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor with the original purpose of training warriors. Playing polo is also one of the ways to play the Dragon Boat Festival. Polo is riding a horse and hitting with a stick. In ancient times, it was called bowing. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a saying in Cao Zhiming's name that "there is a sentence in a row". In Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty, there was a wide stadium, and emperors such as Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Jing Zong all liked polo. Ma Qiutu, in the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai, depicts the prosperity of polo in the Tang Dynasty: more than 20 horses galloped at high speed and their ponytails were tied up. Players are wearing shawls, boots and sticks, hitting each other one by one. Analysis of Golden Branches records the traditional custom of polo as a festival in Liao country, and polo is played on Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival. Li Shizhi also recorded that Jin people hit the ball during the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Song Dynasty, there was a "Ball Play Music" dance team. In the Ming Dynasty, polo was still popular. According to the general examination of continued literature, Ming Chengzu hit the ball and shot the willow many times in Dongyuan. In the Ming Dynasty's "Music Map of Xuanzong", there are scenes of Xuanzong enjoying polo. At that time, Wang Zhi, an official, wrote a poem about watching the game in the afternoon: "Jade is like a golden horse, carved with seven treasures." When you fly, you will be shocked and feel the stars. The incitement page has become three wins, and joy is the first. Qingyun follows the footsteps and winds in the eastern end of the temple. "In front of the Baiyun Temple in Beijing, there are also rules for the masses to ride horses and hit the ball. There were polo in the Temple of Heaven in Qing Dynasty, and polo didn't disappear until the middle of Qing Dynasty. In recent years, antique polo has appeared in Xi 'an, which makes this ancient sport reappear on the land of China after years of extinction.
spring outing
Also called spring outing. It was called Tanchun and Xunchun in ancient times. Qingming in April, spring returns to the earth, and nature presents a vibrant scene everywhere, which is a good time for an outing. Our people have kept the habit of walking in Tomb-Sweeping Day for a long time.
plant trees
Planting trees in Tomb-Sweeping Day
Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, the spring was bright and the spring rain was falling, and the survival rate of planted seedlings was high and the growth was fast. Therefore, China has the habit of planting trees in Qingming since ancient times. Some people even call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day. 1979, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) stipulated March 12 every year as China's Arbor Day. This is of great significance to mobilize people of all ethnic groups in China to actively carry out activities to green the motherland.
fly a kite
Flying kites is also the most popular activity in Tomb-Sweeping Day. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people not only wore it during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of colored lanterns is hung under the kite or on the wind-stabilizing stay, like twinkling stars, which is called "magic lamp". Someone used to put kites in the blue sky, then cut the strings 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 yourself.
Pay tribute to the dead at their graves.
Sweeping graves on Qingming Festival is called "respecting thinking about time" for ancestors. Its customs have a long history. In the Ming Dynasty's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital", it was written: "On the Qingming Festival in March, men and women went to the grave to pay their respects, and the gold ingot was hung on the back of the sedan chair, and the road was full of embarrassment. Worshipers, mourners, weeping, weeding, adding soil to graves, burning ingots several times, and buying graves with paper money. If you can't see the paper money, it will be a lonely grave. After crying, don't go back, go to the fragrant tree, choose the garden, and sit down and get drunk. " In fact, grave-sweeping existed before the Qin Dynasty, but not necessarily during the Qingming period, but after the Qin Dynasty. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that it became popular. Qing thomas lee said, "On New Year's Eve, the Cold Food Festival and the First Frost Festival, you should offer sacrifices to sweep the graves. During the period, I will serve my bed with vegetarian food, use wine and tools for cutting vegetation, seal trees in the middle of the week, and break Cao Jing, so it is called sweeping the grave. " And spread to this day. Tomb-Sweeping Day's sweeping ceremony was supposed to be held in person, but because of the different economic conditions of each family, the way of sweeping was different. "Burning a bundle" is the main form of paying homage to ancestors. The so-called "baggage", also known as "parcel", refers to the postal parcel that Xiao sent from Shi Yang to the underworld. In the past, Nanzhi store sold the so-called "wrapped skin", that is, a big bag was pasted with white paper. There are two forms: one is a woodcut version with Sanskrit transliteration of "Death Mantra" printed around it, and a lotus tablet printed in the middle to write down the name of the deceased in the area code, such as "The late Zhang Fujun was afraid of the boss in Yunshan", which is both a package and a tablet. The other is plain foreskin, which does not print any patterns. Just put a blue sign in the middle and write down the name of the deceased. Also used as a master card. There are many kinds of money in the bag.
Chuanliuzhi
It is said that the custom of inserting willows is also to commemorate Shennong, the ancestor of farming, who taught the people to cultivate crops. In some places, people put willow branches under the eaves to forecast the weather. In ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day, willow branches were inserted.
There is a saying that is good, "wicker green rain; The saying that there is another village. During the period of Huang Chao, it was stipulated that "Qingming lasts for a period, and Liu Dai is the number". After the failure of the uprising, the custom of wearing willow was gradually eliminated, and only willow was popular. Willow has a strong vitality, as the saying goes: "intentional planting of flowers, unintentional planting of willows." Wicker lives when inserted in the soil, lives where it is inserted, and goes down year after year, and it becomes gloomy everywhere. There is another saying in Tomb-Sweeping Day: It turns out that China people regard Tomb-Sweeping Day, July 30th and the first day of October as the three major ghost festivals, which are the time for ghosts to haunt and ask for help. In order to prevent the harassment and persecution of ghosts, people put willows and put them on. Willow has the function of ward off evil spirits in people's minds. Influenced by Buddhism, people think that willows can exorcise ghosts and call them "ghost trees". Guanyin dipped willow branches in water to help all beings. Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty said in the Book of Qi Yao Min: "Take a willow branch and put it on the house, and a hundred ghosts will not enter the house." Tomb-Sweeping Day is a ghost festival. When wicker sprouted, people naturally inserted willows to ward off evil spirits. Related legends
jie zitui
There is a legend about cold food: Tomb-Sweeping Day.
According to legend, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Jin Xiangong's concubine killed the prince in order to let her son inherit the throne, and Shen Sheng was forced to commit suicide. Shen Sheng's younger brother, Zhong Er, went into exile to escape the scourge. During his exile, Zhong Er suffered humiliation. Most of the courtiers who went out with him went out one after another. Only a few loyal people have been following him. One of them is called meson push. On one occasion, Zhong Er fainted from hunger. In order to save Zhong Er, Jiezitui cut a piece of meat from his thigh, cooked it with fire and gave it to Zhong Er. Nineteen years later, Zhong Er returned to China and became a monarch. This is Jin Wengong, one of the five famous tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period. After Jin Wengong came to power, in addition to meson push, he offered many rewards to courtiers who shared his joys and sorrows. Someone defended meson in front of Jin Wengong. Jin Wengong suddenly remembered the past and felt guilty. He immediately sent someone to ask meson to take the imperial court to be rewarded as an official. However, after several trips, the meson could not be pushed. Jin Wengong had to please. However, when Jin Wengong came to the meson pusher's house, he saw that the door was closed. Jiezitui didn't want to see him, and had already been hiding behind his mother in Mianshan (now southeast of Jiexiu City, Shanxi Province). Jin Wengong asked his body guard to search Mianshan, but he couldn't find it. So, someone had an idea, saying, it is better to let Yamakaji go, set fire on three sides, leave one side, burn it and the meson will come out. Jin Wengong ordered the promotion of Yamakaji. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and nights. After the fire was put out, the meson was not pushed out after all. Looking up the mountain, the mother and son were holding a charred willow tree and were dead. Jin Wengong looked at meson push's body and cried for a while, then buried it, and found that meson push's back was blocked by a willow hole, and there seemed to be something in the hole. I took it out and saw that it was a skirt with a bloody poem engraved on it: May your master be clear forever. It is better to be a ghost than to accompany you as an exhorter. If your master has me in his heart, remember that I often reflect. I have a clear conscience in Jiuquan, diligent and honest. Jin Wengong hid the bloody book in his sleeve. Then meson tui and his mother were buried under the charred willow tree. To commemorate Jiexiu, Jin Wengong ordered Mianshan to be changed to Jiexiu Mountain, and an ancestral temple was built on the mountain, and the day when Yamakaji was released was designated as the Cold Food Festival, telling the whole country that it is forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers on this day every year and only eat cold food. When he left, he cut a charred willow and made a pair of clogs in the palace. He looked at it every day and sighed, "What a pity." The "first step" is the name of ancient people's subordinates respecting each other between superiors or peers, which is said to come from it. The following year, Jin Wengong led his ministers to go hiking in plain clothes to show their respect and condolences. Walking to the grave, I saw the dead old willow tree resurrected, with thousands of green branches dancing in the wind. Jin Wengong looked at the resurrected old willow tree and seemed to see the meson push. He walked up to him respectfully, lovingly squeezed a branch, braided it into a circle and put it on his head. After the sacrifice, Jin Wengong named the revived old willow "Qingming Willow" and named it Tomb-Sweeping Day. Later, Jin Wengong often took a bloody book with him as a souvenir, urging himself to take power. He is diligent and honest, and strives to govern the country well. Since then, the people of Jin have been able to live and work in peace and contentment, and they are very nostalgic for Jietui, who has made outstanding contributions and is not looking for wealth. On the day of his death, it is forbidden to set off fireworks in memory of him. It is also made of flour and jujube paste into the shape of a swallow, strung with willow branches and inserted above the door to summon his soul. This thing is called "pushing swallows" (also called intermediary pushing). Since then, cold food and Qingming have become grand festivals for the people of the whole country. Whenever there is cold food, people don't make a fire to cook, but only eat cold food. In the north, people only eat cold food prepared in advance, such as jujube cakes and wheat cakes. In the south, there are mostly green balls and glutinous rice and sugar lotus roots. Every time I go to Tomb-Sweeping Day, people put wicker in a circle and put wicker branches in front of the house to show their memory.